SFA Project On-line Documentation: meta-data file

The meta-data files are used to store information about a DataSet. They have .set suffix . The information stored is the name of the DataSet, the number of Dimensions , the length of Dimensions and the number of Time-steps. For each time-step the information stored is the names of actual data files, the label for that Dimension and the mapping information for that Dimension. The meta-data file is a text file.

The syntax of a meta-data file

dataset     "< DataSet name >"
dimensions  < Number of Dimensions >
length      < Size of each Dimension >
time_steps  < Number of time steps >

time_step 0

        "< Data File name >"  "< Dimension label >" < Dimension Mappings >
        .
        .
     

time_step < N >

        . . . 

where < Dimension Mappings > may be any of 
< Xdimen,  Ydimen, Zdimen, Color, Alpha, Xsize, Ysize, Zsize, Shape >

Example of a meta-data file

DataSet "Magnetohydrodynamics Simulation of the Distant Heliosphere of the Sun"
Dimensions 6
Length 35937
Time_steps 1

Time_step 0
    "_Xdimen.dat" "_x" Xdimen
    "_Ydimen.dat" "_y" Ydimen
    "_Zdimen.dat" "_z" Zdimen
    "vort33_var2.dat" "Vortex_0" none
    "vort33_var3.dat" "Vortex_1" none
    "vort33_var4.dat" "Vortex_2" none

A meta-data file with 2 time steps

dataset     "vortex dataset"
dimensions  3
length      10
time_steps  2

time_step 0

        "data/file11.dat"  "xdim"   Xdimen Color
        "data/file12.dat"   none    Ydimen
        "data/file13.dat"   none    none

time_step 1

        "data/file21.dat"  
        "data/file22.dat"  
        "data/file23.dat"

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