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Thoughts on documentation. Panja Luukka Helsinki Institute of Ph ysics. Introduction. CMS Collaboration has decided to provide open access to part of its data.
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Thoughts on documentation Panja LuukkaHelsinki Institute of Physics
Introduction • CMS Collaboration has decided to provide open access to part of its data. • In this context the data also includes software and detailed documentation needed for the analysis in addition to the actual research data. • The open data pilot project with CSC is an excellent opportunity to find out which kind of tools and information CMS needs to provide with the data. Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Challenges • The obvious challenge is to define the information that is needed for choosing and handling of the data. • There is a lot of «silent knowledge» in the physics analysis, which is not (or very randomly) docmented. • We should find and document this critical information to such an extent that also a non-physicist is able to understand what is important and why something is done in the physics analysis. Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Challenges • The computing software environment should be such that it can be used without extensive knowledge of linux. • Or at least the usage has to be documented in detail. • The most critical information should probably be part of the analysis software package as people don’t usually read separate manuals.. Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Current status • The software is developing towards more user-friendly installation. • However, still requires quite good computing knowledge to get it running. • Documentation is currently on the twiki page • It is concentrating on the actual running of the software (how to install and run etc.) • No definitions of terminology, data selection criteria etc. up to now. Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Some open questions • Where should the documentation be eventually located? • Twiki is a bit awkward tool for general public, even though it is very useful now • Should we also prepare a short «physics dictionary» with the data and analysis tools..? • E.g. Term «event» is not necessarily obvious to a non-physicist and there are many similar words in physicist slang. Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Some open questions • Should the software package include interactive tutorial(s)? • Would a user-forum be useful? • Surely there will be some problems and it is nice, if there is a forum in which you can discuss the problems • E.g. Something similar to Geant4 user forum might be relatively easy to create and keep up-to-date? Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics
Summary • Documentation is developing, but there are still some open questions: • Where should the documentation eventually be located? • What should it include in addition to data selection criteria and installation instructions? • Step by step tutorials? • Definitions of terms and their use? • Should a user forum be created? Panja Luukka, Helsinki Institute of Physics