Recording Measurements

All measurements are appended to a log file (named area.dat) in a comma-separated format acceptable to industry-standard spreadsheet programs. This can be used as an audit record of production and/or for statistical analysis for quality control or work study. area.dat is kept open exclusively by the program and so can not be examined while the system is running. At the start of each day, at midnight or at the next start-up, it is closed and moved to a .csv file named with its date eg 24-MAR-03.CSV, and a new area.dat is started.

This means that an archive of daily production logfiles is built up. The data can be copied into a spreadsheet or database and the files deleted once they are no longer needed. If they are not used they will need to be deleted periodically.

The record fields are

Date As recorded by the PC clock when the measurement was taken, in d/m/yy format.

Time Time of day as recorded by the PC clock, hh:mm:ss format.

Sequence The number in the Total counter.

Product The name of the selected product type, in quotes.

Error The percentage deviation from the target value.

Area The measured area to two decimal places.

Date	As recorded by the PC clock when the measurement was taken, in d/m/yy format.
Time	Time of day as recorded by the PC clock, hh:mm:ss format.
Sequence	The number in the Total counter.
Product	The name of the selected product type, in quotes.
Error	The percentage deviation from the target value.
Area	The measured area to two decimal places.