Filematch: a format for the interchange of computer-based files of structured data

The structure of data in computer-based files is information which may not be explicit in the files themselves, but is incorporated in part in the computer software designed to process the files. If a computer-processable file of data is to be processed using a “system” other than the one used to generate the file initially, conversion of the file to another format is normally necessary. A format, called FILEMATCH, is presented which for structures encountered in earth science data, incorporates the structural information in the files themselves, thus providing a medium for interchange of files among a variety of software systems.