HP 8753E manual CITIfile Data Format, CITIllle Keyword Reference

The CITIfile Data Format and Keyword Reference

This appendix contains the following information:

nThe CITIllle Data Format

q Description and Overview q Definition Of CITIflle Terms q CITIfile Examples

nThe CITIllle Keyword Reference.

The CITIfile Data Format

Description and Overview

CITIfile is a standardized data format, used for exchanging data between different computers and instruments. CITIflle is an abbreviation for “Common Instrumentation Transfer and Interchange file”. This standard has been a group effort between instrument designers and designers of computer-aided design programs. As much as possible, GIlWile meets current needs for data transfer, and it was designed to be expandable so it can meet future needs.

CITIfile defines how the data inside an ASCII package is formatted. Since it is not tied to any particular disk or transfer format, it can be used with any operating system (BASIC, DOS, UNIX, etc), with any disk format (LIF, DOS, 1, etc), or with any transfer mechanism (disk, LAN, GPIB, etc).

By careful implementation of the standard, instruments and software packages using CITIfile are able to load and work with data created on another instrument or computer. It is possible, for example, for a network analyzer to directly load and display data measured on a scalar analyzer, or for a software package running on a computer to read data measured on the network analyzer.

Dalq Formats

There are two main types of data formats: binary and ASCII. CITIllle uses the ASCII text format. While this format does take up more bytes of space than a binary format, ASCII data is a transportable, standard type of format which is supported by all operating systems. In addition, the ASCII format is accepted by most text editors. This allows files to be created, examined, and edited easily, making CITIfiIe easier to test and debug.

File and Operating System Formats

CITIhle was designed to be independent of the data storage mechanism, and therefore may be implemented for any file system. However transfer between file systems may sometimes be necessary. Any commercially available software that has the ability to transfer ASCII files between systems may be used to transfer CITIRle data.

The ClTlfile Data Format and Keyword Reference A-l