FILE SAVE <text file> TO <Survo data file>
adds contents of a text file to a Survo data file.
If no extra specifications are given, it is assumed that the text file
contains N lines each of them having values of M fields. The fields
within one line must be separated by one or more space characters.
Before creating the Survo data file, FILE SAVE scans the entire text
file and observes the structure of each field. For example, it detects
whether the field is a string or a numeric field. Also a suitable
representation (1,2,4, or 8 bytes) for a numeric field is selected
according to its range and numerical structure.
The text file can also have a line of labels (names) for the fields. If
it appears as the first line in the text file and the labels are strings
(not starting by digits), these labels will appear as names of fields
in the new Survo data file. If the label line is missing, names X1,X2,...
are selected.
Otherwise no strict format is required in the text file.
Often the text file contains extra information not belonging to the
structured part of the data set to be converted. The actual data and
label lines are then indicated by FIRST, LAST, and NAMES specifications.
The first and last line to be copied from the text file can be indicated
by FIRST=<first line> and LAST=<last_line> specifications. Use SHOW,
for example, to find proper FIRST and LAST values.
Even the names of the variables (fields) in the data file can be obtain-
ed from the text file, provided that a suitable line before the FIRST
line appears with proper labels for the columns. The labels must be
contiguous strings separated by spaces. The label line is indicated by a
specification NAMES=<# of label line>. If NAMES is missing, names
X1,X2,... are selected for the fields in the data file.
For simple mapping of columns in the text file to (active) fields of
an existing data file NAMES=DEFAULT is given.
If the fields in the text file are separated from each other by a special
character <ch> (instead of `space'), use the specification DELIMITER=<ch>.
Examples: DELIMITER=, DELIMITER=char(9) or DELIMITER=TAB
I = Dealing with incomplete lines
L = Dealing with long names of variables
S = More information on FILE SAVE
D = More information on data management
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