ome / ome/ngff

Add optional "long_name" to "axes"

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#142 4 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

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enhancement
Dominant language
Python
Stars
171
Forks
75
Avg merge
2d 3h
Merged PRs (30d)
20

Description

The "axes" metadata currently contains a "name" that is typically { "x", "y", "z", "c", "t' }.

We could also add support for an optional "long_name" to the "axes" metadata. This would be a semantic name that could be standardized across domains, e.g. "anterior-posterior", "width".

While standard, canonical values could help interpretation, this adds more flexibility and the possibility for additional, sometimes crucial metadata. For visualization, this would be the name of the axes label.

This also improves xarray, NetCDF compatibility, so there is a corresponding long_name and units:

https://docs.unidata.ucar.edu/netcdf-c/current/attribute_conventions.html

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the NGFF axes metadata specification linked in the issue, then review the referenced NetCDF attribute conventions and the compatibility implications for xarray. Define how an optional long_name is represented, interpreted, and standardized across domains; the work is done when the specification clearly documents the field and its intended visualization and compatibility behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
data
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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