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===Example===
===Example===

Latest revision as of 17:28, 6 February 2008

HDF Utilities

FreeForm ND includes three utilities for use with HDF (hierarchical data format) files: makehdf, splitdat, and pntshow. These programs were built using both the FreeForm library and the HDF library, which was developed at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA).

The makehdf program converts binary and ASCII data files to HDF files and converts multiplexed band interleaved by pixel image files into a series of single parameter files. The splitdat program is used to separate and reformat data files containing headers and data into separate header and data files, or to translate them into HDF files. The pntshow program extracts point data from HDF files into binary or ASCII format.

It is assumed in this chapter that you have a working familiarity with HDF terminology and conventions. See the HDF user documentation for detailed information.

NOTE: Do not try the examples in this chapter. The example file set is incomplete.


makehdf

Using makehdf you can convert data files with formats described in a FreeForm format file into HDF files. You should follow FreeForm naming conventions for the data and format files. For details about FreeForm conventions, see ( Chapter 8).

A dBASE input file must be converted to ASCII or binary using newform before you can run makehdf on it.

The HDF file resulting from a conversion consists either of a group of scientific datasets (SDS's), one for each variable in the input data file, or of a vgroup containing all the variables as one vdata. If you are working with grid data, you will want SDS's (the default) in the output HDF file. A vdata (-vd option) is the appropriate choice for point data.

The makehdf command has the following form:

    makehdf input_file [-r rows] [-c columns] [-v var_file] [-d HDF_description_file]

    [-xl x_label -yl y_label] [-xu x_units -yu y_units] [-xf x_format -yf y_format] [-id file_id] [-vd [vdata_file]] [-dmx [-sep]] [-df] [-md missing_data_file] [-dof HDF_file] 


input_file

Name of the input data file. Following FreeForm naming conventions, the standard extensions for data files are .dat for ASCII format and .bin for binary.

-r rows

Option flag followed by the number of rows in each resulting scientific dataset. The number of rows must be specified through this option on the command line, or in an equivalence table, or in a header (.hdr) file defined according to FreeForm standards.

-c columns

Option flag followed by the number of columns in each resulting scientific dataset. The number of columns must be specified through this option on the command line, or in an equivalence table, or in a header (.hdr) file defined according to FreeForm standards. For information about equivalence tables, see the GeoVu Tools Reference Guide.

-v var_file

Option flag followed by the name of the variable file. The file contains names of the variables in the input data file to be processed by makehdf. Variable names in \var{var_file} can be separated by one or more spaces or each name can be on a separate line.

-d HDF_description_file

Option flag followed by the name of the file containing a description of the input file. The description will be stored as a file annotation in the resulting HDF file.

-xl x_label -yl y_label

Option flags followed by strings (labels) describing the x and y axes; labels must be in quotes (" ") if more than one word.

-xu x_units -yu y_units

Option flags followed by strings indicating the measurement units for the x and y axes; strings must be in quotes (" ") if more than one word.

- xf x_format -yf y_format

Option flags followed by strings indicating the formats to be used in displaying scale for the x and y dimensions; strings must be in quotes (" ") if more than one word.

- id file_id

Option flag followed by a string that will be stored as the ID of the resulting HDF file.

- vd [vdata_file]

Option flag indicating that the output HDF file should contain a vdata. The optional file name specifies the name of the output HDF file; the default is input_file.HDF.

- dmx [-sep]

The option flag -dmx indicates that input data should be demultiplexed from band interleaved by pixel to band sequential form in input_file.dmx. If -dmx is followed by -sep, the input data are demultiplexed into separate variable files called data_file.1 \ldots data_file.n

- df

To use this option, the input file (data_file.ext) must be a binary demultiplexed (band sequential) file. For each input variable in the applicable FreeForm format description file, there is a corresponding demultiplexed section in the output HDF file.

- md missing_data_file

Option flag followed by the name of the file defining missing data (data you want to exclude). Use this option only along with the vdata (-vd) option. Each line in the missing data file has the form:

variable_name lower_limit upper_limit

The precision of the upper and lower limits matches the precision of the input data.

- dof HDF_file

Option flag followed by the name of the output HDF file. If you do not use the -dof option, the default output file name is input_file.HDF.


Example

You will use makehdf to store latlon.dat as an HDF file. The HDF file will consist of two SDS's, one each for the two variables latitude and longitude. Each SDS will have four rows and five columns.

To convert latlon.dat to an HDF file, enter the following command:

makehdf latlon.dat -r 4 -c 5

As makehdf translates latlon.dat into HDF, processing information is displayed on the screen:

1   Caches (1150 bytes) Processed: 800 bytes written to latlon.dmx
Writing latlon.HDF and calculating maxima and minima ...

Variable latitude:
Minimum: -86.432712  Maximum 89.170904
Variable longitude:
Minimum: -176.161101  Maximum 165.066193

The output from makehdf is an HDF file named latlon.HDF (by default). It contains the minimum and maximum values for the two variables as well as the two SDS's.

