The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) will deliver data to four U.S. Government processing centers in Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will tailor the NPOESS data by subsetting and translating the HDF5 dataset into data formats such as BUFR, GeoTIFF, NetCDF and SDTS to meet the diverse requirements of its customers. We will present a survey and feature comparison of software tools currently available to evaluate, translate and extract data from datasets in HDF and other standard data formats. Our presentation will also identify opportunities to extend the functionality of existing toolsets to better support the NPOESS HDF5 dataset.

1. TITLE
Survey of Data Format Tools
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
28 October 2004
Geof Goodrum
National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service
Office of Systems Development (OSD)
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
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2. Background
The National Polar-orbiting Operational
Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) will
deliver data to four U.S. Government processing
centers in Hierarchical Data Format 5 (HDF5).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) will tailor the NPOESS
data by translating the HDF5 dataset into data
formats such as BUFR, GeoTIFF, netCDF and SDTS
to meet the diverse requirements of its customers.
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
2

3. Purpose
Compare available software tools to evaluate,
translate and extract data from datasets in HDF and
other scientific and geospatial data formats.
Identify opportunities to extend the functionality of
existing toolsets to better support the NPOESS
HDF5 dataset.
Provide a roadmap for development of a toolset that
NOAA can use to meet the needs of its customers.
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
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4. Overview
• Software to read, write and modify a specific data
format
– HDF4; HDF5; HDF-EOS2; HDF-EOS5; CDF; netCDF;
GeoTIFF; SDTS; BUFR; GRIB; GRIB2; FITS; JPEG;
JPEG2000
• Software to translate one data format into another
– FreeForm; GDAL; IDL; Matlab; Ferret
• Software that permits applications to access data
directly
– OPeNDAP
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
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5. Summary
• IDL, Matlab and GDAL provide a sound
foundation for translation toolset development.
– IDL and Matlab applications write multiple output
formats
– Add HDF5 support to GDAL
• Consider OPeNDAP if a client is available (or can
be developed) for the customer’s application.
• Study ongoing.
– http://projects.osd.noaa.gov/NDE/publicdocuments.htm
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
5

6. Summary
• IDL, Matlab and GDAL provide a sound
foundation for translation toolset development.
– IDL and Matlab applications write multiple output
formats
– Add HDF5 support to GDAL
• Consider OPeNDAP if a client is available (or can
be developed) for the customer’s application.
• Study ongoing.
– http://projects.osd.noaa.gov/NDE/publicdocuments.htm
28-Oct-2004
HDF/HDF-EOS Workshop VIII
5