HDF Newsletter #16

Apr. 6, 1995(Re-html-ized 5/30/95)

CONTENTS

• Conflict user-definable tag ranges
• HDF3.3r4 patch04
• Release binaries for UNIX machines
• Correction on Mac version number
• Update on HDF User's Guide
• Status of HDF new releases
• New contributions
• Update on Collage and Mosaic
• HDF home page and fill-out forms

We want to thank the users in the Space Radiation Lab of Caltec for bringing a serious problem to our attention.

On page 1.2 of HDF Specifications and Developer's Guide, version 3.2 Sept. 1993 the following range of tags is defined:

32768 -- 64999 user-definable

However, on page 4.1 of HDF Specifications (for HDF version 3.1) , March 1989 a different range is defined:

Tags in the range 16,000-32,000 are user-definable.

This means the user-definable tag range for HDF3.2 and later verions conflicts with the tag ranges specified previously. The new library (HDF3.2 or later versions) interprets tags in 16384 -- 32767 as HDF special elements, based on the new Specification. If users defined their own private tags within the range 16,000-32,000, new libraries (HDF3.2 or later versions) will interpret those tags as HDF special elements based on the new Specification, and unpredictable results may happen.

We are sending this message to ask you:

1. to define private tags in the range 32768 -- 64999 if you need them;

2. to contact us if you have defined your private tags in the range 16000 -- 32000 in your old hdf files. We will work with you to convert those tags into the new range.

We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you.

Patch4 contains several bugs fixes and changes. The following bugs have been fixed:

• After being called too many times with non-HDF files, Hishdf failed.
• Fortran function sfiscvar() was missing on some platforms.
• SDwritedata sometimes wrote out the incorrect number of bytes for
odd dimension sizes if the first dimension was UNLIMITED.
• The file name hdf/MAKE.IRIS4 was missleading. It has been renamed as hdf/MAKE.IRIX.
• Minor fixes.

The patch files are in:

ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:/HDF/HDF3.3r4/patches/

and the patched source code is in
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:/HDF/HDF3.3r4/patches/patchedsrc/.

A bin/ subdirectory has been added in ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:/HDF/HDF3.3r4/ for executable code of HDF libraries and utilities on the following UNIX systems: SunOS_4.1.2, Solaris 2.3(SunOS_5.3), HPUX, AIX(no Fortran), OSF(no Fortran), C90, IRIX_5.3, IRIX_6.0.1_32 (32-bit mode), and IRIX_6.0.1(64-bit mode, hdf/ part only). Binaries for other platforms will be added later.

The hdf3.3r4p2.*.hqx files in ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:/HDF/HDF3.3r4/hqx/ directory were stuffed with wrong directory names. After being unstuffed, they would create directory HDF3.3r5/ which should be HDF3.3r4.

To correct the mistake, the hdf3.3r4p2.*.hqx files have been replaced by HDF3.3r4p2.*.hqx on the ftp server.

The drafts of chapters RIS8, RIS24, Palette, Vdata, Vgroup, and SD of HDF User's Guide are completed and are available on the NCSA ftp server. They are in:

/HDF/Documentation/HDF3.3/Users_Guide/HDF3.3_drafts/.

Each chapter is stored in two formats:

(1) postscript, and
(2) mif (framemaker interchange format).

More chapters will be added to that directory as soon as they are completed. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

HDF4.0:

• The multi-file annotation interface is completed.
• The multi-file raster interface is currently being implemented.

• Data object compression with multiple compression algorithms is completed.
• JPEG library has been separated from main HDF library source and has been upgraded to use the Independent JPEG Group V5b code.
• Support for n-bit integer data within the SDS interface is completed.
• Support for parallel I/O on the Thinking Machines' CM-5 is completed.
• Limited support for reading CDF files is completed.

We plan to have a beta release ready in June. (We have dropped our plan to add chunking support in HDF4.0. We now plan to add this in a later version.)

HDF3.3:

Originally we planned to have a new release by the middle of April. However, since HDF4.0 is very close to the beta test, it seems there is no need for HDF3.3r5. We decided to not do a new release for HDF3.3 so that we can concentrate our efforts on HDF4.0. We will patch HDF3.3r4 as needed.

HDF3.3r4 on the Power PC (C interfaces)

James L. Anderson of Idaho National Engineering Laboratory contributed his port of HDF3.3r4 to Power PC. His contribution is in /HDF/contrib/HDF3.3r4.PPC/.

DataScope for PPC

Tim Snider, Tim_Snider@Mindlink.bc.ca, ported the NCSA DataScope and HDF to the Power PC. His contribution is in /HDF/contrib/DataScope.PPC/.

Absoft Fortran version of HDF3.3r4

Robert A Managan of Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory compiled HDF3.3r4 with Absoft's MacFortran successfully. He contributed to us the changes he made in Makefile files and HDF programs. The contribution is in /HDF/contrib/HDF3.3r4.Absoft/.

Reformat

Xinjian Lu, a visitor in CS department of UIUC added conversion functions to the NCSA Reformat and donated his new version to us. Reformat now can convert HDF raster images into GIF, TIFF, XWD and SunRaster formats. Currently this augmentation is only in the text version. The contribution is in /HDF/contrib/NCSA/Reformat/.

Collage HDF browser

Features available in the next release of Collage:

• After opening an HDF file, users will be able to view different data sets within the file as well as the attributes associated with each data set.
• Users will be able to view attributes of data sets as they currently view the data sets themselves by clicking the toggle buttons.

There will be enhancements to Collage's visualization and collaborative aspects as well.

Mosaic HDF browser

Bug fix: Number type mistakes in displaying integer attribute values, thanks to Frank Chen of GSFC, NASA.

Features available in the next release of Mosaic:

• for SDS, the browser will now display followed by in parentheses.
• for 'old-style' SDS (DFSDxxxx SDS) the browser will now displaay "Data-set-" followed by in parentheses.

The binary code for HP9000, SGI and SUN SPARC for the new versions of Mosaic can be found on HDF anonymous ftp server, hdf.ncsa.uiuc.edu or 141.142.21.14, in subdirectory:

/pub/outgoing/wallace/mosaic-fix.

inline JPEG images mailto: URL much improved news reading functionality PostScript print option includes headers (URL and page #) CCI POST functionality