Importing very special binary data into Diadem

[Newton2k1]

In order to use DIAdem I need to import binary data from transient recorders. The data is stored in block mode (CH after CH), as X-Y data pairs. All channels have different length but the structure and channel names are written into a special header block, preceeding the data. The X-Y data pairs are written into words (32-bit) with variable X/Y separation, that is that Y maybe e.g. 12-bit wide and thus X using the remaining 20 bits of the word. The X/Y separation position is coded in the header too.
Can I define a very complex import rule directly in DIAdem or can I call a LabVIEW file read and decode driver? Or is it simply impossible, except I convert all of my 120000 data sets and have them using 4 times more space?


Many thanks in advance to the experts!

Marco Mailand
ABB Switzerland Ltd.
High Voltage Technology

[IS]

Mr Mailand,
generally, you can import binary data with the function "Import via header" which you find in the file menu (submenu DAT files) in the Navigator / Data Window. Within the dialog you can specify how your data is ordered in the file. But you are limited to some standard storage mode so you might not succeed importing the data in that way.
Of course you can also call LabVIEW VIs and write the imported Data directly to DIAdem channels. The LabVIEW-DIAdem Connectivity VIs provide the functions you need for the data exchange.
Another way would be to import the data with help of a VBScript.
But there is also another method to expand the DIAdem features: With the GPI toolkit you can generate your own plugin DLLs for DIAdem. You can implement all the code you need
to import the data in a c-program and import that function into DIAdem. In that way you will be able to load your data just as any other datatype using the standard file open nemu.

GPI Toolkit for add-on DIAdem DLL creation
http://digital.ni.com/softlib.nsf/websearch/D605AA96CF81760C86256C7600742EC5?opendocument&node=132070_US

LabVIEW DIAdem Connectivity VIs Version 2.1
http://digital.ni.com/softlib.nsf/websearch/D73B15862235486D86256D2D00798738?opendocument&node=132070_US

Calling LabVIEW VIs interactively from DIAdem
http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/niepd_web_display.display_epd4?p_guid=D18837DE23EE32F6E034080020E74861&p_node=DZ52246&p_source=External


Ingo Schumacher
Application Engineering
National Instruments

[AndreasH_Ha]

Mr.Mailand,
I'd like to check whether we can provide a more convenient way to work with your data in DIAdem. Would it be possible to get some more detailed information e.g. a description of the file header and some example data sets ?

Thanks in advance

[Newton2k1 · Accepted solution]

Hi Andreas,
regarding the e-mail of Herve Baour from NI-CH I would like to inform you that I can not yet give you example files because the data format is buried in F77-code w/o any general description. It was developed where people used ATARI Home Computers to write text and no format was standardized. Because of the lack of mass storage the compression was really maximized with that special format. At this moment I'm able to read and analyze the header and extract the channel access information, but I can not access the channels reliably. That means some I can access, some not and I don't know where the error is. I assume in some rounding effect of the real by integer division which is used to calculate the start block of the channel.

Best regards, Mar
co

P.S.: You may contact me offline under mailto:Marco.Mailand@ch.abb.com