What is an Observation Status File (OSF)?
An OSF is an Observation Status File, a file that is zero length (contains no data) in which all necessary control information about an observation is contained within the filename itself. Traditionally, OPUS has used these files to record state data for a pipeline. However, with the introduction of the OPUS Servers, these files only are a persistent copy of the state information stored in physical memory by the servers. Consequently, it is no longer possible (or safe) to directly manipate these files through the file system.
