Portable files format

[teobromina]

Among all the portable applications which can make an specific function, I preffer those that work with 'portable files format'.

For instance I have chosen to use databases that have as base files TXT files, (TablePro, CSVEd, etc) because I can read them in several programs (Notepad and any text editor), and are not specific of any aplication. PDF has become a 'portable file document' as per its name, and more and more apps are using it every day as a 'natural' way to express its results.

JPG, TIFF are 'standard' file types that I can open with several programs too.

Most of that file types can be open in different OSs.

This can be another 'parameter' to measure the portability of an application, or at least of the portability of the files they use.

What do you think of it?

*JT.

[Andrew Lee]

Portable file formats, or shall we say, standard file formats, are extremely important!

IMHO, your data should always be readable by more than one app eg. CSV, JPEG, PDF. Otherwise, it will result in an application lock-in, which makes it very difficult to migrate.

However, for certain domains eg. PIM, password managers, don't think there are standard file formats for them yet, so one has no choice but to work with one and hope that it is not too painful when you need to migrate, since we all know export/import doesn't always work the way you want.

[teobromina]

Today I am glad to share this experience

I was trying to bring my files in a way that prevents any loss and make possible to use them indisctinctely in Windows and in Linux.

I am currently using Truecrypt as container for files in Windows, but I had no experience in using Truecrypt in Linux. Since it is a command-line operated app in Linux I found a little difficult to deal with. So I though it was good idea to bring the files 'free' inside a Truecrypt container and make a passworded ZIP with its contens for two reasons:
-one/ for periodically backups, changing in the zip name every time including the date in the name
-two/ thinking that I could open later the passworded ZIP file in Linux.

As a backup method in Windows is still good, but for the second purpose did not work since I was not able to open any Windows ZIPed file later in Linux.

Therefore I have tested if I can open the Truecrypted container file directly in Linux. After half a dozen of trials, changing some parameters, I have been able to open the Truecrypt container in Live Linux Slax Killbill edition 5.1.8. And of course, later on I have been able to open one of my TXT file database with TablePro, so I could re-start in Linux a work with a file created and populated in Windows, being all the time, included the traveling time from a place of a computer to another, all the files in a safe Truecrypt container.



Regards.

*JT.

[teobromina]

However, for certain domains eg. PIM, password managers, don't think there are standard file formats for them yet, so one has no choice but to work with one and hope that it is not too painful when you need to migrate, since we all know export/import doesn't always work the way you want.

You are totally right.

But I have a way to overcome this problem specifically for ePIM:

I am using ePIM as 'editor' and I use its files as 'container'. After my daily work time, before to close the ePIM app, I use to 'export' the database that has changed, for instance if I have added a contact, the contacts database, in CSV format to a file, and I save this file in my Truecrypt container. If I need the data in another computer or in another operative system, I can open the file. This make me to have practice in recover the data I need and when I am in a hurry it works fine.

And, more important, I do not use those features that I cannot export, keeping allways in a safe operation way.

*JT.

[LzBy1]

This is one on the reason why XML is so great. It allows for easy migration between various programs. Applications read the tags and so data order and consistency aren't near as important as it is when trying to import/export proprietary formats or even comma separated text files. It allows data integrity from application to application and it also makes it easier for programmers to code import/export functions into their programs.