CoCo-80 User Manual
133
The ASAM ODS standard has the fundamental quality of storing data with an
architecture-independent method. This leads to great advantages when
exchanging data between different sources and possible prospective customers.
Many systems in test, evaluation, and simulation environments have their own
proprietary formats to store data. These formats usually are very different from
each other regarding the description of the configuration (unit under test, test
sequence, test equipment, etc.) as well as the way results are stored (database,
binary files, etc.).
The main objectives for a standardization of data access interfaces are to reduce
costs and risks within projects, and to provide a reliable basis for
implementations in the area of data storage and data usage. Using standardized
interfaces and common structures minimizes the efforts for the system
integration within the heterogeneous environments discussed above and makes it
much easier to exchange data.
Because of these benefits the ASAM ODS data format was chosen as the internal
format for the CoCo-80 and the EDM software.
UFF Files
The CoCo-80 and EDM Software also support the Universal File format (UFF).
This format was originally developed by the Structural Dynamics Research
Corporation (SDRC) in the late 1960s and early 1970s to facilitate data transfer
between computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided test (CAT) in order to
facilitate computer aided engineering (CAE). SDRC, as part of EDS, continues to
support and utilize the UF formats as part of their CAE software. Currently, MTS,
Noise and Vibration Division supports and continues to develop IDEAS software
in the test area that utilizes UF formats.
The formats were originally developed as 80 character (card image), ASCII
records that occur in a specific order according to each UF format. As computer
files became routinely available, single UF formats were concatenated into
computer file structures. Recently, a hybrid UF file structure (UF Dataset 58
Binary) was developed for experimental data that allows data to be stored in a
more efficient binary format.
Before the introduction of ASAM ODS, the use of the Universal File Format as a
de-facto "standard" has been of great value to the experimental dynamics
(vibration and acoustic) community, particularly in the area of modal analysis.
Both users and vendors have benefited from this de-facto standard.
The EDM software will be able to export the data into UFF (Dataset 58) and
BUFF (Dataset Binary 58). For more information on UFF refer to
http://www.sdrl.uc.edu/uff/uff.html.
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