[netCDF #WBE-822526]: NetCDF-4 and C++

Hi Lachlan,

> - From what I've seen, the C++ API for version 4.2 looks completely different
> to version 4.1.3 - it doesn't look backwards compatible at all!
> 
> If this is the case, are there any plans to update the C++ interface
> documentation on your website - or at least put a disclaimer on it that
> it is appropriate only for 4.1.3 and earlier?
> 
> Should I even be using this new API?
> 
> It doesn't look professional at all compared to the old one...

There are actually two C++ APIs for netCDF, both separated out from the C
distribution, as announced in this netcdfgroup mailing list posting last 
year:

  
http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/mailing_lists/archives/netcdfgroup/2011/msg00365.html

Both packages are available for download here:

  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/downloads/netcdf/netcdf-cxx

The legacy C++ library hasn't changed much recently, and doesn't use modern
C++ features such as exceptions, namespaces, or templates.  We don't have 
plans for developing it further, but we'll keep making it available for 
backward compatibility.  It doesn't support most netCDF-4 features.

It was not possible to add support for exceptions and namespaces to the new 
netCDF-4 C++ library while keeping it backward compatible, so that was not 
a constraint in adding support for netCDF-4 features.

If you discover problems with the new netCDF-4 C++ library, we'll forward
them to the author, Lynton Appel.  He is generously making his changes and 
fixes available to Unidata as time permits.

--Russ

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



Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: WBE-822526
Department: Support netCDF
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed