PV-WAVE Foundation > Programmer Guide > Format Strings > When to Use Format Strings
When to Use Format Strings
All PV-WAVE functions that transfer or format data accept FORTRAN-style format strings. However, for a group of I/O commands that start with the letters “DC”, you have the choice of using either FORTRAN- or C-style format strings.
Use format strings to import or export data when you already know the type of data and its format. If you do not provide a format string, PV-WAVE uses its default rules for formatting the output. These rules are described in "Free Format Output".
 
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Another possibility, if you do not know exactly what your data looks like, use the DC_READ_FREE function, and let PV-WAVE help you with the interpretation of the data.