P. Ballester, K.Banse, P.Grosbøl
European Southern Observatory
The Very Large Telescope will see first light by the end of 1997 and be gradually equipped with up to 14 instruments available on the four telescope units. The framework for data calibration and analysis of the VLT instrumentation is presented, based on the concepts of calibration plan, pipeline calibration, quality control, and archival of calibrated data for a ground-based observatory. The role of instrument models for observation preparation and instrument performance control is reviewed.