From: Bjoern Kindler <Kindler.Bjoern@MH-Hannover.DE>
  To  : rasmb@bbri.harvard.edu
  Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 09:37:05 +0100

file format; our solution

Dear RASMBers,

I would like to describe our current solution (with extinction optic
files) for data storing. For each experiment with the ultracentrifuge
we create an additional file with information about each cell. These
information include the sample and the buffer. The program used for
setting up the comment-file also calculates the buffer density and
viscosity from data tables. Then another program allows to pick all
the scan-files we do want to use in the evaluation of the experiment.
For each selected scan a new file is written (also an ASCII-file, by
the way) containing the information for the specific cell (from the
comment file), the duration of the scan and all the information from
the original file. These files are named with a four letter experiment
name (e.g. U201), tow digits for different wavelengths and speeds
during the run and two characters for the cell number (e.g. Z1 for the
first cell). The extension of the file is then used to count them
(starting at .001). All scans from one experiment can then be stored
in one directory and are therefore easy to organize.

The contents of the comment file, the original data-file names and the
names of the generated new files are written to another
information-file. These small files can then be used to find old data
via the comments... The new generated scan-files and easily be
compressed with an ordinary compression tool like pkzip in order to
save disk space.

This solution for the file-problem is surely not very high-tech, but
it has the advantage of being both simple and convenient for the user.
And it works fine with our software. :) 

Regards

   Bjoern

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Kindler@BPC.Mh-Hannover.de
FAX: Int.+49 511 532 5966
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