[svn-r16381] Purpose: Enable copying of dense attributes

Description:
Attribute object copy routines have been moved from H5Oattr.c to H5Aint.c.
These routines are now shared between compact and densely stored attributes.
New routines written to support the copying of dense attributes.  This patch wasmostly written by Peter Cao.

Tested: jam, smirom (h5committest)

4 files changed, 607 insertions, 287 deletions

diff --git a/src/H5Aint.c b/src/H5Aint.c
index f3ec9e7..e5aba4b 100644
--- a/src/H5Aint.c
+++ b/src/H5Aint.c
@@ -66,6 +66,17 @@ typedef struct {
     size_t curr_attr;           /* Current attribute to operate on */
 } H5A_dense_bt_ud_t;
 
+/* Data exchange structure to use when copying an attribute from _SRC to _DST */
+typedef struct {
+    H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo;         /* dense information    */  
+    H5F_t *file;                /* file                 */
+    hbool_t *recompute_size;    /* Flag to indicate if size changed */
+    H5O_copy_t *cpy_info;       /* Information on copying options   */
+    hid_t dxpl_id;              /* DXPL for operation               */
+    H5O_loc_t *oloc_src;
+    H5O_loc_t *oloc_dst;
+} H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t;
+
 
 /********************/
 /* Package Typedefs */
@@ -766,3 +777,528 @@ H5A_set_version(const H5F_t *f, H5A_t *attr)
     FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(SUCCEED)
 } /* end H5A_set_version() */
 
