Add docs on installing netcdf

.typos.toml

@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ extend-exclude = ["netcdf-src/source", "netcdf-sys"]
 extend-ignore-identifiers-re = [
   "Dout",
   "is_ambigous", # Remove when deprecated item is removed
+  "typ",
 ]

README.md

@@ -31,13 +31,12 @@ All variable data is read into a contiguous buffer, or into an [ndarray](https:/
 
 ## Building
 
-This crate depends on `libnetcdf`, but a static build from source is also supported, which can be enabled using the `static` feature.
+This crate depends on the library [`netcdf-c`](https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/netcdf/) which must be installed on the machine, along with libraries such as `hdf5`. An alternative to the system libraries is the use of the `static` feature of this crate (`cargo add netcdf --features static`), which compiles `libnetcdf` from source. The `static` feature requires `cmake`, a `c++` compiler and more to be installed on the build machine.
 
-The crate is built on several platforms using github actions, and is currently known to build form from source on all major platforms (linux, macos, windows (gnu+msvc)), and through the package installers `conda` and `apt`.
+The crate is built on several platforms using github actions, and is currently known to build form from source on all major platforms (linux, macos, windows (gnu+msvc)), and through the package installers `conda` and `apt`. Please see the github workflows for tips on how to install `netcdf`.
 
-If during compilation there is an error in building the `hdf5` crate, consider using the `static` feature which will include a compatible version of both `netcdf` and `hdf5`. This is likely to be an issue [upstream](https://github.com/aldanor/hdf5-rust/issues/262).
 
-### Building without `libnetcdf` or building statically
+### Building `libnetcdf` statically
 1. `git clone https://github.com/georust/netcdf`
 2. `git submodule update --init --recursive`
 3. `cargo build --features static`

netcdf-sys/build.rs

@@ -172,9 +172,6 @@ fn from_utf8_to_trimmed_string(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
 }
 
 impl NcInfo {
-    fn guess() -> Self {
-        todo!()
-    }
     fn from_path(path: &Path) -> Self {
         Self {
             version: None,
@@ -258,7 +255,9 @@ fn main() {
         info = if let Some(nc_dir) = nc_dir.as_ref() {
             NcInfo::gather_from_ncconfig(Some(nc_dir)).unwrap_or_else(|| NcInfo::from_path(nc_dir))
         } else {
-            NcInfo::gather_from_ncconfig(None).unwrap_or_else(NcInfo::guess)
+            NcInfo::gather_from_ncconfig(None).unwrap_or_else(||
+                panic!("A system version of libnetcdf could not be found. Consider installing to some default location, use NETCDF_DIR, or prefer the static version of libnetcdf by setting the `static` feature on `netcdf-sys`")
+            )
         };
 
         println!("cargo::rustc-link-search={}", info.libdir.display());

netcdf/src/lib.rs

@@ -14,7 +14,14 @@
 //!
 //! For more information see:
 //! * [The official introduction to `netCDF`](https://docs.unidata.ucar.edu/nug/current/netcdf_introduction.html)
-//! * [The `netCDF-c` repository](https://github.com/Unidata/netcdf-c)
+//! * [The `NetCDF-c` repository](https://github.com/Unidata/netcdf-c)
+//!
+//! # Installing netcdf-c
+//!
+//! This crate depends on [Unidata NetCDF-c](https://github.com/Unidata/netcdf-c) and dependencies
+//! of this library (such as hdf5).
+//! An alternative to the system libraries is to use the bundled sources of netcdf by using the `static` feature of this crate. This will require build utilities such as `cmake`, `c++` compiler and more.
+//!
 //!
 //! # Examples
 //!

netcdf/src/variable.rs

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ use crate::utils::{checked_with_lock, with_lock};
 ///
 /// This type is used for retrieving data from a variable.
 /// Metadata on the `netCDF`-level can be retrieved using e.g.
-/// [`fill_value`](Self::fill_value), [`endinanness`](Self::endianness).
+/// [`fill_value`](Self::fill_value), [`endianness`](Self::endianness).
 /// Use [`attributes`](Self::attribute) to get additional metadata assigned
 /// by the data producer. This crate will not apply any of the transformations
 /// given by such attributes (e.g. `add_offset` and `scale_factor` are NOT considered).