ANN: HDF5 for Python (h5py) 2.0

[Andrew Collette]

Announcing HDF5 for Python (h5py) 2.0
=====================================

We are proud to announce the availability of HDF5 for Python (h5py) 2.0 final.
HDF5 for Python (h5py) is a general-purpose Python interface to the
Hierarchical Data Format library, version 5.  HDF5 is a mature scientific
software library originally developed at NCSA, designed for the fast,
flexible storage of enormous amounts of data.

>From a Python programmer's perspective, HDF5 provides a robust way to
store data, organized by name in a tree-like fashion.  You can create
datasets (arrays on disk) hundreds of gigabytes in size, and perform
random-access I/O on desired sections.  Datasets are organized in a
filesystem-like hierarchy using containers called "groups", and
accessed using the traditional POSIX /path/to/resource syntax.

Following beta feedback over the past few weeks, and taking into account the
substantial number of changes in this release, we have decided to label this
release as h5py 2.0.  While most existing code will run unmodified, we
strongly encourage all users to consult the list of changes in the document
"What's new in h5py 2.0":

  http://h5py.alfven.org/docs/intro/whatsnew.html

Downloads, FAQ and bug tracker are available at Google Code:

* Google code site:  http://h5py.googlecode.com

Most exciting changes
---------------------

* Significant improvements in stability, from a refactoring of the low-level
  component which talks to HDF5.

* HDF5 1.8.3 through 1.8.7 now work correctly and are officially supported.

* Python 3.2 is officially supported by h5py!  Thanks especially to
  Darren Dale for getting this working.

* HDF5 1.6.X is no longer supported on any platform; following the release of
  1.6.10 some time ago, this branch is no longer maintained by The HDF Group.

* Python 2.6 or later is now required to run h5py.  This is a consequence of
  the numerous changes made to h5py for Python 3 compatibility.