Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How do I get help if my questions are not answered in the User's Guide?
A: First, refer to the documentation on this website. If that doesn't answer your question, then email: gsi_help@ucar.edu.

Q2: How do I reference the GSI User's Guide in publications?
A: Please reference the GSI User's Guide (including the version number) as follows:
Developmental Testbed Center, 2009:
Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) User's Guide for Version 1.0
Available at http://www.dtcenter.org/com-GSI/users/docs/index.php.
71 pp.

Q3: When run on Linux, the GSI has problem with prepbufr file from NCEP ftp server or with tutorial case file: gdas1.t12z.prepbufr.nr but can read tutorial case file: newgblav.gdas1.t12z.prepbufr.nr successfully.
A: This problem caused by the different byte order of IBM ("Big Endian") and Linux system ("Little Endian") when deals with binary file IO.

Prepbufr file from NCEP ftp server or gdas1.t12z.prepbufr.nr in tutorial case was generated on IBM, while newgblav.gdas1.t12z.prepbufr.nr is the same prepbufr file as gdas1.t12z.prepbufr.nr but had been byte-swapped for Linux users using a small c code call ssrc.c.

To find ssrc.c, please login GSI download page ( link ) and find it under:
"External Utilities Suggested For Use With GSI"

After compile ssrc.c with c compiler (for example ssrc.exe), you can byte-swap Big Endian prepbufr file to Little Endian prepbufr file by:
ssrc.exe < name of Big Endian prepbufr file > name of Little Endian prepbufr file