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ISTP CDF Skeleton Editor

The SKTEditor is a simple graphical user interface (GUI) application for creating and editing International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)/Interagency Consultative Group (IACG) guideline compliant skeleton Common Data Format (CDF) files.

To use this application, you must hava Java installed on your computer. If you do not have Java installed on your computer, please install it from https://www.java.com/ before proceeding. The application is supported as either a Java Web Start application or as a traditional Java desktop application on a wide range of platforms.

Notes

• Java 11 or higher: At this time, Java 8 is still recommended. Java 11 will generally work but the project-specific CDF validation (for example, MMS or PRBEM) function will not be available. To launch the application with WebStart (skteditor.jnlp file), you will likely need to install the IcedTea software although some OpenJDK distribution may include IcedTea by default. Linux OpenJDK users can refer to the instructions below. To run the editor without WebStart, follow the "traditional" installation instructions.
• Java 6: Beginning with CDF 3.6.3 (November 2016), Java 6 users may encounter the following problem:
  • Unable to launch the application with the following details
  • Error: Found unsigned entry in resource: http://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/skteditor/cdf/lib/3.6.3.0/cdfjava.jar.
  This is caused by Java 6 not supporting an SHA-256 hash of the digital signature timestamp. If you cannot use a newer version of Java, try a traditional installation (non-WebStart) or contact SPDF support.
• Windows 10: This application functions on Windows 10. More information about Java on Windows is available at the following pages:
  • Windows 10 and Java.
• macOS: This application functions with either Apple Java 6 or Oracle Java 7/8/9 on macOS. More information about Java on macOS is available at the following pages:
  • Information for installing and using Oracle Java.
  • macOS Platform Install FAQ.
• Linux: This application functions with either OpenJDK (typically available from a distribution's main package repository) or Oracle's Java. For OpenJDK, you may have to do the following:
  • On Debian/Ubuntu based distributions:
    • $ sudo apt install icedtea-netx
  • On RPM based distributions:
    • $ sudo dnf install icedtea-web
• Google Chrome:
  • Java and Google Chrome.
• CDF: An installation of CDF is not required to use this editor from the above button. However, performing a separate installation of CDF will enable the editor to read/write .skt file in addition to the .cdf files that can be read/written without an installation of CDF.

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Manual Installation (Alternative Option)

Instead of launching the application from the above button, the application may be installed by following the Manual Installation Instructions.

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Command-line CDF Checkers

The SKTEditor GUI application contains two separate CDF standard checking functions.  The first checks a CDF for compliance with the ISTP/SPDF guidelines.  The second checks a CDF for compliance with project-specific guidelines (e.g., MMS Mission CDF File Format and Units of Measure Guides).  This CDF checking software can also be run from a CLI (in addition to running it from within SKTEditor).  An advantage to running the software from a CLI is to automate the checking of many files.   Follow these instructions for installing and running the checkers from a CLI.

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Uninstall

This application may be uninstalled by following the Uninstall Instructions.

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License

The ISTP CDF Skeleton Editor is a software application that is made available under the terms of the NASA Open Source Agreement (NOSA).

The latest source code (SHA-256) is available for download.

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Feedback

Comments and questions about this application are welcome. Please use this e-mail address to send your comments, question, or problem reports.