The Short And Sweet Of It...
===========================================================================
Add this directory to your MATLAB path, and you are now setup to use
mexnc.  Check the READMEs for SNCTOOLS for further instructions.  

Please note that mexnc is NOT the same as the "NetCDF Toolbox",
which is something that I did not write and therefore cannot support.



Some Efficiency Considerations
===========================================================================
Mexnc can currently use two different backends for accessing your
netcdf data, the old mexnc mex-file, and the new MATLAB netcdf package.
Choosing between them may be determined by as simple a factor as what
version of MATLAB you have, or by more complex criterion such as access
to password-protected opendap datasets.  If you have 2008a or earlier
and if your code calls mexnc, then you must use the mexnc mex-file that
should be present in the mexnc/private directory.

If you have 2008b or later, you should tell mexnc use MathWork's 
native netcdf package.  You can do this via a preference, i.e.

    >> setpref('MEXNC','USE_TMW',true);

The only reason it might ever make sense to set this preference to
false would be if you have 2009a, 2009b, or 2010a and you need to write
netcdf-4 files with mexnc (or you can upgrade to 2010b).   And please note
that 2006a through 2010a can read netcdf-4 files just fine via SNCTOOLS 
with the java backend enabled.
In order to use a netcdf4-enabled mex-file, though, you will need to 
compile it yourself.  Check the mexopts files in the src directory to get
an idea of how to do that.

So mexnc is pretty flexible about things, but all this flexibility comes
at a cost of performance.  If If you know for certain that you want to
ONLY one backend or the other, then you may wish to examine the source
code for mexnc.m starting at line 546.  Therein lies an explanation of
a way to speed up the execution of mexnc IF YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU
ARE DOING.  Again, I'll let you be the judge of that.



R2008a and Earlier
===========================================================================
Mexnc is only supported on versions R14 and later.  R13 will not pass
all of the mexnc test suite, but that is due more to the way the 
test suite is written than the code itself.  If you want to use mexnc
on R13 or below, you are welcome to do so, but you are on your own.

If you have MATLAB versions R2008a or earlier, then you need to 
realize that you still need the mex-file "mexnc".  This is not included
in this download.  You need to either retrieve it from another download
at sourceforge or compile it yourself (the source code IS still 
included).  You can find the source code in the src subdirectory.

If you are using windows, then you also need to place the netcdf.dll 
file somewhere on your SYSTEM path (not your matlab path, but your
system path).  Something like either 

    [matlabroot '/bin'] or [matlabroot '/bin/win32']

would be good choices.  You might have to reboot.



SUPPORT
===========================================================================
Please note, mexnc is NOT supported by The MathWorks, so please do
not ask them questions about it.  If you encounter problems with
mexnc, you should continue to use the same contact email address
that is listed on the sourceforge web site.



OPeNDAP
===========================================================================
I recommend that you use SNCTOOLS with the java backend if you need 
OPeNDAP access.  It's a lot easier than what follows below.

If you really wish to use an opendap-enabled version of mexnc, then
you have to compile your mex-file yourself.  You can also look at the
various mexopts files in the src directory to try to get a sense out of
what you need to grok in order to get this done.

Depending upon which release you have, you should try something like
the following.  Suppose you have R2008a.  In order to compile an opendap-
enabled mex-file, you would have to invoke

    make R2008a

If you have R2008b and higher and you want to use the native matlab 
functionality along with opendap, then you should first look at how
SNCTOOLS manages this.  It can use a java backend for all URLs while
using the native netcdf package for local I/O.  If you do not wish to
use SNCTOOLS, then you need to do a careful two-step dance with a 
preference.  When you are doing your opendap work, set this preference

    >> setpref('MEXNC','USE_TMW',false);

This will cause ALL I/O to go thru the opendap-enabled mex-file (that 
you have to compile), so remember to turn the preference back on when 
you are done with it.



Problems?  
===========================================================================
I don't have a lot of time for mexnc anymore, but you can still email me
at johne.g.evans.ne@gmail.com