netcdf-c/docs/cdl.dox

/**
\file 
Documentation for Common Data Language

\page CDL 

\section cdl_syntax CDL Syntax

Below is an example of CDL, describing a netCDF dataset with several
named dimensions (lat, lon, time), variables (z, t, p, rh, lat, lon,
time), variable attributes (units, _FillValue, valid_range), and some
data.

\code
     netcdf foo { // example netCDF specification in CDL
     
     dimensions:
     lat = 10, lon = 5, time = unlimited;
     
     variables:
       int     lat(lat), lon(lon), time(time);
       float   z(time,lat,lon), t(time,lat,lon);
       double  p(time,lat,lon);
       int     rh(time,lat,lon);
     
       char lat:units = "degrees_north";
       lon:units = "degrees_east";
       time:units = "seconds";
       z:units = "meters";
       float z:valid_range = 0., 5000.;
       double p:_FillValue = -9999.;
       rh:_FillValue = -1;
     
     data:
       lat   = 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90;
       lon   = -140, -118, -96, -84, -52;
     }
\endcode

All CDL statements are terminated by a semicolon. Spaces, tabs, and
newlines can be used freely for readability. Comments may follow the
double slash characters '//' on any line.

A CDL description for a classic model file consists of three optional
parts: dimensions, variables, and data. The variable part may contain
variable declarations and attribute assignments. For the enhanced
model supported by netCDF-4, a CDL decription may also includes
groups, subgroups, and user-defined types.

A dimension is used to define the shape of one or more of the
multidimensional variables described by the CDL description. A
dimension has a name and a length. At most one dimension in a classic
CDL description can have the unlimited length, which means a variable
using this dimension can grow to any length (like a record number in a
file). Any number of dimensions can be declared of unlimited length in
CDL for an enhanced model file.

A variable represents a multidimensional array of values of the same
type. A variable has a name, a data type, and a shape described by its
list of dimensions. Each variable may also have associated attributes
(see below) as well as data values. The name, data type, and shape of
a variable are specified by its declaration in the variable section of
a CDL description. A variable may have the same name as a dimension;
by convention such a variable contains coordinates of the dimension it
names.

An attribute contains information about a variable or about the whole
netCDF dataset or containing group. Attributes may be used to specify
such properties as units, special values, maximum and minimum valid
values, and packing parameters. Attribute information is represented
by single values or one-dimensional arrays of values. For example,
“units” might be an attribute represented by a string such as
“celsius”. An attribute has an associated variable, a name, a data
type, a length, and a value. In contrast to variables that are
intended for data, attributes are intended for ancillary data or
metadata (data about data).

In CDL, an attribute is designated by a data type, a
variable, and an attribute name. The variable and the
attribute name are separated by a colon (':').  If present,
the data type precedes the variable name.  It is possible to
assign global attributes to the netCDF dataset as a whole by
omitting the variable name and beginning the attribute name
with a colon (':'). The data type of an attribute in CDL, if
not explicitly specified, is derived from the type of the
value assigned to it, with one exception.  If the value is a
string, then the inferred type is char, not string.  If it
is desired to have a string typed attribute, this must be
stated explicitly.

The length of an attribute is the number of data values or
the number of characters in the character string assigned to
it if the type is char. Multiple values are assigned to
non-character attributes by separating the values with
commas (','). All values assigned to an attribute must be of
the same type. In the netCDF-4 enhanced model, attributes
may be declared to be of user-defined type, like variables.

In CDL, just as for netCDF, the names of dimensions, variables and
attributes (and, in netCDF-4 files, groups, user-defined types,
compound member names, and enumeration symbols) consist of arbitrary
sequences of alphanumeric characters, underscore '_', period '.', plus
'+', hyphen '-', or at sign '@', but beginning with a letter or
underscore. However names commencing with underscore are reserved for
system use. Case is significant in netCDF names. A zero-length name is
not allowed. Some widely used conventions restrict names to only
alphanumeric characters or underscores. Names that have trailing space
characters are also not permitted.

Beginning with versions 3.6.3 and 4.0, names may also include UTF-8
encoded Unicode characters as well as other special characters, except
for the character '/', which may not appear in a name (because it is
reserved for path names of nested groups). In CDL, most special
characters are escaped with a backslash '\' character, but that
character is not actually part of the netCDF name. The special
characters that do not need to be escaped in CDL names are underscore
'_', period '.', plus '+', hyphen '-', or at sign '@'. For the formal
specification of CDL name syntax See Format. Note that by using
special characters in names, you may make your data not compliant with
conventions that have more stringent requirements on valid names for
netCDF components, for example the CF Conventions.

The names for the primitive data types are reserved words in CDL, so
names of variables, dimensions, and attributes must not be primitive
type names.

The optional data section of a CDL description is where netCDF
variables may be initialized. The syntax of an initialization is
simple:

\code
     variable = value_1, value_2, ...;
\endcode

The comma-delimited list of constants may be separated by spaces,
tabs, and newlines. For multidimensional arrays, the last dimension
varies fastest. Thus, row-order rather than column order is used for
matrices. If fewer values are supplied than are needed to fill a
variable, it is extended with the fill value. The types of constants
need not match the type declared for a variable; coercions are done to
convert integers to floating point, for example. All meaningful type
conversions among primitive types are supported.

A special notation for fill values is supported: the ‘_’ character
designates a fill value for variables.

\section cdl_data_types CDL Data Types

The CDL primitive data types for the classic model are:
- char Characters.
- byte Eight-bit integers.
- short 16-bit signed integers.
- int 32-bit signed integers.
- long (Deprecated, synonymous with int)
- float IEEE single-precision floating point (32 bits).
- real (Synonymous with float).
- double IEEE double-precision floating point (64 bits). 

NetCDF-4 supports the additional primitive types:
- ubyte Unsigned eight-bit integers.
- ushort Unsigned 16-bit integers.
- uint Unsigned 32-bit integers.
- int64 64-bit singed integers.
- uint64 Unsigned 64-bit singed integers.
- string Variable-length string of characters 

Except for the added data-type byte, CDL supports the same primitive
data types as C. For backward compatibility, in declarations primitive
type names may be specified in either upper or lower case.

The byte type differs from the char type in that it is intended for
numeric data, and the zero byte has no special significance, as it may
for character data. The short type holds values between -32768 and
32767. The ushort type holds values between 0 and 65536. The int type
can hold values between -2147483648 and 2147483647. The uint type
holds values between 0 and 4294967296. The int64 type can hold values
between -9223372036854775808 and 9223372036854775807. The uint64 type
can hold values between 0 and 18446744073709551616.

The float type can hold values between about -3.4+38 and 3.4+38, with
external representation as 32-bit IEEE normalized single-precision
floating-point numbers. The double type can hold values between about
-1.7+308 and 1.7+308, with external representation as 64-bit IEEE
standard normalized double-precision, floating-point numbers. The
string type holds variable length strings.

\section cdl_notations_for_data_constants CDL Notation for Data Constants

This section describes the CDL notation for constants.

Attributes are initialized in the variables section of a CDL
description by providing a list of constants that determines the
attribute's length and type (if primitive and not explicitly
declared). CDL defines a syntax for constant values that permits
distinguishing among different netCDF primitive types. The syntax for
CDL constants is similar to C syntax, with type suffixes appended to
bytes, shorts, and floats to distinguish them from ints and doubles.

A byte constant is represented by a single character or multiple
character escape sequence enclosed in single quotes. For example:

\code
     'a'     // ASCII a
     '\0'    // a zero byte
     '\n'    // ASCII newline character
     '\33'   // ASCII escape character (33 octal)
     '\x2b'  // ASCII plus (2b hex)
     '\376'  // 377 octal = -127 (or 254) decimal
\endcode

Character constants are enclosed in double quotes. A character array
may be represented as a string enclosed in double quotes. Multiple
strings are concatenated into a single array of characters, permitting
long character arrays to appear on multiple lines. To support multiple
variable-length string values, a conventional delimiter such as ','
may be used, but interpretation of any such convention for a string
delimiter must be implemented in software above the netCDF library
layer. The usual escape conventions for C strings are honored. For
example:

\code
     "a"            // ASCII 'a'
     "Two\nlines\n" // a 10-character string with two embedded newlines
     "a bell:\007"  // a string containing an ASCII bell
     "ab","cde"     // the same as "abcde"
\endcode

The form of a short constant is an integer constant with an 's' or 'S'
appended. If a short constant begins with '0', it is interpreted as
octal. When it begins with '0x', it is interpreted as a hexadecimal
constant. For example:

\code
     2s      // a short 2
     0123s   // octal
     0x7ffs  // hexadecimal
\endcode

The form of an int constant is an ordinary integer constant. If an int
constant begins with '0', it is interpreted as octal. When it begins
with '0x', it is interpreted as a hexadecimal constant. Examples of
valid int constants include:

\code
     -2
     0123            // octal
     0x7ff           // hexadecimal
     1234567890L     // deprecated, uses old long suffix
\endcode

The float type is appropriate for representing data with about seven
significant digits of precision. The form of a float constant is the
same as a C floating-point constant with an 'f' or 'F' appended. A
decimal point is required in a CDL float to distinguish it from an
integer. For example, the following are all acceptable float
constants:

\code
     -2.0f
     3.14159265358979f       // will be truncated to less precision
     1.f
     .1f
\endcode

The double type is appropriate for representing floating-point data
with about 16 significant digits of precision. The form of a double
constant is the same as a C floating-point constant. An optional 'd'
or 'D' may be appended. A decimal point is required in a CDL double to
distinguish it from an integer. For example, the following are all
acceptable double constants:

\code
     -2.0
     3.141592653589793
     1.0e-20
     1.d
\endcode

*/