---
aid: caltech
name: California Institute of Technology — Surface Lifecycle
generated: '2026-08-19'
method: probed
source:
  - https://service.scedc.caltech.edu/fdsnws/station/1/version
  - https://service.scedc.caltech.edu/fdsnws/event/1/version
  - https://service.scedc.caltech.edu/fdsnws/dataselect/1/version
  - https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/TAP/capabilities
  - https://data.caltech.edu/api/records?size=1
  - https://mdq.incommon.org/entities/https%3A%2F%2Fidp.caltech.edu%2Fidp%2Fshibboleth
  - https://feeds.library.caltech.edu/
description: >-
  Versioning and change posture across Caltech-operated surfaces. Caltech publishes no
  institution-wide API changelog, deprecation policy or status page; the versioning that
  exists is inherited from the community standards each unit implements.

surfaces:
  - surface: SCEDC FDSN Web Services
    x-operator: institution
    versioning: path + version endpoint
    version_scheme: 'FDSN major.minor.patch, exposed at /fdsnws/<service>/1/version'
    observed_versions:
      fdsnws-station: 1.1.0
      fdsnws-event: 1.1.1
      fdsnws-dataselect: 1.1.0
    verified: '2026-08-19'
    assessment: >-
      The best-versioned surface in the estate. The major version is in the path, the
      running patch version is machine-readable at a dedicated endpoint, and the version
      is echoed inside 400 error bodies. All of this is FDSN's design, not Caltech's.
    deprecation_policy: not_found
    changelog: not_found

  - surface: IVOA TAP services (IRSA, NED, NASA Exoplanet Archive)
    x-operator: institution
    versioning: capability document
    version_scheme: 'IVOA standardID URIs declared in /capabilities'
    verified: '2026-08-19 — capabilities returned 200 application/xml'
    assessment: >-
      Self-describing: a client discovers supported standards and their versions from the
      VOSI capabilities document, plus table structure from TAP_SCHEMA and worked queries
      from the DALI examples endpoint. Discoverable without documentation.
    deprecation_policy: not_found
    changelog: not_found

  - surface: CaltechDATA / CaltechAUTHORS REST API
    x-operator: institution
    versioning: none_exposed
    version_scheme: >-
      No version in the path (`/api/records`), no version header observed, no version
      field in the response. The API surface tracks whatever InvenioRDM release the
      Library is running, which is not disclosed on the public surface.
    record_level_versioning: >-
      Individual records ARE versioned — each record carries `revision_id`, `versions`
      and a `parent` linking version chains, and every version gets its own DataCite DOI.
      Caltech versions its DATA well and its API not at all.
    verified: '2026-08-19'
    deprecation_policy: not_found
    changelog: not_found

  - surface: Caltech Shibboleth IdP metadata
    x-operator: institution
    versioning: metadata validity window
    version_scheme: 'EntityDescriptor/@validUntil'
    observed: 'validUntil 2026-09-02T20:37:10Z on the InCommon-signed copy'
    verified: '2026-08-19'
    assessment: >-
      Federation metadata expires and is re-signed on a rolling window — a real, enforced
      freshness contract, and the only expiry-bearing artifact Caltech publishes.

  - surface: Caltech Library Feeds
    x-operator: institution
    versioning: service version in prose
    observed: 'Feeds v1.6, stated on the service homepage'
    verified: '2026-08-19'
    deprecation_policy: not_found
    changelog: not_found

estate_level:
  status_page: not_found
  note_status: >-
    No status page found for any Caltech data surface. Relevant: CaltechAUTHORS returned
    intermittent HTTP 522 during probing on 2026-08-19, and there is no public surface on
    which a consumer could confirm that as an incident.
  deprecation_policy: not_found
  changelog: not_found
  support_channel: per-unit only (Caltech Library, SCEDC, IRSA helpdesks); no estate-wide developer support
  sunset_headers: not_observed