The SFR - Toolbox
This toolbox can be used to access scientific data from a variety of different file-formats using standardized syntax. The toolbox assumes that your scientific data consists of continuous data on multiple channels which can be represented by a large 2D array of numerics. In addition, the files may contain attributes describing the data.
The Source code is located on GITHUB: SFR-TOOLBOX SOURCECODE
View the manual of the toolbox here : SFR-Toolbox Manual
-- Object oriented data access --
Data acquisition systems (i.e. TDT, Nicolet, Neuralynx, Blackrock, etc.) use various file formats to store their data. To analyze these data, a scientific lab needs to write methods for each individual system which can result in an inefficient workflow in the lab.
This toolbox addresses this issue by representing a dataset (which can consist of 1 or more files) by a single object. The user specifies which files belong to the dataset and which data-format is used in the files. The user can then access the raw data and the meta-data using the properties 'data' and 'attr' of the created object. The toolbox automatically uses the correct 'getMethods' for the associated file-format without any additional input from the user.
Specific GET methods per file -format
The strength of this toolbox is that there is a simple template that can be used to add support for additional file-formats. Basically, only two files are required to add support. An INFOMethod should return meta-information about the data in the form of a MATLAB structure and some initiation values that are used during the object construction. A GETMethod should return the data in a 2D array [indeces channels], utilizing the file-names that are provided in the object.
Additional features allow the user to improve efficiency by caching information from the GETMethod and allow the user to add meta-information directly to the object.