Software for transferring NASTRAN datablocks between dissimilar computers

Efforts to freely exchange all types of NASTRAN datablocks between the internalized forms in any of three makes of NASTRAN-class computers and that of any other such make are described. The medium used is magnetic tape formatted in BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) character and numerical fields. The method used involves a FORTRAN-coded post-processor and a pre-processor, mostly portable but with a small assembly-coded component peculiar to each make of machine. Snags in a method reported in an earlier NASTRAN colloquium have been overcome and functional requirements upgraded as well.