Tektronix hex format


Tektronix hex format and Extended Tektronix hex format / Extended Tektronix Object Format are ASCII-based hexadecimal file formats, created by Tektronix, for conveying binary information for applications like programming microcontrollers, EPROMs, and other kinds of chips.
Each line of a Tektronix hex file starts with a slash character, whereas extended Tektronix hex files start with a percent character.

Tektronix hex format

Extended Tektronix hex format

A line consists of five parts:
  1. Record Length — 2 character field that specifies the number of characters in the record, excluding the percent sign.
  2. Type — 1 character field, specifies whether the record is data or termination.
  3. Checksum — 2 hex digits (1 byte, represents the sum of all the nibbles on the line, excluding the checksum itself.
  4. Address — 2 to N character field. The first character is how many characters are to follow for this field. The remaining characters contains the address that specifies where the data is to be loaded into memory. For example, if the first character is 8, then the following 8 characters should specify the address for a total of 9 characters in this field.
  5. Data — contains the executable code, memory-loadable data or descriptive information to be transferred.