Thread: Reading specific data from TDMS files

Hello

I am trying to build a function that can read specific data that I want from different TDMS files.

I have read all of the technical format information on the NI website and even gone through a TDMS file byte after byte using a binary code reader(hex workshop) to understand the structure and what every part means.

I figured out I should read the file as a binary file ofcourse, but what I haven't figured out is how do I get to the specific data I want?
for example, I want the content of a property called 'wf_start_time'.
I don't understand how to navigate through the binary file using bitwise operators, since the structure of TDMS files changes from one file to another due to different object or properties they contain. If in one file this property is stored in the 20th byte from the start, in another file it may be stored in a different place.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks!

I made it
I wrote a function that finds the exact value I need by the name of the string. since before each string there is a 4-byte value with the size of the string, I found the first character of the string, jumped(fseek) 5 bytes back, read the value, then the string using the length, then verifying the string name with strcmp().
I was trying to avoid reading all the objects or properties of the file.
Thank you though.