Just Solve the File Format Problem - User contributions [en]

NetCDF

2012-11-02T06:48:32Z

TomRoche: initial commit

== summary ==

The Network Common Data Form (netCDF) is a long-lived set of file formats and associated APIs designed by UCAR for multi-dimensional datasets. (Though its name resembles that of CDF, and their original designs were similar, the two products have greatly diverged.) The various versions are widely used in environmental science, especially atmospheric and oceanographic research. Currently it has two main versions, netCDF-3 and netCDF-4, which are quite different in implementation, and moderately different in API. There are also "subversions" of netCDF-3, notably "netCDF Classic." Tool support for netCDF-3 continues to exceed that for netCDF-4; but the latter, based on HDF5, is generally considered technically superior, so its tool support is increasing rapidly.

Notable features of netCDF include

* incorporation of metadata. netCDF is said to be "self-describing," in that the file format provides for a header describing the structure of the data. In practice, the utility of its metadata depends on the extent to which the data author provides and maintains it.
* platform independence via API: provided the user manipulates netCDF files via supported APIs (which are numerous), the user can effectively ignore issues such as endianness.
* backward compatibility. Software and API capable of manipulating netCDF-4 is also capable of manipulating netCDF-3, though of course advanced features of the later version are not accessible to files written for the earlier version.

HDF

2012-11-02T06:33:49Z

TomRoche: initial commit

== summary ==

The Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) is a file format and associated APIs designed by the US NCSA for multi-dimensional datasets. Currently it has two main versions, HDF4 and HDF5, which are quite different in design, implementation, and API. Currently both are supported by the HDF Group, but HDF5 is generally considered to be technically superior. Another widely-used data format, netCDF-4, is based on HDF5.

Scientific Data formats

2012-11-02T06:26:01Z

TomRoche: "Atmospheric" is better than "Meteorological", since it includes chemistry (e.g., air quality) and climatology

{|
|[[File Formats]]
| >
|[[Electronic File Formats]]
| >
|Scientific Data formats
|}

== General ==
* [[cdf]] (Common Data Format)
* [[hdf]] (Hierarchical Data Format, from NASA)
* [[NetCDF]] (Network Common Data Format)
* [[XDF]] (eXtensible Data Format)

== Astronomical ==
* [[FITS]] (Flexible Image Transport System)

== Chemical ==
* [[Chemical data]]

== Geographic and Geospatial ==

See also [[Geospatial]]

* [[GeoTIFF]] (Geospatial extensions to TIFF)
* [[SAIF]] (Spatial Archive and Interchange Format, Canadian)
* [[SDTS]] (Spatial Data Transfer Standard)

== Mathematical ==

* [[MathML]]

== Medical Imaging ==
* [[DICOM]]

== Atmospheric and Oceanographic ==

* [[GRIB]] (Grid in Binary)
* [[BUFR]] (Binary Universal Format Representation)
* [[IOAPI]] (netCDF augmented with metadata from the I/O API)

== Physics ==

* [[QCDml]] (Lattice QCD gauge configuration markup language)

Scientific Data formats

2012-11-02T06:24:36Z

TomRoche: added IOAPI

{|
|[[File Formats]]
| >
|[[Electronic File Formats]]
| >
|Scientific Data formats
|}

== General ==
* [[cdf]] (Common Data Format)
* [[hdf]] (Hierarchical Data Format, from NASA)
* [[NetCDF]] (Network Common Data Format)
* [[XDF]] (eXtensible Data Format)

== Astronomical ==
* [[FITS]] (Flexible Image Transport System)

== Chemical ==
* [[Chemical data]]

== Geographic and Geospatial ==

See also [[Geospatial]]

* [[GeoTIFF]] (Geospatial extensions to TIFF)
* [[SAIF]] (Spatial Archive and Interchange Format, Canadian)
* [[SDTS]] (Spatial Data Transfer Standard)

== Mathematical ==

* [[MathML]]

== Medical Imaging ==
* [[DICOM]]

== Meteorological and Oceanographic ==

* [[GRIB]] (Grid in Binary)
* [[BUFR]] (Binary Universal Format Representation)
* [[IOAPI]] (netCDF augmented with metadata from the I/O API)

== Physics ==

* [[QCDml]] (Lattice QCD gauge configuration markup language)

Common Data Format

2012-11-02T06:23:08Z

TomRoche: initial commit

== summary ==

The Common Data Format (CDF) is a file format and associated APIs designed by NASA for multi-dimensional datasets. It has largely been supplanted by the (mostly unrelated, except in name) netCDF.