[CF-metadata] CF conventions and netCDF-4

From: Philip Bentley <philip.bentley>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:54:28 +0000

Hi all,

I can't recall if this topic has come up for discussion on the mailing
list before - apologies in advance if that is the case.

Although the current CF conventions do not appear to be tied explicitly
to a particular version of the netCDF library, there are certain
sections (e.g. 2.2 Data Types) which imply a fairly strong linkage with
the netCDF-3 'classic' data model.

Thinking about the new features that ship with the netCDF-4 library -
named groups and richer data types, for instance - would it be correct
to assume that the same metadata attributes that make a netCDF-3 file
CF-compliant would also render the equivalent netCDF-4 file CF-
compliant? (I'm assuming here that the data and metadata are placed
within the default root group in the case of the netCDF-4 file.)

I think the answer is Yes, but it would be useful to hear the view of
others.

Alternatively, asking the question from the opposite perspective, are
there updates that need to be factored into a future version of CF to
cater for the new capabilities offered by netCDF-4?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Phil
Received on Tue Oct 28 2008 - 11:54:28 GMT