• Time Code:
    • There are two fields in the main header of a BLUE file that are used to specify the start time of the file:
      • TimeCode
      • XStart (or YStart in a Type 2000 file)
    • Time for a given element (N) in a BLUE file is equal to: 
      TIME(N) = TimeCode + XStart + N*XDelta      (Type 1000,3000,5000)
TIME(N) = TimeCode + YStart + N*YDelta      (Type 2000)
    • There are three equally valid ways of specifying the start time of 2007:07:04::12:00:00 for a given BLUE file (substitute YStart for XStart with a Type 2000 file):
      • Start time given in TimeCode field: 
        TimeCode = 2007:07:04::12:00:00
XStart   = 0
      • Start time given in XStart field: 
        TimeCode = 0
XStart   = 2007:07:04::12:00:00
      • Start time given as TimeCode + XStart: 
        TimeCode = 2007:07:04::00:00:00
XStart   = 12:00:00
        or 
        TimeCode = 2007:07:04::08:30:00
XStart   = 12600
        • The first of these is rather common among Midas users. The TimeCode is set to the start-of-day. The XStart is then set to the number of seconds since the start-of-day.
  • Non-Linear Time Code:
    • Various options are available in the Midas frameworks to handle data with non-linear Time Code. The handling of non-linear time is an advanced topic and is not included as part of this training.