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Update info about remote data set (#8672)
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doc/rst/source/reference/features.rst

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