Binary data (branch from future of VOTable)

[martin hill]

Quoting Tony Linde <ael at star.le.ac.uk>:

> > I have yet to see a standard for bulk binary data transport 
> > that is significantly better than FITS.  Hence the wrapping 
> 
> There's a BinX format floating about from (I think) the grid world - and Guy
> told me about some DFDL (pronounced 'daffodil' apparently) which is a way of
> allowing xml-based tools to read binary format data. I don't know much more
> about it.

They're not ready yet; BinX is mostly a way of taking existing binary structures 
and presenting them as XML.  So we can feed FITS files through BinX and apply it 
to XML parsers etc, treating the FITS file like XML.  This is then reversible.

However they are both really designed around representing existing binary 
formats, usually table-based, in an XMLy way rather than the other way around. 

Hopefully later Martin W says there will be better ways of taking XML models and 
storing them in binary, but not yet, ya boo sux. 

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