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Java NEXRAD Tools

Java NEXRAD Software Batch Processing

The Java NEXRAD Software may be used for batch processing by following the instructions below. All options are controlled via a configuration XML file.

Java NEXRAD Exporter Instructions

XML Configuration File

Batch Processing Tips

Java NEXRAD Exporter Instructions:

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  1. Download the Java NEXRAD Exporter JAR file:
    Current Stable release: jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar
    Current BETA release: jNexradExporter-1.9.7.jar (BETA)
    *Note* If your browser downloads this file with a .zip extension, rename the extension to .jar after the download is complete.
  2. Write or modify the XML configuration file. This file is described in detail below.
  3. From the command-line or script, start the Exporter with the following arguments:
    java -mx100m -jar jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar <in> <out> <format> <config>
    where:
    • <in> = Input URL, filename or directory. If directory, then all NEXRAD files in directory are processed. A URL must be for a specific file, not a directory.
    • <out> = Output file or directory for processed files. If a directory, then the output files use the input filename. The directory must already exist or it will be treated as a file.
    • <format> = Output format (use one of the following abbreviations). shp=Shapefile, wkt=Well-Known Text, asc=Arc/Info ASCII Grid, flt=Arc/Info Binary Grid, grd=GrADS Binary Grid, nc=NetCDF, tif=GeoTIFF, csv=Comma-Separated Text File (Alphanumeric-Only), rnc=Raw NetCDF
    • <config> = XML configuration file for export options. This may be a file or URL.
      The '-mx100m' specifies a maximum memory usage of 100 Megabytes. This is usually only needed for processing Level-II Velocity or Spectrum Width moments.

  4. The Exporter may also be run with a list of input files and destination directories:
    java -mx100m -jar jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar <listfile> <format>
    where:
    • <listfile> = Listfile with format of infile/dir/url,outfile/dir,config-xml-file/url.
      Example Listfile
    • <format> = Output format (use one of the following abbreviations). shp=Shapefile, wkt=Well-Known Text, asc=Arc/Info ASCII Grid, flt=Arc/Info Binary Grid, grd=GrADS Binary Grid, nc=NetCDF, tif=GeoTIFF, csv=Comma-Separated Text File (Alphanumeric-Only), rnc=Raw NetCDF

  5. Example command line arguments:

    1) Download latest N1R product from the National Weather Service (NWS) and save as a Shapefile using the specified config file. Beware: The NWS server is very slow and sometimes the connection will time-out.

    <in> = http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/SL.us008001/DF.of/DC.radar/DS.p19r1/SI.kgsp/sn.last
    <out> = D:\Nexrad_Viewer_Test\Batch\output
    <format> = shp
    <config> = D:\Nexrad_Viewer_Test\Batch\jneBatchConfig.xml


    2) Process all files in C:\ViewerData\HAS999900001\ to NetCDF using the specified config file.

    <in> = C:\ViewerData\HAS999900001\
    <out> = D:\Nexrad_Viewer_Test\Batch\output
    <format> = nc
    <config> = D:\Nexrad_Viewer_Test\Batch\jneBatchConfig.xml


    3) Process all files in listfile to GeoTIFF using the specified config files.

    <listfile> = D:\Nexrad_Viewer_Test\Batch\listfile.txt
    <format> = tif

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Java NEXRAD Exporter XML Configuration File


Download example configuration file: jneBatchConfig.xml

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Batch Processing Tips


1. Output Redirection

'>' will redirect all output (standard out and standard error)
'1>' will redirect standard out
'2>' will redirect standard error

To redirect to nowhere (disable) the output, use 'NUL' on Windows and '/dev/null' on Linux and Mac.

Examples:
  1. Ignore all output:
    Windows: [ command arguments ] >NUL
    Linux: [ command arguments ] >/dev/null

  2. Ignore standard output and send error messages to screen:
    Windows: [ command arguments ] 1>NUL
    Linux: [ command arguments ] 1>/dev/null

  3. Ignore standard output and send error messages to file:
    Windows: [ command arguments ] 1>NUL 2>errors.log
    Linux: [ command arguments ] 1>/dev/null 2>errors.log

2. Running in a 'Headless' Environment (no graphics device available)

If you get this error, 
X connection to localhost:11.0 broken (explicit kill or server shutdown).
then there is no graphics connection available. This is common when running on remote servers without using X-Windows or processing from a cronjob. To run java in a 'headless' environment, add this option:

java -Djava.awt.headless=true -jar jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar <in> <out> <format> <config>


3. Setting a different temp directory

If you get a similar error to this: 
java.io.FileNotFoundException: /tmp/tif894231.nc (Permission denied)
then you do not have permission to write to the system temp directory. To set a custom temp directory, add this option:

java -Djava.io.tmpdir=tmp -jar jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar <in> <out> <format> <config>

Note: the Java options listed above may also be combined:
java -Djava.io.tmpdir=tmp -Djava.awt.headless=true -jar jNexradExporter-1.7.5.jar ....



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Please contact Steve Ansari ( Steve.Ansari@noaa.gov ) if you have specific questions or comments about this software.