Bug#778417: ITP: netcdf-python -- python interface to the netCDF4 (network Common Data Form) library

[Ross Gammon <rossgammon@mail.dk>]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Ross Gammon <rossgammon@mail.dk>

* Package name    : netcdf-python
  Version         : 1.1.3
  Upstream Author : University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Unidata
* URL             : http://unidata.github.io/netcdf4-python/
* License         : ISC, Expat
  Programming Lang: Python
  Description     : python interface to the netCDF4 (network Common Data Form)
library

NetCDF version 4 has many features not found in earlier versions of the library
and is implemented on top of HDF5. This module can read and write files in both
the new netCDF 4 and the old netCDF 3 format, and can create files that are
readable by HDF5 clients. The API is modelled after Scientific.IO.NetCDF, and
should be familiar to users of that module.

Most new features of netCDF 4 are implemented, such as multiple unlimited
dimensions, groups and zlib data compression. All the new numeric data types
(such as 64 bit and unsigned integer types) are implemented. Compound and
variable length (vlen) data types are supported, but the enum and opaque data
types are not. Mixtures of compound and vlen data types (compound types
containing vlens, and vlens containing compound types) are not supported.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Unidata) also provide C++
and Fortran interfaces to the NetCDF C library. This is their python interface.
There is already python-netcdf packaged for Debian as part of the Scientific
Python source. However, netcdf-python implements different parts of the
interface and is supported by the organisation that controls the NetCDF
library.

The package  will be maintained within the Debian GIS Team (as well as the
NetCDF C, C++, and Fortran libraries).