The Development of the Notation Interchange File Format
Cindy Grande, Alan Belkin · Computer Music Journal · 1996
This article presents the development history of the Notation Interchange File Format (NIFF), a glimpse into its design process, and a review of some of the format's main principles and features. A relatively new standard, NIFF is designed to allow efficient and comprehensive data interchange between programs that use common music notation (CMN). Such programs include editing and engraving programs used by music publishers, composers, and arrangers; sequencers, which allow music to be input via a MIDI keyboard and displayed using standard music notation; scanning programs that facilitate the input of large amounts of data; and specialized applications common to musicology and theoretical research.