Presubmission inquiry: netCDF comparison tool python package #142
Description
Submitting Author: Daniel Kaufman (@danielfromearth)
Package Name: ncompare
One-Line Description of Package: Compare the structure of two netCDF files at the command line
Repository Link (if existing): https://github.com/nasa/ncompare
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Description
- Include a brief paragraph describing what your package does:
This tool ("ncompare") compares the structure of two Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) files at the command line. It facilitates rapid comparisons by generating a formatted display of the matching and non-matching groups, variables, and associated metadata between two NetCDF datasets. The user has the option to colorize the terminal output for ease of viewing. As an option, ncompare can save comparison reports in text and/or comma-separated value (CSV) formats.
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Scope
-
Please indicate which category or categories this package falls under:
Check out our package scope page to learn more about our
scope. (If you are unsure of which category you fit, we suggest you make a pre-submission inquiry):- Data retrieval
- Data extraction
- Data processing/munging
- Data deposition
- Data validation and testing
- Data visualization
- Workflow automation
- Citation management and bibliometrics
- Scientific software wrappers
- Database interoperability
Domain Specific & Community Partnerships
- [ ] Geospatial
- [ ] Education
- [ ] Pangeo
- [x] Unsure/Other (explain below)
- Explain how and why the package falls under these categories (briefly, 1-2 sentences). Please note any areas you are unsure of:
When creating or modifying Network Common Data Form (netCDF) files, there is often a need to evaluate the differences between an original, unmodified, file and a new, modified file, especially for validation and regression testing. ncompare was developed to avoid the ineffective process of manually opening two netCDF files and inspecting their contents to determine whether there are differences in the structure and shapes of groups and variables
- Who is the target audience and what are the scientific applications of this package?
The target audience is anyone who manages the generation, manipulation, or validation of netCDF files. This package can be applied to to these netCDF file tasks in any scientific discipline; although it would be most relevant to applications with large multidimensional datasets, e.g., for comparing climate models, for Earth science data reanalyses, and for remote sensing data.
- Are there other Python packages that accomplish similar things? If so, how does yours differ?
The ncdiff function in the nco (netCDF Operators) library, as well as ncmpidiff and nccmp, compute value
differences, but --- as far as we are aware --- do not have a dedicated function to show structural differences between netCDF4 datasets. Our package, ncompare provides a light-weight Python-based tool for rapid visual comparisons of group & variable structures,
attributes, and chunking.
- Any other questions or issues we should be aware of:
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