1.2 The FreeForm ND System

The OPeNDAP FreeForm ND Data Handler comprises a format description mechanism, a set of programs for manipulating data, and the server itself. The software was built using the FreeForm ND library and data objects. These are documented in The FreeForm ND User's Guide.

The OPeNDAP FreeForm ND Data Handler includes the following programs:

dap_ff_handler

The OPeNDAP FreeForm ND Data Handler data handler. This program is run by the OPeNDAP server to handle the parts of any requests that require knowledge specifically about FreeForm. This program is run by the main server 'dispatch' software. That software is described in the Server Installation Guide (http://opendap.org/server/install-html), available on the OPeNDAP Home page.

The OPeNDAP FreeForm ND Data Handler distribution also includes the following FreeForm ND utilities. These are quite useful to write and debug format description files.

newform

This program reformats data according to the input and output specifications in a format description file.

chkform

After writing a format description file, you can use this program to cross-check the description against a data file.

readfile

This program is useful to decode the format used by a binary file. It allows you to try different formats on pieces of a binary file, and see what works.