Simple plots, simple analysis on Solaris?

• To: netcdfgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
• Subject: Simple plots, simple analysis on Solaris?
• From: krs@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Keith Searight)
• Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 13:49:38 -0700 (MST)

Paul Fraley writes:
> This is what I need, maybe you all can help.
> 
> Simple analysis package that:
>       - is *FREE*
>       - runs under Solaris (SunOS may be ok)
>       - reads a generic netCDF file
>       - displays to the user the variables and attributes
>       - let's the user perform simple stats on the variables like
>               stddev, mean, etc
>       - does simple 2D plotting (3D maybe), with 
>       - is point and click (except when you have to specify ranges, etc)
>       - hard copy output would be nice
> 
> What I don't wan't
>       - I don't want to do animation
>       - I don't want something like FERRET where I have to type
>               in commands
> 
> The closest I've come is the ACE/gr package (description in the utilities.txt
> document in netcdf ftp directory at Unidata) which I'm investigating
> right now.  If there is anything else you know of, let me know.
> 
> Basically, I want something that any bonehead (like me ;-) ) can use
> to simple plotting and stats with netCDF data.

You might consider a couple of other alternatives:  

The Freud package from JISAO at Univ. of Washington
(http://tao.atmos.washington.edu:80/freud/) reads netCDF and creates
NCAR graphics displays with a GUI.  It runs on Solaris.

The Envision package (which I helped write) is available from Univ. of
Illinois for SunOS 4.1.3 and uses a GUI.  It works with netCDF,
creates displays with NCSA Collage, NCSA XDataSlice, and IDL, and has
various metadata browsing and editing functions.  See
http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/envision/envision.html.  I'm slowly working
on a Solaris port and enhancements now, but those are not suitable for
release at this point.

If you are working with climate data in netCDF, you might be
interested in looking at CRDtools from NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center
(http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/cdc/cdc_software.html) which has a GUI and
does graphical displays and various types of analysis.  It runs on
Solaris.

Also, the next release of FERRET (v. 4.0) coming out fairly soon will
include a point-and-click interface.

Keith
+----------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Keith Searight, Project Manager        | ksearight@xxxxxxxxxxxx |
| NOAA/CDC Climate Research Data Center  |                        |
| CIRES, University of Colorado          |  Phone: (303) 492-7395 |
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