merkintätiedosto

A merkintätiedosto, or annotation file, is a plain text file used to store metadata or notes associated with another file or data set. These files typically contain information that is not part of the original data itself but provides context, descriptions, or instructions.

The purpose of a merkintätiedosto is to enrich data without altering its primary content. For example, in scientific research, a merkintätiedosto might accompany a dataset of measurements, detailing the experimental conditions, equipment used, or any anomalies observed during data collection. In software development, a merkintätiedosto could store comments about code, bug reports, or usage instructions.

The format of a merkintätiedosto can vary greatly. Some are simple key-value pairs, while others might use more structured formats like XML or JSON. The common characteristic is their human-readability and ease of creation and modification using standard text editors. The filename of a merkintätiedosto is often related to the file it annotates, perhaps with an appended `.ann`, `.meta`, or `.txt` extension. This convention helps in easily associating the annotation file with its corresponding data.