Glossary

DataPlugins

NI DIAdem supports the import of over one thousand raw data file formats through their DataPlugin technology.   Visit NI's DataPlugin Download website online and download and install the DataPlugin.   Read more about NI DataPlugin technology here and here.  

Bus Log Conversion

NI DIAdem has a Bus Log Converter to convert raw CAN, LIN, and FlexRay data files into the TDM data file format.  

Channels

Both 2D and 3D channel structures may have channel groups with text/string channels, assignment channels, video channels, and complex channels.   Y-Channels are typically numeric, but they may also be implicit channels or calculation channels.   Waveform channels are always converted by the TSDMS into numeric X and Y channels.   Numeric channels are preferred over waveform channels because waveform channels don't support non-linear 'Time' channels (frequency), and some DIAdem analysis tools operate faster and cleaner with numeric channels as the input.  

2D   (X-Y)

A 2D data structure consists of an x-channel and y-channel(s) with the same number of values in the X and Y channels.   The most common configuration is one x-channel, and one or more y-channels within the same channel group.   It is also possible to have pairs of X and Y channels within the same channel group.  

The x-channel is always linear and the values are equidistant.   The values may consist of numeric values, or values of type date/time (DIAdem documentation calls this a channel of type 'Time').   The TSDMS preference is to name numeric x-channels 'Time' and date/time x-channels 'DateTime' whenever either is created.   DateTime x-channels may be high resolution for absolute time values.   DateTime channel time values are ambiguous unless the time zone associated with the values is known.   If the TSDMS is able to infer a time zone from the data, then the channel property named "UTC_offset" with a data type of text/string will be added to the DateTime channel.   The value will be "+00:00" for UTC, formatted as "+hh:mm" for a known time zone offset, or "-00:00" (or absent) when the time zone is unknown.   A numeric Time channel will always be created by the TSDMS if absent, but DateTime channel will only exist if it is included with the raw data, or created by the TSDMS if a time zone reference can be inferred.  

The association between a y-channel(s) and an x-channel (known as "XRelation") will be set automatically by the TSDMS for numeric X and Y channels.   It will typically referrence the Time channel, rather than the DateTime channel, unless a time zone is known for the 'DateTime' channels.   This assignment makes it easier to manually generate View and Report plots.  

3D   (X-Y-Z)

DIAdem supports both triplet and matrix 3D (x-y-z) data structures.   Tools are included in DIAdem to convert between the two 3D data structure types.   Matrix structures are more commonly accepted for the Report panel 3D charting.  

The TSDMS standard is a matrix data structure.   A matrix consists of one numeric x-channel, one numeric y-channel, and multiple numeric z-channels.   One z-channel for each value in the y channel, and the number of values in each z-channel corresponds to the length of the x-channel.

Channel Table of Matrix Data Structure

X	Y	Z1	Z2	Z3
0.1	10.0	100.0	110.0	120.0
0.2	20.0	105.0	115.0	125.0
	30.0