Old_specs_bert - softwareunderground/xsdf GitHub Wiki

(this is a document I made a couple of years ago. It summarizes a lot of aspects that I think will become important when you want to make 'the true alternative'. A seismic data storage library that would be able to take the role that formats like PNG have nowadays. Open and used by everyone because use is easy, fast and free. I personally feel that the available solutions today - which have been there for some time already - did not succeed because they failed to handle all aspects that count)

General requirements

• Project on github
• Everything available through git/svn on github
• Release under e.g. LGPL: anything goes as long as you do not hijack it
• Will not use anything proprietary above OS level
• Minimize dependencies
• Internationalisation-prepared from day 1
• Support SEG-Y Rev.1 in/out, Rev.0 in
• The project focuses on storage and exchange of seismic data

General design

• Core library covers minimal set
• All I/O as adapters (enabling 'in-place' usage)
  • Input-side adapters (like SEG-Y)
  • Output-side adapters (like SEG-Y Rev. 1)
• Flat file hi performance implementation available

Release components

• Cross-platform language delivers interfaces for different target languages
  • libs/DLLs/jars etc. for different platforms
• Tools (in-browser, loose) available on all target platforms
• Docs internationalized
• Target platforms: as many as possible
  • Starting with Windows/Linux/Mac
  • Android please
• Versioning
  • strong versioning
  • few releases
  • even fewer interface changes (once released)

Data model

• Handling of position identification
• Centralized semantic key repository
  • For headers at different levels
  • For semi-free format comments on different levels

Programmer access

• Quick access to header values on different levels
• Rich access possibilities to seismic data
  • Full random access
  • Virtual subsets
    • Random trace, slice
    • Ranged subsets (subcubes, line parts)
    • Polylines
• Different ways to start writing
  • Start with one trace
  • Start with known parameters
• In-place editing

Data storage native format

• Database-style modification
  • support 'staged for commit'
  • write-locking mechanism when editing
• Bricking supported
• Compression if feasible
• Full backward compatibility guaranteed

Tools

• GUI Tool to read (legacy) SEG-Y
  • Indicate keys (inl/crl, X/Y, tracenr/cdp/SP)
  • Add missing data
  • Make sure all harvested header data can be kept available
• Browser tools for view and edit
  • Headers
  • Sections (View only)
  • Specific data parts (Edit)
    • Automated
    • Manual
      • Sample level 'spreadsheet'
      • Interactive 'painting'