Binary and Character Files

Data can be stored in two formats:

• Binary files are in a compact machine-readable form, but are generally specific to a particular type of computer.

• Character files (which are usually in ASCII code) generally have to be much larger to hold the same amount of information, but are human-readable. Character files can be transferred relatively easily between different types of computers.

The AVEVA base product Databases (DBs) are stored as binary files so that large amounts of data can be held efficiently. The RECONFIGURER provides a means to convert the AVEVA base product DBs from binary files into character files and vice versa.