A temporary file named latlon.dmx was also created. It contains the data from latlon.dat in demultiplexed form . The data was converted from its original multiplexed form to enable makehdf to write sections of data to SDS's.

If you start with a demultiplexed file such as latlon.dmx, the translation process is much quicker, particularly for large data files. As an illustration, try this. Rename latlon.dmx to latlon.bin (renaming is necessary for makehdf to find the format description file latlon.fmt by default). Enter the following command:

makehdf latlon.bin -df -r 4 -c 5

The output file again is latlon.HDF, but notice that no demultiplexing was done.

splitdat

The splitdat program translates files with headers and data into separate header and data files or into HDF files. If the translation is to separate header and data files, the header file can include indexing information.

The combination of header and data records in a file is often used for point data sets that include a number of observations made at one or more stations or locations in space. The header records contain information about the stations or locations of the measurements. The data records hold the observational data. A station record usually indicates how many data records follow it. The structure of such a file is similar to the following:

Header for Station 1
Observation 1 for Station 1
Observation 2 for Station 1

.

.
Observation N for Station 1

Header for Station 2
Observation 1 for Station 2
Observation 2 for Station 2

.

.

.
Observation N for Station 2

Header for Station 3

.

.

.

Many applications have difficulty reading this sort of heterogeneous data file. One solution is to split the data into two homogeneous files, one containing the headers, the other containing the data. With splitdat, you can easily create the separate data and header files. To use splitdat for this purpose, the input and output formats for the record headers and the data must be described in a FreeForm format description file. To use splitdat for translating files to HDF, the input format must be described in a FreeForm format description file. You should follow FreeForm naming conventions for the data and format files. For details about FreeForm conventions, see ( ff,convs).

The splitdat command has the following form:

\proto{splitdat \var{input_file} [\var{output_data_file} > \var{output_header_file}]}

\var{input_file}

Name of the file to be processed. Following FreeForm naming conventions, the standard extensions for data files are .dat for ASCII format and .bin for binary.

\var{output_data_file}

Name of the output file into which data are transferred with the format specified in the applicable FreeForm format description file. The standard extensions are the same as for input files. If an output file name is not specified, the default is standard output.

\var{output_header_file}

Name of the output file into which headers from the input file are transferred with the format specified in the applicable FreeForm format description file. If an output header file name is not specified, the default is standard output.

Index Creation

You can use the two variables begin and extent (described below) in the format description for the output record headers to indicate the location and size of the data block associated with each record header. If you then use splitdat, the header file that results can be used as an index to the data file.

begin

Indicates the offset to the beginning of the data associated with a particular header. If the data is being translated to HDF, the units are records; if not, the units are bytes.

extent

Indicates the number of records (HDF) or bytes (non-HDF) associated with each header record.


Example

You will use splitdat to extract the headers and data from a rawinsonde (a device for gathering meteorological data) ASCII data file named hara.dat (HARA = Historic Arctic Rawinsonde Archive) and create two output files-23338.dat containing the ASCII data and 23338hdr.dat containing the ASCII headers. The format description file hara.fmt should contain the necessary format descriptions.

Here is hara.fmt:

ASCII_input_record_header "ASCII Location Record input format"
WMO_station_ID_number 1 5 char 0
latitude 6 10 long 2
longitude_east 11 15 long 2
year 17 18 uchar 0
month 19 20 uchar 0
day 21 22 uchar 0
hour 23 24 uchar 0
flag_processing_1 28 28 char 0
flag_processing_2 29 29 char 0
flag_processing_3 30 30 char 0
station_type 31 31 char 0
sea_level_elev 32 36 long 0
instrument_type 37 38 uchar 0
number_of_observations 40 42 ushort 0
identification_code 44 44 char 0

ASCII_input_data "Historical Arctic Rawinsonde Archive input format"
atmospheric_pressure 1 5 long 1
geopotential_height 7 11 long 0
temperature_deg 13 16 short 0
dewpoint_depression 18 20 short 0
wind_direction 22 24 short 0
wind_speed_m/s 26 28 short 0
flag_qg 30 30 char 0
flag_qg1 31 31 char 0
flag_qt 33 33 char 0
flag_qt1 34 34 char 0
flag_qd 36 36 char 0
flag_qd1 37 37 char 0
flag_qw 39 39 char 0
flag_qw1 40 40 char 0
flag_qp 42 42 char 0
flag_levck 43 43 char 0

ASCII_output_record_header "ASCII Location Record output format"

.

.

.

ASCII_output_data "Historical Arctic Rawinsonde Archive output format"

.

.

.

To "split" hara.dat, enter the following command:

splitdat hara.dat 23338.dat > 23338hdr.dat

The data values from hara.dat are stored in 23338.dat and the headers in 23338hdr.dat.

Because the variables begin and extent were used in the header output format in hara.fmt to indicate data offset and number of records, 23338hdr.dat has two columns of data showing offset and extent. Thus, it can serve as an index into 23338.dat.

