[Paraview] Writing binary files: C/Fortran interface to VTK XMLfiles.

Dominik Szczerba domi at vision.ee.ethz.ch
Wed Feb 1 07:19:53 EST 2006


After a few hours I am basically succesful only with ASCII versions,
tried binary inline/appended with various headers with no luck.
Does anyone have any clear definitions and/or examples? I found bits and
pieces on information on the mailinglist, but that was apparently not
enough.
thanks and regards,
DS

Dominik Szczerba wrote:
> OK, I didnt know it is possible. Will give it a try tomorrow evntl. come
> back.
> Thanks a lot,
> Dominik
> 
> Berk Geveci wrote:
> 
>>Why not go zlib compressed without base64 encoding? That's supported you know...
>>
>>On 1/31/06, Dominik Szczerba <domi at vision.ee.ethz.ch> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I see the point. And yes, I want to stay far away from ASCII. So what
>>>format would you recommend to STORE my results in a COMPRESSED way
>>>maintaining readability with Paraview? Any binary legacy file I produce
>>>takes gigabytes - crunched with gzip a fraction of it, but paraview
>>>won't read it. ASCII is simply prohibitive, base64'ed with
>>>zlibcompressor not much better. At the moment I store my results in my
>>>own gzipped format, and convert them to VTK format on demand - but that
>>>is pretty annoying.
>>>regards,
>>>--dsz
>>>
>>>Berk Geveci wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Base64 encoding is only necessary if you want your XML file to be
>>>>ASCII. This is necessary if you want the file to conform to XML so
>>>>that the file can be opened in XML viewers (like a browser). Also,
>>>>some people prefer transferring ASCII files instead of binary files.
>>>>If you are not interested in either of these, there is no need to have
>>>>base64 encoding. I would recommend not using it in fact. One of these
>>>>days I will change the default in paraview so that it does not write
>>>>base64 encoded files.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>On 1/31/06, Dominik Szczerba <domi at vision.ee.ethz.ch> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Sorry to interupt your discussion but nobody ever explained me this: why
>>>>use base64 encoding at all? Isint it a step back to huge ASCII files??
>>>>E.g. I see no significant compression with the VTK's zlib compressor
>>>>when using XML data files because the compressed stream is converted to
>>>>ASCII. Will someone kindly explain me this paradox?
>>>>Thanks
>>>>Dominik
>>>>
>>>>Thierry Dubuis wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>There are lot of encoding Base 64 program on the web but only in C, Java
>>>>>or Visual Basic.
>>>>
>>>>>If you can use C/C++ compiler, I thing the best way for you is to use
>>>>>the Brad King's fortran code example (see my last email).
>>>>>To convert a data array to a string in C we use the memory copy in
>>>>>fortran I don't know.
>>>>>Could you use pointer? 2 pointer on the same memory adress
>>>>>1. the fist with the real*8 type
>>>>>2. the second with a character type
>>>>
>>>>>Try in this way.
>>>>
>>>>>Best regards,
>>>>>Thierry Dubuis
>>>>
>>>>>Stéphane Montésino wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>Thanks for all tese answers, but I 'm still like an an homosexual with
>>>>>>a wonderfull girl. I don't know how to use it (sorry her).
>>>>
>>>>>>In fact, I would like to directly write this type of file that I can
>>>>>>obtain when I save my data with Paraview:
>>>>
>>>>>><?xml version="1.0"?>
>>>>>><VTKFile type="RectilinearGrid" version="0.1"
>>>>>>byte_order="LittleEndian" compressor="vtkZLibDataCompressor">
>>>>>><RectilinearGrid WholeExtent="1 8 1 4 1 16">
>>>>>> <Piece Extent="1 8 1 4 1 16">
>>>>>>   <PointData>
>>>>>>     <DataArray type="Float32" Name="pressure" format="appended"
>>>>>>offset="0"           />
>>>>>>   </PointData>
>>>>>>   <CellData>
>>>>>>   </CellData>
>>>>>>   <Coordinates>
>>>>>>     <DataArray type="Float32" Name="X_COORDINATES"
>>>>>>format="appended" offset="956"         />
>>>>>>     <DataArray type="Float32" Name="Y_COORDINATES"
>>>>>>format="appended" offset="1036"        />
>>>>>>     <DataArray type="Float32" Name="Z_COORDINATES"
>>>>>>format="appended" offset="1092"        />
>>>>>>   </Coordinates>
>>>>>> </Piece>
>>>>>></RectilinearGrid>
>>>>>><AppendedData encoding="base64">
>>>>>>_AQAAAACAAAAACAAAuQIAAA==eJwVy8fvoFMUx+HDdIkyWOiG/0Bvmzfm   etc.....
>>>>>></AppendedData>
>>>>>></VTKFile>
>>>>
>>>>>>My knowledge are only reduces to Fluid mechanics.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Encode in Base 64 ? More details please...How to ?
>>>>
>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>
>>>>>>Link properly to vtkIO ? More details please.
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Does it mean that VTK IO library should be installed on
>>>>
>>>>>>the Computer where my CFD code run ?.
>>>>>>I don't run my code on my own computer. It runs in Computing center
>>>>>>where I can't install what I want.
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>So I would like to obtain some fortran routine I could link
>>>>
>>>>>>myself  to my  CFD code  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>
>>>>>>When I try  to write binary data in a formatted file:
