File Format Versions

The TDM Streaming (TDMS) file format has two versions: 1.0 and 2.0. File format version 1.0 provides fundamental file operation features, such as reading data from and writing data to a TDMS file, getting and setting properties, and so on. File format version 2.0 includes all the features of version 1.0, as well as the following additional features:

• You can write interleaved data to a TDMS file.
• You can write TDMS data in different byte orders, or endian formats.
• You can write TDMS data without using the operating system buffer. Doing so results in large performance improvements, especially in Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) systems.
• You can use NI-DAQmx to write raw data to TDMS files along with scaling information.
• File format version 2.0 optimizes writing performance for contiguous data acquisition by using a single header for multiple chunks of contiguous data. This improves performance for single value acquisitions.
• File format version 2.0 supports asynchronous writes to TDMS files, which enables the application to process data in memory while writing data to a file instead of having to wait for the writing function to finish.

Related Information

TDM Data Model

TDM versus TDMS

TDMS File Format Internal Structure