The Algorithm Publication Tool (APT) is a cloud-based publication tool developed within NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program that standardizes Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) content, streamlines the authoring process of ATBDs, and allows the science community to search and retrieve ATBDs from a centralized repository. Users can create an ATBD within the APT user interface or use one of the provided ATBD templates to create their document (e.g., Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or LaTeX; see [APT User Guide] and APT Template User Guide). Both options require an APT account.
This quick start guide shows how to sign up for an account and how to create an ATBD.
Follow these steps to create an account.
Sign up for an APT account and sign in
- Navigate to [https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/apt/]
- Click on sign in in the upper right corner (Figure 1)
- Click on sign up (Figure 2)
- Enter your information to create an account (Figure 3).
- Email -- Enter the full email address that will be associated with the new APT account.
- Preferred username -- Enter the preferred username for the account.
- Password – Enter a strong password for signing into your APT account. Note: the password must contain at least one lower-case letter, upper-case letter, special character, number, and must be at least 8 characters long.
- Sign up – Click this button to create the new account. If you already have an account, you can click on the sign in text below the box (item 4 in Figure 5).
- Verify your email when prompted.
- You will receive an email when your account is approved. Set-up Multi-factor authentication (MFA, Figure 5). APT uses Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and is required to sign in. This is an authentication method that requires a user to provide two or more forms of identification to gain access to the tool. MFA enhances security, keeping your data safe. Any authenticator application that generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) should work for authorization, such as Google Authenticator, Authy, DUO, Microsoft Authenticator, or similar.
- Use your MFA authenticator application to enter a one-time password (OTP, Figure 6).
- Click “confirm” to sign in. You should now see your user dashboard (Figure 7).
Decide whether you want to use the APT interface or a template (not sure which is right for you? Read about the benefits and drawbacks of each here.)
Use APT authoring environment
- From your user dashboard, click on create to start a new ATBD (Figure 7).
- You will be prompted with the welcome to your new document pop-up window. This window explains the different stages of creating an ATBD in APT. Click “understood” to begin your new document (Figure 8).
- Give your ATBD a title. Continue adding content (see the User Guide for more details). See section 2.3 to learn how to add collaborators.
Use provided ATBD template
- Download your template of choice (i.e., Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or LaTeX).
- Follow instructions and guidelines within the template.
- Create content. Do not change the headers within the template.
- Have your ATBD reviewed by the appropriate people.
- Once finished, save your completed ATBD as a PDF.
- Sign in to your account.
- Click on “create” from your user dashboard (Figure 7 above).
- Click “understood” when prompted by the “welcome to your new document” pop-up window (Figure 8 above).
- Give your ATBD a title (Figure 9 above).
- Indicate that you have an existing ATBD PDF to upload (Figure 10)
- Add information related to your ATBD in the Identifying Information step (Figure 11).
- Navigate to the Attachment step and click choose a file to upload. Locate your PDF and click “open.” Then click “save” (Figure 12).
- Click “view selected file” to view your uploaded ATBD (Figure 13).
Most ATBDs are a collaborative effort; therefore, multiple authors can be added to an ATBD within APT. Collaborators can be added to a document from the dashboard or from within a document by clicking the view collaborators icon (Figures 14). From the collaborators pop up, click the pencil icon (Figure 15).
An ATBD is typically developed in APT over time. Since one can work on any section in any order, it can be very helpful to keep track of which sections you’ve completed so you know which ones you do not need to revisit. This also provides the information needed so that APT can indicate your ATBD development progress.
- When a section or subsection is complete, change the dropdown on the upper right of the section box to “complete” (Figure 17).
- Click “save.” A message letting you know that your document has been saved will appear. If this message does not appear, your document has not been saved.
- You can then see the progress in the section drop-down list (Figure 18).
A plain language summary lets you reach a wider audience by summarizing your work in clear language accessible to people outside your discipline. For further reference and helpful tips, be sure to visit the AGU guide to writing plain language summaries.
Choosing the right keywords helps users discover your ATBD easily without knowing the title. To learn more about choosing keywords, and for keyword suggestions, visit American Geophysical Union (AGU) Index Terms and NASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Key Words.
An ATBD must be thoroughly reviewed by subject matter experts before being published in APT. APT uses a closed review, meaning that the current version of the document is not editable. Authors can read and reply to comments but can make no changes to the document.
Prior to review, the author(s) will provide the curator with the names and email addresses of potential reviewers. When a document is ready, the author will submit a review request, at which time the curator will transition the ATBD to closed review. The APT curator will add the author defined users to the document as reviewers. Once added to a document, the reviewer will receive an email notification stating that they have been added as a reviewer to the specific ATBD.
Upon your next login, click the reviewer tab to see ATBDs that your user role is a reviewer (Figure 19). You can view the document in HTML or download it as a PDF (Figure 20). As you review the document, provide feedback and notes to authors by leaving comments. Adding comments is discussed in section 3.1.
Click “conclude review” once you are finished with your review (Figure 21), and then click confirm (Figure 22). The curator will transition the document to open review after all of the reviewers have concluded their review. The document is editable again in open review. In open review, the authors and reviewers work iteratively to address any issues. Once the authors and reviewers are satisfied and all comments are marked as resolved, the lead author has the option to request that the document be published.
Comment threads are opened by clicking the comments icon on the page banner (Figure 23 and 24) or by clicking the popup icon to the left of each section header.
Comments can be added to specific sections of the ATBD and specific users can be selected to be notified of the comment.
Existing comments can be replied to and resolved (Figure 25). A user can also edit and delete their own comments but not other users' comments (Figure 26).
