This is done in preparation for NetCDF version 4.0 which was already released as a beta version at the end of April. This version has been under development over the last couple of years. We have been patiently waiting for it:
- It allows parallel IO using MPI-IO and HDF5
- Extended XDR layer
- large file support
- Multiple unlimited (growing) dimensions
- File compression capabilities
Please check the following link for more information about NetCDF-4.