NCAR / esm-collection-spec

Earth System Model Collection specification
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Inconsistency in meaning of catalog, collection, catalog_file with intake's glossary #33

Open wachsylon opened 2 years ago

wachsylon commented 2 years ago

Hi, I struggle to combine the glossary of intake with your defintions of catalog and collection. You use the term collection for the .json file while the data base may be saved as a separate catalog.

However, in intake's glossary it says for catalog:

A collection of entries, each of which corresponds to a specific data-set

That is closed circle.

Imo: Intake starts with a top-level main catalog-file which points at catalogs. The catalog-file can specify drivers for the catalogs. So to me it seems clear that an esm-collection is actuallay a catalog.

I rather would switch your defintions of esm-collection and catalog so that the esm-collection is actually the catalog_dict or catalog_file. Especially if I use a catalog_file, the real collection is in that catalog_file and not the .json descriptor.

Are we on the same page that there is some inconsistency or do I miss sth here?

Best, Fabi