cf.Field.dump

Field.dump(*args, **kwargs)

A full description of the field construct.

Returns a description of all properties, including those of metadata constructs and their components, and provides selected values of all data arrays.

Added in version (cfdm): 1.7.0

Parameters:

data: bool, optional

If True (the default) then display the first and last Field data values. This can take a long time if the data needs an expensive computation (possibly including a slow read from local or remote disk), in which case setting data to False will not display these values, thereby avoiding the computational cost. This only applies to the Field’s data - the first and last values of data arrays stored in metadata constructs are always displayed.

Note that when the first and last values are displayed, they are cached for fast future retrieval.

Added in version (cfdm): 1.12.3.0

display: bool, optional

If False then return the description as a string. By default the description is printed.

Returns:

str or None

The description. If display is True then the description is printed and None is returned. Otherwise the description is returned as a string.