Difference between revisions of "Tools"

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== NetCDF tools ==
== NetCDF Format==
 
ROMS input and output files are self-describing, machine independent [http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/ NetCDF] files.  These files can be accessed with a wide variety of tools.  The history and averages files are 100% Compliant with the [http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/ CF 1.0 Metadata Standard] for gridded data.
 
There are a variety of tools you can use for creating, analyzing, and visualizing ROMS output.
 
* [http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/ncview_home_page.html NcVIEW]: A general non-ROMS specific NetCDF viewer, good for quick exploration and animation.  Plots in coordinate index space only, however.


ROMS input and output files are self-describing, machine independent [http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/ NetCDF] files.  The history and averages files are 100% Compliant with the [http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/ CF 1.0 Metadata Standard] for gridded data. These files can be accessed with a [http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/software.html wide variety of software tools].  But some of our favorite tools are listed below.


== Python ==
== Python ==
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== Other Tools ==
== Other Tools ==
* [http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/ncview_home_page.html NcVIEW]: A general non-ROMS specific NetCDF viewer, good for quick exploration and animation.  Plots in coordinate index space only, however.
* The [http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/idv/ Integrated Data Viewer (IDV)]: A GUI for visualizing a variety of file formats, including CF-Compliant NetCDF.  A 100% Java application that uses the NetCDF-Java library.
* The [http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/idv/ Integrated Data Viewer (IDV)]: A GUI for visualizing a variety of file formats, including CF-Compliant NetCDF.  A 100% Java application that uses the NetCDF-Java library.

Revision as of 22:50, 6 November 2006

NetCDF Format

ROMS input and output files are self-describing, machine independent NetCDF files. The history and averages files are 100% Compliant with the CF 1.0 Metadata Standard for gridded data. These files can be accessed with a wide variety of software tools. But some of our favorite tools are listed below.

Python

Python is a scripting language that is easy to learn and use (like MATLAB), is object-oriented and very powerful, and is rapidly becoming a standard language for scientific scripting. Many scientists are developing packages and toolboxes in python, for example www-pcmdi.llnl.gov/software-portal/cdat, www.pyngl.ucar.edu, and countless other, smaller packages. Many utilities are being developed with python hooks build in (like VTK, a 3D visualization library). Python has all of the basic tools required for working with numerical model data, in particular NetCDF support. Python can also be used as a wrapper for C and FORTRAN code, so you can have the speed of FORTRAN for number crunching with the ease of a high level language for data I/O. Finally, python is free and open source, and is available on all major computer platforms.

A good place to learn about scientific computing using Python is http://www.scipy.org. You will need a few packages installed in order to work with ROMS output in Python:


You can find a number of scripts designed to work explicitly with ROMS files at http://pong.tamu.edu/svn/python/trunk/. You can either browse online, or download the entire reposatory with [subversion (http://subversion.tigris.org/)]. Check out the repository with:

$ svn co http://pong.tamu.edu/svn/python/trunk/ python-roms

Install each of the packages by going to the top of the directory, say the 'roms' package for the basic ROMS tools by

$ cd python-roms/roms

$ python setup.py build

$ sudo python setup.py install

MATLAB

  • RSLICE: A GUI specifically for ROMS files. Works with ROMS files served via OpenDAP also.
  • ROMS_TOOLS: GUI and tools specifically for ROMS output files (ROMS-AGRIF).

Other Tools

  • NcVIEW: A general non-ROMS specific NetCDF viewer, good for quick exploration and animation. Plots in coordinate index space only, however.
  • The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV): A GUI for visualizing a variety of file formats, including CF-Compliant NetCDF. A 100% Java application that uses the NetCDF-Java library.