Hard disk drive data object
View Patent ↗A system for transferring data from a disk drive to an external source. The disk drive includes a circuit with embedded firmware that associates internal and output definitions with the data. The definitions and data are provided to the external source which parses the definitions and the data. The parsing engine can output the data in pre-defined format. The embedded firmware associates the same definitions for all data. Thus an external programmer does not have to know, or monitor, the file format and output format of the disk drive to write an external software application.
1. A hard disk drive that is coupled to an external source, comprising:
a buffer that receives data;
a disk that stores said data; and,
a circuit that is coupled to said disk and contains embedded firmware that associates definitions with said data received by said buffer and causes said definitions and data to be transferred to the external source to be parsed by the external source, said definitions include at least one internal definition that defines a file format and at least one external definition that defines a data presentation format.
2. The hard disk drive of claim 1 , wherein said definitions are stored on said disk with said data.
3. The hard disk drive of claim 1 , further comprising a controller coupled to said circuit.
4. A method for providing data to an external source, comprising:
associating a plurality of definitions with data that is received by a buffer of a hard disk drive, with embedded firmware within a hard disk drive, the definitions include at least one internal definition that defines a file format and at least one external definition that defines a data presentation format;
transferring the definitions and data from the hard disk drive to an external source; and,
parsing the definitions and the data at the external source.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the definitions and data are stored on a disk of the hard disk drive.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the data and the definitions are provided to the external source in separate fields.