Customer Reviews

The Data Handbook: A Guide to Understanding the Organization and Visualization of Technical Data (TELOS - The Electronic Library of Science)

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I bought The Data Handbook when first published, and later, this 2nd (1995) edition also. It's clearly organized, with multiple b&w illustrations per page. I know no other book overviewing, with useful details, so many file formats for scientific data (e.g., CDF, netCDF, and HDF). But more than this, it explains to aspiring computer programmers the most common structures describing scientific measurements.

It's a pleasure thumbing through the pages, dipping into sections when attracted by the crisply rendered illustrations. Although not using the term in a pejorative sense, this is almost as much a "coffee table" book as a computer reference manual. Readers with well developed interests in technical matters concerning computers & science will appreciate Mr. Fortner's efforts.