[Esip-documentation] cdm_data_type defintion

[Mike McCann]

> I think ERDDAP may be the only software which actually uses this attribute in a very specific, programmatic way...

The STOQS software also depends on proper values in the featureType attribute (though is sometimes able to infer the appropriate featureType from cdm_data_type attribute in legacy data sets).

I concur that "CF might/should expand the use of featureType", and make sure the semantics align with other vocabularies.

-Mike

--
Mike McCann
Software Engineer
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On Feb 19, 2015, at 10:33 AM, Bob Simons - NOAA Federal via Esip-documentation <esip-documentation at lists.esipfed.org> wrote:

> I think cdm_data_type is a troubled attribute. 
> Unidata has released several different lists of CDM data types over the years as CDM progressed. Those all still exist at various URLs on the web and in Unidata code (some of it obsolete).
> CF has a new(er), closely related featureType attribute
> http://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-conventions/cf-conventions-1.6/build/cf-conventions.html#idp6280704
> but it is unfortunately just for Discrete Sampling Geometry types.
> 
> I think ACDD 1.3 chose to avoid dealing with this in hopes that CF will solve the problem. E.g., CF might/should expand the use of featureType.
> 
> I think ERDDAP may be the only software which actually uses this attribute in a very specific, programmatic way, which is vocabulary which is a combo of 
> * the values that CF's featureType uses (from just before CF created the featureType attribute), e.g., TimeSeries.
> * a few other Unidata CDM types, e.g., Grid
> * "Other"
> http://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/download/setupDatasetsXml.html#cdm_data_type
> 
> I'm sorry there isn't a better answer.
> 
> 
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 9:51 AM, Armstrong, Edward M (398G) via Esip-documentation <esip-documentation at lists.esipfed.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi folks 
> 
> I’ve come across a request for the proper usage of the ACDD attribute cdm_data_type.  This has been retained in  ver 1.3.   But what are the examples of its implementation ? According to:
> 
> http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/catalog/InvCatalogSpec.html#dataType
> 
> attribute examples could “Grid” ,“Swath”, “Point" etc.  But some popular implementation embedded in existing examples use a lowercase syntax such as “swath”
> 
> Which is the proper implementation, upper vs lowercase ?  Or perhaps this is still nebulous.  I did find this note from Bob Simmons in our recent ACCD v1.3 discussion on a google doc spreadsheet (but I don’t remember the consensus  on it):
> 
> cdm_data_type should not be tied to 
> http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/catalog/InvCatalogSpec.html#dataType
> which is out-of-date and obsolete
> 
> Any insight appreciated.
> 
> -ed
> 
> Ed Armstrong
> JPL Physical Oceanography DAAC
> 818 519-7607
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> -- 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Bob Simons
> IT Specialist
> Environmental Research Division
> NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center 
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