Consortium for Management of Experimental Data in Structural Biology
First imgCIF workshop (new series) at ACA 2006 Meeting

The pace of data collection and the volume of data collected at synchrotron beam lines is increasing. The ACA Data, Standards, and Computing Committee is spearheading an effort to improve the efficiency of the handling and storage of these data by encouraging the adoption of common data formats and standard software interfaces. The goal of this is firstly to have the data be self defining, therefore equally accessible to data-reduction and -visualization codes. The second goal, for the purposes of secure archiving, is to provide a robust internal documentation of the source of the data.

The first imgCIF/CBF workshop took place at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1997 and proposed a format combining support for an efficient binary representation of images with a fully CIF-compliant ASCII equivalent. An imgCIF/CBF dictionary, and software to support the format, were created, are available on the web, and are described in Volume G of the IUCr International Tables for Crystallography. Now the community should adopt a consensus standard for management of data at synchrotron beam lines, and to make it easier for users to process data taken from various beam lines. Also, as our science evolves, new concepts will be considered: possibilities include NeXus and XML.

The primary activity at the first workshop will be to adopt a new standard for synchrotron image data for immediate use. As a practical matter, that standard should be based on the existing imgCIF IUCr standard. At the same time, the attendees, including standards developers, crystallographic software developers, and interested users, will be invited to seek a consensus on the next steps to extend imgCIF/CBF. A follow-up workshop will take place during the 2006- 2007 academic year to resolve any issues that arise in the adoption of the adjusted imgCIF standard, to discuss the extensions, and to enhance the standard as appropriate. There will be a wrap-up workshop in summer 2007.

The first 50 preregistered participants will get reimbursement for the registration fee and for up to $125 for one night of housing.

The workshop registration fee is $80 for students, $100 for all others, and does not include breakfast. Lunch will be provided to all preregistered particpants who registered by 7 July 2006. The registration fee and up to $125 towards one night of housing costs will be reimbursed to the first 50 preregistered participants by mail in September. Forms will be provided at the workshop. Copies of receipts will be required. Reimbursement cannot be provided for expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed by others.

Agenda of the imgCIF Workshop (WK.02) Saturday, 22 July 2006, 8:30 am -- 5:00 pm, Oahu Room

8:30	Definition of the problem

	What are the objectives of this workshop?	R. Sweet

8:50	Brief refresher on the structure and flexibility of imgCIF and available supporting 
software and mechanisms for making changes to both. [handout, dictionary, CBFlib]
	 						H. Bernstein

9:10 - 9:30  Go round the room for people to introduce themselves, giving a few sentences on 
who they are and their involvement in the subject and to make adjustments in who will 
present and the order of the presentations after the break.

9:30-10:00  Break for coffee and to allow for last minute reproduction of late/revised handouts.

10:00-12:20  Short (10-15 minutes) prepared statements (based primarily on handouts, rather 
than visual aids) to help frame the discussion, tentatively:

	What is the problem we should be solving?               G. Bricogne
 	Issues for equipment vendors.                           C. Nielsen
 	Issues for data-red'n software developers.              W. Minor      [handout]
                                                                J. Pflugrath
 	Issues for beam-line software developers.               R. Sweet
 	Issues for other software developers.                   A. Ashton
 	Issues for data archivists.                             J. Westbrook
 	Issues for CIF wonks.                                   B. McMahon
 	Issues for relative to NeXus, HDF and XML.              T. Proffen

 	Presenters should leave some time for questions.

12:20-12:30	Organize the afternoon Working groups           R. Sweet
	(Note: the working group on imgCIF technical issues will be suitable for novices and 
will include material to help them familiarize themselves with imgCIF)

12:30	Buffet lunch in the meeting room:  salad, deli meats, dessert and useful discussions

1:30	Working groups meet

2:30	Working groups merge into working group of the whole to decide whether conclusions 
can be drawn.

3:00 - 3:30  Break

3:30 - 4:30  Further discussion

4:30 - 5:00 Planning for next steps

5:00	Adjourn for the day