VTK

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I/O Formats ​

VTK supports reading and writing over 50 file formats for scientific data exchange.

Native VTK Formats ​

  • VTK Legacy (.vtk) — Simple ASCII/binary format
  • VTK XML (.vtp, .vtu, .vti, .vtr, .vts) — Modern XML-based formats with compression
  • VTKHDF (.vtkhdf) — HDF5-based format for parallel I/O and time series

Common Scientific Formats ​

  • CGNS — CFD General Notation System
  • Exodus — Finite element data (Sandia)
  • NetCDF — Network Common Data Form
  • HDF5 — Hierarchical Data Format
  • XDMF — eXtensible Data Model and Format

Medical Imaging ​

  • DICOM — Medical imaging standard
  • NIFTI — Neuroimaging format
  • NRRD — Nearly Raw Raster Data
  • MetaImage (.mha, .mhd) — Simple image format

CAD and Geometry ​

  • STL — Stereolithography
  • OBJ — Wavefront geometry
  • PLY — Polygon file format
  • STEP/IGES — CAD exchange formats (via OpenCASCADE)
  • glTF — GL Transmission Format

Other Formats ​

  • CSV/TSV — Tabular data
  • JSON — Structured data
  • GeoJSON — Geographic features
  • LAS/LAZ — LiDAR point clouds
  • Image formats — PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, HDR