2.1 PnetCDF Library Interface Descriptions

Each interface description for a particular PnetCDF function in this and later chapters contains:

• a description of the purpose of the function (API);
• whether the API is called while the file is in define or data mode;
• whether the API is collective (to be called by all processes opening the same file) or independent (to be called independently from other processes);
• a C function prototype that presents the type and order of the formal parameters to the function;
• a description of each formal parameter in the C interface;
• a list of possible error conditions; and
• an example of a C program fragment calling the PnetCDF function (and perhaps other PnetCDF functions).

The examples follow a simple convention for error handling, always checking the error status returned from each PnetCDF function call and calling a handle_error function in case an error was detected. For an example of such a function, see ncmpi_strerror.