Function Types

Instrument family functions are grouped according to their usage within the OOI system.

Core Functions

These are the primary functions used in the calculation of oceanographic parameters by OOI from the different instrument families. They were built from multiple sources (e.g., vendor code and/or documentation, published algorithms, pseudocode developed by OOI Project Scientists, etc.).

Helper Functions

Some of the core functions require additional functions that are used within the core function as part of the processing workflow. These are grouped as helper functions within each instrument family. For example, the flo_bback_total function calls a total of four helper functions: flo_zhang_scatter_coeffs, flo_reactive_index, flo_isotherm_compress and flo_density_seawater.

Helper functions are documented alongside their core counterparts in each instrument family page (where applicable), under a collapsed "Helper Functions" section.

Wrapper Functions

Some modules expose thin wrapper functions in addition to the core and helper functions. These wrappers exist because the OOI data management system historically imposed constraints on function outputs. For each function, the system could only accept one output, while the core and helper functions could return multiple outputs. External users should use the core and helper functions directly as they will be more efficient.

Two wrapper patterns appear in the codebase:

Single-output wrappers extract one value from a core function that returns multiple outputs. The OOI data management system historically required one output per function call; the core function is the right entry point for external use since it returns all outputs at once.

Named-product wrappers call a single shared implementation function under instrument-specific or product-specific names. For example, flo_chla, flo_cdom, and flo_beta are all thin wrappers around flo_scale_and_offset, which is the actual computation. The named wrappers exist so that each OOI data product has a uniquely named function; external users should call flo_scale_and_offset directly with the appropriate calibration coefficients.

Wrapper functions are documented alongside their core counterparts in each instrument family page (where applicable), under a collapsed "Wrapper Functions" section.