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_attr_copy_file
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Copies a message from _MESG to _DEST in file
+ *
+ * Return:      Success:        Ptr to _DEST
+ *
+ *              Failure:        NULL
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Quincey Koziol
+ *              November 1, 2005
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+H5A_t *
+H5A_attr_copy_file(H5A_t *attr_src, H5F_t *file_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size,
+    H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, hid_t dxpl_id)
+{
+    H5A_t        *attr_dst = NULL;
+
+    /* for dataype conversion */
+    hid_t       tid_src = -1;           /* Datatype ID for source datatype */
+    hid_t       tid_dst = -1;           /* Datatype ID for destination datatype */
+    hid_t       tid_mem = -1;           /* Datatype ID for memory datatype */
+    void       *buf = NULL;             /* Buffer for copying data */
+    void       *reclaim_buf = NULL;     /* Buffer for reclaiming data */
+    hid_t       buf_sid = -1;           /* ID for buffer dataspace */
+
+    H5A_t       *ret_value;             /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_attr_copy_file)
+
+    /* check args */
+    HDassert(attr_src);
+    HDassert(file_dst);
+    HDassert(cpy_info);
+    HDassert(!cpy_info->copy_without_attr);
+
+    /* Allocate space for the destination message */
+    if(NULL == (attr_dst = H5FL_CALLOC(H5A_t)))
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation failed")
+
+    /* Copy the top level of the attribute */
+    *attr_dst = *attr_src;
+
+    if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared = H5FL_CALLOC(H5A_shared_t)))
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_FILE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "can't allocate shared attr structure")
+
+    /* Don't have an opened group location for copy */
+    H5O_loc_reset(&(attr_dst->shared->oloc));
+    H5G_name_reset(&(attr_dst->path));
+    attr_dst->obj_opened = FALSE;
+
+    /* Reference count for the header message in the cache */
+    attr_dst->shared->nrefs = 1;
+
+    /* Copy attribute's name */
+    attr_dst->shared->name = H5MM_strdup(attr_src->shared->name);
+    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->name);
+
+    /* Copy attribute's datatype */
+    /* (Start destination datatype as transient, even if source is named) */
+    if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared->dt = H5T_copy(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_COPY_ALL)))
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTCOPY, NULL, "cannot copy datatype")
+
+    /* Set the location of the destination datatype */
+    if(H5T_set_loc(attr_dst->shared->dt, file_dst, H5T_LOC_DISK) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "cannot mark datatype on disk")
+
+    /* Check for named datatype being copied */
+    if(H5T_committed(attr_src->shared->dt)) {
+        H5O_loc_t         *src_oloc;           /* Pointer to source datatype's object location */
+        H5O_loc_t         *dst_oloc;           /* Pointer to dest. datatype's object location */
+
+        /* Get group entries for source & destination */
+        src_oloc = H5T_oloc(attr_src->shared->dt);
+        HDassert(src_oloc);
+        dst_oloc = H5T_oloc(attr_dst->shared->dt);
+        HDassert(dst_oloc);
+
+        /* Reset object location for new object */
+        H5O_loc_reset(dst_oloc);
+        dst_oloc->file = file_dst;
+
+        /* Copy the shared object from source to destination */
+        if(H5O_copy_header_map(src_oloc, dst_oloc, dxpl_id, cpy_info, FALSE) < 0)
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTCOPY, NULL, "unable to copy object")
+
+        /* Update shared message info from named datatype info */
+        H5T_update_shared(attr_dst->shared->dt);
+    } /* end if */
+    else {
+        /* If the datatype is not named, it may have been shared in the
+         * source file's heap.  Un-share it for now. We'll try to shared
+         * it in the destination file below.
+         */
+        if(H5O_msg_reset_share(H5O_DTYPE_ID, attr_dst->shared->dt) < 0)
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to reset datatype sharing")
+    } /* end else */
+
+    /* Copy the dataspace for the attribute */
+    attr_dst->shared->ds = H5S_copy(attr_src->shared->ds, FALSE, FALSE);
+    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->ds);
+
+    /* Reset the dataspace's sharing in the source file before trying to share
+     * it in the destination.
+     */
+    if(H5O_msg_reset_share(H5O_SDSPACE_ID, attr_dst->shared->ds) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to reset dataspace sharing")
+
+
+    /* Try to share both the datatype and dataset.  This does nothing if the
+     * datatype is committed or sharing is disabled.
+     */
+    if(H5SM_try_share(file_dst, dxpl_id, NULL, H5O_DTYPE_ID, attr_dst->shared->dt, NULL) < 0)
+	HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_WRITEERROR, NULL, "can't share attribute datatype")
+    if(H5SM_try_share(file_dst, dxpl_id, NULL, H5O_SDSPACE_ID, attr_dst->shared->ds, NULL) < 0)
+	HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_WRITEERROR, NULL, "can't share attribute dataspace")
+
+    /* Compute the sizes of the datatype and dataspace. This is their raw
+     * size unless they're shared.
+     */
+    attr_dst->shared->dt_size = H5O_msg_raw_size(file_dst, H5O_DTYPE_ID, FALSE, attr_dst->shared->dt);
+    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->dt_size > 0);
+    attr_dst->shared->ds_size = H5O_msg_raw_size(file_dst, H5O_SDSPACE_ID, FALSE, attr_dst->shared->ds);
+    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->ds_size > 0);
+
+    /* Check whether to recompute the size of the attribute */
+    /* (happens when the datatype or dataspace changes sharing status) */
+    if(attr_dst->shared->dt_size != attr_src->shared->dt_size || attr_dst->shared->ds_size != attr_src->shared->ds_size)
+        *recompute_size = TRUE;
+
+    /* Compute the size of the data */
+    H5_ASSIGN_OVERFLOW(attr_dst->shared->data_size, H5S_GET_EXTENT_NPOINTS(attr_dst->shared->ds) * H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt), hsize_t, size_t);
+
+    /* Copy (& convert) the data, if necessary */
+    if(attr_src->shared->data) {
+        if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared->data = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, attr_dst->shared->data_size)))
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation failed")
+
+        /* Check if we need to convert data */
+        if(H5T_detect_class(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_VLEN) > 0) {
+            H5T_path_t  *tpath_src_mem, *tpath_mem_dst;   /* Datatype conversion paths */
+            H5T_t *dt_mem;              /* Memory datatype */
+            size_t src_dt_size;         /* Source datatype size */
+            size_t tmp_dt_size;         /* Temp. datatype size */
+            size_t max_dt_size;         /* Max atatype size */
+            H5S_t *buf_space;           /* Dataspace describing buffer */
+            hsize_t buf_dim;            /* Dimension for buffer */
+            size_t nelmts;              /* Number of elements in buffer */
+            size_t buf_size;            /* Size of copy buffer */
+
+            /* Create datatype ID for src datatype */
+            if((tid_src = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, attr_src->shared->dt, FALSE)) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register source file datatype")
+
+            /* create a memory copy of the variable-length datatype */
+            if(NULL == (dt_mem = H5T_copy(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_COPY_TRANSIENT)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to copy")
+            if((tid_mem = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, dt_mem, FALSE)) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register memory datatype")
