  We present a novel approach for creating science-ready catalogs through a
software infrastructure developed for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We
integrate the data products released by the DES Data Management and additional
products created by the DES collaboration in an environment known as DES
Science Portal. Each step involved in the creation of a science-ready catalog
is recorded in a relational database and can be recovered at any time. We
describe how the DES Science Portal automates the creation and characterization
of lightweight catalogs for DES Year 1 Annual Release, and show its flexibility
in creating multiple catalogs with different inputs and configurations.
Finally, we discuss the advantages of this infrastructure for large surveys
such as DES and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The capability of creating
science-ready catalogs efficiently and with full control of the inputs and
configurations used is an important asset for supporting science analysis using
data from large astronomical surveys.
