[McIDAS #DXH-400982]: AREA max number limitation

Hi Mary Ellen,

Long time no hear!

re:
> We have an older version of McIDAS and are considering upgrading to the
> latest version. Can you let me know if the limitation that AREA files
> can only be named 1-9999 has been removed?

No and yes:

- the AREA file naming convention is still limited to AREAnnnn where
  'nnnn' is a 4-digit number that can range from 0001 to 9999

- AREA files can be renamed with descriptive names and then served through
  ADDE for the full set of those names (e.g., AREA0001 might be named
  IR_20111018_1200, etc.)

My approach has always been to create a symbolic link between the true
name of the file (e.g., IR_20111018_1200) and one that McIDAS likes
(e.g., AREA0001).

re:
> We use araopt() and redara()
> routines in our software but would like to read in >10K remapped AREA
> files for a given month at a time. I'd appreciate any information you
> could provide.

The routine you used to do your processing (BATCH file, McBASI script,
*nix shell script, Tcl script, Perl script, etc.) could make a symbolic
link to the actual file before doing whatever processing is to be done.

The other option is that you could update your code to use newer
software interfaces.

By the way, the upcoming addendum to Unidata McIDAS v2009 (I stopped
incrementing the year in the distribution name because McIDAS-X
is largely in maintenance mode) will contain support for NEXRAD Level III
dual polarization products.

Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: DXH-400982
Department: Support McIDAS
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed