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The MIDAS System

The MIDAS System consists of two major parts:

The reader should distinguish between the MIDAS system  described above and the MIDAS environment  which is the programming ``environment'' in which application programs are written and which uses the interfaces described here.

MIDAS knows three basic abstract data structures:

Combining descriptors and data yield the composite data structures:

These higher level structures can be organized and manipulated in a global manner by using catalogues containing four lists of data structures.

In order to access data structures or to pass or retrieve information from the user the MIDAS Environment provides the ST and TB, for Fortran,   and the SC and TC interfaces for C programs  . The following data structures can be accessed using the ST and TB (SC and TC) interfaces:

In addition, the interfaces take care of the communication between MIDAS and the application program .

A general description of these interfaces is given in Chapter [*] and [*]. Appendix [*] and [*] provide the detailed interface descriptions.

Since the 94MAY release of Midas there is also a set of graphics interfaces, the PT (for Fortran) and PC (for C) interfaces included in the Midas environment.

A general description of these interfaces is given in Chapter [*], and Appendix [*] provides the detailed interface descriptions.

Communication interfaces which support a client/server scenario have been added with the 94NOV release. These XC interfaces are only implemented for C and only for Unix (no plans to port them to Fortran and/or VMS).
Please, note, that this is a very first version of the XC interfaces. Therefore, we reserve the right to modify the XC interfaces in the future!

A general description of these interfaces is given in Chapter [*] and Appendix [*] provides the detailed interface descriptions.

=31 =01 =1995


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Next: Coding Standards for MIDAS Up: No Title Previous: Preface
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Last update: 1998-10-23