+
+            /* create variable-length datatype at the destinaton file */
+            if((tid_dst = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, attr_dst->shared->dt, FALSE)) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register destination file datatype")
+
+            /* Set up the conversion functions */
+            if(NULL == (tpath_src_mem = H5T_path_find(attr_src->shared->dt, dt_mem, NULL, NULL, dxpl_id, FALSE)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to convert between src and mem datatypes")
+            if(NULL == (tpath_mem_dst = H5T_path_find(dt_mem, attr_dst->shared->dt, NULL, NULL, dxpl_id, FALSE)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to convert between mem and dst datatypes")
+
+            /* Determine largest datatype size */
+            if(0 == (src_dt_size = H5T_get_size(attr_src->shared->dt)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
+            if(0 == (tmp_dt_size = H5T_get_size(dt_mem)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
+            max_dt_size = MAX(src_dt_size, tmp_dt_size);
+            if(0 == (tmp_dt_size = H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
+            max_dt_size = MAX(max_dt_size, tmp_dt_size);
+
+            /* Set number of whole elements that fit in buffer */
+            if(0 == (nelmts = attr_src->shared->data_size / src_dt_size))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "element size too large")
+
+            /* Set up number of bytes to copy, and initial buffer size */
+            buf_size = nelmts * max_dt_size;
+
+            /* Create dataspace for number of elements in buffer */
+            buf_dim = nelmts;
+
+            /* Create the space and set the initial extent */
+            if(NULL == (buf_space = H5S_create_simple((unsigned)1, &buf_dim, NULL)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATASPACE, H5E_CANTCREATE, NULL, "can't create simple dataspace")
+
+            /* Atomize */
+            if((buf_sid = H5I_register(H5I_DATASPACE, buf_space, FALSE)) < 0) {
+                H5S_close(buf_space);
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATOM, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register dataspace ID")
+            } /* end if */
+
+            /* Allocate memory for recclaim buf */
+            if(NULL == (reclaim_buf = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, buf_size)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation NULLed for raw data chunk")
+
+            /* Allocate memory for copying the chunk */
+            if(NULL == (buf = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, buf_size)))
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation NULLed for raw data chunk")
+
+            HDmemcpy(buf, attr_src->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data_size);
+
+            /* Convert from source file to memory */
+            if(H5T_convert(tpath_src_mem, tid_src, tid_mem, nelmts, (size_t)0, (size_t)0, buf, NULL, dxpl_id) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "datatype conversion NULLed")
+
+            HDmemcpy(reclaim_buf, buf, buf_size);
+
+            /* Convert from memory to destination file */
+            if(H5T_convert(tpath_mem_dst, tid_mem, tid_dst, nelmts, (size_t)0, (size_t)0, buf, NULL, dxpl_id) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "datatype conversion NULLed")
+
+            HDmemcpy(attr_dst->shared->data, buf, attr_dst->shared->data_size);
+
+            if(H5D_vlen_reclaim(tid_mem, buf_space, H5P_DATASET_XFER_DEFAULT, reclaim_buf) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATASET, H5E_BADITER, NULL, "unable to reclaim variable-length data")
+        }  /* end if */
+        else {
+            HDassert(attr_dst->shared->data_size == attr_src->shared->data_size);
+            HDmemcpy(attr_dst->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data_size);
+        } /* end else */
+    } /* end if(attr_src->shared->data) */
+
+    /* Recompute the version to encode the destination attribute */
+    if(H5A_set_version(file_dst, attr_dst) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTSET, NULL, "unable to update attribute version")
+
+    /* Indicate that the fill values aren't to be written out */
+    attr_dst->shared->initialized = TRUE;
+
+    /* Set return value */
+    ret_value = attr_dst;
+
+done:
+    if(buf_sid > 0)
+        if(H5I_dec_ref(buf_sid, FALSE) < 0)
+            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary dataspace ID")
+    if(tid_src > 0)
+        /* Don't decrement ID, we want to keep underlying datatype */
+        if(H5I_remove(tid_src) == NULL)
+            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
+    if(tid_dst > 0)
+        /* Don't decrement ID, we want to keep underlying datatype */
+        if(H5I_remove(tid_dst) == NULL)
+            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
+    if(tid_mem > 0)
+        /* Decrement the memory datatype ID, it's transient */
+        if(H5I_dec_ref(tid_mem, FALSE) < 0)
+            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
+    if(buf)
+        buf = H5FL_BLK_FREE(attr_buf, buf);
+    if(reclaim_buf)
+        reclaim_buf = H5FL_BLK_FREE(attr_buf, reclaim_buf);
+
+    /* Release destination attribute information on failure */
+    if(!ret_value && attr_dst && H5A_close(attr_dst) < 0)
+        HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "can't close attribute")
+
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+} /* H5A_attr_copy_file() */
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_attr_post_copy_file
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Finish copying a message from between files.
+ *              We have to copy the values of a reference attribute in the
+ *              post copy because H5O_post_copy_file() fails at the case that
+ *              an object may have a reference attribute that points to the
+ *              object itself.
+ *
+ * Return:      Non-negative on success/Negative on failure
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              March 6, 2005
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+herr_t
+H5A_attr_post_copy_file(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const H5A_t UNUSED *attr_src,
+    H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, H5A_t *attr_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info)
+{
+    H5F_t  *file_src = src_oloc->file;
+    H5F_t  *file_dst = dst_oloc->file;
+    herr_t ret_value = SUCCEED;   /* Return value */
+
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_attr_post_copy_file)
+
+    /* check args */
+    HDassert(attr_dst);
+    HDassert(file_dst);
+
+
+    /* Only need to fix reference attribute with real data being copied to
+     *  another file.
+     */
+    if((NULL != attr_dst->shared->data) && (H5T_get_class(attr_dst->shared->dt, FALSE) == H5T_REFERENCE) ) {
+
+        /* copy object pointed by reference. The current implementation does not
+         *  deal with nested reference such as reference in a compound structure
+         */
+
+        /* Check for expanding references */
+        if(cpy_info->expand_ref) {
+            size_t ref_count;
+
+            /* Determine # of reference elements to copy */
+            ref_count = attr_dst->shared->data_size / H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt);
+
+            /* Copy objects referenced in source buffer to destination file and set destination elements */
+            if(H5O_copy_expand_ref(file_src, attr_dst->shared->data, dxpl_id,
+                    file_dst, attr_dst->shared->data, ref_count, H5T_get_ref_type(attr_dst->shared->dt), cpy_info) < 0)
+                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, FAIL, "unable to copy reference attribute")
+        } /* end if */
+        else
+            /* Reset value to zero */
+            HDmemset(attr_dst->shared->data, 0, attr_dst->shared->data_size);
+    } /* end if */
+
+done:
