Abstract: An interface between different file formats employs a table for parsing component parts of each file format. The table cross references or categorizes each of the different file formats according to file type from a predefined set of file types. For each file type, the table provides an indication and description of each component part of a file of that type. Each component part description of the table is in a common format. Thus, the present invention method and apparatus employs a table driven parser which utilizes a common form of representation for defining multiple file formats.