VTK

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Reading & Writing Data ​

Working with file formats and I/O in VTK.

VTK Native Formats ​

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

Common Scientific Formats ​

  • Exodus II — Finite element data
  • CGNS — CFD data
  • NetCDF — Multi-dimensional array data
  • HDF5 — Hierarchical data
  • XDMF — Flexible scientific data format

Medical Imaging Formats ​

  • DICOM — Medical imaging standard
  • NIfTI — Neuroimaging
  • NRRD — Nearly Raw Raster Data
  • MetaImage — Simple image format

Geometry Formats ​

  • STL, OBJ, PLY — Polygonal meshes
  • glTF — Modern 3D format with materials
  • STEP/IGES — CAD formats

Topics Covered ​

  • Choosing the right file format
  • Reading data with VTK readers
  • Writing data with VTK writers
  • Compression options
  • Parallel I/O for large datasets
  • Converting between formats