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IDENTIFICATION CODES & FILE NAMING STANDARDS FOR BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY PRODUCTS

Introduction

The Bureau of Meteorology's information products come in a wide variety of forms and from many sources. Cataloguing such a complex range of products is essential if users of the information, both inside the Bureau and elsewhere in Australia and the world, are to be able to identify and retrieve the particular products which are of interest to them. Products must change as needs and technology develop, so it is necessary to manage any changes in identification codes in a way which minimises disruption to users' systems.

These documents describe:

• the process by which users will be informed of any changes to particular product identification codes (IDs);
• the convention used to identify Bureau products; and

The ID list will be made more comprehensive with time, and any changes to specific product IDs or the ID convention will be displayed here.

Changes to Identification Codes (IDs)

The Product Identification Code Listing which is displayed here lists current identification codes and any codes which are new or different from current practice on the date of posting. The new or changed IDs are also listed separately. Changed IDs will come into use on the implementation date indicated, at least 30 days after first being posted on this site. New products will be implemented between the date of posting on this site and the implementation date. Changes to the IDs which are required in the future will be included in this listing 30 days prior to implementation, and interested clients will be advised by e-mail. Clients wishing to register for notification of ID changes should do so by e-mail to sras@bom.gov.au.

General form of the ID Code

The general form of the identification code is:

IDcxxxxx.ext

where:

ID = a constant which identifies this string as an ID code;

c = category of product

xxxxx = individual product identifier whose form depends on the category, c;

ext = optional file extension, indicating file type

Category of product (idCxxxxx)

Category may have the following values:

• B = Bundled products, eg IDBxxxxx
• C = Climate, eg IDCxxxxx
• D = NT, eg IDDxxxxx
• E = Satellite products, eg IDExxxxx
• G = Graphical Weather Packages, eg IDGxxxxx
• N = NSW/ACT, eg IDNxxxxx
• Q = Qld, eg IDQxxxxx
• R = Radar, eg IDRxxxxx
• S = SA, eg IDSxxxxx
• T = Tasmanian products, eg IDTxxxxx
• V = Victoria, eg IDVxxxxx
• W = WA, eg IDWxxxxx
• X = Digital Fax, eg IDXxxxxx
• Y = National Meteorological Operations Centre, eg IDYxxxxx

Individual product identifier (idcXXXXX)

The identifier field varies in length and composition, depending upon the category of product - c. For full details, refer to the Product Identification Code Listing.

Optional file extension (idcxxxxx.EXT)

The file extension is optional. When required it indicates the product's file type or format as follows:

• .au = voice file
• .axf = AIFS Exchange Format file
• .cat = concatenated voice file
• .gif = gif image file
• .htm = html/shtml file
• .jpg = jpeg image file
• .mpg = mpeg image file
• .nc = NetCDF file
• .ps = postscript
• .txt = text file
• .wav = voice file