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[netCDF #WKW-744101]: Are there any Enhanced Data Model NetCDF Tools current available ?

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  • Subject: [netCDF #WKW-744101]: Are there any Enhanced Data Model NetCDF Tools current available ?
  • Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:26:07 -0600
Hi Peter,

> Would appreciate a quick reply to this question as we are looking into
> developing further NetCDF formats for EUMETSAT data sets.
> 
> If tools are becoming available for the Enhanced/Common Data Model, then
> there is no real reason for not moving to this model.
> 
> Will the IDV and ToolsUI work with NetCDF in the enhanced data model?
> 
> If so, does Unidata have any plans to upgrade these tools and if so,
> what's the timescale?

The ToolsUI program handles all features of the enhanced data model.
However, some of these features have not yet been extensively tested,
due to lack of widespread use in the community.  All of the features
are also handled in the netCDF-Java library, also referred to as the
Common Data Model (CDM) library, on which toolsUI is built.

The IDV uses the CDM for data access, so it can handle data that is
accessible through the CDM.  However, some of the hooks are not there
yet for handling data in forms supported by the enhanced data model
but not provided yet by data providers.  One of the problems is lack
of conventions, such as the CF conventions, for best practices on how
to use the enhanced data model for representing geoscience data.

When there are multiple ways to represent some category of data, it is
difficult to write software that understands all those different
representations.  Sometimes it's necessary to just choose one of many
equivalent ways to represent data, to make it practical to adapt
software to handle it.  But developing conventions depends on data
providers making use of the enhanced model to develop best practices
and discover tradeoffs in various representations.  The best practices
have not yet crystallized from the fluid of experience providing and
accessing data that uses the enhanced model.  

I've written about these issues in a white paper on "Developing
Conventions for netCDF-4":

  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/papers/nc4_conventions.html

If you begin making available data that uses the enhanced data model,
you may become instrumental in establishing conventions for its use.

--Russ

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



Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: WKW-744101
Department: Support netCDF
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed