Accept lists for MastMissions query criteria

CHANGES.rst

@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ mast
 - Added ``verbose`` parameter to ``Observations.get_cloud_uris`` to control whether warnings are logged when a product cannot 
   be found in the cloud. [#3314]
 
+- Improved ``MastMissions`` queries to accept lists for query critieria values, in addition to comma-delimited strings. [#3319]
+
 
 Infrastructure, Utility and Other Changes and Additions
 -------------------------------------------------------

astroquery/mast/missions.py

@@ -149,6 +149,34 @@ def _validate_criteria(self, **criteria):
                 )
                 raise InvalidQueryError(error_msg)
 
+    def _build_params_from_criteria(self, params, **criteria):
+        """
+        Build the parameters for the API request based on the provided criteria.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        params : dict
+            Dictionary to store the parameters for the API request.
+        **criteria
+            Keyword arguments representing criteria filters to apply.
+        """
+        # Add each criterion to the params dictionary
+        params['conditions'] = []
+        for prop, value in criteria.items():
+            if prop not in self._search_option_fields:
+                if isinstance(value, list):
+                    # Convert to comma-separated string if passed as a list
+                    value = ','.join(str(item) for item in value)
+                params['conditions'].append({prop: value})
+            else:
+                if prop == 'sort_by' and isinstance(value, str):
+                    # Convert to list if passed as a string
+                    value = [value]
+                if prop == 'sort_desc' and isinstance(value, bool):
+                    # Convert to list if passed as a boolean
+                    value = [value]
+                params[prop] = value
+
     @class_or_instance
     def query_region_async(self, coordinates, *, radius=3*u.arcmin, limit=5000, offset=0,
                            select_cols=None, **criteria):
@@ -172,12 +200,15 @@ def query_region_async(self, coordinates, *, radius=3*u.arcmin, limit=5000, offs
             Optional and default is 0
             the number of records you wish to skip before selecting records.
         select_cols: list, None
-            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the astropy table
+            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the result table.
+            If None, a default set of columns will be returned.
         **criteria
             Other mission-specific criteria arguments.
             All valid filters can be found using `~astroquery.mast.missions.MastMissionsClass.get_column_list`
             function.
             For example, one can specify the output columns(select_cols) or use other filters(conditions).
+            To filter by multiple values for a single column, pass in a list of values or
+            a comma-separated string of values.
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -210,13 +241,7 @@ def query_region_async(self, coordinates, *, radius=3*u.arcmin, limit=5000, offs
                   'offset': offset,
                   'select_cols': select_cols}
 
-        params['conditions'] = []
-        # adding additional user specified parameters
-        for prop, value in criteria.items():
-            if prop not in self._search_option_fields:
-                params['conditions'].append({prop: value})
-            else:
-                params[prop] = value
+        self._build_params_from_criteria(params, **criteria)
 
         return self._service_api_connection.missions_request_async(self.service, params)
 
@@ -245,7 +270,8 @@ def query_criteria_async(self, *, coordinates=None, objectname=None, radius=3*u.
             Optional and default is 0.
             the number of records you wish to skip before selecting records.
         select_cols: list, None
-            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the astropy table
+            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the result table.
+            If None, a default set of columns will be returned.
         resolver : str, optional
             The resolver to use when resolving a named target into coordinates. Valid options are "SIMBAD" and "NED".
             If not specified, the default resolver order will be used. Please see the
@@ -259,6 +285,8 @@ def query_criteria_async(self, *, coordinates=None, objectname=None, radius=3*u.
             and all fields listed in the column documentation for the mission being queried.
             List of all valid fields that can be used to match results on criteria can be retrieved by calling
             `~astroquery.mast.missions.MastMissionsClass.get_column_list` function.
+            To filter by multiple values for a single column, pass in a list of values or
+            a comma-separated string of values.
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -296,12 +324,7 @@ def query_criteria_async(self, *, coordinates=None, objectname=None, radius=3*u.
         if not self._service_api_connection.check_catalogs_criteria_params(criteria):
             raise InvalidQueryError("At least one non-positional criterion must be supplied.")
 
