1. PRECIS Reading Workshop, 24 - 28 August 2009
Introduction to IDV
PRECIS Reading Workshop, August 2009
© Crown copyright Met Office

2. Overview Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) Overview IDV features
Supported data formats
Web enabled features
IDV as an Integrator
PRECIS demo with IDV
© Crown copyright 2007

3. What is the IDV?
Unidata’s newest scientific analysis and visualization tool
Freely available Java™ framework and reference application
Provides 2- and 3-D displays of geoscientific data
Stand-alone or networked application
Built on VisAD library
© Crown copyright 2007

4. Gully erosion/deposition from VisAD-based DEMViewer
VisAD’s Data Model
Designed to support virtually any numerical data
Metadata can be integrated into each data object
Supports mathematical operations as well as evaluation and resampling of data
Supports spatial and temporal co-location of data
Supports data sharing among different users, different data sources and different scientific disciplines
May be used independently of the VisAD display model
Gully erosion/deposition from VisAD-based DEMViewer
© Crown copyright 2007

5. Supported Data Formats
The IDV can integrate displays of a variety of geoscientific and other data including:
Scientific
Georeferenced netCDF data
Vis5D data
McIDAS/ADDE (satellite, radar, surface and upper air)
Archive Level II radar
Social
ESRI shapefiles (e.g. map boundaries)
ArcInfo ASCIIGRID (e.g., DEM)
GeoTIFF
OGC Standards
Educational
HTML
QuickTime
NO2 concentrations over Berlin, Germany – data from netCDF, maps from shapefile
© Crown copyright 2007

6. Unique IDV Features Interactive probes for dataset exploration
Parameter readouts
Vertical profiles
Time/Height displays
Lat/Lon/Alt position
QuickTime capture and playback
Incorporation of educational materials
User defined formulas
Extensible framework
Extensive use of network resources
© Crown copyright 2007

7. Web Enabled Features Integrated HTML Viewer
IDV includes a customized HTML viewer
Viewer can be used to provide context with associated data displays
IDV displays can be easily embedded in the HTML
Can be used as a customized UI which controls the IDV
© Crown copyright 2007

8. Web Enabled Features Use of Java Web Start™
Java Web Start can be used to load in the IDV from a web page
JNLP files can include pointers to configuration files and bundles for customization
Web Start provides automatic software updates
© Crown copyright 2007

9. IDV as an Integrator
Integrating data from disparate data sources is easy with the IDV
Data can come from local and remote locations
Data on different projections are automatically remapped
Data from different times are synced
Isosurface of a climate variable, topography from ASCIIGRID DEM file, and interstate highways and county outlines/labels from shapefiles.
© Crown copyright 2007