#158: data_type=char|string
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Reporter: bob.simons | Owner: cf-conventions@…
Type: enhancement | Status: new
Priority: medium | Milestone:
Component: cf-conventions | Version:
Keywords: |
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In NetCDF-3 files, in order to make it clear whether an array of chars
should be interpreted as an array of chars or an array of Strings,
I propose that we replace this sentence in CF section 2.2:
NetCDF does not support a character string type, so these must be
represented as character arrays. In this document, a one dimensional
array of character data is simply referred to as a "string".
with:
Since NetCDF-3 files do not have a built-in string data type, strings
in NetCDF-3 files must be represented as character arrays. To clarify
how a char array should be interpreted, char arrays must have a
"data_type" attribute with a value of "char" (for individual chars)
or "string". (In older files with char variables that lack a data_type
attribute, it remains ambiguous whether a char array should be
interpreted as an array of individual characters or an array of
Strings.)
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Ticket URL: <http://cf-trac.llnl.gov/trac/ticket/158>
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