-        params['conditions'] = []
-        for prop, value in criteria.items():
-            if prop not in self._search_option_fields:
-                params['conditions'].append({prop: value})
-            else:
-                params[prop] = value
+        self._build_params_from_criteria(params, **criteria)
 
         return self._service_api_connection.missions_request_async(self.service, params)
 
@@ -327,7 +350,8 @@ def query_object_async(self, objectname, *, radius=3*u.arcmin, limit=5000, offse
             Optional and default is 0.
             the number of records you wish to skip before selecting records.
         select_cols: list, None
-            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the astropy table
+            Default None. Names of columns that will be included in the result table.
+            If None, a default set of columns will be returned.
         resolver : str, optional
             The resolver to use when resolving a named target into coordinates. Valid options are "SIMBAD" and "NED".
             If not specified, the default resolver order will be used. Please see the
@@ -338,6 +362,8 @@ def query_object_async(self, objectname, *, radius=3*u.arcmin, limit=5000, offse
             All valid filters can be found using `~astroquery.mast.missions.MastMissionsClass.get_column_list`
             function.
             For example, one can specify the output columns(select_cols) or use other filters(conditions).
+            To filter by multiple values for a single column, pass in a list of values or
+            a comma-separated string of values.
 
         Returns
         -------

astroquery/mast/services.py

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 from ..query import BaseQuery
 from ..utils import async_to_sync
 from ..utils.class_or_instance import class_or_instance
-from ..exceptions import TimeoutError, NoResultsWarning
+from ..exceptions import InvalidQueryError, TimeoutError, NoResultsWarning
 
 from . import conf
 
@@ -203,6 +203,12 @@
         if (time.time() - start_time) >= self.TIMEOUT:
             raise TimeoutError("Timeout limit of {} exceeded.".format(self.TIMEOUT))
 
+        if response.status_code in [400, 500]:
+            raise InvalidQueryError('The server was unable to process the request due to invalid input. '
+                                    'Please check the query parameters and try again. Use the '
+                                    '`MastMissions.get_column_list` method to see the available searchable '
+                                    'columns and their expected data types.')
+
         response.raise_for_status()
         return response
 

astroquery/mast/tests/test_mast.py

@@ -227,8 +227,10 @@ def test_missions_query_object(patch_post):
 
 def test_missions_query_region(patch_post):
     result = mast.MastMissions.query_region(regionCoords,
+                                            sci_instrume=['ACS', 'WFPC'],
                                             radius=0.002 * u.deg,
-                                            select_cols=['sci_pep_id'])
+                                            select_cols=['sci_pep_id'],
+                                            sort_by=['sci_pep_id'])
     assert isinstance(result, Table)
     assert len(result) > 0
 
@@ -263,11 +265,13 @@ def test_missions_query_criteria(patch_post):
     result = mast.MastMissions.query_criteria(
         coordinates=regionCoords,
         radius=3,
-        sci_pep_id=12556,
+        sci_pep_id=[12556, 8794],
         sci_obs_type='SPECTRUM',
         sci_instrume='stis,acs,wfc3,cos,fos,foc,nicmos,ghrs',
         sci_aec='S',
-        select_cols=['sci_pep_id', 'sci_instrume']
+        select_cols=['sci_pep_id', 'sci_instrume'],
+        sort_by='sci_pep_id',
+        sort_desc=True
     )
     assert isinstance(result, Table)
     assert len(result) > 0

astroquery/mast/tests/test_mast_remote.py

@@ -98,15 +98,17 @@ def test_missions_query_region(self):
         select_cols = ['sci_targname', 'sci_instrume']
         result = MastMissions.query_region("245.89675 -26.52575",
                                            radius=0.1,
-                                           sci_instrume="WFC3, ACS",
-                                           select_cols=select_cols
-                                           )
+                                           sci_instrume=["WFC3", "ACS"],
+                                           select_cols=select_cols,
+                                           sort_by="sci_data_set_name",
+                                           sort_desc=True)
         assert isinstance(result, Table)
         assert len(result) > 0
         assert (result['ang_sep'].data.data.astype('float') < 0.1).all()
         ins_strip = np.char.strip(result['sci_instrume'].data)
         assert ((ins_strip == 'WFC3') | (ins_strip == 'ACS')).all()
         assert all(c in list(result.columns.keys()) for c in select_cols)
+        assert list(result['sci_data_set_name']) == sorted(result['sci_data_set_name'], reverse=True)
 
     def test_missions_query_object_async(self):
         response = MastMissions.query_object_async("M4", radius=0.1)
@@ -163,6 +165,12 @@ def test_missions_query_criteria(self):
             MastMissions.query_criteria(coordinates="245.89675 -26.52575",
                                         radius=1)
 
