Russ Rew: Re: 971218: How to use netCDF on Windows95?

Oops, forgot to CC: support-netcdf ...

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Date:    Mon, 22 Dec 1997 09:46:04 -0700
From:    Russ Rew <address@hidden>
To:      address@hidden
Subject: Re: 971218: How to use netCDF on Windows95? 

>To: address@hidden
>From: Shoji Makino <address@hidden>
>Subject: Q: How to use netCDF on Windows95?
>Organization: JEOL Ltd., Japan
>Keywords: 199712181219.FAA25060

Shoji,

> Thank you for your quick reply.
> 
> sm > I would like to use "andi/MS" tool kit on Windows95.
> sm > The tool kit uses netCDF V2.3.2, and provides source codes and makefile
> sm > for various UNIX and MS-DOS.
> sm > 
> sm > I successfully build 
> ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/contrib/win32/maks.zip
> sm > to make DLL, but sample program of andi/MS shows run-time error as 
> bellow:
> sm > 
> sm >   ncdimid: ncid 3: Invalid dimension id or name
> sm > 
> sm > I also try the following netCDF library from
> sm > ftp.jasco.co.jp/pub/NetCDF/Win32DLL/netcdf-3.3a/bin/:
> sm > 
> sm >   *pre-compiled DLL(netCDF V3.3 from) 
> sm >     --> same run-time error
> sm > 
> sm >   *pre-compiled static library (netCDF V2.4.1)
> sm >     --> ncdimid: dim "group_number" not found
> sm > 
> sm > I can build netCDF V2.3.2 and run the sample program on HP-UX I expected.
> sm > 
> sm > I wonder if you give me any information to use such toolkit
> sm > with latest version ofnetCDF library on Windows95.
> > 
> > I don't know anything about the sample program for andi/MS (it was
> > developed by someone else and never made available to us), so I cannot
> > duplicate the above error.
> 
> Sorry I forgot to explain enough about andi/MS.
> Andi/MS is a specification for raw and processed data for three dimensional
> mass spectrometry data.  The purpose of the tool kit is to interchange data
> generated various vendors.
> It has developed and tested by AIA (the Analytical Instrument Association).
> 
>   ftp://ftp.pe-nelson.com/pub/andi-MS/        download andi/MS
>   http://www.ultranet.com/~lasf/andi.html     andi news
> 
> This tool kit contains specification and implementation guide,
> a software development kit, plus netCDF from Unidata.

The note at the FTP site for PE-Nelson.COM makes me reluctant to try to
download their software to look at the test, since it says:

    This server is for the use of PE-Nelson employees,
    vendors, and customers.  No other use is authorized.

    All connections and transfers are logged with
    your host name (buddy.unidata.ucar.edu) and email address.

    If you don't like this policy, disconnect now!

> > After you have installed the netCDF library, does the "make test" work?
> > That's what we use to verify whether the library has been built
> > correctly.  It runs a sequence of tests on all the netCDF interfaces.
> 
> When building netCDF-3.3.1 for Win32
> (ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/contrib/win32/maks.zip),
> I executed "nmake /f msoft.mak test" successfully.

Good, that means the netCDF library you have built should work fine.

> > The "Invalid dimension id or name" might arise from trying to call one
> > of the netCDF dimension functions with an invalid dimension ID, for
> > example trying to find the name of the fifth dimension in a netCDF file
> > that only had four dimensions.
> > 
> > Is it possible that the test file you are using to run the andi/MS test
> > is corrupted or truncated, making the test fail?
> 
> I am sorry but I don't understand how netCDF library work.  Andi/MS tool
> kit with netCDF-2.3.2 can be run on HP-UX successfully, but I can not
> use andi/MS on Windows95.  Andi/MS toolkit itself has only several
> source files (*.c and *.h files) and no makefile is provided, because it
> is a simple one.
> 
> Why does netCDF on Windows95 show run-time error when the andi/MS sample
> calls it?

I think this is a question that must be sent to the people who developed
the andi/MS sample code.  I suspect a problem in that code or test file.
We have users of netCDF on Windows 95 that are using the library built
from netcdf-3.3.1 for Win32 without complaint.

>     Do you recommend that I should use netCDF-2.3.2 for andi/MS?
> (However, it's difficult to build netCDF-2.3.2 for Windows95 for me.)

I don't know whether netcdf-2.3.2 works for andi/MS; we also have
difficulty building it for Windows95, since we have no Windows95
developers or platforms on which to test.  There was another version,
netCDF-2.4.2, available from
<ftp://ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/old/netcdf-2.4.2.tar.Z>, but I'm
not sure it would be any easier to build on Windows95.  All versions of
netCDF share the same file format, so if netcdf-3.3.1 fails andi/MS test
on Windows 95, then probably other versions would also ...

> > A more recent DLL for netcdf-3.3 is netcdf3.3Win32DLL.zip available
> > from:
> > 
> >    ftp://ftp.unidata.ucar.edu/pub/netcdf/contrib/win32/netcdf3.3Win32src.zip
> > 
> > so you might try that.
> 
> I tried it todayt, but the same error occurred:
> 
>   "ncdimid: ncid 3: Invalid dimension id or name".

All I can suggest is that you contact the author of the andi/MS test
and ask them about this problem.  We haven't encountered such a problem
from other users of netCDF on Windows 95 or Windows NT ...

- --Russ

_____________________________________________________________________

Russ Rew                                         UCAR Unidata Program
address@hidden                     http://www.unidata.ucar.edu

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