vtkDataReader and vtkDataWriter don't agree on signed char

This issue was created automatically from an original Mantis Issue. Further discussion may take place here.

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vtkDataWriter indicates in the data file that an array is of type "signed char" by writing out the string "signed_char":

vtkDataWriter.cxx:1074 case VTK_SIGNED_CHAR: { sprintf (str, format, "signed_char"); *fp << str; signed char *s= static_cast<vtkSignedCharArray *>(data)->GetPointer(0); vtkWriteDataArray(fp, s, this->FileType, "%hhd ", num, numComp); } break;

however, vtkDataReader checks for the string "char": vtkDataReader.cxx:1446

else if ( ! strncmp(type, "char", 4) ) { array = vtkCharArray::New(); array->SetNumberOfComponents(numComp);

As a result, a "signed char" data array stored by using vtkDataWriter can not be read back.