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+} /* H5A_attr_post_copy_file() */
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_dense_copy_file_cb
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Callback routine for copying a dense attribute from SRC to DST.
+ *
+ * Return:      Success:        Non-negative
+ *              Failure:        Negative
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              xcao@hdfgroup.org
+ *              July 20, 2007
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+static herr_t
+H5A_dense_copy_file_cb(const H5A_t *attr_src, void *_udata)
+{
+    H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t *udata = (H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t *)_udata;
+    H5A_t *attr_dst = NULL;
+    herr_t ret_value = H5_ITER_CONT;   /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_dense_copy_file_cb)
+
+    /* check arguments */
+    HDassert(attr_src);
+    HDassert(udata);
+    HDassert(udata->ainfo);
+    HDassert(udata->file);
+    HDassert(udata->cpy_info);
+
+    if ( NULL == (attr_dst=H5A_attr_copy_file(attr_src, udata->file, 
+        udata->recompute_size, udata->cpy_info,  udata->dxpl_id)))
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, H5_ITER_ERROR, "can't copy attribute")
+
+    /* Reset shared location information */
+    if(H5O_msg_reset_share(H5O_ATTR_ID, attr_dst) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, FAIL, "unable to reset attribute sharing")
+
+    /* Insert attribute into dense storage */
+    if(H5A_dense_insert(udata->file, udata->dxpl_id, udata->ainfo, attr_dst) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINSERT, H5_ITER_ERROR, "unable to add to dense storage")
+
+done:
+    if (attr_dst) {
+        (void)H5A_free(attr_dst);
+        H5FL_FREE(H5A_t, attr_dst);
+    }
+
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+} /* end H5A_dense_copy_file_cb() */
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_dense_copy_file_all
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Copy all dense attributes from SRC to DST.
+ *
+ * Return:      Success:        Non-negative
+ *              Failure:        Negative
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              xcao@hdfgroup.org
+ *              July 20, 2007
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+herr_t 
+H5A_dense_copy_file_all(H5F_t *file_src, H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_src, H5F_t *file_dst,
+    H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, hid_t dxpl_id)
+{
+    H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t udata;       /* User data for iteration callback */
+    H5A_attr_iter_op_t attr_op;    /* Attribute operator */
+    herr_t ret_value = SUCCEED;    /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_dense_copy_file_all)
+
+    /* check arguments */
+    HDassert(ainfo_src);
+    HDassert(ainfo_dst);
+
+    udata.ainfo = ainfo_dst;             /* Destination dense information    */
+    udata.file = file_dst;                /* Destination file                 */
+    udata.recompute_size = recompute_size;    /* Flag to indicate if size changed */
+    udata.cpy_info = cpy_info;                /* Information on copying options   */
+    udata.dxpl_id = dxpl_id;                  /* DXPL for operation               */
+
+    attr_op.op_type = H5A_ATTR_OP_LIB;
+    attr_op.u.lib_op = H5A_dense_copy_file_cb;
+
+     if(H5A_dense_iterate(file_src, dxpl_id, (hid_t)0, ainfo_src, H5_INDEX_NAME,
+            H5_ITER_NATIVE, (hsize_t)0, NULL, &attr_op, &udata) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTINIT, FAIL, "error building attribute table")
+
+done:
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+}
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_dense_post_copy_file_cb
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Callback routine to perfom post copy for a dense attribute.
+ *
+ * Return:      Success:        Non-negative
+ *              Failure:        Negative
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              xcao@hdfgroup.org
+ *              July 25, 2007
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+static herr_t
+H5A_dense_post_copy_file_cb(const H5A_t *attr_dst, void *_udata)
+{
+    H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t *udata = (H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t *)_udata;
+    H5A_t *attr_src = NULL;
+    herr_t ret_value = H5_ITER_CONT;   /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_dense_post_copy_file_cb)
+
+    /* check arguments */
+    HDassert(attr_dst);
+    HDassert(udata);
+    HDassert(udata->ainfo);
+    HDassert(udata->file);
+    HDassert(udata->cpy_info);
+
+    if ( H5A_attr_post_copy_file(udata->oloc_src, NULL,
+         udata->oloc_dst, attr_dst, udata->dxpl_id, udata->cpy_info) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, H5_ITER_ERROR, "can't copy attribute")
+
+done:
+
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+} /* end H5A_dense_post_copy_file_cb() */
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5A_dense_post_copy_file_all
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Do post copy for all dense attributes.
+ *
+ * Return:      Success:        Non-negative
+ *              Failure:        Negative
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              xcao@hdfgroup.org
+ *              July 25, 2007
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+herr_t 
+H5A_dense_post_copy_file_all(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_src,
+    H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info)
+{
+    H5A_dense_file_cp_ud_t udata;       /* User data for iteration callback */
+    H5A_attr_iter_op_t attr_op;    /* Attribute operator */
+    herr_t ret_value = SUCCEED;    /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5A_dense_post_copy_file_all)
+
+    /* check arguments */
+    HDassert(ainfo_src);
+    HDassert(ainfo_dst);
+    HDassert(src_oloc);
+    HDassert(dst_oloc);
+    HDassert(src_oloc->file);
+    HDassert(dst_oloc->file);
+
+    udata.ainfo = ainfo_src;
+    udata.file = src_oloc->file;
+    udata.cpy_info = cpy_info;                /* Information on copying options   */
+    udata.dxpl_id = dxpl_id;                  /* DXPL for operation               */
+    udata.oloc_src = src_oloc;
+    udata.oloc_dst = dst_oloc;
+
+    attr_op.op_type = H5A_ATTR_OP_LIB;
+    attr_op.u.lib_op = H5A_dense_post_copy_file_cb;
+
+     if(H5A_dense_iterate(dst_oloc->file, dxpl_id, (hid_t)0, ainfo_dst, H5_INDEX_NAME,
+            H5_ITER_NATIVE, (hsize_t)0, NULL, &attr_op, &udata) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTINIT, FAIL, "error building attribute table")
+
+done:
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+}
+
+
diff --git a/src/H5Apkg.h b/src/H5Apkg.h
index a1b5e62..f66fa77 100644
--- a/src/H5Apkg.h
+++ b/src/H5Apkg.h
@@ -279,6 +279,15 @@ H5_DLL htri_t H5O_attr_exists(const H5O_loc_t *loc, const char *name, hid_t dxpl
 #ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
 H5_DLL int H5O_attr_count(const H5O_loc_t *loc, hid_t dxpl_id);
 #endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
+H5_DLL H5A_t *H5A_attr_copy_file(H5A_t *attr_src, H5F_t *file_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size,
+    H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, hid_t dxpl_id);
+H5_DLL herr_t H5A_attr_post_copy_file(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const H5A_t *mesg_src,
+    H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, H5A_t *mesg_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info);
+H5_DLL herr_t H5A_dense_copy_file_all(H5F_t *file_src, H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_src, H5F_t *file_dst, 
+    H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, hid_t dxpl_id);
+H5_DLL herr_t H5A_dense_post_copy_file_all(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const H5O_ainfo_t * ainfo_src,
+    H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info);
+
 