HDF Translation

If output files are not specified on the splitdat command line, a file named input_file.HDF is created. It is hierarchically named and organized as follows:


vgroup

input_file_name

/      \

/        \

vdata1       vdata2
"PointIndex"      "input_file_name"


  • vdata1 contains the record headers
  • vdata2 contains the data
  • If writing to a Vset (represented by a vgroup), both output

formats are converted to binary, if not binary already.

Example

To create the file hara.HDF from hara.dat, enter the following abbreviated command:

splitdat hara.dat

The output formats in hara.fmt are automatically converted to binary, and subsequently the ASCII data in hara.dat are also converted to binary for HDF storage.

pntshow

The pntshow program is a versatile tool for extracting point data from HDF files containing scientific datasets and Vsets. The extraction can be done into any binary or ASCII format described in a FreeForm format description file. Before using pntshow on an HDF file, you should pack the file using the NCSA-developed HDF utility hdfpack.

You can use pntshow to extract headers and data from an HDF file into separate files or to extract just the data. It's a good idea to define GeoVu keywords in an equivalence table to facilitate access to HDF objects. For information about equivalence tables, see the GeoVu Tools Reference Guide. The input and output formats must be described in a FreeForm format description file. You should follow FreeForm naming conventions for the data and format files. For details about FreeForm conventions, see ( ff,convs).

If a format description file is not specified on the command line, the output format is taken by default from the FreeForm output format annotation stored in the HDF file. If there is no annotation, a default ASCII output format is used.

An equivalence table takes precedence over everything. (vdata=1963, SDS=702)

If you have not specified an HDF object in an equivalence table, pntshow uses the following sequence to determine the appropriate source for output:


  1. Output the first vdata with class name Data.
  2. Output the largest vdata.
  3. Output the first SDS.

If no vdatas exist in the file, but an SDS is found, it is extracted and a default ASCII output format is used.

Extracting Headers and Data

The pntshow command takes the following form when you want to extract headers and data from HDF files into separate files.

    pntshow input_HDF_file [-h [output_header_file]] [-hof output_header_format_file]

    [-hof output_header_format_file] [-d [output_data_file]] [-dof output_data_format_file]
\var{input_HDF_file}

Name of the input HDF file, which has been packed using hdfpack.

\hdfh

Option flag followed optionally by the name of the file designated to contain the record headers currently stored in a vdata with a class name of Index. If an output header file name is not specified, the default is standard output.

\hdfhof

Option flag followed by the name of the FreeForm format file that describes the format for the headers extracted to standard output or output_header_file.

\hdfd

Option flag followed optionally by the name of the file designated to contain the data currently stored in a vdata with a class name of Data. If an output file name is not specified, the default is standard output.

\hdfdof

Option flag followed by the name of the FreeForm format file that describes the format for data extracted to standard output or \var{output_data_file}.

Example

You will extract data and headers from hara.HDF (created by splitdat in a previous example). This file contains two vdatas: one has the class name Data and the other has the class name Index. Because this file is extremely small, no appending links were created in the file, so there is no need to pack the file before using pntshow, though you can if you wish.

To extract data and headers from hara.HDF, enter the following command:

pntshow hara.HDF -d haradata.dat -h harahdrs.dat

The data from the vdata designated as Data in hara.HDF are now stored in haradata.dat. The data are in their original format because the original output format was stored by splitdat in the HDF file. The header data from the vdata designated as Index in hara.HDF are now stored in harahdrs.dat. In addition to the original header data, the variables begin and extent have also been extracted to harahdrs.dat.

Extracting Data Only

The pntshow command takes the following form when you want to extract just the data from an HDF file:

    pntshow input_HDF_file [-of default_output_format_file]

    [> output_file]
\var{input_HDF_file}

Name of the input HDF file, which has been packed using hdfpack.

\hdfof

Option flag followed by the name of the FreeForm format file that describes the format for data extracted to standard output or \var{output_file.}

\var{output_file}

Name of the output file into which data is transferred. If an output file name is not specified, the default is standard output.

Examples

You can use pntshow to extract designated variables from an HDF file. In this example, you will extract temperature and pressure values from hara.HDF to an ASCII format. First, the following format description file must exist.

Here is haradata.fmt:

ASCII_output_data "ASCII format for pressure, temp"
atmospheric_pressure 1 10 long 1
temperature_deg 15 25 float 1

To create a file named temppres.dat containing only the temperature and pressure variables, enter either of the following commands:

pntshow hara.HDF -of haradata.fmt > temppres.dat

or

pntshow hara.HDF -d temppres.dat -dof haradata.fmt

If you use the first command, pntshow searches hara.HDF for a vdata named Data. Since hara.HDF contains only one vdata named Data, this vdata is extracted by default with the format specified in haradata.fmt.

The results are the same if you use the second command. Now, try running pntshow on the previously created file latlon.HDF, which contains two SDS's. Use the following command:

pntshow latlon.HDF > latlon.SDS

The latlon.SDS file now contains the latitude and longitude values extracted from latlon.HDF. They have the default ASCII output format. You could have used the -of option to specify an output format included in a FreeForm format description file.