Best file format for vtkMultiBlockDataSet?

I have some CFD data that we’d like to consolidate into a convenient (i.e., easily readable by ParaView) format. We typically read things into VTK and then write them out to something else … right now I have a collection of vtkStructuredGrid (with a few of the usual CFD scalars as well) stored as blocks in a vtkMultiBlockDataSet.

In the distant past I have used ExodusII … but should I favor vtkXMLMultiBlockDataSetWriter to save my output as a file?

Use case is not clusters - but workstations.

Since you are using vtkStructuredGrids, i would recommend using vtkXMLPartitionedDataSetCollectionWriter.

FYI, if you have vtkUnstructuredGrids and want to export them with exodusII, VTK 9.3.0 has a new vtkIOSSWriter based on SANDIA’s seacas system.

Both of these writers accept vtkPartitionedDataSetCollections instead of vtkMultiBlockDataset.
vtkPartitionedDataSetCollection is the new vtkMultiBlockDataset, which is more flexible, and allows arbitrary type of assembly descriptions.

vtkMultiBlockDataSet will be deprecated at some point in the future in favor of vtkPartitionedDataSetCollection.

Thanks very much!

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