On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 9:21 AM, <karl AT aspodata DOT se> wrote= :

Britton Kerin:
> On Sun, Jan 3, 2016 at 6:25 PM, John Doty <jpd AT noqsi DOT com> wrote:
...
> > Although these are good measures, once you adopt= them you may start asking
> > yourself why you aren't just using a binary format.=C2=A0 The= argument for text
> > is that you can glance at a chunk of it and easily tell what'= s going on.
> > A stronger argument for text is that you can process it with text= -oriented
> > tools.
> But ultimately the reason for wanting to use those text-oriented tools= is
> the same: you can see what you're working on with your own eyes.= =C2=A0 In every
> other respect binary is better.

I counter that.
. you have to check a binary file for valid values just as you do for a
=C2=A0 text file
. if your binary file is in some way invalid, you will have a greater
=C2=A0 problem correcting it than a text file
. discussing why a file is invalid is easier with a text file
. a binary file might be smaller, but that does not matter much
. text files are better provided for by version systems (e.g. git)
. it is easier to write tools that write text than binary, because
=C2=A0 debugging the output is easier

Regarding vcs of text data files for GUI program, it's a stre= tch to claim that the fact that they're text makes them much more compa= tible.=C2=A0 The diffs are only useful for the most trivial of cases.=C2=A0= For it to be really useful you need a (non-text) diff viewer of =C2=A0some= sort.

All the rest of the a= bove still boil down to examples of things that are easier because you can = see the data, and therefore manipulate and validate it more easily.

=C2=A0

Also, there is no reason to change a file format unless you change the
functionality it provides, I have to "side heavily" with John on = this.
If you want to change the file format, you first have to provide some
goodies that will make people to accept it. And no such "goodie"<= br> thing has appeared.

A little= while back a PhD Stefan Salewski put together a very good start on a very = nice router.=C2=A0 IIRC he said 300-400 hours of effort, probably about $10= 0k worth with overhead in the american market.=C2=A0 It's not C (for go= od reasons) and currently can't talk to pcb at all.=C2=A0 I would like = to somehow arrange things such than efforts like this could maybe get used.=

=C2=A0

You might write a library that reads and writes the files and if people
find it useful, they will start using it, else, it will be just your own project.

True.=C2=A0 It migh= t be useless but should at least be non-destructive.

=C2=A0

Britton