Standard Hydrometeorological
Exchange Format
(SHEF)
Decoder Software and Documentation
The Standard Hydrometeorological
Exchange Format (SHEF) is a documented set of rules for coding of
data in a form for both visual and computer recognition. It is designed
specifically for real-time use and is not designed for historical
or archival data transfer. All the critical elements for identification
of data are covered. Station identifiers, parameter descriptors,
time encoding conventions, unit and scale conventions, and comment
fields are all part of the code.
SHEF was designed for inter-
and intra-agency sharing of data,visual and machine readability,
and compatibility with anticipated receiving databases. The widespread
implementation of SHEF allows the same decoding software to process
data from various agencies. New data sources can easily be added
as they become available. The visual nature of SHEF allows users
quickly to become familiar with it. SHEF fully qualifies the data
so that receiving databases have all the necessary information to
describe the data.
Notes:
- There are no known bugs.
- The decoding software handles
the full range of SHEF syntax.
for information on the SHEF code form
for information on SHEF decoding software |