Unidata

CF is framed as a netCDF standard, but most CF ideas relate to metadata design in general so apply to other formats. The goals of CF are to

• Locate data in space-time and as a function of other independent variables, to facilitate processing and graphics
• Identify data sufficiently to enable users of data from different sources to decide what is comparable, and to distinguish variables in archives
• Maintain backward-compatibility with prior standards (e.g. previous versions of CF, COARDS)

2009 Unidata NetCDF Workshop for Developers and Data Providers > CF Conventions