This appendix describes the plain text format for importing data into and exporting data out of Proximity. This format is commonly used to export data from Proximity and then re-import it into a new database requiring a different format, such as when upgrading to a non-compatible version of MonetDB.

	The utilities that use the Proximity plain text data format perform no error checking. Although this format requires less disc space than the XML format and its use can improve import and export speed, users are solely responsible for maintaining data consistency when using this format.

All files referenced in the set of data files must be present and in the same directory. For example, the container.data file references data files (e.g., si_0_attrs.data) that define the attributes for each container’s subgraphs. If the specified container has no subgraph attributes, these files may be empty but they must still be present. The required files are created automatically during export but may need to be constructed by hand for some import applications.

In addition to handling complete databases, Proximity can import and export individual attributes and containers to and from existing databases. Users are solely responsible for ensuring that imported attribute and container data correctly matches the identifiers and data types in the existing database.

See Chapter 3, Importing and Exporting Proximity Data for details on using the import-text.sh and export-text.sh scripts (import-text.bat and export-test.bat for Windows) to import data using this format.

The examples in this appendix are designed to illustrate the relevant data format and are not intended to represent, in whole or in part, a valid or semantically meaningful database.