 /* Testing functions */
 #ifdef H5A_TESTING
diff --git a/src/H5Oainfo.c b/src/H5Oainfo.c
index 2a9d403..7f6a55d 100644
--- a/src/H5Oainfo.c
+++ b/src/H5Oainfo.c
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ static herr_t H5O_ainfo_pre_copy_file(H5F_t *file_src, const void *mesg_src,
 static void *H5O_ainfo_copy_file(H5F_t *file_src, void *mesg_src,
     H5F_t *file_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, void *udata,
     hid_t dxpl_id);
+static herr_t H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc,
+    const void *mesg_src, H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, void *mesg_dst, hid_t dxpl_id,
+    H5O_copy_t *cpy_info);
 static herr_t H5O_ainfo_debug(H5F_t *f, hid_t dxpl_id, const void *_mesg,
 			     FILE * stream, int indent, int fwidth);
 
@@ -69,7 +72,7 @@ const H5O_msg_class_t H5O_MSG_AINFO[1] = {{
     NULL,		    	/*can share method		*/
     H5O_ainfo_pre_copy_file,	/* pre copy native value to file */
     H5O_ainfo_copy_file,	/* copy native value to file    */
-    NULL,			/* post copy native value to file */
+    H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file,   /* post copy native value to file */
     NULL,			/* get creation index		*/
     NULL,			/* set creation index		*/
     H5O_ainfo_debug          	/*debug the message             */
@@ -393,15 +396,14 @@ H5O_ainfo_pre_copy_file(H5F_t UNUSED *file_src, const void UNUSED *native_src,
  * Return:      Success:        Ptr to _DEST
  *              Failure:        NULL
  *
- * Programmer:  Quincey Koziol
- *              March 9, 2007
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao 
+ *              July 18, 2007
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
 static void *
-H5O_ainfo_copy_file(H5F_t UNUSED *file_src, void *mesg_src,
-    H5F_t UNUSED *file_dst, hbool_t UNUSED *recompute_size,
-    H5O_copy_t UNUSED *cpy_info, void UNUSED *udata, hid_t UNUSED dxpl_id)
+H5O_ainfo_copy_file(H5F_t *file_src, void *mesg_src, H5F_t *file_dst, 
+    hbool_t *recompute_size, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, void *udata, hid_t dxpl_id)
 {
     H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_src = (H5O_ainfo_t *)mesg_src;
     H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_dst = NULL;
@@ -416,10 +418,6 @@ H5O_ainfo_copy_file(H5F_t UNUSED *file_src, void *mesg_src,
     HDassert(cpy_info);
     HDassert(!cpy_info->copy_without_attr);
 
