The HDF I/O library consists of C and FORTRAN-77 routines for accessing objects and associated information. Although there is some overlap among object types, in most cases an API operates on data of only one type. Therefore, you need only familiarize yourself with the APIs specific to your needs to access data in an HDF file.
The following lists include all of the currently available HDF interfaces and the data that each interface supports.
The new multifile interfaces are:
SD API |
Stores, manages and retrieves multidimensional arrays of character or numeric data, along with their dimensions and attributes, in more than one file. It is described in Chapter 3, Scientific Data Sets (SD API). | ||
VS API |
Stores, manages and retrieves multivariate data stored as records in a table. It is described in Chapter 4, Vdatas (VS API). | ||
V API |
Creates groups of any primary HDF data structures. It is described in Chapter 5, Vgroups (V API). | ||
GR API |
Stores, manages and retrieves raster images, their dimensions and palettes in more than one file. It can also manipulate unattached palettes in more than one file. It is described in Chapter 8, General Raster Images (GR API). | ||
AN API |
Stores, manages and retrieves text used to describe a file or any of the data structures contained in the file. This interface can operate on several files at once. It is described in Chapter 10, Annotations (AN API). |
The old single-file interfaces are:
DFR8 API |
Stores, manages and retrieves 8-bit raster images, with their dimensions and palettes in one file. It is described in Chapter 6, 8-Bit Raster Images (DFR8 API). | ||
DF24 API |
Stores, manages and retrieves 24-bit images and their dimensions in one file. It is described in Chapter 7, 24-bit Raster Images (DF24 API). | ||
DFP API |
Stores and retrieves 8-bit palettes in one file. It is described in Chapter 9, Palettes (DFP API). | ||
DFAN API |
Stores, manages and retrieves text strings used to describe a file or any of the data structures contained in the file. This interface only operates on one file at a time. It is described in Chapter 11, Single-file Annotations (DFAN API). | ||
DFSD API |
Stores, manages and retrieves multidimensional arrays of integer or floating-point data, along with their dimensions and attributes, in one file. It is described in Chapter 12, Single-File Scientific Data Sets (DFSD API). |
As these interfaces are the tools used to read and write HDF files, they are the primary focus of this manual.
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