Bug#778417: RE:Bug#778417: ITP: netcdf-python -- python interface to the netCDF4 (network Common Data Form) library
On Tue, 24 Feb 2015 06:44:54 +0000 Nick Papior Andersen
<nickpapior@gmail.com> wrote:
In my experience many of the features are quite similar.
However,
netcdf4-python has the advantage of full CDF4 capabilities.
Konrads
excellent package allows reading a NetCDF4 format in "CLASSIC"
format, it
also allows writing the CDF3 and CDF3-64 bit files. But it does
not allow
writing the full NetCDF4 format (I do not know if he has just
implemented
it, but last time I checked, 2.9.3, he hadn't).
The netCDF interface in ScientificPython has no support for the
functionality specific to netCDF4, for two reasons: (1) I don't need it and
(2) I want to maintain compatibility with netCDF3, which is (or at least
used to be a while ago) much less problematic to install than netCDF4 with
its enormous dependency (HDF5).
I cannot dedicate much energy to netCDF support because I am migrating my
own software to a direct use of HDF5. I continue to support netCDF merely
for keeping my legacy software usable. I'd be happy to abandon my netCDF
interface in the long run and use netcdf4-python for my legacy code.
However, the last time I checked, this didn't look like a viable option.
For the pure Python interface, I could probably replace
Scientific.IO.NetCDF by a thin wrapper on top of netcdf4-python. But for
the C interface, I do not see a solution. I have application code (the
Molecular Modelling Toolkit, http://dirac.cnrs-orleans.fr/MMTK/) that
accesses a single opened netCDF file both from Python code and from C
extension modules. To make this work portably, supporting shared libraries
on all platforms, the C API calls must pass through the C extension module
that is linked to the netCDF library. Last time I checked, netcdf4-python
did not support this. Is there perhaps a different solution for this
scenario?
Konrad.
--
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Konrad Hinsen
Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS Orléans
Synchrotron Soleil - Division Expériences
Saint Aubin - BP 48
91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
Tel. +33-1 69 35 97 15
E-Mail: research AT khinsen DOT fastmail DOT net
http://dirac.cnrs-orleans.fr/~hinsen/
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0330-9428
Twitter: @khinsen
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