Ensuring the use of the right master table version number when decoding
Given that descriptor definitions may change in small but significant ways between versions of the Tables, applications need to be sure that the right Table B is used to match the version number specified in Section 1 of the BUFR message.
Blueprint information
- Status:
- Started
- Approver:
- libecbufr-dev
- Priority:
- High
- Drafter:
- None
- Direction:
- Needs approval
- Assignee:
- None
- Definition:
- Discussion
- Series goal:
- None
- Implementation:
-
Needs Infrastructure
- Milestone target:
- None
- Started by
- Yves Pelletier
- Completed by
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Following discussion at the EC BUFR Work Group teleconference of November 16, 2009, the current consensus seems to be that implementing stringent versionning of descriptors at library level is not the way to go. It would require that Table management be tied into the library. This would burden the library with responsibilities that are not really in its proper scope. It is felt that the best long-term way to deal with this would be to have a separate, dedicated library to deal with table access.
The following commit/example should be considered supporting documentation for keeping this stuff outside the LibECBUFR core:
http://
Update, early 2012: Throughout the last two years there has been slow but concrete progress in creating an SQL-based maintenance and versioning infrastructure for Tables B and D, as well as the numerous code and flag tables associated with Table B descriptors. This has not been "hooked up" to libECBUFR yet, but that time is coming.
