Hello Ros, Stephen,

> I believe the various Python tooling efforts happening in the UK
> (cf-python, IRIS) are using netcdf4-python so it would consolidate
> our toolset.

cf-python does indeed use netCDF4-python, and I'd also recommend it.

All the best,

David

---- Original message from [email protected] (09AM 01 Mar 12)

> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 09:59:21 +0000
> CC: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [CF-metadata] machine-accessible CF compliance checker?
> 
> Great,
> 
> I had further thoughts last night and the logical way forward is to get the 
> CGI script to generate a dummy netcdf file from CDL submitted in the web 
> form.  An official headers-only option would definitely help.
> 
> Ros, is the CGM CGI script written in perl?  Ours is but I have no idea 
> whether we share the same code.  I think it makes sense to share the same 
> codebase if we are going to add features to the CGI -- my preference is 
> obviously Python.
> 
> Remove CDAT: +1 from me.  I would recommend netcdf4-python as a better 
> binding.  I believe the various Python tooling efforts happening in the UK 
> (cf-python, IRIS) are using netcdf4-python so it would consolidate our 
> toolset.
> 
> Cheers,
> Stephen.
> 
> ---
> Stephen Pascoe  +44 (0)1235 445980
> Centre of Environmental Data Archival
> STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
> 
> From: Rosalyn Hatcher [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: 01 March 2012 08:32
> To: Pascoe, Stephen (STFC,RAL,RALSP)
> Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [CF-metadata] machine-accessible CF compliance checker?
> 
> Hi Stephen,
> 
> I've been out of the office the last couple of days and not seen this till 
> now.
> 
> #3 is already on my to-do list :-)
> 
> #2 I actually do this quite a bit and just supply the "ncdump -c" ouput 
> passed through ncgen and ignore the couple of
> errors for the checks that can't be performed.  If this would be useful for 
> others then it should be relatively easy to officially add a headers-only 
> option.
> Off the top of my head I think there are 2 checks that require the variable 
> data
> (1) That variable data lies within cell boundaries and
> (2) The check that coord data is monotonic
> 
> I also plan in the next 6months to completely re-write the CF checker, it's 
> developed a lot since I first wrote it and is now becoming rather unwieldy.
> One thing I'd like to do is remove the dependency on CDAT.  So if anyone has 
> any further suggestions for improvements or additional functionality
> they'd like to see please let me know.
> 
> Regards,
> Ros.
> 
> 
> 
> On 29/02/12 15:31, 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Hi Phil,
> 
> 
> 
> So far my role has simply been to package and deploy Rosalyn's cfchecker 
> code, therefore I really don't know to what extent it needs the real NetCDF.
> 
> 
> 
> I think an alternative checker (i.e. codebase) is a bad idea because they 
> might give contradictory results.  I would suggest several options:
> 
> 
> 
>  1. Work on making the cfchecker package easier to install so that users can 
> run it on their real NetCDF.  A user would have to know how to install python 
> packages, compile UDUNITS and edit a config file.
> 
>  2. Add a "headers-only" feature to Rosalyn's code so that user's can create 
> dummy NetCDF with ncgen to upload to one of the online checkers.
> 
>  3. As an addition to #2, add a feature to Rosalyn's code, or the CGI 
> wrapper, to upload CDL.
> 
> 
> 
> I am willing to do #1, if people think it would meet user's needs, but it 
> would have to be added to my ever-expanding TODO list :-).  Rosalyn, do you 
> have any comments on #2&3?
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Stephen.
> 
> 
> 
> ---
> 
> Stephen Pascoe  +44 (0)1235 445980
> 
> Centre of Environmental Data Archival
> 
> STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: Bentley, Philip [mailto:[email protected]]
> 
> Sent: 29 February 2012 14:56
> 
> To: Pascoe, Stephen (STFC,RAL,RALSP); 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> Subject: RE: [CF-metadata] machine-accessible CF compliance checker?
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Stephen,
> 
> 
> 
> I may well be wrong, but I suspect that one of the reasons - perhaps the
> 
> main reason - why folks would like access to a stand-alone cfchecker
> 
> utility is the large size of their netcdf files. (It's certainly the
> 
> reason we use a local version.)
> 
> 
> 
> As you know only too well (from CMIP5), most of the netcdf files we're
> 
> dealing with these days run into the high 100s of MB or low GBs. It's
> 
> not really practical to upload such files in order to perform a CF
> 
> compliance check. At least not on more than a few files.
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder, therefore, if a possible solution is to develop an alternative
> 
> checker utility that operates not on the netcdf file itself, but rather
> 
> on the header info output by the ncdump -h command. Generating and
> 
> uploading those would be trivial by comparison.
> 
> 
> 
> Off the top of my head (and having given it almost zero thought!) the
> 
> only test that I can think of which examines the actual data values is
> 
> the check for coord vars being monotonic. But I suspect there are others
> 
> I'm unaware of.
> 
> 
> 
> If nothing else, such a utility might have some value as a 'first pass'
> 
> checker.
> 
> 
> 
> Any mileage in this? Apologies if it's already done the rounds!
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Phil
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
> 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> Sent: 29 February 2012 11:39
> 
> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>; 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> Subject: Re: [CF-metadata] machine-accessible CF compliance checker?
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Christopher,
> 
> 
> 
> Are you looking for a way to run the cfchecker locally or
> 
> submit checking requests to one of the websites in a script?
> 
> 
> 
> I think both would be possible with a little help.  The
> 
> cfchecker is now available on the Python Package Index at
> 
> http://pypi.python.org/pypi/cfchecker.  It needs a little
> 
> help to work out of the box -- you need to configure UDUNITS
> 
> and the location of several CF XML files.  It's on my
> 
> long-term TODO list to make this configuration easier.
> 
> 
> 
> Also the CF-checker at BADC and NCAS-CMS has a very simple
> 
> HTTP interface that could be scripted.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Stephen.
> 
> 
> 
> ---
> 
> Stephen Pascoe  +44 (0)1235 445980
> 
> Centre of Environmental Data Archival
> 
> STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot
> 
> OX11 0QX, UK
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: 
> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
> 
> Lynnes, Christopher S. (GSFC-6102)
> 
> Sent: 28 February 2012 16:03
> 
> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
> 
> Subject: [CF-metadata] machine-accessible CF compliance checker?
> 
> 
> 
> I know about the web sites where you use a form to upload
> 
> files to check CF compliance, but is there a service
> 
> somewhere that can be accessed by a script?
> 
> --
> 
> Dr. Christopher Lynnes     NASA/GSFC, Code 610.2    phone:
> 
> 301-614-5185
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 
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> 
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> 
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> --
> 
> Scanned by iCritical.
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> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
> Rosalyn Hatcher
> 
> NCAS Computational Modelling Services
> 
> Dept. of Meteorology, University of Reading,
> 
> Earley Gate, Reading. RG6 6BB
> 
> Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>     Tel: 
> +44 (0) 118 378 6016
> 
> -- 
> Scanned by iCritical.
> 

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--
David Hassell
National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading,
Earley Gate, PO Box 243,
Reading RG6 6BB, U.K.

Tel   : 0118 3785613
Fax   : 0118 3788316
E-mail: [email protected]
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