NetCDF

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NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) is a set of software libraries and machine-independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data. It is also a community standard for sharing scientific data. The Unidata Program Center supports and maintains netCDF programming interfaces for C, C++, Java, and Fortran. Programming interfaces are also available for Python, IDL, MATLAB, R, Ruby, and Perl.

Data in netCDF format is:

• Self-Describing. A netCDF file includes information about the data it contains.
• Portable. A netCDF file can be accessed by computers with different ways of storing integers, characters, and floating-point numbers.
• Scalable. Small subsets of large datasets in various formats may be accessed efficiently through netCDF interfaces, even from remote servers.
• Appendable. Data may be appended to a properly structured netCDF file without copying the dataset or redefining its structure.
• Sharable. One writer and multiple readers may simultaneously access the same netCDF file.
• Archivable. Access to all earlier forms of netCDF data will be supported by current and future versions of the software.

To learn more, see An Introduction to NetCDF in the NetCDF User's Guide.