'[*required*] The serialization format of the table.  Must be
one of:
\'tabledata\' (TABLEDATA_), \'binary\' (BINARY_), \'binary2\' (BINARY2_)
\'fits\' (FITS_).
Note that the \'fits\' format, since it requires an external
file, can not be written out.  Any file read in with \'fits\'
format will be read out, by default, in \'tabledata\' format.
See :ref:`votable-serialization`.'

@property
def format(self):

    return self._format
