In the absence of a Java(TM) implementation of the HDF library, Java applications that need to directly access data in HDF files require a Java interface to the native code HDF library.
Bad: It’s complex, probably not performance-optimal, and has historically been brittle Good: Works with existing files, no changes to the HDF library necessary, useful in non-HDF contexts as well. VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It has a more powerful and flexible data model, supports files larger than 2 GB, and supports parallel I/O. HDF5 was designed and implemented to address the deficiencies of HDF4.x. Hierarchical Data Format 5 (HDF5) is a file format and library for storing scientific data.
