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HDF5 File Organization
An HDF5 file is a container for storing a variety of scientific data
is composed of two primary types of objects: groups and datasets.
- HDF5 group: a grouping structure containing zero or more HDF5
objects, together with supporting metadata
- HDF5 dataset: a multidimensional array of data elements, together
with supporting metadata
Any HDF5 group or dataset may have an associated attribute list. An HDF5
attribute is a user-defined HDF5 structure that provides extra information
about an HDF5 object.
Working with groups and datasets is similar in many
ways to working with directories and files in UNIX. As with UNIX directories
and files, an HDF5 object in an HDF5 file is often referred to by its
full path name (also called an absolute path name).
/
signifies the root group.
/foo
signifies a member of the root group called foo
.
/foo/zoo
signifies a member of the group foo
, which in
turn is a member of the root group.
![NCSA](http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Images/NCSAhome/footerlogo.gif)
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications
University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
hdfhelp@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Describes HDF5 Release 1.2.2, June 2000
Last Modified: December 10, 1999