Software
Essential Software
The following is a list of essential software packages and the links to their web pages:
Many of these can be installed using anaconda [1].
CDO
https://code.mpimet.mpg.de/projects/cdo/.
Note that CDO has a lot of built-in functions that are not well documented, but details about these can be usually found in their discussion forums, https://code.mpimet.mpg.de/projects/cdo/boards.
Python
Instructions on how to download and install Python for all OSs can be found at: https://www.python.org/.
It is usually recommended to use the Anaconda distribution to install Python. Details on how to do this are here: https://www.anaconda.com/
Python can be combined with a good Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of your choice. All existing IDEs have their pros and cons. Some of the most popular IDEs are the following:
Python boasts a large number of packages. Some of the most used packages for manipulating large files in NetCDF, HDF5 or CSV formats are the following:
Data analysis:
Parallel computing, Machine learning, Deep learning etc.:
Data visualization:
Most of these packages are distributed through either Conda [23] or Pip [24].
On top of these, various users also create packages tuned for specific purposes. They are usually made public through GitHub [25].
Various forums exist for the sole purpose of clearing specific questions about coding. One such forum is stackoverflow[26]. Medium [27] is also a good source for reading up about new ideas and tools in Python and other languages.
Visualisation
The visualisation of "nc" files can be made easier using:
- NcView [28]
- Panoply [29]
- Paraview for 3D rendering [30], note this one requires more computational power and should ideally be run through a supercomputer via VNC client.
- Cartopy (python package) for maps [31]
- Matplotlib (standard python package) [32]
Colourblind Friendly Plotting Tools
Here's a list of a few websites that have information and also palette generation for colourblind friendly plots: