EPIC I/O Library (EPSLIB)
The EPIC I/O library (is also called EPIC System Library, epslib)
consists of a set of routines which provides data file Input/Output
for the EPIC system for management, display and analysis of oceanographic
or meteorological data. Epslib supports multiple data file formats
transparently, as illustrated in the schematic diagram below:
Applications
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C
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Fortran
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MexEPS
(MATLAB)
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C++
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JAVA
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Application Program Interface
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C
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JAVA
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File Independent Layer
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netCDF
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Classic EPIC
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hpf format
(ASCII)
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other ASCII Format
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CORBA
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File Dependent Layer |
Application programs call a "file independent layer",
which is a set of generic input/output routines to open data
files and read or write data. A lower level "file dependent
layer" of routines actually reads and writes each of
the supported data file formats. In this way, application
programs are independent of the format of the data files on
the disk. Additional formats can be supported by the addition
of a single set of file format dependent routines for the
new data file format, and application programs will transparently
read and write data files in any of the supported formats
without modification.
The EPIC System library supports multiple data file formats.
At present, supported formats include the Unidata netCDF format
and the Classic EPIC format. Read only support is also provided
for generic ASCII file formats and ASCII file formats used
internally at PMEL for processing PROTEUS mooring data (hpf
format). Classic EPIC data files are binary sequential files
designed for observational data with three of the four space-time
axes represented by a single point. NetCDF data files are
multi-dimensional, and are transportable between many different
types of hardware platforms. Additional data file formats
can easily be supported as well.
The EPIC system library consists of a "format independent
layer", which is a set of generic input/output routines
which are called by application programs to open data files,
read or write "attributes", axes and data, and then
close the files. These routines do not directly manipulate
the data files on the disk. Rather, there is a lower level
"format dependent layer" of routines for each of
the supported data formats. These format dependent routines
perform the actual data file manipulations for each of the
supported formats. In this way, application programs are freed
of dependence on the physical structure of the data files
on the disk, additional formats can be supported by the addition
of a single set of format dependent routines for the new data
file format, and application programs will transparently read
and write data files in any of the supported formats without
modification.
EPIC system library routines are callable from Fortran and
from C, and are supported for VAX/VMS and for Unix machines.
PMEL provides very simple example application programs, in
Fortran and C, which can easily be used as templates for more
complex programs. The EPS library and the example programs
are available via anonymous ftp: ftp://ftp.pmel.noaa.gov/eps/.
HOST: |
ftp.pmel.noaa.gov |
DIRECTORY: |
eps/ |
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eps/examples/ |
Related Links
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