+        # Raise error if invalid input is given
+        with pytest.raises(InvalidQueryError):
+            MastMissions.query_criteria(coordinates="245.89675 -26.52575",
+                                        radius=1,
+                                        sci_pep_id="invalid")
+
     def test_missions_query_criteria_invalid_keyword(self):
         # Attempt to make a criteria query with invalid keyword
         with pytest.raises(InvalidQueryError) as err_no_alt:

docs/mast/mast_missions.rst

@@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ Keyword arguments can also be used to refine results further. The following para
 
 - ``offset``: Skip the first ***n*** results. Useful for paging through results.
 
-- ``sort_by``: A list of field names to sort by.
+- ``sort_by``: A string or list of field names to sort by.
 
-- ``sort_desc``: A list of booleans (one for each field specified in ``sort_by``),
+- ``sort_desc``: A boolean or list of booleans (one for each field specified in ``sort_by``),
   describing if each field should be sorted in descending order (``True``) or ascending order (``False``).
 
 - ``select_cols``: A list of columns to be returned in the response.
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ certain radius value of that point. This type of search is also known as a cone
    ...                                 radius=3,
    ...                                 sci_pep_id=12556,
    ...                                 select_cols=["sci_stop_time", "sci_targname", "sci_start_time", "sci_status"],
-   ...                                 sort_by=['sci_targname'])
+   ...                                 sort_by='sci_targname')
    >>> results[:5]   # doctest: +IGNORE_OUTPUT
    <Table masked=True length=5>
     search_pos     sci_data_set_name   sci_targname         sci_start_time             sci_stop_time              ang_sep        sci_status
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ function.
    >>> results = missions.query_object('M101', 
    ...                                 radius=3, 
    ...                                 select_cols=["sci_stop_time", "sci_targname", "sci_start_time", "sci_status"],
-   ...                                 sort_by=['sci_targname'])
+   ...                                 sort_by='sci_targname')
    >>> results[:5]  # doctest: +IGNORE_OUTPUT
    <Table masked=True length=5>
     search_pos     sci_data_set_name sci_targname       sci_start_time             sci_stop_time             ang_sep       sci_status
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ function.
 
    >>> results = missions.query_criteria(sci_start_time=">=2021-01-01 00:00:00",
    ...                                   select_cols=["sci_stop_time", "sci_targname", "sci_start_time", "sci_status", "sci_pep_id"],
-   ...                                   sort_by=['sci_pep_id'],
+   ...                                   sort_by='sci_pep_id',
    ...                                   limit=1000,
    ...                                   offset=1000)  # doctest: +IGNORE_WARNINGS
    ... # MaxResultsWarning('Maximum results returned, may not include all sources within radius.')
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ Here are some tips and tricks for writing more advanced queries:
 
 - To exclude and filter out a certain value from the results, prepend the value with ``!``.
 
-- To filter by multiple values for a single column, use a string of values delimited by commas.
+- To filter by multiple values for a single column, use a list of values or a string of values delimited by commas.
 
 - For columns with numeric or date data types, filter using comparison values (``<``, ``>``, ``<=``, ``>=``).
 
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ Here are some tips and tricks for writing more advanced queries:
 
    >>> results = missions.query_criteria(sci_obs_type="IMAGE",
    ...                                   sci_instrume="!COS",
-   ...                                   sci_spec_1234="F150W, F105W, F110W",
+   ...                                   sci_spec_1234=["F150W", "F105W", "F110W"],
    ...                                   sci_dec=">0",
    ...                                   sci_actual_duration="1000..2000",
    ...                                   sci_targname="*GAL*",