[Ifeffit] database

[Bruce Ravel]

On Monday 22 August 2005 10:42, Matt Newville wrote:
> Bruce's and Ken's IXSIF seems like a good first draft. I have
> some minor issues that I sort of don't like, but it's a very
> good start.  I wouldn't want to _store_ the data that way, but I
> think it's definitely desirable to read and write to such a
> Standard Format (once it's defined).

Matt makes a really important point in regard to my earlier post.  The
file format that Ken and I are suggesting should not reflect the
internal structure of a good database application.  The database
should be ... well ... a database.

The thing that we are suggesting is an interchange format.  I.e. it is
the file that the database app might write if the user requests a
file.  It might also be the file that data acquisition software writes
when a scan is completed at the beamline.  It might also be the file
that a program like Athena writes when an output column data file is
generated.

As such, and with libraries written in several popular languages, it
would be easy for data analysis software to import and it would be
easy for the database application under discussion to import.

B

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