>>>>>>run-time error F6204: WRITE(pressure.vtr)
>>>>>>- unformatted I/O not consistent with OPEN options
>>>>
>>>>>>When I try  to write formatted string in an unformatted file:
>>>>>>run-time error F6200: WRITE(pressure.vtr)
>>>>>>- formatted I/O not consistent with OPEN options
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>How to convert my data to a string ?
>>>>
>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>The format for raw appended binary data should be
>>>>
>>>>>><AppendedData encoding="raw">
>>>>>>_NNNN...........................
>>>>>></AppendedData>
>>>>
>>>>>>Where the underscore is literal (as you already have) and the NNNN is a
>>>>>>four-byte block containing an unsigned 32-bit count of the number of
>>>>>>"words" in the array.  A word is one value of the type of the array, so
>>>>>>in your case the NNNN would have the number of float values.  Then the
>>>>>>number of bytes of binary data to follow should be NNNN*sizeof(float).
>>>>
>>>>>>If you have another appended data array in the same file then start it
>>>>>>immediately after the end of the first array (with no newline or any
>>>>>>other character.  Then specify in the offset="..." attribute for the
>>>>>>corresponding DataArray the number of bytes beyond the underscore where
>>>>>>the second array begins.
>>>>
>>>>>>-Brad
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>Thierry Dubuis wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>Hello Stéphane,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>perhaps this email can help you ?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Else if you want code directly your program in fortran :
>>>>>>>1. You must encode all you data in Base64
>>>>>>>2. And write them like a string.
>>>>>>>3. don't forget to add the size of your data block (integer*4)
>>>>>>>encoded in base64 before you block.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Best regards,
>>>>>>>Thierry Dubuis
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>-------- Original Message --------
>>>>>>>Subject:     Re: [Paraview] Writing binary files: C/Fortran interface
>>>>>>>to VTK XML files.
>>>>>>>Date:     Tue, 07 Jun 2005 10:06:51 -0400
>>>>>>>From:     Brad King <brad.king at kitware.com>
>>>>>>>To:     SamuelKey <samuelkey at comcast.net>
>>>>>>>CC:     paraview <paraview at paraview.org>, "Wylie, Brian"
>>>>>>><bnwylie at sandia.gov>
>>>>>>>References:
>>>>>>><200506030152.j531quWp005650 at rrcs-mta-04.hrndva.rr.com>
>>>>>>><42A05837.3010206 at kitware.com> <000a01c5684c$1d1a6740$6e01a8c0 at last>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>SamuelKey wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Needing to have a C-compiler is not a problem for me; I have one.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Let me try to work with what you commit next week and see if I have
>>>>>>>>any ideas. I will be gone all next week, so you won't hear from me
>>>>>>>>until week after next. With luck you may hear from someone else
>>>>>>>>that will help keep you busy, though I suspect "busy" is not a
>>>>>>>>problem for you.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Okay, the C/Fortran interface is now available.  A C program can do
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>#include "vtkXMLWriterC.h"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>and link to vtkIO.  A Fortran program can use the interface (see the
>>>>>>>example code below) but will need to compile one extra .c file to
>>>>>>>link properly to vtkIO.  See VTK/IO/vtkXMLWriterF.h for instructions.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>-Brad
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>   PROGRAM Hello
>>>>>>>   INTEGER writer
>>>>>>>   INTEGER success
>>>>>>>   INTEGER*8 numpoints/8/
>>>>>>>   INTEGER*8 numcells/1/
>>>>>>>   INTEGER*8 cellsSize/9/
>>>>>>>   REAL*4 pdata(8)/0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1/
>>>>>>>   REAL*4 points(24)/0,0,0, 1,0,0, 1,1,0, 0,1,0,
>>>>>>>  _                  0,0,1, 1,0,1, 1,1,1, 0,1,1/
>>>>>>>   INTEGER*8 cells(9)/8,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7/
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_New(writer)
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_SetDataObjectType(writer, 4)
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_SetFileName(writer, 'test1.vtu')
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_SetPoints(writer, 10, points, numpoints)
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_SetCellsWithType(writer, 12, numcells, cells,
>>>>>>>  _                                    cellsSize)
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_SetPointData(writer, 'example data', 10, pdata,
>>>>>>>  _                                numpoints, 1, 'SCALARS')
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_Write(writer, success)
>>>>>>>   call vtkXMLWriterF_Delete(writer)
>>>>>>>   PRINT *, 'success =', success
>>>>>>>   END PROGRAM Hello
>>>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>>>ParaView mailing list
>>>>>>>ParaView at paraview.org
>>>>>>>http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Stéphane Montésino wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>With Asci, all is OK except the size of my file.
