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HDF5 has already demonstrated its ability to adapt to diverse applications, and to integrate with other standards, e.g., netCDF. The National Imagery Transfer Format (NITF) is another format which might benefit from HDF5 as it evolves.
NITF is the mandated standard for formatting digital imagery and imagery-related products, and exchanging them among the DoD and a number of US government agencies.
Although NITF has been improved over the years, and although designed to be extensible, there are technical and conceptual limits to its original paradigm: mono- and polychromatic images, symbols, text and associated data. NITF has been a mandated standard for many years, and enterprise architectures have been built around it. There are important reasons why it should be retained.
New sensors and algorithms are at the verge of stressing the standard with multispectral, hyperspectral, extended response, variable scale, time series, radar, video, and multisensor fusion products. Metadata are becoming more complex as the need for annotation and supporting data grows. Some imagery-like products are already originated in HDF, and others would benefit from a flexible format such as HDF.
Portions of the NITF user community are exploring ways to move beyond its limits, to incorporate enhanced metadata, and to set procedures for suitable product profiles. This presentation develops a mapping between HDF5 and NITF structures and features. It concludes with some ideas on how NITF could be extended by harmonization with HDF5, while affording minimal disruption to operational uses.