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NetCDF (network Common Data Form) is an interface for scientific data
access and a freely-distributed software library that provides an
implementation of the interface. It was developed by Glenn Davis, Russ
Rew, and Steve Emmerson at the Unidata Program Center in Boulder,
Colorado. The netCDF library also defines a machine-independent format
for representing scientific data. Together, the interface, library, and
format support the creation, access, and sharing of scientific data.
NetCDF data is:
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Self-Describing. A netCDF file includes information about the data it
contains.
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Network-transparent. A netCDF file is represented in a form that can
be accessed by computers with different ways of storing integers,
characters, and floating-point numbers.
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Direct-access. A small subset of a large dataset may be accessed
efficiently, without first reading through all the preceding data.
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Appendable. Data can be appended to a netCDF dataset along one
dimension without copying the dataset or redefining its structure.
The structure of a netCDF dataset can be changed, though this
sometimes causes the dataset to be copied.
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Sharable. One writer and multiple readers may simultaneously access
the same netCDF file.
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