File Format

file format - The particular structure used for encoding data in a computer file. File formats are usually identified by the file extension (e.g. .xlsx, .csv, .dbf). File formats may be proprietary or open (with a readily available specification or description of the format). Open file formats usually maximize the potential for reuse and longevity.

[Category=Data Management ]

Source: Cornell University, 01 July 2013 08:39:52, https://confluence.cornell.edu/display/rdmsgweb/glossary

---

These advertisers support this free service

---

file format - In a computer, a file format is the layout of a file in terms of how the data within the file is organized. A program that uses the data in a file must be able to recognize and possibly access data within the file. For example, the program that we call a Web browser is able to process and display a file in the HTML file format so that it appears as a Web page, but it cannot display a file in a format designed for Microsoft's Excel program. A particular file format is often indicated as part of a file's name by a file name extension (suffix). Conventionally, the extension is separated by a period from the name and contains three or four letters that identify the format. A program that uses or recognizes a particular file format may or may not care whether the file has the appropriate extension name since it can actually examine the bits in the file to see whether the format (layout) is one it recognizes.

There are as many different file formats as there are different programs to process the files. A few of the more common file formats are:

   * Word documents (.doc)
   * Web text pages (.htm or .html)
   * Web page images (.gif and .jpg)
   * Adobe Postcript files (.ps)
   * Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf)
   * Executable programs (.exe)
   * Multimedia files (.mp3 and others)

Related glossary terms: Ohm's Law, reboot (warm boot, cold boot), self-destructing email, shared memory, electron, L1 and L2, permittivity (electric permittivity), cardinality, angular velocity (rotational velocity), SKU (stockkeeping unit)

[Category=Data Management ]

Source: WhatIs.com, 10 August 2013 10:39:35, http://whatis.techtarget.com/glossary/Data-and-Data-Management