Some tips for NetCDF

 
1.  NetCDF (network Common Data Form) is a self-documenting binary data format.  The libraries are not a standard part of any operating system, but they are easily installed.  See http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/.

2.  NetCDF is also not a standard part of Matlab, but the libraries are easily installed in Matlab.  See:  http://mexcdf.sourceforge.net/.

3. To load a NetCDF file into Matlab, you have several options:
global nctbx_options;
nctbx_options.theAutoNaN = 1;
nctbx_options.theAutoscale = 1;

4.  Another option is to convert data from NetCDF to Matlab directly before doing anything:  http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/15177

5.  Preview data in a regular X-window (without loading):
6.  Ferret is another software package that readily handles NetCDF files.


Sarah Gille, October 2008.