MATLAB Programming

Hierarchical Data Format (HDF4) Files
Hierarchical Data Format (HDF4) Files
Hierarchical Data Format (HDF4) is a general-purpose, machine-independent
standard for storing scientific data in files, developed by the National
Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). For more information
about these file formats, read the HDF documentation at the HDF Web site
(www.hdfgroup.org).
HDF-EOS is an extension of HDF4 that was developed by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for storage of data returned
from the Earth Observing System (EOS). For more information about this
extension to HDF4, see the HDF-EOS documentation at the NASA Web site
(www.hdfeos.org).
The following sections describe how to work with HDF4 or HDF-EOS data
in MATLAB. Topics covered include
• “Using the HDF Import Tool” on page 7-35
• “Using the HDF Import Tool Subsetting Options” on page 7-40
• “Using the MATLAB HDF4 High-Level Functions” on page 7-52
• “Using the HDF4 Low-Level Functions” on page 7-55
Note For information about importing HDF5 data, which is a separate,
incompatible format, see “Hierarchical Data Format (HDF5) Files” on page
7-11.
Using the HDF Import Tool
The HDF Import Tool is a graphical user interface that you can use to
navigate through HDF4 or HDF-EOS files and import data from them.
Importing data using the HDF Import Tool involves these steps:
• “Step 1: Opening an HDF4 File in the HDFImportTool”onpage7-36
• “Step 2: Selecting a Data Set in an HDF File” on page 7-37
• “Step 3: Specifying a Subset of the Data (Optional)” on page 7-38
7-35