The current version is 6.10.5. Minor changes that ensure backward compatibility are indicated by the third digit of the version number. If, for example, a new data field is added to a table without changing the existing fields, the version is incremented from, say, 6.5.1 to 6.5.2. Changes to the format that require minor modifications to the various software packages are indicated in the second digit of the version number. e.g. version 6.5.5 to 6.6.0. A new structure and definition of the format (e.g. XML) is specified in version 7.0.0.

The character set in the files described below is the ISO 8859-x character set. (The value for x is defined in the Head.Dat file) (See also „http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8859-1“)

The individual records are separated by the characters CR (ASCII 13) and LF (ASCII 10). There is no fixed record length to ensure better backward compatibility. In a new version of the file format, newly defined data fields are simply appended to the existing structure. Software products that have not yet been adapted to the new file format can therefore still import the new file format.

The records themselves consist of fixed-length fields without separators.

Text fields (type T..) are stored in the records left-aligned with a trailing SPACE (ASCII 32).

Numeric values (type 9.. or B) are displayed right-aligned with leading zeros and without a decimal separator. SPACE is interpreted as „0“. (Exceptions are the price fields in LensPrice.Dat and OptionsPrice.Dat, where a blank value for a cost price field is interpreted as “price on request” and for a retail price field indicates that no recommended retail price is available and must be calculated by the optician themselves).

Date fields (Type D) are displayed in the format Year (4 digits), Month (2 digits) and Day (2 digits) (format YYYYMMDD). Optional fields may be filled with SPACE.

Boolean fields are defined as 0 for No and 1 for Yes. A SPACE is interpreted as “0”. Other https://wiki.b2boptic.com/en:lenscatalog:version061005:general?do=definitions are specified under “Remarks” in the table structure.

For files that have a primary key, the fields of which it is composed are marked with an '*'. A primary key must not occur more than once in a file. Furthermore, it is assumed that the records are sorted according to the primary key.

A product is identified by a defined and unique manufacturer order code. A distinction is made between base glass products and add-on products (coatings). It is assumed that orders can be transferred to the manufacturer’s ordering system using the products defined in this way, together with details of diameter and power.

The primary key property must be observed. No file may contain multiple records with the same primary key. All base lens codes occurring in the files LensPrice.Dat, Combination.Dat, LensRange.Dat, LensGeo.Dat, Information.Dat, OrderOptions.Dat, ProductGroup.dat, CodeSubstitution.Dat and OeCodes.Dat must be defined in LensType.Dat, All base lens codes occurring in the files OptionsColor.Dat, OptionsPrice.Dat, Combination.Dat, LensRange.Dat, Information.Dat, OrderOptions.Dat, ProductGroup.dat, CodeSubstitution.Dat and OeCodes.Dat must be defined in Options.Dat. All surcharge indices used in the file OptionsPrice.Dat must be defined in LensType.Dat. All delivery range indices used in the file LensPrice.Dat must be defined in LensRange.Dat. The product names specified in the files LensType.Dat, Options.Dat, and OptionsColor.Dat must be unique within each file, even though they are not included in the primary key.