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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 10:43:11 -0600
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?

I didn't quite answer the question completely, so here's a bit more.

We have plans to upgrade our tools to handle the enhanced data model, but
the priority of that activity depends on availability of data that makes
use of the enhanced data model.  Currently there are many users of the
netCDF-4 with the classic data model, making use of performance features
such as compression, chunking, and very large files.  So our tools all
handle netCDF-4 data that uses the classic data model.  However, data
providers are still just beginning to make use of the enhanced data model.

The ncdump, ncgen, and nccopy tools written in C also handle all aspects of 
the enhanced data model.  One of the motivations for developing nccopy was
as a demonstration and example for how to handle all the recursive features
of the enhanced data model, such as nested user-defined types and nested
groups.

There is currently no DAP4 OPeNDAP protocol that can be used to access
any netCDF-4 enhanced data model data from remote servers.  We're
working on developing that protocol, and the current time line is to
have that done in within a year.  In the meantime, the DAP2 protocol
is adequate for accessing netCDF-4 classic model data from servers,
and is currently being used for that purpose.

I hope that helps answer your question.  A slide summarizing the "3-level
chicken and egg problem" of software, data, and conventions is in slides 
19 and 20 of this AGU 2010 presentation:

  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/presentations/Rew/agu_2010_nc4_Rew.pdf

--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