Folks-
I have a two-parter for your consideration today.
Is there a recommended best practice for use of _FillValue and/or
valid_range variable attributes? At one point, I think there was a
performance cost if valid_range was supplied, and I would like to avoid
that, if it's still an issue. I'd prefer to just supply a _FillValue
for each variable, and not use valid_range at all- is this acceptable?
Does anyone know of clients out there that require valid_range, even if
_FillValue is defined?
The second part of the question involves variable attributes we now call
minimum and maximum. Do these names have special meanings? In our
files, we include the actual minimum and maximum computed for each
non-coordinate variable's data. I want to be clear about the content of
these attributes, and wonder if others use different terms to avoid
confusion with valid_min and valid_max? Would calling these attributes
"computed_minimum" (maximum) or "actual_minimum" (maximum) be better?
Thanks for any suggestions!
Ellyn
--
Ellyn T. Montgomery, Oceanographer and Data Manager
U.S. Geological Survey
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
(508)457-2356
Received on Wed May 22 2013 - 14:12:29 BST
