In astronomy we tend to use FITS, which is well-supported by pyfits, but a little limited. Some new instruments are beginning to use HDF5.
All these generic formats allow very general data storage, so you will need to come up with a standrdized way to represent your own data. Used well, these formats can be self-describing enough that generic tools can be very useful (e.g. display images, build histograms) but it takes some thought when designing files. Anne On 8/1/11, Christopher Barker <chris.bar...@noaa.gov> wrote: > On 7/31/11 5:48 AM, Brian Blais wrote: >> I was wondering if there are any recommendations for formats for saving >> scientific data. > > every field has it's own standards -- I'd try to find one that is likely > to be used by folks that may care about your results. > > For Oceanographic and Atmospheric modeling data, netcdf is a good > option. I like the NetCDF4 python lib: > > http://code.google.com/p/netcdf4-python/ > > (there are others) > > For broader use, and a bit more flexibility, HDF is a good option. There > are at least two ways to use it with numpy: > > PyTables: http://www.pytables.org > > (Nice higher-level interface) > > hf5py: > http://alfven.org/wp/hdf5-for-python/ > > (a more raw HDF5 wrapper) > > There is also the npz format, built in to numpy, if you are happy with > requiring python to read the data. > > -Chris > > > I am running a simulation, which has many somewhat-indepedent parts > which have their own internal state and parameters. I've been using > pickle (gzipped) to save the entire object (which contains subobjects, > etc...), but it is getting too unwieldy and I think it is time to look > for a more robust solution. Ideally I'd like to have something where I > can call a save method on the simulation object, and it will call the > save methods on all the children, on down the line all saving into one > file. It'd also be nice if it were cross-platform, and I could depend > on the files being readable into the future for a while. >> >> Are there any good standards for this? What do you use for saving >> scientific data? >> >> >> thank you, >> >> Brian Blais >> >> >> > > > -- > Christopher Barker, Ph.D. > Oceanographer > > Emergency Response Division > NOAA/NOS/OR&R (206) 526-6959 voice > 7600 Sand Point Way NE (206) 526-6329 fax > Seattle, WA 98115 (206) 526-6317 main reception > > chris.bar...@noaa.gov > _______________________________________________ > NumPy-Discussion mailing list > NumPy-Discussion@scipy.org > http://mail.scipy.org/mailman/listinfo/numpy-discussion > -- Sent from my mobile device _______________________________________________ NumPy-Discussion mailing list NumPy-Discussion@scipy.org http://mail.scipy.org/mailman/listinfo/numpy-discussion