CDF File Options

File Type

The SINGLE_FILE and MULTI_FILE keywords to CDF_CREATE allow CDFs to be written as either:

  1. all data in a single file, or
  2. a separate file for each variable, plus a master file for global information.

The default is MULTI_FILE. For more discussion on CDF file format options, see "File Format Options" in the CDF User's Guide.

Data Encodings/Decodings

Keywords to CDF_CREATE allow files to be written in a variety of data encoding and decoding options. (For example, the /SUN_ENCODING keyword creates a file in the SUN native encoding scheme). The default encoding/decoding is network (XDR). All CDF encodings and decodings can be written or read on all platforms, but matching the encoding with the architecture used provides the best performance. If you work in a single-platform environment most of the time, select HOST_ENCODING for maximum performance. If you know that the CDF file will be transported to a computer using another architecture, specify the encoding for the target architecture or specify NETWORK_ENCODING (the default). Specifying the target architecture provides maximum performance on that architecture; specifying NETWORK_ENCODING provides maximum flexibility.

For more on CDF encoding/decoding methods and combinations, see "Encoding" and "Decoding" in the CDF User's Guide.