Q&A w/ Experts Panel
Q: “If you are a new data provider, how do you get your data into an HDF-EOS granule, given the bewildering array of utilities and tools available? What is the simplest solution for this?”
A: The recommended solution is to obtain the HCR package, which includes the HDF-EOS and HDF libraries. For populating the required metadata in the granule, obtain the Metadata/Time Toolkit_MDT. The steps would be:
1. Write an HCR and use the tools to turn this into a skeletal HDF-EOS granule. (This step is optional).
2. Use the HDF-EOS library to create a granule. (If starting with a skeletal HDF-EOS file generated from an HCR then plain HDF calls can be used to insert data into the granule ).
3. Use Toolkit_MDT calls to insert metadata into the granule. This requires generation of an MCF in ODL. Metadata_Works is available for doing this. As an alternative, a simple HDF call can be used to attach minimum metadata (in ODL) to an HDF file.
Note: if the data are going to reside in a DAAC, or in an archive that must be interoperable with ECS, you will need to generate collection-level metadata. Metadata_Works is the recommended tool for this.