Re: [h5md-user] Mandate Variable-length string datatype

[Konrad Hinsen]

Felix Höfling writes:

 > One disadvantage of mandatory string types is missing: it puts an
 > unnecessary constraint on the format. It would be just for convenience, but
 > only from a certain point of view. That is my main concern as it foils the  
 > idea of a generic format with minimal constraints.

We are back to an old discussion then: does diversity have an intrinsic value?

 Larry Page (Perl):
   There is more than one way to do it.

 Tim Peters (The Zen of Python)
   There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.

For data formats, in particular binary ones such as HDF5, which no
human ever looks at, I prefer simplicity over diversity any time.

Konrad.
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Konrad Hinsen
Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS Orléans
Synchrotron Soleil - Division Expériences
Saint Aubin - BP 48
91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
Tel. +33-1 69 35 97 15
E-Mail: research AT khinsen DOT fastmail DOT net
http://dirac.cnrs-orleans.fr/~hinsen/
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0330-9428
Twitter: @khinsen
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