Help for the DODS World Wide Web Query Builder

Data URL

This is the URL that specifies the data. You may edit this by hand adding a DODS constraint expression to the end of the URL (see the DODS user's guide for information on constraint expressions) or by clicking on one or more of the variables listed under `Data variables'.

Disposition

The Get ASCII button retrieves data encoded in ASCII from the server. These data are displayed in a new browser window; use the File menu of that window to save the data. The presentation format is designed to be simple to import into a spreadsheet program.

The Get Binary button is used to retrieve a binary DODS data object from the server. Read/decode this object using one of the DODS client programs such as geturl or loaddods (Note: loaddods cannot currently decode these files, but a new version to be released soon will be able to).

The button labeled `Send to Program' causes the data to be sent directly to the loaddods extension command (currently this works only for Matlab but we will support IDL soon). Read the documentation for that DODS client to properly configure it. Using this button, you may import data values directly into Matlab. Be aware that some limitations exist on the types of data that you may import and this interface does not try to enforce those limitations (because they don't apply to the other disposition options). Specifically, arrays must be no more than two dimensions when working with Matlab 4. To read data from an array with more than two dimension, project one or more dimensions so that they contain only a single element. For example, given a the dimensional array U a constraint that would let you read this into Matlab would be: U[0:0][0:9][0:9]. Note that the first dimension has been reduced to a single element by selecting index zero.

Global attributes

contain information about the dataset as a whole. Most datasets contain this type of information, but some do not.

Variable attributes

contain specific information about each variable in the dataset.

Dataset Variables

This list shows each variable contained in this data. clicking the checkbox to the left of one or more of these variables causes it/them to be added to the current projection of this dataset. When you click on one of the `Disposition' button, data in those variables will be retrieved.

Need more help?

You may email user support at support@unidata.ucar.edu
James Gallagher
jgallagher@gso.uri.edu