ANNOUNCE: ncks -- netCDF Kitchen Sink version 3.3

• To: netcdfgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (netCDF Mailing Group)
• Subject: ANNOUNCE: ncks -- netCDF Kitchen Sink version 3.3
• From: zender@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Charlie Zender)
• Date: Thu, 6 Jul 1995 16:28:02 -0600 (MDT)

************************************************************************
                    THIS IS UNSUPPORTED SOFTWARE
    but documented bug reports and enhancements are very welcome.
************************************************************************

ncks -- netCDF Kitchen Sink version 3.3

Purpose:
ncks combines a generic netCDF printer (like a formatted ncdump(1)),
extractor (like ncextr), hyperslabber (the nccut specification), and
combiner (partial ncpaste implementation) into one command. 
ncks and ncrename (available from the same FTP site) are intended
to perform many common tasks for the rapid manipulation and analysis
of netCDF data. 

New Features include:

o hyperslabs may now be specified with Fortran indexing conventions
o ncks output may be "glued" or "appended" to an existing netCDF file 
  (rudimentary conformal dimension implementation of ncpaste). 
  This allows you to add all or some of one file to another.
o all major bugs in the hyperslabber from v3.1 are fixed
o -h now means the same as in ncdump(1), while -H prints only the data

Example: C-style printed output with units (-u option) looks like....

T: type = float, attributes = 3, dimensions = 4, id = 35
T attribute 0: name = units, type = char, length = 6, value = Kelvin
T attribute 1: name = levels, type = char, length = 10, value = midpoints
T attribute 2: name = time_rep, type = char, length = 14, value = instantaneous
T dimension 0 is a coordinate: name = time, type = float, size = 1
T dimension 1 is a coordinate: name = lat, type = float, size = 64
T dimension 2 is a coordinate: name = lev, type = float, size = 18
T dimension 3 is a coordinate: name = lon, type = float, size = 128
T size is 1*64*18*128*sizeof(float) = 147456*4 = 589824 bytes

time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[107]=300.938 T[0]=298.853 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[108]=303.75 T[1]=298.627 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[109]=306.562 T[2]=297.999 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[110]=309.375 T[3]=297.552 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[111]=312.188 T[4]=297.478 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[112]=315 T[5]=297.214 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[113]=317.812 T[6]=296.583 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[114]=320.625 T[7]=296.091 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[115]=323.438 T[8]=295.952 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[116]=326.25 T[9]=295.76 Kelvin
time[0]=92 lat[42]=29.3013 lev[17]=992.528 lon[117]=329.062 T[10]=295.224 Kelvin

Requirements:
* netCDF (must be installed on your system)

Obtaining the source:
Anonymous FTP to ftp.cgd.ucar.edu. Look in the directory
pub/zender and grab the compressed tar file ncks-3.3.tar.gz
which contains the entire source tree.

Files:
ncks-3.3.tar.gz                 the entire source tree:
./ncks-3.3/README.ncks          this file
./ncks-3.3/ncks.1               ncks man page
./ncks-3.3/ncks.c               ncks source code
./ncks-3.3/ncks.h               ncks include file
./ncks-3.3/ncks.nc              sample input file to play around with

Installation:
The compressed tarfile ncks-3.3.tar.gz must be uncompressed (with GNU
gunzip) and then untarred (tar -xvf ncks-3.3.tar).  
Install ncks.1 in your man/man1 directory (and view with "man
ncks"), or view it directory with "nroff -man ncks.1 | less".

To compile ncks.c, run the sample compile command below after editing it
to suit your system. The root of your netCDF installation source tree 
should replace the $NETCDF_ROOT variable, e.g.,
"setenv NETCDF_ROOT /opt/netcdf2.3.2"
ncks has been compiled and haphazardly tested for 
SunOS 4.1.3, Solaris 2.3 and 2.4, IRIX, AIX, and UNICOS.

gcc -o ncks -I$NETCDF_ROOT/include ncks.c -L$NETCDF_ROOT/lib -lnetcdf
acc -o ncks -I$NETCDF_ROOT/include ncks.c -L$NETCDF_ROOT/lib -lnetcdf
cc -o ncks -I$NETCDF_ROOT/include ncks.c -L$NETCDF_ROOT/lib -lnetcdf

Good luck,
cz
--
Charlie Zender                
NCAR/CGD/CMS Rm ML-320        
P.O. Box 3000                 zender@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boulder CO 80307-3000         http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cms/zender

-- 
Charlie Zender                Tel: (303) 497-1612 
NCAR/CGD/CMS Rm ML-320        FAX: (303) 497-1324
P.O. Box 3000                 zender@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boulder CO 80307-3000         http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cms/zender