.CDF File Extension

Common Data Format files can be manipulated using the CDF software toolkit provided by the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The software is cross-platform.

The Common Data Format is supported with interfaces to programming languages such as C, Fortran, C#, Perl, Java. It is also supported by commercial software packages such as MathWorks MATLAB, ITT Visual Information Solutions' Interactive Display Language (IDL), and Weisang FlexPro.

The CDF format has been adopted as a standard format by organizations such as the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) project and the Central Data Handling Facilities (CDHF) project, a scientific data processing entity.

NOTE: The CDF format differs from the NetCDF format, which is based on CDF but uses slightly different conventions. Sometimes NetCDF files use the ".cdf" extension, but the format is incompatible.

NOTE: NcView only runs on Windows under Cygwin and if you compile from source manually.

A GeneChip is a physical chip containing DNA microarray biological data. GeneChips are manufactured by Affymetrix.

CDF files can be used for storing all accounting information for a small-sized business.

NOTE: Nominal Small Business Accounting has been discontinued.

The CDF format was originally defined as part of the Content Transformation Services (CTS) framework by the Enterprise Content Management Group (ECMG).

C.Scope International produces pipe and cable location equipment that allows utility and construction professionals to locate underground pipes and cables. C.Scope's cable avoidance devices produce CDF files, which contain a record of when and how the devices were used, as well as the data the devices collected.

Devices generate a new CDF file each time they are used. Each CDF file contains the following data:

• Device model type
• Device serial number
• Automatic self test result
• User identity
• Date and time of use
• Device detection mode
• Signal strength
• Signal generator/transmitter frequency
• Cable/pipe depth
• Sonde depth

Each device can store roughly 12 months' worth of CDF files at one time. Device operators and auditors can transfer a device's CDF files to a PC or mobile device, to view the files' data in C.Scope PC Toolkit or C.Scope Relay.

You can open a CDF file in C.Scope PC Toolkit (Windows) or C.Scope Relay (Android, iOS). For example, to open a CDF file in C.Scope PC Toolkit, open the program and select the Analyse tab. Then, select Open, navigate to your CDF file, and open the file.