-/* XXX: Bail out for now, if the source object has densely stored attributes */
-    if(H5F_addr_defined(ainfo_src->fheap_addr))
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_UNSUPPORTED, NULL, "densely stored attributes not supported yet")
-
     /* Allocate space for the destination message */
     if(NULL == (ainfo_dst = H5FL_MALLOC(H5O_ainfo_t)))
         HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation failed")
@@ -427,6 +425,16 @@ H5O_ainfo_copy_file(H5F_t UNUSED *file_src, void *mesg_src,
     /* Copy the top level of the information */
     *ainfo_dst = *ainfo_src;
 
+    if(H5F_addr_defined(ainfo_src->fheap_addr)) {
+        /* copy dense attribute */
+
+        if(H5A_dense_create(file_dst, dxpl_id, ainfo_dst) < 0)
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to create dense storage for attributes")
+
+        if ( (H5A_dense_copy_file_all(file_src, ainfo_src, file_dst, ainfo_dst, recompute_size, cpy_info, dxpl_id)) <0)
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to create dense storage for attributes")
+    }
+
     /* Set return value */
     ret_value = ainfo_dst;
 
@@ -440,6 +448,44 @@ done:
 
 
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ * Function:    H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file
+ *
+ * Purpose:     Finish copying a message from between files.
+ *              We have to copy the values of a reference attribute in the
+ *              post copy because H5O_post_copy_file() fails at the case that
+ *              an object may have a reference attribute that points to the
+ *              object itself.
+ *
+ * Return:      Non-negative on success/Negative on failure
+ *
+ * Programmer:  Peter Cao
+ *              July 25, 2007
+ *
+ *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+static herr_t
+H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const void *mesg_src,
+    H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, void *mesg_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info)
+{
+    H5O_ainfo_t *ainfo_src = (const H5O_ainfo_t *)mesg_src;
+    herr_t ret_value = SUCCEED;   /* Return value */
+
+    FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file)
+
+    HDassert(ainfo_src);
+
+    if(H5F_addr_defined(ainfo_src->fheap_addr)) {
+        if ( H5A_dense_post_copy_file_all(src_oloc, ainfo_src, dst_oloc, 
+            (H5O_ainfo_t *)mesg_dst, dxpl_id, cpy_info) < 0)
+            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, FAIL, "can't copy attribute")
+    }
+
+done:
+    FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
+} /* H5O_ainfo_post_copy_file() */
+
+
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Function:    H5O_ainfo_debug
  *
  * Purpose:     Prints debugging info for a message.
diff --git a/src/H5Oattr.c b/src/H5Oattr.c
index 85b1ef3..db216ad 100644
--- a/src/H5Oattr.c
+++ b/src/H5Oattr.c
@@ -641,257 +641,20 @@ H5O_attr_copy_file(H5F_t UNUSED *file_src, const H5O_msg_class_t UNUSED *mesg_ty
     void *native_src, H5F_t *file_dst, hbool_t *recompute_size,
     H5O_copy_t *cpy_info, void UNUSED *udata, hid_t dxpl_id)
 {
-    H5A_t        *attr_src = (H5A_t *)native_src;
-    H5A_t        *attr_dst = NULL;
-
-    /* for dataype conversion */
-    hid_t       tid_src = -1;           /* Datatype ID for source datatype */
-    hid_t       tid_dst = -1;           /* Datatype ID for destination datatype */
-    hid_t       tid_mem = -1;           /* Datatype ID for memory datatype */
-    void       *buf = NULL;             /* Buffer for copying data */
-    void       *reclaim_buf = NULL;     /* Buffer for reclaiming data */
-    hid_t       buf_sid = -1;           /* ID for buffer dataspace */
-
     void        *ret_value;             /* Return value */
 
     FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5O_attr_copy_file)
 
     /* check args */
-    HDassert(attr_src);
+    HDassert(native_src);
     HDassert(file_dst);
     HDassert(cpy_info);
     HDassert(!cpy_info->copy_without_attr);
 
-    /* Allocate space for the destination message */
-    if(NULL == (attr_dst = H5FL_CALLOC(H5A_t)))
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation failed")
-
-    /* Copy the top level of the attribute */
-    *attr_dst = *attr_src;
-
-    if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared = H5FL_CALLOC(H5A_shared_t)))
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_FILE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "can't allocate shared attr structure")
-
-    /* Don't have an opened group location for copy */
-    H5O_loc_reset(&(attr_dst->shared->oloc));
-    H5G_name_reset(&(attr_dst->path));
-    attr_dst->obj_opened = FALSE;
-
-    /* Reference count for the header message in the cache */
-    attr_dst->shared->nrefs = 1;
-
-    /* Copy attribute's name */
-    attr_dst->shared->name = H5MM_strdup(attr_src->shared->name);
-    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->name);
-
-    /* Copy attribute's datatype */
-    /* (Start destination datatype as transient, even if source is named) */
-    if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared->dt = H5T_copy(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_COPY_ALL)))
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTCOPY, NULL, "cannot copy datatype")
-
-    /* Set the location of the destination datatype */
-    if(H5T_set_loc(attr_dst->shared->dt, file_dst, H5T_LOC_DISK) < 0)
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "cannot mark datatype on disk")
-
-    /* Check for named datatype being copied */
-    if(H5T_committed(attr_src->shared->dt)) {
-        H5O_loc_t         *src_oloc;           /* Pointer to source datatype's object location */
-        H5O_loc_t         *dst_oloc;           /* Pointer to dest. datatype's object location */
-
-        /* Get group entries for source & destination */
-        src_oloc = H5T_oloc(attr_src->shared->dt);
-        HDassert(src_oloc);
-        dst_oloc = H5T_oloc(attr_dst->shared->dt);
-        HDassert(dst_oloc);
-
-        /* Reset object location for new object */
-        H5O_loc_reset(dst_oloc);
-        dst_oloc->file = file_dst;
-
-        /* Copy the shared object from source to destination */
-        if(H5O_copy_header_map(src_oloc, dst_oloc, dxpl_id, cpy_info, FALSE) < 0)
-            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTCOPY, NULL, "unable to copy object")
-
-        /* Update shared message info from named datatype info */
-        H5T_update_shared(attr_dst->shared->dt);
-    } /* end if */
-    else {
-        /* If the datatype is not named, it may have been shared in the
-         * source file's heap.  Un-share it for now. We'll try to shared
-         * it in the destination file below.
-         */
-        if(H5O_msg_reset_share(H5O_DTYPE_ID, attr_dst->shared->dt) < 0)
-            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to reset datatype sharing")
-    } /* end else */
-
-    /* Copy the dataspace for the attribute */
-    attr_dst->shared->ds = H5S_copy(attr_src->shared->ds, FALSE, FALSE);
-    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->ds);
-
-    /* Reset the dataspace's sharing in the source file before trying to share
-     * it in the destination.
-     */
-    if(H5O_msg_reset_share(H5O_SDSPACE_ID, attr_dst->shared->ds) < 0)
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to reset dataspace sharing")
-
-
-    /* Try to share both the datatype and dataset.  This does nothing if the
-     * datatype is committed or sharing is disabled.
-     */
-    if(H5SM_try_share(file_dst, dxpl_id, NULL, H5O_DTYPE_ID, attr_dst->shared->dt, NULL) < 0)
-	HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_WRITEERROR, NULL, "can't share attribute datatype")
-    if(H5SM_try_share(file_dst, dxpl_id, NULL, H5O_SDSPACE_ID, attr_dst->shared->ds, NULL) < 0)
-	HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_OHDR, H5E_WRITEERROR, NULL, "can't share attribute dataspace")
-
-    /* Compute the sizes of the datatype and dataspace. This is their raw
-     * size unless they're shared.
-     */
-    attr_dst->shared->dt_size = H5O_msg_raw_size(file_dst, H5O_DTYPE_ID, FALSE, attr_dst->shared->dt);
-    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->dt_size > 0);
-    attr_dst->shared->ds_size = H5O_msg_raw_size(file_dst, H5O_SDSPACE_ID, FALSE, attr_dst->shared->ds);
-    HDassert(attr_dst->shared->ds_size > 0);
-
-    /* Check whether to recompute the size of the attribute */
-    /* (happens when the datatype or dataspace changes sharing status) */
-    if(attr_dst->shared->dt_size != attr_src->shared->dt_size || attr_dst->shared->ds_size != attr_src->shared->ds_size)
-        *recompute_size = TRUE;
-
-    /* Compute the size of the data */
-    H5_ASSIGN_OVERFLOW(attr_dst->shared->data_size, H5S_GET_EXTENT_NPOINTS(attr_dst->shared->ds) * H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt), hsize_t, size_t);
-
-    /* Copy (& convert) the data, if necessary */
-    if(attr_src->shared->data) {
-        if(NULL == (attr_dst->shared->data = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, attr_dst->shared->data_size)))
-            HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation failed")
-
-        /* Check if we need to convert data */
-        if(H5T_detect_class(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_VLEN) > 0) {
-            H5T_path_t  *tpath_src_mem, *tpath_mem_dst;   /* Datatype conversion paths */
-            H5T_t *dt_mem;              /* Memory datatype */
-            size_t src_dt_size;         /* Source datatype size */
-            size_t tmp_dt_size;         /* Temp. datatype size */
-            size_t max_dt_size;         /* Max atatype size */
-            H5S_t *buf_space;           /* Dataspace describing buffer */
-            hsize_t buf_dim;            /* Dimension for buffer */
-            size_t nelmts;              /* Number of elements in buffer */
-            size_t buf_size;            /* Size of copy buffer */
-
-            /* Create datatype ID for src datatype */
-            if((tid_src = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, attr_src->shared->dt, FALSE)) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register source file datatype")
-
-            /* create a memory copy of the variable-length datatype */
-            if(NULL == (dt_mem = H5T_copy(attr_src->shared->dt, H5T_COPY_TRANSIENT)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to copy")
-            if((tid_mem = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, dt_mem, FALSE)) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register memory datatype")
-
-            /* create variable-length datatype at the destinaton file */
-            if((tid_dst = H5I_register(H5I_DATATYPE, attr_dst->shared->dt, FALSE)) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register destination file datatype")
-
-            /* Set up the conversion functions */
-            if(NULL == (tpath_src_mem = H5T_path_find(attr_src->shared->dt, dt_mem, NULL, NULL, dxpl_id, FALSE)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to convert between src and mem datatypes")
-            if(NULL == (tpath_mem_dst = H5T_path_find(dt_mem, attr_dst->shared->dt, NULL, NULL, dxpl_id, FALSE)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to convert between mem and dst datatypes")
-
-            /* Determine largest datatype size */
-            if(0 == (src_dt_size = H5T_get_size(attr_src->shared->dt)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
-            if(0 == (tmp_dt_size = H5T_get_size(dt_mem)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
-            max_dt_size = MAX(src_dt_size, tmp_dt_size);
-            if(0 == (tmp_dt_size = H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "unable to determine datatype size")
-            max_dt_size = MAX(max_dt_size, tmp_dt_size);
-
-            /* Set number of whole elements that fit in buffer */
-            if(0 == (nelmts = attr_src->shared->data_size / src_dt_size))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "element size too large")
-
-            /* Set up number of bytes to copy, and initial buffer size */
-            buf_size = nelmts * max_dt_size;
-
-            /* Create dataspace for number of elements in buffer */
-            buf_dim = nelmts;
-
-            /* Create the space and set the initial extent */
-            if(NULL == (buf_space = H5S_create_simple((unsigned)1, &buf_dim, NULL)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATASPACE, H5E_CANTCREATE, NULL, "can't create simple dataspace")
-
-            /* Atomize */
-            if((buf_sid = H5I_register(H5I_DATASPACE, buf_space, FALSE)) < 0) {
-                H5S_close(buf_space);
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATOM, H5E_CANTREGISTER, NULL, "unable to register dataspace ID")
-            } /* end if */
-
-            /* Allocate memory for recclaim buf */
-            if(NULL == (reclaim_buf = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, buf_size)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation NULLed for raw data chunk")
-
-            /* Allocate memory for copying the chunk */
-            if(NULL == (buf = H5FL_BLK_MALLOC(attr_buf, buf_size)))
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_RESOURCE, H5E_NOSPACE, NULL, "memory allocation NULLed for raw data chunk")
-
-            HDmemcpy(buf, attr_src->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data_size);
-
-            /* Convert from source file to memory */
-            if(H5T_convert(tpath_src_mem, tid_src, tid_mem, nelmts, (size_t)0, (size_t)0, buf, NULL, dxpl_id) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "datatype conversion NULLed")
-
-            HDmemcpy(reclaim_buf, buf, buf_size);
-
-            /* Convert from memory to destination file */
-            if(H5T_convert(tpath_mem_dst, tid_mem, tid_dst, nelmts, (size_t)0, (size_t)0, buf, NULL, dxpl_id) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATATYPE, H5E_CANTINIT, NULL, "datatype conversion NULLed")
-
-            HDmemcpy(attr_dst->shared->data, buf, attr_dst->shared->data_size);
-
-            if(H5D_vlen_reclaim(tid_mem, buf_space, H5P_DATASET_XFER_DEFAULT, reclaim_buf) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_DATASET, H5E_BADITER, NULL, "unable to reclaim variable-length data")
-        }  /* end if */
-        else {
-            HDassert(attr_dst->shared->data_size == attr_src->shared->data_size);
-            HDmemcpy(attr_dst->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data, attr_src->shared->data_size);
-        } /* end else */
-    } /* end if(attr_src->shared->data) */
-
-    /* Recompute the version to encode the destination attribute */
-    if(H5A_set_version(file_dst, attr_dst) < 0)
-        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTSET, NULL, "unable to update attribute version")
-
-    /* Indicate that the fill values aren't to be written out */
-    attr_dst->shared->initialized = TRUE;
-
-    /* Set return value */
-    ret_value = attr_dst;
+    if ( NULL == (ret_value=H5A_attr_copy_file((H5A_t *)native_src, file_dst, recompute_size, cpy_info,  dxpl_id)))
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, NULL, "can't copy attribute")
 
