Self-defining Text Archive and Retrieval
| Developed by | Sydney R. Hall |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1991 |
| Extended to | Crystallographic Information File, Dictionary Definition Language |
The Self-Defining Text Archive and Retrieval (STAR) File, or simply the STAR File, is a text-based file format for storing structured data. It was proposed in 1991 by Sydney R. Hall. The format became widely used in molecular-structure sciences, although it is not specific to this field—it was designed as a universal approach to electronic data exchange and archiving.
One characteristic feature of the STAR File format is that data names (keys in key-value pairs) start with the underscore. They are separated from data values only by white space, for example:
The format was designed to provide a concise syntax for tabular data. The construct for this is called loop. Loops start with the loop_ keyword followed by names corresponding to columns and then by values.
Using a "Dictionary Definition Language" file, itself a STAR File, STAR sub-formats can be defined for particular use cases. One notable STAR-based format is the Crystallographic Information File format.
The "STAR FILE" name is a registered trade mark of the International Union of Crystallography .
The STAR file: a new format for electronic data transfer and archiving, Sydney R. Hall, J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 1991, 31 (2), pp 326–333 DOI: 10.1021/ci00002a020
The STAR File: detailed specifications, Sydney R. Hall and Nick Spadaccini, J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 1994, 34 (3), pp 505–508, DOI: 10.1021/ci00019a005
Extensions to the STAR File Syntax, Nick Spadaccini and Sydney R. Hall, J. Chem. Inf. Model., 2012, 52 (8), pp 1901–1906 DOI: 10.1021/ci300074v
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