Oh, what is raw?

Please check tags 0x0106 ("PhotometricInterpretation") in all IFDs:
$ exiftool -H -S -G -a -ee -PhotometricInterpretation IMGP1498.DNG

Here is from a regular DNG file:
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: RGB
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Color Filter Array
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: YCbCr

Here is from a linear DNG:
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: RGB
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: YCbCr
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw

Whatever they call it, as long as it approximates the energy relationship of the scene's light I'm okay. Oh, and contains the metadata needed to interpret it for my own cooking... which it usually doesn't, color matrix for example.

Raw (Nikon NEF or Fuji RAF) is the file type I shoot. I shoot raw because it allows me the most latitude to process and edit the image to create a quality finished photo.

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Output from Adobe's Denoise DNG (4 channels in DNG per RawDigger). It seems to be a Linear Raw with a Color Filter Array.
$ exiftool -H -S -G -a -ee -PhotometricInterpretation /Volumes/Photo/2023/2023-08-05/L1000042-Enhanced-NR.dng
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: RGB
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Color Filter Array
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: YCbCr
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw
[EXIF] 0x0106 PhotometricInterpretation: Linear Raw

I think there is also the software to consider, you can get quite different results opening raw files in various software .

I think it is "raw" as I don't think it is an acronym like say ISO { International Standards Organization } and does not need capitalisation . On the other hand maybe raw stands for something I am ignorant of { always a possibility 😀 }

That’s pretty much the point of having all those options.

blog.kasson.com/the-last-word/roles-of-camera-and-raw-developer-in-determining-color/

There are so many alternatives around it is hard to pin down which works best for me. I have tried a lot but in the end I tend to stick with adobe not necessarily because it is the "best" . I have just used adobe products for so long I feel at home with them. I quite like DXO's results but actively dislike the interface , it often does a better job with UWA lenses than the makers defaults sneaking in a slightly wider field of view, every mm counts for us UWA fans 😀

me too, i use it for the great features and most important for my mass shoots, actions.

Yes. Could you please upload such a DNG to a file exchange server (some of the free ones are Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer) and e-mail a link to support@rawdigger.com ?

I'm making a difference here, technical term is raw, marketing invented "RAW" ;)

There is no best. There may be a best for you. Trying to assign a universal scalar metric to programs like this is fruitless.

Done.

Thank you.
This file packs together various types of (pseudo-)raw, four are linear (demosaicked), and one is mosaicked.

Please have a look at RawDigger Preferences -> Data Processing -> Vendor specific -> "DNG files" section (at the bottom). In the "DNG opcodes" drop-down you should have "Stage 1" selected; in "Additional image types" - "Enhanced image" (that corresponds to Adobe Camera RAW/Lightroom: Enhance image, as the RawDigger manual notes).

Now you should be able to use the bottom bar of the main RawDigger window to select "Frame:", number two is that linear (demosaicked) image.

Adobe define photometric interpretation in their DNG SDK, and the specification leaves no doubts what linear is:

Thank you for the analysis.
The important feature is that the channels are separate so that highlight recovery/reconstruction is still possible when one channel is clipped.

But not in the linear sections ;)

It is a conundrum many try to solve, but then find out it comes down to what suits them the most.