netCDF browser applets?

• To: dhunt@xxxxxxxx
• Subject: netCDF browser applets?
• From: Russ Rew <russ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 13:44:46 -0600

Hi Doug,

In a phone message, you asked about applets for browsing netCDF files.
(I tried to leave a reply message, but your phone mailbox was not
accepting messages, because it's full.)

I don't know of any applets just for browsing netCDF files, but there
are other ways to provide similar functionality.  The applet model is
not necessarily the best way to do this, partly because applet
security makes it difficult to read files that aren't on the HTTP
server, and if you're going to do that, you might be better off using
another approach such as servlets, JSP, or WebStart.  I especially
like WebStart, which will be built into J2SE 1.4, but is already
available as an add-on for most Java platforms.  

To see an advanced web interface to netCDF data that uses some applets
and other technology, look at 

  http://web1.cdc.noaa.gov/lasServers/lasAg/

for example.  If you want details on how this was done, ask Roland
Schweitzer at NOAA/CDC or Steve Hankin at NOAA/PMEL.  There are papers
about it in the last AMS IIPS conference proceedings.  I'm pretty sure
they are using the C or C++ interface to the netCDF files on the
back end and Java to provide the interface.

--Russ