SOFA Software Progress Report
Abstract
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) set up the Standards of Fundamental Astronomy (SOFA) initiative at the 1994 General Assembly to promulgate an authoritative set of fundamental astronomy constants and algorithms. At the subsequent General Assembly in 1997, the appointment of a Reviewing Board and the selection of a site for the SOFA Center (the outlet for SOFA products) were announced. The time since then has been spent developing the specifications for a basic collection of fundamental astronomy algorithms. However, progress has been slow for a number of reasons: the task is difficult and requires great circumspection; a substantial tool kit of support routines must be adopted or developed before work on the astronomy routines themselves can begin; and it takes time for a geographically dispersed committee to reach a consensus on matters that involve value judgments, such as programming style. However, despite these formidable difficulties, significant progress has been made. A library of 52 vector/matrix routines has been developed, supporting a set of 25 astronomy algorithms. The Reviewing Board is about to start validating these algorithms, at which point they can be released through the SOFA Center. This paper reports on the SOFA Reviewing Board, the SOFA Center, progress to date on the development of routines, the vector/matrix library, the astronomy library, rate of progress, prospective users, what the software should include, and choice of programming language (Fortran or C).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA435901
Entities
People
- P. Wallace