What Happens After GEMPAK 6.0 is Released?

Russ Rew

From the September 1999 Unidata Users Committee meeting:

ACTION 4: A plan should be created by Unidata for post release of GEMPAK 6.0.

The following questions and answers provide a brief summary of Unidata's plans for continuing the development, maintenance, and support of GEMPAK.

Q: Will the feature set of GEMPAK 6.0 be frozen?

A: No, we will keep maintaining GEMPAK for the indefinite future, until MetApps functionality is complete enough to supplant it. NCEP is still developing GEMPAK, to adapt it to be able to read AWIPS netCDF files, for example. Additional GEMPAK development will be required to adapt it to deal with new kinds of data, including NIDS, NEXRAD Level 2, and GRIB2 data.

Q: Will development continue on GARP?

A: Yes. A new GARP release with Y2K fixes was made available since the last Users Committee meeting. GARP has also been adapted to work with the upcoming GEMPAK 6.0 release. The new GARP will have the ability to print to PostScript devices.

Q: What effort will be required to maintain GEMPAK 6.0?

A: A Unidata staff member will be dedicated to the continued maintenance and support of GEMPAK. Just as with McIDAS, Unidata will maintain GEMPAK as long as there are active users.

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Q:	Will the feature set of GEMPAK 6.0 be frozen?
A:	No, we will keep maintaining GEMPAK for the indefinite future, until MetApps functionality is complete enough to supplant it. NCEP is still developing GEMPAK, to adapt it to be able to read AWIPS netCDF files, for example. Additional GEMPAK development will be required to adapt it to deal with new kinds of data, including NIDS, NEXRAD Level 2, and GRIB2 data.
Q:	Will development continue on GARP?
A:	Yes. A new GARP release with Y2K fixes was made available since the last Users Committee meeting. GARP has also been adapted to work with the upcoming GEMPAK 6.0 release. The new GARP will have the ability to print to PostScript devices.
Q:	What effort will be required to maintain GEMPAK 6.0?
A:	A Unidata staff member will be dedicated to the continued maintenance and support of GEMPAK. Just as with McIDAS, Unidata will maintain GEMPAK as long as there are active users.