NASA Earth Science HDF4 File Layout Maps for Data Access Assessment

A sampling of Hierarchical Data Format version 4 (HDF4) data archived across eight NASA Earth Science Data Centers. The collection was created for a collaborative study by The HDF Group, GES-DISC, and NSIDC to assess file byte layouts and prototype layout maps. The resulting maps enable file reading without using the HDF API.

Use Cases

• Analyze the internal byte layout of sampled HDF4 files to prototype format-independent data readers.
• Assess the complexity and structure of HDF4 data types archived at NASA ESDCs for preservation planning.
• Use the generated markup-language-based layout maps to read HDF4 files without the standard HDF application programming interface.
• Study the table summarizing assessment results to understand variations in HDF4 file structures across different Earth science data products.

Strengths

• Covers each type of HDF4 data archived at eight major NASA Earth Science Data Centers.
• Includes a summary table of assessment results for comparative analysis.

Limitations

• The sample size and specific row count for the data sampling are unknown.
• Documentation was provided solely by the Principal Investigators and was not thoroughly reviewed or edited by NSIDC, which may limit support.

Provenance

Source

Eight NASA Earth Science Data Centers (ESDCs), via a collaborative study with The HDF Group, GES-DISC, and NSIDC.

Collection Method

Data were sampled from archived HDF4 products for a study assessing complex internal byte layouts.