The verb list
queries the MARS archive about the data availability for a given request. It is suitable for interactive or batch use to check availability of certain datasets and its collocation in the archive.
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If the keyword output=browser is used, the list output will contain the same information as given by Web-MARS when browsing the catalogue. In other words, the archive MARS content can be browsed from the command line as shown in the following example where the request
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class=cs class=dm class=dt class=e4 class=ei,stream=mdfa class=ei,stream=mnth class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=an,levtype=ml class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=an,levtype=pl class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=an,levtype=pt class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=an,levtype=pv class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=an,levtype=sfc class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1,type=fc class=ei,stream=moda,expver=1112 class=ei,stream=oper class=ei,stream=wave class=el class=en class=er class=me class=pv class=to |
If the keyword output=cost is used, the list output will generate a summary of the size, number of fields and the storage information about the data: disk or tapes. For example:
list, class = od, |
Will generate:
size=88728; |
This information is useful to see if the data is scattered across too many tapes (maybe you have to rewrite the request). It also provides a foresight of the time the request could spend retrieving the data.