Genealogical Data Communication

What Does Genealogical Data Communication Mean?

Genealogical Data Communication (GEDCOM) is a data structure that holds genealogical information in a specific format for genealogy software dealing with such information. A special format for genealogical information is necessary for different applications to interact (store and exchange) with each other. A GEDCOM format has “.ged” as a file extension.

Advertisements

Techopedia Explains Genealogical Data Communication

Introduced in 1984 in its raw form, GEDCOM files are simple text files with headers and special fields that can be interpreted by Personal Ancestral File (PAF) or other genealogical software. The files are lightweight and can be easily emailed as an attachment and imported to a number of programs. This gives flexibility to the user to transfer useful data. GEDCOM files are text files that enclose the data and connections required to transfer genealogical data between two users.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Latest Privacy and Compliance Terms

Related Reading

Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…