The Triple-S Data Source Component (DSC) reads and writes files in standard formats developed by the Triple-S group to facilitate the interchange of survey data between different software packages.

The Triple-S DSC fully supports version 1.2 of the Triple-S standard and all the of the changes and new features in version 2.0 of the standard with the exception of hierarchical data.

To use the Triple-S DSC, the metadata must be stored in a Triple-S standard XML file, and the case data must be stored in an ASCII text file that contains either fixed-format fields or comma-separated values. The metadata file normally has a .xml extension, but can have a .sss extension for compatibility with previous versions of the Triple-S standard. The case data file normally has a .asc, .dat, or .csv extension.

For detailed information about the Triple-S standards, see