Data Interchange Format - Revision history

Sembiance: sample files

2024-07-30T15:24:50Z

sample files

Dan Tobias at 00:38, 16 January 2019

2019-01-16T00:38:17Z

Jsummers: Category:Lotus

2019-01-15T16:17:05Z

Category:Lotus

Jsummers: PRONOM update

2016-10-16T13:39:11Z

PRONOM update

Jsummers: /* Format description */

2015-06-25T02:21:13Z

‎Format description

Jsummers: PRONOM

2013-10-11T00:48:48Z

PRONOM

Dan Tobias at 22:43, 1 June 2013

2013-06-01T22:43:31Z

Dan Tobias at 22:37, 1 June 2013

2013-06-01T22:37:54Z

Dan Tobias: Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Text-based data |extensions={{ext|dif}} }} '''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[V..."

2013-06-01T22:35:34Z

Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Text-based data |extensions={{ext|dif}} }} '''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[V..."

New page

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Text-based data
|extensions={{ext|dif}}
}}

'''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[VisiCalc]] (Software Arts) as a format for exporting and importing spreadsheet data between different programs and platforms. VisiCalc had an option to save in this format in place of its native one, and it could be imported into a number of other programs which implemented the standard. (But reportedly some versions of Microsoft programs botched it up and misinterpreted some of the elements, interchanging VECTORS with TUPLES.)

DIF is an [[ASCII]]-based format (newer implementations support other [[Character Encodings]] as well) with two sections, a header and data. Each section is divided into chunks, which are 3 lines long in the headers and 2 lines in the data. The first line of a header chunk is an all-capital-letters chunk type name; the second line is a pair of numbers separated by a comma; and the third line is a quoted string. Data chunks have one line with a pair of numbers and one line with a quoted string or keyword.

The first number in the number pairs indicates the type of value represented by the other number and the string on the next line.

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:Data Interchange Format|Wikipedia article]]

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 == Software ==
 * [https://github.com/ziggythehamster/ruby-navy-dif Ruby program for handling DIF]
 [[Category:Lotus]]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |formattype=electronic
 |subcat=Document
 |extensions={{ext|dif}}
 |pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/41}}, {{PRONOM|x-fmt/368}}

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/41}}, {{PRONOM|x-fmt/368}}
 }}
-'''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[VisiCalc]] (Software Arts) as a format for exporting and importing spreadsheet data between different programs and platforms. VisiCalc had an option to save in this format in place of its native one, and it could be imported into a number of other programs which implemented the standard. (But reportedly some versions of Microsoft programs botched it up and misinterpreted some of the elements, interchanging VECTORS with TUPLES.)
+'''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[VisiCalc]] (Software Arts, which was later acquired by Lotus) as a format for exporting and importing spreadsheet data between different programs and platforms. VisiCalc had an option to save in this format in place of its native one, and it could be imported into a number of other programs which implemented the standard. (But reportedly some versions of Microsoft programs botched it up and misinterpreted some of the elements, interchanging VECTORS with TUPLES.)
 DIF is an [[ASCII]]-based format (newer implementations support other [[Character Encodings]] as well) with two sections, a header and data. Each section is divided into chunks, which are 3 lines long in the headers and 2 lines in the data. The first line of a header chunk is an all-capital-letters chunk type name; the second line is a pair of numbers separated by a comma; and the third line is a quoted string. Data chunks have one line with a pair of numbers and one line with a quoted string or keyword.
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 == Software ==
 * [https://github.com/ziggythehamster/ruby-navy-dif Ruby program for handling DIF]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 |subcat=Document
 |extensions={{ext|dif}}
-|pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/41}}
+|pronom={{PRONOM|x-fmt/41}}, {{PRONOM|x-fmt/368}}
 }}
 '''Data Interchange Format''' (DIF) was created in the early 1980s by the makers of [[VisiCalc]] (Software Arts) as a format for exporting and importing spreadsheet data between different programs and platforms. VisiCalc had an option to save in this format in place of its native one, and it could be imported into a number of other programs which implemented the standard. (But reportedly some versions of Microsoft programs botched it up and misinterpreted some of the elements, interchanging VECTORS with TUPLES.)

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 == Format description ==
 * [[Wikipedia:Data Interchange Format|Wikipedia article]]
-* [http://www.fileformat.info/format/dif/egff.htm Description in fileformat.info]
+* {{EGFF|dif|Lotus DIF File Format Summary}}, from the [[Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats]]
 * [http://newcenturycomputers.net/projects/dif.html Documentation from Python module for DIF]
 == Software ==
 * [https://github.com/ziggythehamster/ruby-navy-dif Ruby program for handling DIF]

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The first number in the number pairs indicates the type of value represented by the other number and the string on the next line.
-== Links ==
+The format has also been called "Navy DIF" and "Lotus DIF", though it was not created by the Navy or Lotus.
 * [[Wikipedia:Data Interchange Format|Wikipedia article]]