The information in any VIDF file is valid only for the time period specified in the following 8 fields. If there is only one VIDF file defined for a UDF definition then the beginning and ending time should be set to encompass the entire expected data set. This is generally done by setting the beginning year field to a value several years prior to data acquisition and the ending year to a time value ridiculously far in the future. When multiple VIDFs are used, the ending time of the earlier VIDF file in the sequence should be set to the beginning time of the next VIDF file in the sequence.
This is a scalar field giving the starting year at which the information in the VIDF file becomes valid. If this is the first or only VIDF defined for this UDF then it is good practice to set this field to several years earlier than the first acquired data. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the first in the sequence then its beginning year should be set to the ending year of the previous VIDF file in the sequence. Years are given in expanded format (not just last two digits) and have a specified range of 1 to 9999.
The field begins with the line format id s followed by an integer specifying the beginning year. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF BEGINNING YEAR field:s 1998 /* Valid Beginning this year */
This is a scalar field giving the day of year at which the information in the VIDF file becomes valid. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the first in the sequence then the beginning day of year should be set to the ending day of year of the previous VIDF file in the sequence. If it is the first or only defined VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 1. Days have a valid range from 1 to 366.
The field begins with the line format id s followed by an integer specifying the beginning day of year. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF BEGINNING DAY field:s 1 /* Valid Beginning this day */
A scalar field, this field contains the millisecond of day at which the information in the VIDF file becomes valid. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the first in the sequence then the beginning millisecond should be set to the ending millisecond of the previous VIDF file in the sequence. If it is the first or only defined VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 0. Milliseconds have a valid range from 0 to 86399999.
The field begins with the line format id l followed by an integer specifying the beginning milliseconds of day. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF BEGINNING MILLISECOND field:s 0 /* Valid Beginning this msec */
The scalar field, this field contains the microsecond of day at which the information in the VIDF file becomes valid. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the first in the sequence then the beginning microsecond should be set to the ending microsecond of the previous VIDF file in the sequence. If it is the first or only defined VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 0. Microseconds have a valid range from 0 to 1000.
This field is not actively used by the UDF kernel software. The UDF data base keeps start and stop times only to the milliseconds level and so omits this field.
The field begins with the line format id l followed by an integer specifying the beginning microsecond. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF BEGINNING MICROSECOND field:s 0 /* Valid Beginning this usec */
This is a scalar field giving the ending year at which information in the VIDF file becomes not valid. If this is the last or only VIDF file for this UDF then it is good practice to set this field to a time well beyond the expected end of data time. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the last in the sequence then the ending year should be set to the beginning year of the next VIDF file in the sequence. Years are in expanded format (not just last two digits) and have a specified range of 1 to 9999.
The field begins with the line format id s followed by an integer specifying the ending year. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF ENDING YEAR field:s 2050 /* Valid to this year */
This is a scalar field giving the ending day of year at which information in the VIDF file becomes not valid. If this is the last or only VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 1. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the last in the sequence then the ending day should be set to the beginning day of the next VIDF file in the sequence. Days have a valid range from 1 to 366.
The field begins with the line format id s followed by an integer specifying the ending day of year. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF ENDING DAY field:s 1 /* Valid to this day */
This is a scalar field giving the ending millisecond of day at which information in the VIDF file becomes not valid. If this is the last or only VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 0. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the last in the sequence then the ending millisecond should be set to the beginning millisecond of the next VIDF file in the sequence. Milliseconds have a valid range from 0 to 86399999.
The field begins with the line format id l followed by an integer specifying the ending milliseconds of day. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF ENDING MILLISECOND field:s 0 /* Valid Ending to this msec */
A scalar field, this field contains the the microsecond of day at which the information in the VIDF file becomes not valid. If this is the last or only VIDF file for this UDF then the field is generally set to 0. If this VIDF file is one in a number of VIDF files, and it is not the last in the sequence then the ending microsecond should be set to the beginning microsecond of the next VIDF file in the sequence. Microseconds have a valid range from 0 to 1000.
This field is not actively used by the UDF kernel software. The UDF data base keeps start and stop times only to the milliseconds level and so omits this field.
The field begins with the line format id l followed by an integer specifying the ending microseconds. An optional comment field may follow.
Sample VIDF ENDING MICROSECOND field:s 0 /* Valid Ending to this usec */