NetSTORM’ user interface has been developed using Microsoft Visual Basic 6. Its computational core is primarily written in Lahey Fortran 95. The program was originally developed using Fortran and FoxPro prior to conversion of the user interface to its current format in 2001. The Fortran code conforms to Fortran 95 standards. It thus bears minimal resemblance to old-style Fortran programs, but maintains compatibility and continuity with the language’s heritage. Recent additions to the program, all of which were adapted from existing Fortran codes, include L-moments routines (Hosking, 1997), daily disaggregation code (Socolofsky, Adams and Entekhabi, 2001), and a sorting algorithm (National Center for Atmospheric Research, 1998).

 

Some elements of the program are completely coded in Visual Basic; others call the Fortran dynamic link library (DLL) module, which appears as a temporary window on-screen as it runs. Program inputs and outputs are text files, with the exception of the NetSTORM module, which can produce very large output files. The NetSTORM module produces dBASE (.dbf) tables that are incorporated into a Microsoft Access-format database. The program produces no output graphics, as most of its outputs are multi-column tables or long, discontinuous time series. Some of the output tables are readily incorporated into spreadsheets and databases for further custom analysis. The program is linked to a context-sensitive HTML help file.

 

Computations within NetSTORM are performed using English units, reflecting common US engineering practice. The program’s IDF module is unit-independent however.

 

NetSTORM has been used within CDM since 1991 and by the Philadelphia Water Department since 1995. It is distributed to CDM’s clients, government agencies and academic users upon request. The program has not been commercially distributed