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<HTML><HEAD>
<TITLE>HDF5 Tutorial - Creating an Attribute
</TITLE> 
</HEAD>

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 [ <A HREF="title.html"><I>HDF5 Tutorial Top</I></A> ]
<H1>
<BIG><BIG><BIG><FONT COLOR="#c101cd">Creating an Attribute</FONT>
</BIG></BIG></BIG></H1>

<hr noshade size=1>

<BODY>
<H2>Contents:</H2>
<UL>
    <LI> <A HREF="#def">What is an Attribute</A>?
    <LI> Programming Example 
    <UL>
      <LI> <A HREF="#desc">Description</A> 
      <LI> <A HREF="#rem">Remarks</A> 
      <LI> <A HREF="#fc">File Contents</A>
      <LI> <A HREF="#ddl">Attribute Definition in DDL</A>
    </UL>
</UL>
<HR>
<A NAME="def">
<H2>What is an Attribute?</h2>
<P>
Attributes are small datasets that can be used to describe the nature and/or
the intended usage of the object they are attached to. In this section, we
show how to create, read, and write an attribute.
<P>
<P>
<H3>Creating an attribute</H3>
<P>
  Creating an attribute is similar to creating a dataset. To create an
  attribute, the application must specify the object which the attribute is
  attached to, the datatype and dataspace of the attribute data,
  and the attribute creation property list.
<P>
  The steps to create an attribute are as follows:
<OL>
    <LI> Obtain the object identifier that the attribute is to be attached to.
    <LI> Define the characteristics of the attribute and specify the 
         attribute creation property list.
    <UL>
       <LI> Define the datatype.
       <LI> Define the dataspace.
       <LI> Specify the attribute creation property list.
    </UL>
    <LI> Create the attribute.
    <LI> Close the attribute and datatype, dataspace, and 
         attribute creation property list, if necessary.
</OL>
<P>
 To create and close an attribute, the calling program must use
<code>H5Acreate</code>/<code>h5acreate_f</code> and 
<code>H5Aclose</code>/<code>h5aclose_f</code>.  For example: 
<P>
<I>C</I>:
<PRE>
     attr_id = H5Acreate (dset_id, attr_name, type_id, space_id, creation_prp);
     status = H5Aclose (attr_id);
</PRE>
<I>FORTRAN</I>:
<PRE>
     CALL h5acreate_f (dset_id, attr_nam, type_id, space_id, attr_id, &
                       hdferr, creation_prp=creat_plist_id)
          <i>or</i>
     CALL h5acreate_f (dset_id, attr_nam, type_id, space_id, attr_id, hdferr)

     CALL h5aclose_f (attr_id, hdferr)
</PRE>    

<H3>Reading/Writing an attribute</H3>
<P>
  Attributes may only be read or written as an entire object; no partial I/O is
  supported. Therefore, to perform I/O operations on an attribute, the
  application needs only to specify the attribute and the attribute's memory
  datatype.
<P>
  The steps to read or write an attribute are as follows.
<OL>
    <LI> Obtain the attribute identifier.
    <LI> Specify the attribute's memory datatype.
    <LI> Perform the desired operation.
    <LI> Close the memory datatype if necessary.
</OL>
<P>
To read and/or write an attribute, the calling program must contain the
<code>H5Aread</code>/<code>h5aread_f</code> and/or 
<code>H5Awrite</code>/<code>h5awrite_f</code> routines.  For example:
<P>
<I>C</I>:
<PRE>
    status = H5Aread (attr_id, mem_type_id, buf);
    status = H5Awrite (attr_id, mem_type_id, buf);
</PRE>
<I>FORTRAN</I>:
<PRE>
    CALL h5awrite_f (attr_id, mem_type_id, buf, hdferr)  
    CALL h5aread_f (attr_id, mem_type_id, buf, hdferr)
</PRE>
<P>
<H2> Programming Example</H2>
<A NAME="desc">
<H3><U>Description</U></H3>      
This example shows how to create and write a dataset attribute.
It opens an existing file <code>dset.h5</code> in C 
(<code>dsetf.h5</code> in FORTRAN), 
obtains the identifier of the dataset <code>/dset</code>, 
defines the attribute's dataspace, creates the dataset attribute, writes
the attribute, and then closes the attribute's dataspace, attribute, dataset,
and file. <BR>
<UL>
[ <A HREF="examples/h5_crtatt.c">C Example </A> ] - <code>h5_crtatt.c</code><BR>
[ <A HREF="examples/attrexample.f90">FORTRAN Example</A> ] - <code>attrexample.f90</code><BR>
[ <A HREF="examples/java/CreateAttribute.java">Java Example </A> ] 
- <code>CreateAttribute.java</code><BR>
</UL>

<B>NOTE:</B> To download a tar file of the examples, including a Makefile,
please go to the <A HREF="references.html">References</A> page.


