One of the vexing problems that besets concurrent use of multiple, heterogeneous resources
is format multiplicity. C2M aims to equip scientists with a wrapper generator on their
desktop. The wrapper generator can build wrappers, or converters that can convert data
from or into different formats, from a high-level description of the formats. The language
in which such a high-level description is expressed is easy enough for scientists to be able to
write format descriptions at minimal cost. In C2M, wrappers and documentation for
human reading are automatically obtained from the same user-supplied specifications.
Initial experiments demonstrate that the idea can, indeed, lead to the advent of usergoverned
wrapper generators. Future research will consolidate the code and extend the
approach to a realistic variety of formats.