diff --git a/doc/html/Datatypes.html b/doc/html/Datatypes.html index bc4a9e0e0d..71cf733f7d 100644 --- a/doc/html/Datatypes.html +++ b/doc/html/Datatypes.html @@ -2431,13 +2431,13 @@ in the HDF5 distribution.

10. Sharing Datatypes among Datasets

-

If a file has lots of datasets which have a common datatype +

If a file has lots of datasets which have a common datatype, then the file could be made smaller by having all the datasets share a single datatype. Instead of storing a copy of the datatype in each dataset object header, a single datatype is stored and the object headers point to it. The space savings is - probably only significant for datasets with a compound datatype - since the simple datatypes can be described with just a few + probably only significant for datasets with a compound datatype, + since the atomic datatypes can be described with just a few bytes anyway.

To create a bunch of datasets that share a single datatype diff --git a/doc/html/H5.intro.html b/doc/html/H5.intro.html index 9d9afb123c..4f09c3ae57 100644 --- a/doc/html/H5.intro.html +++ b/doc/html/H5.intro.html @@ -390,7 +390,13 @@ Atomic datatypes can also be system-specific, or NATIVE, and

See Datatypes in the HDF User’s Guide for further information. -

A compound datatype is one in which a collection of simple datatypes are represented as a single unit, similar to a struct in C. The parts of a compound datatype are called members. The members of a compound datatype may be of any datatype, including another compound datatype. It is possible to read members from a compound type without reading the whole type. +

A compound datatype is one in which a +collection of several datatypes are represented as a single unit, +a compound datatype, similar to a struct in C. +The parts of a compound datatype are called members. +The members of a compound datatype may be of any datatype, +including another compound datatype. It is possible to read members +from a compound type without reading the whole type.

Named datatypes. Normally each dataset has its own datatype, but sometimes we may want to share a datatype among several datasets. This can be done using a named datatype. A named datatype is stored in the file independently of any dataset, and referenced by all datasets that have that datatype. Named datatypes may have an associated attributes list. See Datatypes in the HDF User’s Guide for further information.