Using the New SDA to Make Data More Accessible

A major revision of the SDA online analysis system will be released this year (version 4.0). It includes new features both for data archives and for the end users of the data such as researchers and students. For data users, there will be an updated user interface with richer, more dynamic components and a more modern look. At the same time, this will simplify the interface for beginning users by hiding more advanced options until they're needed. Users will also be able to store computed and recoded variables in personal workspaces (with archive permission). For data archives, the new SDA will simplify the setup of an SDA data archive by replacing the current combination of CGI programs and Java servlets with a single servlet-based Java Web application. In addition, a new "sdamanager" application will provide a unified control panel for all SDA archive management functions: creating and configuring SDA datasets, managing search options, etc. From this control panel, archive managers will also be able to specify easily which users can access which datasets. Note that existing SDA datasets will not have to be modified. We will demonstrate these new features during the presentation.