@@ -519,48 +519,36 @@ URLs and remote files
519519
520520Three classes of files are given special treatment in GMT.
521521
522- #. Some data sets are ubiquitous and used by nearly all GMT users.
523- At the moment this collection is limited to Earth relief grids. If you specify
524- a grid input named **@earth_relief_ **\ *res * on a command line then
525- such a grid will automatically be downloaded from the GMT Data Server and placed
526- in the *server * directory under **$GMT_USERDIR ** [~/.gmt]. The resolution *res * allows a choice among
527- 15 common grid spacings: 01d, 30m, 20m, 15m, 10m, 06m, 05m, 04m, 03m, 02m, 01m,
528- 30s, and 15s (with file sizes 111 kb, 376 kb, 782 kb, 1.3 Mb, 2.8 Mb, 7.5 Mb,
529- 11 Mb, 16 Mb, 27 Mb, 58 Mb, 214 Mb, 778 Mb, and 2.6 Gb respectively) as well
530- as the SRTM tile resolutions 03s and 01s (6.8 Gb and 41 Gb for the whole set, respectively). Once
531- one of these grids have been downloaded any future reference will simply obtain the
532- file from **$GMT_USERDIR ** (except if explicitly removed by the user).
533- **Note **: The 15 arc-sec data comes from the original dataset SRTM15+.
534- Lower resolutions are spherically Gaussian-filtered versions of SRTM15+.
535- The SRTM (version 3) 1 and 3 arc-sec tiles are only available over land
536- between 60 degrees south and north latitude and are stored as highly compressed JPEG2000
537- tiles on the GMT server. These are individually downloaded as requested, converted to netCDF
538- grids and stored in subdirectories srtm1 and srtm3 under the server directory, and assembled
539- into a seamless grid using :doc: `/grdblend `. A tile is only downloaded and converted
540- once (unless the user cleans the data directories).
522+ #. GMT offers several remote global data grids that you can access via our remote file mechanism
523+ (e.g. **@earth_relief **). The first time you access one of these files, GMT will download
524+ the file (or a subset tile) from the selected GMT server and save it to the *server * directory
525+ under your **$GMT_USERDIR ** directory [~/.gmt]. Once one of these grids have been downloaded
526+ any future reference will simply obtain the file from **$GMT_USERDIR ** (except if explicitly
527+ removed by the user). See :doc: `remote-datasets ` for a comprehensive list of available remote
528+ datasets and detailed information.
541529#. If a file is given as a full URL, starting with **http:// **, **https:// **,
542530 or **ftp:// **, then the file will be downloaded to the current directory and subsequently
543- read from there (until removed by the user). If the URL is actually a CGI Get
531+ read from there (until removed by the user). If the URL is actually a CGI Get
544532 command (i.e., ends in ?par=val1&par2=val2...) then we download the file
545533 each time we encounter the URL.
546534#. Demonstration files used in online documentation, example scripts, or even the
547535 large test suite may be given in the format @\ *filename *. When such a file is
548536 encountered on the command line it is understood to be a short-hand representation
549537 of the full URL to *filename * on the GMT Cache Data site.
550538 Since this address may change over time we use the leading
551- @ to simplify access to these files. Such files will also be downloaded
539+ @ to simplify access to these files. Such files will also be downloaded
552540 to :term: `DIR_CACHE ` and subsequently read from there (until removed by the user).
553541#. By default, remote files are downloaded from the SOEST data server. However, you
554542 can override that selection by setting the environmental parameter **$GMT_DATA_SERVER ** or
555- the default setting for :term: `GMT_DATA_SERVER `. Alternatively, configure the CMake
543+ the default setting for :term: `GMT_DATA_SERVER `. Alternatively, configure the CMake
556544 parameter GMT_DATA_SERVER at compile time.
557545#. If your Internet connection is slow or nonexistent (e.g., on a plane) you can also
558546 limit the size of the largest datafile to download via :term: `GMT_DATA_SERVER_LIMIT ` or
559547 you can temporarily turn off such downloads by setting :term: `GMT_DATA_UPDATE_INTERVAL ` to "off".
560548
561549The user cache (:term: `DIR_CACHE `) and all its contents can be cleared any time
562550via the command **gmt clear cache **, while the server directory with downloaded data
563- can be cleared via the command **gmt clear data **. Finally, when a remote file is requested
551+ can be cleared via the command **gmt clear data **. Finally, when a remote file is requested
564552we also check if that file has changed at the server and re-download the updated file;
565553this check is only performed no more often than once a day.
566554
0 commit comments