HDF4

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|[[File Formats]]
 
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|[[Electronic File Formats]]
 
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|[[Scientific Data formats]]
 
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|[[HDF4]]
 
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{{FormatInfo
 
{{FormatInfo
 
|formattype=electronic
 
|formattype=electronic
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|extensions={{ext|hdf}}
 
|extensions={{ext|hdf}}
 
|mimetypes={{mimetype|application/x-hdf}}
 
|mimetypes={{mimetype|application/x-hdf}}
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|locfdd={{LoCFDD|fdd000228}}
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|pronom={{PRONOM|fmt/1041}}
 
}}
 
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'''HDF4''' stands for version 4 of [[HDF|Hierarchical Data Format]]. HDF4 was originally known simply as HDF. When Version 5 was introduced, it was dubbed [[HDF5]] to emphasize the fact that the new version was significantly different from HDF and not backwards-compatible. Later, the HDF Group decided to adopt the name HDF4 for the earlier version to avoid confusion.
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At one level, HDF4 is a file format for storing scientific data. The data structure types that HDF4 supports are Scientific Data Sets, Raster Images (General, 8-bit, 24-bit APIs), color palettes, text entries, and Vdatas and Vgroups.  Scientific Data Sets (SDSs) are used for storing multidimensional arrays (gridded data).  Vgroups are generic grouping elements allowing a user to associate related objects within an HDF file. As Vgroups can contain other Vgroups, it is possible to build a hierarchical file. Vdatas are generic list objects. By combining Vdatas in Vgroups, it is possible to represent higher level data constructs: mesh data, multi-variate datasets, sparse matrices, finite-element data, spreadsheets, splines, non-Cartesian coordinate data, etc.
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At a higher level, HDF4 is a collection of utilities and applications for manipulating, viewing, and analyzing data in HDF4 files. Between these levels, HDF4 is a software library that provides high-level APIs and a low-level data interface.
  
'''HDF4''' stands for version 4 of Hierarchical Data Format.
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== Software ==
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* [http://www.hdfgroup.org/products/hdf4_tools/ HDF (4) Tools]
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* [http://www.hdfgroup.org/release4/obtain.html Obtaining the HDF software]
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
 
* [http://www.hdfgroup.org/doc.html HDF4 Documentation] Latest official specification from The HDF Group.
 
* [http://www.hdfgroup.org/doc.html HDF4 Documentation] Latest official specification from The HDF Group.
* [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000228.shtml HDF4, Hierarchical Data Format, Version 4 and earlier, from Library of Congress resource on Sustainability of Digital Formats]
 

Latest revision as of 15:44, 6 August 2017

File Format
Name HDF4
Ontology
Extension(s) .hdf
MIME Type(s) application/x-hdf
LoCFDD fdd000228
PRONOM fmt/1041

HDF4 stands for version 4 of Hierarchical Data Format. HDF4 was originally known simply as HDF. When Version 5 was introduced, it was dubbed HDF5 to emphasize the fact that the new version was significantly different from HDF and not backwards-compatible. Later, the HDF Group decided to adopt the name HDF4 for the earlier version to avoid confusion.

At one level, HDF4 is a file format for storing scientific data. The data structure types that HDF4 supports are Scientific Data Sets, Raster Images (General, 8-bit, 24-bit APIs), color palettes, text entries, and Vdatas and Vgroups. Scientific Data Sets (SDSs) are used for storing multidimensional arrays (gridded data). Vgroups are generic grouping elements allowing a user to associate related objects within an HDF file. As Vgroups can contain other Vgroups, it is possible to build a hierarchical file. Vdatas are generic list objects. By combining Vdatas in Vgroups, it is possible to represent higher level data constructs: mesh data, multi-variate datasets, sparse matrices, finite-element data, spreadsheets, splines, non-Cartesian coordinate data, etc.

At a higher level, HDF4 is a collection of utilities and applications for manipulating, viewing, and analyzing data in HDF4 files. Between these levels, HDF4 is a software library that provides high-level APIs and a low-level data interface.

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[edit] References

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