[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

20001027: DIFAX (fwd)




This message is forwarded from Rich Clark, Chair of the Unidata Users Committee concerning alternatives to Difax.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Friday, October 27, 2000 2:20 PM -0400
From: Richard Clark <address@hidden>
Subject: DIFAX

Greetings:

By now it is common knowledge that Alden is no longer a supplier of
Difax products. This has brought to the forefront the larger question
of the future of Difax, along with a flurry of healthy email about the
role of Difax and the creation of difax-like products by the community.
Let us first recognize that the days of Difax are limited (Alden or not).
I believe that the fading of Difax affords us the opportunity to build
a better mouse trap. Here are some things that have been going on to treat
the symptoms of Difax withdrawal.

Unidata staff, notably Jeff Weber, have been busy compiling
community-generated alternatives that can be employed to create Difax-like
products.  Jeff has added a link to these alternatives that can be
accessed via www.unidata.ucar.edu go to community, then Difax
alternatives <http://unidata.ucar.edu/community.difax.html>. These scripts, some Unidata-produced and others home brew, can be used to create Difax-like products on your home server using the IDD datastream, thus eliminating the need for Difax. But this is only part of the effort.

Many users may be interested in learning of the initiative by the University of Wisconsin (UW), notably Pete Pokrandt, in cooperation with Unidata, to create a full suite of difax-like products (about 100) on a UW server, and make those products available to the user community. Testing has been going on for about a week at Millersville, Lyndon State, and UC San Diego to obtain Difax-like products created at UW, and so far the results have been very positive. Currently, the number of products is limited to ETA and MRF runs, surface maps, and ETA initializations on constant pressure surfaces, but this number is being expanded almost daily. The maps created by UW are of very high quality, and printable on 8.5x11 or 11x17 postscript printers. The topology for product distribution has not been ironed out yet, but Unidata and UW are working on it. It is likely that the products will be piped into the IDD system. A general announcement to the Difax community regarding the availability of these products will be forthcoming when a topology has been worked out.

In addition to the UW/Unidata initiative, the user community can, and
should, participate in generating specialized products that could be distributed to other institutions using the IDD topology. Wisconsin should not be seen as providing one-stop-shopping for the variety of specialized products that the user community may want. Most sites receive the data needed to create the charts and could run the scripts that generate them at their own installation. That would give the community more control over what is produced, enable us to generate products specific to our region, and eliminate a single point of failure in the system by providing alternate IDD sources for the maps. Unidata can assist institutions interested in developing such products with getting those products to the IDD for community-wide distribution.
(Remember that Unidata's business is the management of data and software,
not the generation of products, per se.) Again, if you want to replicate what
Wisconsin is doing, or create specialized products, you can start the process by obtaining scripts using the web link given above.

We have an opportunity to create a suite of valuable products through the
spirit of cooperation that has become the cornerstone of the Unidata/User
Community relationship. Wisconsin is poised to deliver a suite of general products in the near future that, if the test products are any indication, should satisfy the most discerning user. In addition, specific products and replicates of the Wisconsin suite of products can be generated at the local institutions and distributed to others. Many believe this is the appropriate path to follow, but Unidata and the UserComm continue to solicit your
comments through the Difax email list, <address@hidden>

On behalf of the Unidata UserComm, I would like to extend a sincere thanks
to Jeff Weber, Pete Pokrandt, Linda Miller and other members of the Unidata staff, the test site point persons, and the contributors to the Difax, ldm-users, and usercomm email dialogue for their combined efforts. There is still much that can be done, but it appears that we are making progress. Unidata staff will continue to provide updates as necessary. If you
want to participate in the ongoing dialogue regarding difax, please
subscribe to the difax email list (www.unidata.ucar.edu, go to support, then click email lists).

Thanks,
Rich Clark
Unidata UserComm Chair.

---------- End Forwarded Message ----------