Python has a netCDF4 library which can read both the old HDF5, and the new NetCDF4 files directly.
The usage (with numpy) is simple enough not to really require any routines. e.g.:

mseData = Dataset(cacheRoot + "/aug/29418/sig/MSR/MSEangle.nc").variables["data"][:];
mseT = Dataset(cacheRoot + "/aug/29418/sig/MSR/MSEangle.nc").variables["coord1"][:];



