2007 Unidata NetCDF Workshop for Developers and Data Providers > Overview of netCDF
2.2 What is netCDF, really?
In the real world, things are a little more complicated.
In actuality, netCDF like most software, is evolving to adapt to and
keep up with its user community. Currently netCDF is:
- Two data models
- classic model (netCDF-1, netCDF-2, netCDF-3)
- netCDF-4 model
- Two formats with variants
- classic format and large file variant
- netCDF-4 (HDF5-based) format and classic model variant
- Two independent flavors of APIs
- C-based interfaces (C, C++, Fortran-77, Fortran-90, Perl, Python, Ruby, Matlab, ...)
- Java interface
You mostly don't need to be aware of these complications,
because new versions of netCDF support
- previous netCDF data models
- previous netCDF formats and their variants
- previous APIs
Also, files written through one language API are readable through
other language APIs.
2007 Unidata NetCDF Workshop for Developers and Data Providers > Overview of netCDF