PDBLib user`s manual for PDBLib Version 7.0. Revision 2
Stuart A. Brown, D. Braddy · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 1993
PDBLib is a small library of file management routines useful for storing and retrieving binary data in a portable format. It is intended to supply a flexible means of managing binary databases without the user having to be concerned with the machines on which they are written or read. The specific goals for this library are: (1) The data files are portable. Using only simple binary file transfers, these files may be passed to any machine supporting an implementation of this library and the data in them immediately read. (2) The library routines are portable. The library is written in C which is the most standardized language which also enjoys a broad range of implementations. In fact, a C compiler is probably the easiest piece of software to find for any given machine. (3) The library will support call-by-reference or call-by-value interfaces. In this way the library can be used from FORTRAN (a call-by-reference language) or C (a call-by-value language) programs. (4) `Arbitrary` data structures may be defined to the PDB system so that there is maximum flexibility and ease of use for application programming. C structs or FORTRAN common blocks may be written or read as a whole. Recordmore » structured variables are thus supported. (5) Data files may be generated for a particular machine type. By default when files are created they are written with the format of the machine that does so. However, they can be written in the format of a designated machine. Thus a more powerful machine can prepare files for a less powerful one. (6) The library will be small so that machines with as little memory as about 512 Kbytes will be able to profitably use the PDB system.« less