CF Attributes Processor

This repository contains a Python class CF_Attributes for managing Climate and Forecast (CF) convention metadata attributes from a CSV file, serving them in different python dictionaries in specific categories, such as global attributes, variable attributes, and others. It also combines these attributes into a unified dictionary for use if necessary.

Features

• File Parsing: Reads and processes a CSV file containing CF attributes into Python dictionaries.
• Attribute Categorisation: Automatically categorises attributes into:
  • global attributes
  • coordinate variable attributes
  • data variable attributes
  • boundary variable attributes
  • geometry container variable attributes
  • quantization container variable attributes
  • all variable attributes
  • group Attributes

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>

2. Navigate to the repository:

   cd <repository-folder>

3. Ensure Python 3.8 or higher is installed.

Usage

1. Update the file path to the CSV file containing CF attributes in the CF_Attributes class:

   self.file_path = '/path/to/cf_attributes.csv'

2. Initialise the CF_Attributes class:

   from cf_attributes import CF_Attributes
   
   cf_attributes = CF_Attributes()

3. Access specific categories of attributes:

   cf_attributes.global_attributes
   cf_attributes.variable_attributes
   cf_attributes.data_variable_attributes
   cf_attributes.boundary_variable_attributes
   cf_attributes.geometry_container_variable_attributes
   cf_attributes.quantization_container_variable_attributes
   cf_attributes.group_attributes

CSV File

The CSV file is currently stored in this repository. However, if and when the CF conventions host this as a standalone CSV file, I will write something to use that as the source.

Keys

Each attribute has the following keys:

• Attribute: The name of the attribute
• Type: The type of the attribute:
  • S: String
  • N: Numeric
• Use: A comma-separated list indicating where the attribute is used:
  • G: Global attributes
  • C: Coordinate variables
  • D: Data variables
  • BI: Boundary variables
  • M: Geometry container variables
  • Q: Quantization container variables
  • Gr: Group attributes
• Description: A brief explanation of the attribute.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Commit your changes.
4. Push to your branch and create a pull request.

Acknowledgements

• Climate and Forecast (CF) conventions for providing guidance on metadata standards. https://cfconventions.org/