The netCDF-4 library can (since version 4.1) read HDF4 data files, if they were created with the SD (Scientific Data) API.
To enable this feature, use the –enable-hdf4 option. The location for the HDF4 header files and library must be set in the CPPFLAGS and LDFLAGS options.
For HDF4 access to work, the library must be build with netCDF-4 features.