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 following these instructions 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.
- .skt and .nc files: In order to read and write CDF skeleton files (extension .skt) and netCDF (extension .nc) files, you must first install CDF. This is not necessary to simply read/write CDF files. A full installation of netCDF is not necessary. Linux users will have to also install the cdf-to-netCDF and netCDF-to-cdf programs from the CDF Data Format Translation Tools into their $CDF_BIN directory.
- CDF: An installation of
CDF is not
required to use this editor from the above button to read/write CDF
files. It is only required to also be able to read/write
.sktand.ncfiles. - macOS 10.15 (Catalina): This application has not yet been tested on macOS 10.15. If Java 8 (or 11) is installed, it is expected to work (you may see additional warnings).
- 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 these instructions. To run the editor without WebStart, follow the "traditional" installation instructions.
- Windows 10: This application functions on Windows 10. More information about Java on Windows is available at the following pages:
- Google Chrome:
Manual Installation (Alternative Option)
Instead of launching the application from the above button, the application may be installed by following the Manual Installation Instructions.
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.
Uninstall
This application may be uninstalled by following the Uninstall Instructions.
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.
Feedback
Comments and questions about this application are welcome. Please use this e-mail address to send your comments, question, or problem reports.
- NASA Official: Robert M. Candey (301)286-6707, Robert.M.Candey@nasa.gov
- Curator: Tami Kovalick
- Last Modified: