| 13.0 |
The NetCDF-4 Data Model
The netCDF-4 data model adds Groups and User-Defined Types to the classic netCDF data model, but backward compatibility is preserved. |
| 13.1 |
NetCDF-4 Features
Features of netCDF-4 address netCDF-3 limitations. |
| 13.2 |
Compatibility of NetCDF-4
NetCDF-4 provides both format and API compatibility with netCDF-3. |
| 13.3 |
Unicode Names
Use of Unicode in names provides better support for international uses. |
| 13.4 |
Groups
Groups provide a scope for names and a scalable way to organize data objects. |
| 13.5 |
Multiple Unlimited Dimensions
Multiple unlimited dimensions let variables grow along multiple axes. |
| 13.6 |
Compound Types
Compound types provide a portable version of C structs. |
| 13.7 |
Enumerations
Enumerations can provide named flag values for improving self-description |
| 13.8 |
Variable-Length Types
Variable-Length types provide support for ragged arrays. |
| 13.9 |
NetCDF-4 Performance Improvements
NetCDF-4 uses HDF5 for its storage layer, which provides several ways to improve performance, even for netCDF-3 programs. |
| 13.10 |
Chunking
Chunked storage can provide significant performance benefits |
| 13.11 |
Compression
Per-variable compression means variables may be compressed independently. |
| 13.12 |
Ample Variable Sizes
Most constraints on variable size are eliminated in netCDF-4. |
| 13.13 |
Efficient Dynamic Schema Changes
In netCDF-4, it is possible to efficiently add new metadata |
| 13.14 |
Parallel I/O
Parallel I/O exploits parallel file systems on high-performance computing platforms. |
| 13.15 |
Reader Makes Right Conversions
The use of a "reader makes right" approach avoids many data conversions. |
| 13.16 |
NetCDF-4 Status
NetCDF-4.0 was released in June 2008. NetCDF-4.1.1 was released in April 2010. |