ebfformat

EBF, which stands for Efficient Binary Format, is a binary file format for reading and writing binary data easily. Reading writing routines are currently available in C,C++,Fortran,Java, Python, IDL, MATLAB. A program called ebftkpy which has a set of utility functions to work with the .ebf files , e.g., viewing the contents and getting a summary, is also provided.

The EBF specification is designed to be concise and easy to understand to make it easier for others to write their own code if needed. It is also designed to simplify the programming of input output routines in different programming languages. In a nutshell an EBF file is a collection of data objects. Each data object is specified by a unique name and a single file can have multiple data objects. Each data object is preceded by a meta-data or header which describes the binary data associated with it. Among other things, this header allows the files to be portable across systems with different endianess.