Are there limitations to HDF4 files?

Yes. Here are some of the limitations on HDF4 files:

• HDF4 files cannot be larger than 2 GB.
• There is a limit of 20000 objects in an HDF4 file. Usually the limit is even less than that, and depends on the type of objects or features used.
• Minimal parallel I/O support.
• Supports only 1-D array of compound datatypes.
• Cannot easily delete or move objects in a file.
• Supports only 1 unlimited dimension (SD).
• Datasets with an unlimited dimension cannot be chunked or compressed. (SD)