[Last Change: 23 Dec 2011 (rev 2)]

RDB File Format

RDB files are essentially tab delimited tables of data. They are text files with header and data sections. A record in an RDB file is a string of characters, ending with the newline character.

The Header

The header has the following structure:

1. Optional comment records. Each record begins with the # character (which may be preceded by spaces).
2. A column name record. Column names are separated by a tab character. Names should be restricted to alphanumeric characters and underlines. Names should begin with an alphabetic character.
3. A column definition record. Column definitions are separated by a tab character column definition has the following template:

   WTA D
   

   where
   • W is an optional column width
   • T is the data type: S (string), N (numeric)
   • A is an optional output alignment specification: < (left aligned), > (right aligned)
   • D is a textual description of the column. It must be separated by a space from the other portion of the definition.

The Data

Each row of data is stored in a single record. Columns are separated by a tab character. Data should not contain tabs.