<A NAME="rem">
<H3><U>Remarks</U></H3>
<UL>
<LI><code>H5Acreate</code>/<code>h5acreate_f</code> creates an attribute 
    which is attached to the object specified by the first parameter, 
    and returns an identifier.
<P>
<I>C</I>:
<PRE>
  hid_t H5Acreate (hid_t obj_id, const char *name, hid_t type_id, 
                   hid_t space_id, hid_t creation_prp) 
</PRE>
<I>FORTRAN</I>:
<PRE>
  h5acreate_f (obj_id, name, type_id, space_id, attr_id, &
               hdferr, creation_prp) 

            obj_id        INTEGER(HID_T)
            name          CHARACTER(LEN=*)
            type_id       INTEGER(HID_T)
            space_id      INTEGER(HID_T)
            attr_id       INTEGER(HID_T)
            hdferr        INTEGER
                          (Possible values: 0 on success and -1 on failure)
            creation_prp  INTEGER(HID_T), OPTIONAL

</PRE>
<UL>
   <LI> The <I>obj_id</I> parameter is the identifier of the object that 
        the attribute is attached to.
 <P>
   <LI> The <I>name</I> parameter is the name of the attribute to create.
<P>
   <LI> The <I>type_id</I> parameter is the identifier of the 
        attribute's datatype.
<P>
   <LI> The <I>space_id</I> parameter is the identifier of the attribute's 
        dataspace.
<P>
   <LI> The <I>creation_prp</I> parameter is the creation property list
        identifier.
        <code>H5P_DEFAULT</code> in C (<code>H5P_DEFAULT_F</code> in FORTRAN)
        specifies the default creation property list.
        This parameter is optional in FORTRAN; when it is omitted, 
        the default creation property list is used.
<P>
   <LI> In FORTRAN, the return code for this call is returned in <I>hdferr</I>:
        0 if successful, -1 if not.  The attribute identifier is returned
        in <I>attr_id</I>.  In C, the function returns the 
        attribute identifier if successful and a negative value if not.
        
        
</UL>
<P>
<LI><code>H5Awrite</code>/<code>h5awrite_f</code> writes the entire attribute,
    and returns the status of the write.
<P>
<I>C</I>:
<PRE>
  herr_t H5Awrite (hid_t attr_id, hid_t mem_type_id, void *buf) 
</PRE>
<I>FORTRAN</I>:
<PRE>
  h5awrite_f (attr_id, mem_type_id, buf, hdferr)   

            attr_id     INTEGER(HID_T)
            memtype_id  INTEGER(HID_T)
            buf         TYPE(VOID)
            hdferr      INTEGER
                        (Possible values: 0 on success and -1 on failure)

</PRE>   
<UL>
   <LI> The <I>attr_id</I> parameter is the identifier of the attribute 
        to write.
<P>
   <LI> The <I>mem_type_id</I> parameter is the identifier of the 
        attribute's memory datatype.
<P>
   <LI> The <I>buf</I> parameter is the data buffer to write out.
<P>
   <LI>In C, this function returns a non-negative value if successful and
   a negative value, otherwise.  In FORTRAN, the return value is in the
   <I>hdferr</I> parameter: 0 if successful, -1 otherwise.
</UL>
<P>
<LI> When an attribute is no longer accessed by a program, 
     <code>H5Aclose</code>/<code>h5aclose_f</code> must be called
     to release the attribute from use. 
     The C routine returns a non-negative value if successful;
     otherwise it returns a negative value.  
     In FORTRAN, the return value is in the <I>hdferr</I> parameter: 
     0 if successful, -1 otherwise.
<P>
<I>C</I>: 
<pre>
  herr_t H5Aclose (hid_t attr_id) 
</pre>

<I>FORTRAN</I>: 
<pre>
  h5aclose_f (attr_id, hdferr)

            attr_id  INTEGER(HID_T)
            hdferr   INTEGER
                     (Possible values: 0 on success and -1 on failure)

</pre>
  <ul>
  <li> An <code>H5Aclose</code>/<code>h5aclose_f</code> call is mandatory.
  </ul>
</UL>



<A NAME="fc">
<H3><U>File Contents</U></H3>
<P>
The contents of <code>dset.h5</code> (<code>dsetf.h5</code> for FORTRAN) and the 
attribute definition are shown below:
<P>
<B>Fig. 7.1a</B> &nbsp;  <I><code>dset.h5</code> in DDL</I>

<PRE>
HDF5 "dset.h5" {
GROUP "/" {
   DATASET "dset" {
      DATATYPE { H5T_STD_I32BE }
      DATASPACE { SIMPLE ( 4, 6 ) / ( 4, 6 ) }
      DATA {
         1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
         7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
         13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
         19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
      }
      ATTRIBUTE "attr" {
         DATATYPE { H5T_STD_I32BE }
         DATASPACE { SIMPLE ( 2 ) / ( 2 ) }
         DATA {
            100, 200
         }
      }
   }
}
}
</PRE>
<B>Fig. 7.1b</B> &nbsp;  <I><code>dsetf.h5</code> in DDL</I>
<PRE>
HDF5 "dsetf.h5" {
GROUP "/" {
   DATASET "dset" {
      DATATYPE { H5T_STD_I32BE }
      DATASPACE { SIMPLE ( 6, 4 ) / ( 6, 4 ) }
      DATA {
         1, 7, 13, 19,
         2, 8, 14, 20,
         3, 9, 15, 21,
         4, 10, 16, 22,
         5, 11, 17, 23,
         6, 12, 18, 24
      }
      ATTRIBUTE "attr" {
         DATATYPE { H5T_STD_I32BE }
         DATASPACE { SIMPLE ( 2 ) / ( 2 ) }
         DATA {
            100, 200
         }
      }
   }
}
}
</PRE>



<A NAME="ddl">
<h3><U>Attribute Definition in DDL</U></H3>
<B>Fig. 7.2</B> &nbsp;  <I>HDF5 Attribute Definition</I>
<PRE>

     &lt;attribute&gt ::= ATTRIBUTE "&lt;attr_name&gt;" { &lt;datatype&gt
                                               &lt;dataspace&gt
                                               &lt;data&gt  }

</PRE>


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<BR> <H6>Last Modified: March 9, 2001</H6><BR>
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