A new data format for Monte Carlo (MC) events, or any structural data, including experimental data, is discussed. The format is designed to store data in a compact binary form using variable-size integer encoding as implemented in the Googles Protoco
l Buffers package. This approach is implemented in the ProMC library which produces smaller file sizes for MC records compared to the existing input-output libraries used in high-energy physics (HEP). Other important features of the proposed format are a separation of abstract data layouts from concrete programming implementations, self-description and random access. Data stored in ProMC files can be written, read and manipulated in a number of programming languages, such C++, JAVA, FORTRAN and PYTHON.
This report describes the studies performed for the Snowmass Top algorithms and detectors High Energy Frontier Study Group.
