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Re: 19981124: Variables/Parameters related to specific times ...

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  • Subject: Re: 19981124: Variables/Parameters related to specific times ...
  • Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 11:30:03 -0700
>To: address@hidden
>cc: Dave Aubin <address@hidden>
>From: Larry Bunch <address@hidden>
>Subject: Variables/Parameters related to specific times ...
>Organization: Boeing Information Services
>Keywords: 199811241646.JAA23672

Larry,

> Does this mean that I need to declare a separate time variable for each
> parameter?

No, a time variable can be shared by multiple other variables.  For
example, if the time variable is a coordinate variable (that is, is
has the same name as a dimension and has rank 1), then any variable
that uses that dimension is using that time variable.

Having time be a coordinate variable is the most straightforward way
to share it among multiple variables, but other ways include naming
the time variable in a variable attribute assigned to other variables,
naming the time variable in a global attribute if it is to be shared
by all other variables in the file, or even having a time variable
attribute whose value is a list of the other variables that use it.
Lots of different conventions are possible, but the only one that
generic netCDF tools are likely to understand is the time
dimension/coordinate variable.

--Russ