Re: [netcdfgroup] filename suffix for netCDF-4 files?

• To: "Lynnes, Christopher S. (GSFC-6102)" <christopher.s.lynnes@xxxxxxxx>
• Subject: Re: [netcdfgroup] filename suffix for netCDF-4 files?
• From: Russ Rew <russ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:24:03 -0600

Hi Chris,

> What is the community convention for filename suffix for netCDF-4 files:  .nc
> , .nc4, .h5?

We encourage just using ".nc", but as you've indicated, it's only a
convention.  The FAQ says:

  Why aren't different extensions used for the different formats, for
  example ".nc3" and ".nc4"?

  The file extension used for netCDF files is purely a convention. The
  netCDF libraries don't use the file extension. A user can currently
  create a netCDF file with any extension, even one not consistent with
  the format of the file.

  The ncgen utility uses ".nc" as a default extension for output, but
  this can be overridden using the "-o" option to specify the name for
  the output file. Recent versions of ncgen also have a "-k" option to
  specify what kind of output file is desired, selecting any of the 4
  format variants, using either a numeric code or a text string. Most
  other netCDF client software pays no attention to the file extension,
  so using more explicit extensions by convention has no significant
  drawbacks, except possibly causing confusion about format differences
  that may not be important.

--Russ

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: [netcdfgroup] filename suffix for netCDF-4 files?
    • From: Lynnes, Christopher S. (GSFC-6102)

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  • [netcdfgroup] filename suffix for netCDF-4 files?
    • From: Lynnes, Christopher S. (GSFC-6102)