A simple C++ and Python HDF5 Wrapper

We provide a simple set of classes for accessing core HDF5 functionality from C++. This was needed since

• The HDF5 C interface is not trivial to use peroperly, particularly in regards to data type conversions and resource management
• It is very easy to use the C interface incorrectly without knowning it.
• The standard HDF5 C++ interface doesn't really simplify use of the HDF5 library and doesn't make use of the features of C++.

The main classes provide access too:

• HDF5 files through RMF::HDF5File and RMF::HDF5ConstFile
• HDF5 groups through RMF::HDF5Group and RMF::HDF5ConstGroup
• HDF5 data sets through RMF::HDF5DataSetD and RMF::HDF5ConstDataSetD

The Const variants are for read only files.

They allow one to create a manipulate data sets containing floating point values, integers, strings, variable length arrays of floating point values and a few other types. Attributes on data sets of groups of those types can also be manipulated.

The top level classes are, in turn, derived from RMF::HDF5Object, RMF::HDF5ConstAttributes and RMF::HDF5MutableAttributes which provide access to general HDF5 per-object and attribute functionality (all objects in HDF5 can have arbitrary small pieces of data attached to them via attributes).

Not all of the functionality of the HDF5 C library is covered in C++. You can get the corresponding native handle from most objects with methods like RMF::HDF5File::get_handle() and use that for other operations if needed. Or submit a patch to the library.