Create the example template.

[ChrisBarker-NOAA]

We need an example template:

• a README
• Some code to generate it
• the example .nc file
• the example .md file
• the example sidecar file (see What format to use for the "sidecar" file? #1)

I believe @sadielbartholomew volunteered to do this first one.

[sadielbartholomew]

I believe @sadielbartholomew volunteered to do this first one.

Yes indeed thanks @ChrisBarker-NOAA - I want to double check first with David Hassell on appropriate datasets from the cf-python test suite for sharing (since David wrote the code that generates them, else sourced them, so he has dataset 'ownership' and certainly we will want to credit him for the data), but once I have done that I will add a PR.

a README
Some code to generate it
the example .nc file
the example .md file

To check, how does the 'example .md file' differ from the README - or is the '.md' file intended to house the CDL text?

Also, in the case of example datasets from the cf-python/cfdm test suite which are often generated from scratch, we can add a script containing the code that generates, but I have two thoughts we should discuss on that file:

• I think 'code to generate it' should generally be optional, since some and possibly most datasets won't be created ab inito;

• What do we do to cover the environment required for the code to generate the dataset, where applicable (see point above)? For example, with cf-python and/or cfdm we have various dependencies in some cases with version pins. I think it would be silly to have a file with code to generate without documenting the environment needed to successfully run said code.

  My proposal is, we insist that this be documented in the 'sidecar' file - pointing for example to a 'requirements' file or 'setup.py' or other setup file containing that information clearly and in a standard way (using Python library files as an example). What do we think, @cf-convention/datasets-team?

[agstephens]

Hi folks,

I am editing this and changing my mind, so please take the following as my thought-through response :-)

1. It is fine to specify that a files is "hand-edited", in which case there is no requirement to provide code.
2. Whenever, we provide code to generate a file, we should include a requirements.txt file or other instructions on how to how to set up the environment in order to run the code.