Toward a Data Logging Data Interchange Format: Use Cases and Requirements

Abstract: Many use cases for distributed simulation depend on the effective analysis of simulation data after the simulation has completed, sometimes even years later. While many proprietary data loggers exist, logs are stored in proprietary formats often tailored for the specific use case for which each tool was designed and the specific data model used in a given simulation.


This paper suggests that it is both possible and desirable to exchange, archive, and reuse simulation event log data using a standardized format for data interchange. The authors propose that such a format should be
developed. There are several differences in the requirements between runtime formats and interchange log formats, with long-term reusability trumping runtime requirements for performance and space efficiency.

Finally some solutions are suggested for several of the identified technical challenges. These include support for arbitrary data models, simple yet expressive metadata, log size, and complexity. Some use cases for which the suggested format would be most useful are also given.

Authors: Björn Möller and Fredrik Antelius, Ryan Brunton, Tom van den Berg and Remco Witberg
Publication: Proceedings of 2011 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop, 11F-SIW-055, Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization, September 2011.

Download the full paper (pdf)