DUMP_DBD v13 RELEASE NOTES 
==========================

dump_dbd is a Windows console application which can read dataTaker DT8x binary 
data (.dbd) files.

This software is provided with source code and is intended for use by 
experienced developers. There is NO WARRANTY and technical support is limited, 
which is why we provide the source code. The software is made available to you 
with very few restrictions. You may use, modify, redistribute etc. Please see 
the source code files for a full statement about what you may do with the 
software.

Copyright (c) 2005-2010 Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty. Ltd.


Usage
-----

dump_dbd is a Win32 console application and should be run in a Windows command 
prompt window.

dump_dbd [options] <infile(s)>

 Options:  -v  verbose
           -h  show headers only
           -d  show data only
           -a  show alarms only
           -n  show column names (headings)
           -i  ignore format spec in header

Example:
 dump_dbd -d -n data_a.dbd
This will output data in CSV format, with column headings.


Change History
--------------


Version 13    08-Sep-2010
-------------------------

- FIX: if a schedule contained a zero length data section then data for 
subsequent schedules was not being read



Version 12    17-Mar-2010
-------------------------

- ADD: now supports merged DBD format (DBD files containing multiple 
jobs/schedules)



Version 11    23-Dec-2009
-------------------------

- ADD: now supports extended (24 char) channel names

- ADD: supports new style or old style display format string

- CHANGE: "type" part of datapoint prefix no longer needs to match that in 
channel map ("length" part still has to match). This allows a channel to contain 
both integer and floating point values.

- ADD: support for compiling under 32 and 64 bit Linux environments



Version 10   19-Feb-2008
------------------------

- ADD: multiple input filename arguments may now be specified, as can wildcard 
names, eg. "*.dbd". Matching files are processed sequentially and output is 
concatenated. For "data only" options (-d, -a), a blank line is output between 
each file's data.

- ADD: prefix type 8 is now decoded as a "compact" data record (where datapoints 
do NOT contain a timestamp offset).

- CHANGE: timestamp and absolute time output format is now "y/m/d h:m:s.tttt" 
(was "y/m/d,h:m:s.tttt")

- CHANGE: relative time output format is now "h:m:s.tttt", where h can be >24 
(was "d,h:m:s.tttt")

- CHANGE: improved error and consistency checking to better handle corrupted DBD 
files



Version 9    16-Nov-2007
------------------------

- FIX: files with timezone set to "none" in header are now decoded properly



Version 8    20-Sep-2007
------------------------

- FIX: possible crash when logged data includes string variables



Version 7    03-Aug-2007
------------------------

- ADD: new option: -n
Generates column headers, ie. first row of data/alarm section consists of 
channel name/unit strings, eg: "1V (mV)", "Boiler temp (degC)"

- CHANGE: in verbose mode (-v), timestamp offsets are now decoded and displayed 
in seconds, eg:
    0: 0861,2007/07/31,03:36:48.2655, 0811,T+0.0011,20.0

- FIX: wasn't handling non NUL-terminated data/alarm strings properly. For 
strings, we now ignore the format spec in the metadata ("%s") and always use 
"%.*s", where * is the string length.

- FIX: for time values which occupy two columns, special values eg "NotYetSet" 
are now duplicated across both columns

- FIX: add support for date-only and time-only formats for absolute time values

- CHANGE: added comma between days and time parts of a relative time value so 
that Excel can interpret it properly



Version 6    13-Jun-2007
------------------------

- FIX: time interval values were not being displayed properly



Version 5    07-Dec-2006
------------------------

Initial public release