 done:
-    if(buf_sid > 0)
-        if(H5I_dec_ref(buf_sid, FALSE) < 0)
-            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary dataspace ID")
-    if(tid_src > 0)
-        /* Don't decrement ID, we want to keep underlying datatype */
-        if(H5I_remove(tid_src) == NULL)
-            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
-    if(tid_dst > 0)
-        /* Don't decrement ID, we want to keep underlying datatype */
-        if(H5I_remove(tid_dst) == NULL)
-            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
-    if(tid_mem > 0)
-        /* Decrement the memory datatype ID, it's transient */
-        if(H5I_dec_ref(tid_mem, FALSE) < 0)
-            HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "Can't decrement temporary datatype ID")
-    if(buf)
-        buf = H5FL_BLK_FREE(attr_buf, buf);
-    if(reclaim_buf)
-        reclaim_buf = H5FL_BLK_FREE(attr_buf, reclaim_buf);
-
-    /* Release destination attribute information on failure */
-    if(!ret_value && attr_dst && H5A_close(attr_dst) < 0)
-        HDONE_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTFREE, NULL, "can't close attribute")
-
     FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)
 } /* H5O_attr_copy_file() */
 
@@ -916,48 +679,14 @@ static herr_t
 H5O_attr_post_copy_file(const H5O_loc_t *src_oloc, const void *mesg_src,
     H5O_loc_t *dst_oloc, void *mesg_dst, hid_t dxpl_id, H5O_copy_t *cpy_info)
 {
-    const H5A_t  *attr_src = (const H5A_t *)mesg_src;
-    H5A_t  *attr_dst = (H5A_t *)mesg_dst;
-    H5F_t  *file_src = src_oloc->file;
-    H5F_t  *file_dst = dst_oloc->file;
     herr_t ret_value = SUCCEED;   /* Return value */
 
 
     FUNC_ENTER_NOAPI_NOINIT(H5O_attr_post_copy_file)
 
-    /* check args */
-    HDassert(attr_src);
-    HDassert(file_src);
-    HDassert(attr_dst);
-    HDassert(file_dst);
-
-    /* Only need to fix reference attribute with real data being copied to
-     *  another file.
-     */
-    if((NULL != attr_src->shared->data) &&
-            (H5T_get_class(attr_src->shared->dt, FALSE) == H5T_REFERENCE) &&
-            (file_src != file_dst)) {
-
-        /* copy object pointed by reference. The current implementation does not
-         *  deal with nested reference such as reference in a compound structure
-         */
-
-        /* Check for expanding references */
-        if(cpy_info->expand_ref) {
-            size_t ref_count;
-
-            /* Determine # of reference elements to copy */
-            ref_count = attr_dst->shared->data_size / H5T_get_size(attr_dst->shared->dt);
-
-            /* Copy objects referenced in source buffer to destination file and set destination elements */
-            if(H5O_copy_expand_ref(file_src, attr_src->shared->data, dxpl_id,
-                    file_dst, attr_dst->shared->data, ref_count, H5T_get_ref_type(attr_src->shared->dt), cpy_info) < 0)
-                HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, FAIL, "unable to copy reference attribute")
-        } /* end if */
-        else
-            /* Reset value to zero */
-            HDmemset(attr_dst->shared->data, 0, attr_dst->shared->data_size);
-    } /* end if */
+    if ( H5A_attr_post_copy_file(src_oloc, (const H5A_t *)mesg_src,
+         dst_oloc, (H5A_t *)mesg_dst, dxpl_id, cpy_info) < 0)
+        HGOTO_ERROR(H5E_ATTR, H5E_CANTCOPY, FAIL, "can't copy attribute")
 
 done:
     FUNC_LEAVE_NOAPI(ret_value)