>>>>>>>>So how to write my data array in binary with my fortran code.
>>>>>>>>Does anyone have some details ?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>******************************************************************************
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>!    ****                       subrout
>>>>>>>>paraview_scalar                        ****
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>******************************************************************************
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>!    Export 3D scalar data upon a Non uniform rectilinear Grid
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>!    n1m,n2m,n3m: size of the data and the grid
>>>>>>>>!    y1,y2,y3: coordinates
>>>>>>>>!    scal_data: data to write
>>>>>>>>!    name: name of the data
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   subroutine paraview_3d_scalar(n1m,n2m,n3m,y1,y2,y3,scal_data,name)
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   implicit none
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   INTEGER                      ,INTENT(IN)::n1m,n2m,n3m
>>>>>>>>   REAL*8,DIMENSION(n1m)        ,INTENT(IN)::y1
>>>>>>>>   REAL*8,DIMENSION(n2m)        ,INTENT(IN)::y2
>>>>>>>>   REAL*8,DIMENSION(n3m)        ,INTENT(IN)::y3
>>>>>>>>   REAL*8,DIMENSION(n1m,n2m,n3m),INTENT(IN)::scal_data
>>>>>>>>   CHARACTER(LEN=10)            ,INTENT(IN)::name
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   integer::i,j,k,nfil
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   nfil=41
>>>>>>>>   open(nfil,file=trim(name)//'.vtr')
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'<VTKFile type="RectilinearGrid" version="0.1"',
>>>>>>>>  &         ' byte_order="LittleEndian">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'  <RectilinearGrid WholeExtent=',
>>>>>>>>  &                '"1 ',n1m,' 1 ',n2m,' 1 ',n3m,'">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'    <Piece Extent=',
>>>>>>>>  &                  '"1 ',n1m,' 1 ',n2m,' 1 ',n3m,'">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'      <Coordinates>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        <DataArray type="Float32"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' Name="X_COORDINATES"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' NumberOfComponents="1">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*) (y1(i),i=1,n1m)
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        </DataArray>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        <DataArray type="Float32"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' Name="Y_COORDINATES"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' NumberOfComponents="1">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*) (y2(j),j=1,n2m)
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        </DataArray>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        <DataArray type="Float32"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' Name="Z_COORDINATES"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' NumberOfComponents="1">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*) (y3(k),k=1,n3m)
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        </DataArray>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'      </Coordinates>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'      <PointData Scalars="scalar">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        <DataArray Name="'//trim(name)//'"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' type="Float32"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' NumberOfComponents="1"',
>>>>>>>>  &                             ' format="ascii">'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*) (((scal_data(i,j,k),i=1,n1m),j=1,n2m),k=1,n3m)
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'        </DataArray>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'      </PointData>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'    </Piece>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'  </RectilinearGrid>'
>>>>>>>>   write(nfil,*)'</VTKFile>'
>>>>>>>>   close(nfil)
>>>>>>>>!
>>>>>>>>   return
>>>>>>>>   end
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>ParaView mailing list
>>>>>>>>ParaView at paraview.org
>>>>>>>>http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Dominik Szczerba, Dr.
>>>>Computer Vision Lab CH-8092 Zurich
>>>>http://www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/~domi
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>ParaView mailing list
>>>ParaView at paraview.org
>>>http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>
>>>--
>>>Dominik Szczerba, Dr.
>>>Computer Vision Lab CH-8092 Zurich
>>>http://www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/~domi
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>ParaView mailing list
>>>ParaView at paraview.org
>>>http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>
> 
> 

-- 
Dominik Szczerba, Dr.
Computer Vision Lab CH-8092 Zurich
http://www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/~domi


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