Enabling WMS time series data download in TDS 5.0

[rsignell-usgs]

Although there are other ways to get time series data from a 4D/5D dataset on a THREDDS 5.0 server, I think it would be helpful to allow time series download as data (XML/JSON) using the getTimeseries extension in ncWMS2, so that clients like TerriaJS could consume and display time series data from THREDDS using this approach.

To allow this behaviour in the standalone ncWMS2, the admin has to enable download, as described here: https://github.com/Reading-eScience-Centre/edal-java/issues/48#issuecomment-195380106

Since we don't have an admin interface with ncWMS on THREDDS, should we just enable by default, so that requests like this would work?

http://thredds-jumbo.unidata.ucar.edu/thredds/wms/grib/FNMOC/WW3/Global_1p0deg/Best?REQUEST=GetTimeseries&LAYERS=Best/sig_wav_ht_surface&QUERY_LAYERS=Best/sig_wav_ht_surface&BBOX=-180,-144,180,144&SRS=EPSG:4326&FEATURE_COUNT=5&HEIGHT=600&WIDTH=750&X=228&Y=224&STYLES=default/default&VERSION=1.1.1&TIME=2016-10-08T00:00:00.000Z/2016-11-14T00:00:00.000Z&INFO_FORMAT=text/xml

[rsignell-usgs]

@guygriffiths, what do you think? Is there a downside to enabling this? I'm assuming there might be since this is not the default with the standalone ncWMS2.

[guygriffiths]

@rsignell-usgs As Jon said, we don't want this to be the default behaviour for ncWMS2, but it's very straightforward to make it the default behaviour in THREDDS. It would just involve changing line 199 in this: https://github.com/Unidata/thredds/blob/5.0.0/tds/src/main/java/thredds/server/wms/ThreddsWmsCatalogue.java from return false to return true.

It's also a relatively simple job to make it configurable within THREDDS if so desired.

[lesserwhirls]

As long as we don't have to maintain a fork of edal-java (or other artifacts), then I'm on board, at the very least making this configurable. Since we wouldn't need to, then I say 👍