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| HDF5 Last Updated on 2026-07-28 The HDF5 Field Guide

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Learning the basics QUIZ

Navigate back: Main / Getting Started with HDF5 / Learning the Basics

HDF5 File Organization

1. Name and describe the two primary objects that can be stored in an HDF5 file.
2. What is an attribute?
3. Give the path name for an object called `harry` that is a member of a group called `dick`, which, in turn, is a member of the root group.

The HDF5 API

1. Describe the purpose of each of the following HDF5 APIs:
   H5A, H5D, H5E, H5F, H5G, H5T, H5Z

Creating an HDF5 File

1. What two HDF5 routines must be called to create an HDF5 file?
2. What include file must be included in any file that uses the HDF5 library?
3. An HDF5 file is never completely empty because as soon as it is created, it automatically contains a certain primary object. What is that object?

Creating a Dataset

1. Name and describe two major datatype categories.
2. List the HDF5 atomic datatypes. Give an example of a predefined datatype. How would you create a string dataset?
3. What does the dataspace describe? What are the major characteristics of the simple dataspace?
4. What information needs to be passed to the H5Dcreate function, i.e., what information is needed to describe a dataset at creation time?

Reading From and Writing To a Dataset

1. What are six pieces of information which need to be specified for reading and writing a dataset?
2. Why are both the memory dataspace and file dataspace needed for read/write operations, while only the memory datatype is required?
3. In Figure 6.1, what does this line mean?
   DATASPACE { SIMPLE (4 , 6 ) / ( 4 , 6 ) }

Creating an Attribute

1. What is an attribute?
2. Can partial I/O operations be performed on attributes?

Creating an Group

1. What are the two primary objects that can be included in a group?

Creating Groups using Absolute and Relative Names

1. Group names can be specified in two ways. What are these two types of group names?
2. You have a dataset named `moo` in the group `boo`, which is in the group `foo`, which, in turn, is in the `root` group. How would you specify an absolute name to access this dataset?

Creating Datasets in Groups

1. Describe a way to access the dataset moo described in the previous section (question 2) using a relative name. Describe a way to access the same dataset using an absolute name.

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Navigate back: Main / Getting Started with HDF5 / Learning the Basics