.raw file format C++

Question

I want to know is it possible to generate .raw file format using C++. If yes then which class deals with it? If possible kindly put down a sample code.

I have data of the format (X Y Z) <Number> which represents the number of particles between (X Y Z) and (X+1 Y+1 Z+1). I need to represent this data graphically using ParaView and hence need my data in binary format. So would like to know is it possible to directly generate .raw file format?

`.raw` files are usually image files. "Raw format" used by [ParaView](http://paraview.org/) is a completely different thing, so you might want to emphasize this in your question. Do you have exact specifications of this format? [This page](http://paraview.org/Wiki/ParaView:FAQ) only mentions: *ParaView supports reading raw uniform rectilinear data from a file. The default file extension is .raw. The user specifies the dimensions and data type, and the reader computes the header size*, which is a bit vague (at least for me). — Groo, Jun 19 '12 at 14:37
This was the biggest problem. The wikipage does not mention clearly for a novice like me. Anyways eventually we have to figure it out — user1466705, Jun 19 '12 at 15:22

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 19 '12 at 14:48

2

Generally, to write binary data to a file in C++, you will want to use an ofstream:

#include <fstream.h>
...

{
   MyData myData = GetData();
   ofstream binaryFile ("file.raw", ios::out | ios::binary);
   binaryFile.write ((char*)&myData, sizeof (MyData));
   binaryFile.close();
}

It is up to you to determine the actual format (like the Data structure in the example above) that this application uses, and then write it to a file.

answered Jun 19 '12 at 14:48

Groo

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Hey Groo, This was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a lot for this. – user1466705 Jun 19 '12 at 15:20

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 19 '12 at 14:41

0

There are many definitions of raw image files, it very much depends on the context. The oldest and simplest definition is a file with no header and with pixel values packed in binary without any compression. This is trivial to implement, just write each pixel as 3 unsigned char values for red, green, and blue, from left to right and top to bottom.

answered Jun 19 '12 at 14:41

Mark Ransom

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@Groo, that just proves my point that `.raw` is completely dependent on the context. – Mark Ransom Jun 19 '12 at 14:51

.raw file format C++

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