semaphore is a software page designed to create and interpret the SDSS-V Targeting Flags. These flags identify the origin of the targeting for any given source in SDSS-V. These flags are stored in the pipeline outputs as byte arrays and can be filtered to select targets chosen by different cartons.
Nomenclature:
- label: the concatenated name and version of the carton
- bit: the bit within the flags that is set when this carton is used
- carton_pk: the primary key associated with this carton in the sdssdb
- program: the SDSS-V program associated with the carton
- name: the name of the carton
- version: the version of the carton (0.1.0 – plates, 0.5.* and 1.*.* – FPS data)
- mapper: the mapper associated with the carton (MWM, BHM)
- alt_program: An alternative human-readable version of the program
- alt_name: An alternative human-readable version of the carton name
These flags can be used to select data based on targeting information or determine the targeting information about a specified target. This functionality is illustrated in a tutorial: SDSS-V_targeting_flags. While the flags are version controlled (with the option to swap the version within the semapore code), currently each set of flags is backwards compatible with the new version, just adding rows (or adjusting the associated alternative metadata for clarity). Therefore, the latest version can always be used.