R help - Feb 2002 - netCDF

Thomas,

I'm using your package netCDF. Thanks for making
it and for leave it available for public use.

It took me a little while installing it, as my
netcdf library is libnetcdf.a (not libnetcdf)
and my library directory is not /usr/local/lib.
Finally, I was able to install with the following:
1. ln -s libnet.a libnet (in my usr/local/netcdf-3.5.0/lib directory)
2. R CMD INSTALL --configure-args=--with-netCDF=/usr/local/netcdf-3.5.0
netCDF_1.5.tar.gz

Perhaps you might include these hints in the README (which refers
to a Makefile that does not exist) in a future version.

Now, at using it, I've found the following problem:
> npp <- open.netCDF("npp.nc")
> a <- read.netCDF(npp)
Error: Can't handle NC_CHAR yet
> summary.netCDF(npp)
netCDF file npp.nc is open
$types
[1] "single" "single" "single" "single"
"single" "char"   "single"
"single"
[9] "single"

$dims
etc.

Do you plan to release a version supporting NC_CHAR soon?
If not, would it be possible to modify the code so that the
char variables were discarded as currently but the non-char variables
could be read in?

Thanks

Agus

Dr. Agustin Lobo
Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC)
Lluis Sole Sabaris s/n
08028 Barcelona SPAIN
tel 34 93409 5410
fax 34 93411 0012
alobo at ija.csic.es


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>
> Now, at using it, I've found the following problem:
>
> > npp <- open.netCDF("npp.nc")
> > a <- read.netCDF(npp)
> Error: Can't handle NC_CHAR yet
> > summary.netCDF(npp)
> netCDF file npp.nc is open
> $types
> [1] "single" "single" "single"
"single" "single" "char"   "single"
> "single"
> [9] "single"
>
> $dims
> etc.
>
> Do you plan to release a version supporting NC_CHAR soon?
> If not, would it be possible to modify the code so that the
> char variables were discarded as currently but the non-char variables
> could be read in?
I believe you should be able to just change

  case NC_CHAR:
        error("Can't handle NC_CHAR yet");
        break;

in Rreadnetcdf.c, line 234-6 to

  case NC_CHAR:
        warning("Can't handle NC_CHAR yet");
	return R_NilValue;
        break;

which would return NULL instead of the requested data.


	-thomas


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