4 Commands that don't fit any other category are placed here.
6 Most of these commands are not affected by commands like @cmd{IF} and
8 they take effect only once, unconditionally, at the time that they are
9 encountered in the input.
12 * ADD DOCUMENT:: Add documentary text to the active file.
13 * CD:: Change the current directory.
14 * COMMENT:: Document your syntax file.
15 * DOCUMENT:: Document the active file.
16 * DISPLAY DOCUMENTS:: Display active file documents.
17 * DISPLAY FILE LABEL:: Display the active file label.
18 * DROP DOCUMENTS:: Remove documents from the active file.
19 * ECHO:: Write a string to the output stream.
20 * ERASE:: Erase a file.
21 * EXECUTE:: Execute pending transformations.
22 * FILE LABEL:: Set the active file's label.
23 * FINISH:: Terminate the PSPP session.
24 * HOST:: Temporarily return to the operating system.
25 * INCLUDE:: Include a file within the current one.
26 * INSERT:: Insert a file within the current one.
27 * PERMISSIONS:: Change permissions on a file.
28 * PRESERVE and RESTORE:: Saving settings and restoring them later.
29 * SET:: Adjust PSPP runtime parameters.
30 * SHOW:: Display runtime parameters.
31 * SUBTITLE:: Provide a document subtitle.
32 * TITLE:: Provide a document title.
36 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
42 'line one' 'line two' @dots{} 'last line' .
46 @cmd{ADD DOCUMENT} adds one or more lines of descriptive commentary to
47 the active file. Documents added in this way are saved to system files.
48 They can be viewed using @cmd{SYSFILE INFO} or @cmd{DISPLAY
49 DOCUMENTS}. They can be removed from the active file with @cmd{DROP
52 Each line of documentary text must be enclosed in quotation marks, and
53 may not be more than 80 bytes long. @xref{DOCUMENT}.
59 @cindex changing directory
65 @cmd{CD} changes the current directory. The new directory will become that specified by the command.
73 Two possibles syntaxes:
74 COMMENT comment text @dots{} .
75 *comment text @dots{} .
78 @cmd{COMMENT} is ignored. It is used to provide information to
79 the author and other readers of the PSPP syntax file.
81 @cmd{COMMENT} can extend over any number of lines. Don't forget to
82 terminate it with a dot or a blank line.
91 DOCUMENT @var{documentary_text}.
94 @cmd{DOCUMENT} adds one or more lines of descriptive commentary to the
95 active file. Documents added in this way are saved to system files.
96 They can be viewed using @cmd{SYSFILE INFO} or @cmd{DISPLAY
97 DOCUMENTS}. They can be removed from the active file with @cmd{DROP
100 Specify the @var{documentary text} following the DOCUMENT keyword.
101 It is interpreted literally --- any quotes or other punctuation marks
102 will be included in the file.
103 You can extend the documentary text over as many lines as necessary.
104 Lines are truncated at 80 bytes. Don't forget to terminate
105 the command with a dot or a blank line. @xref{ADD DOCUMENT}.
107 @node DISPLAY DOCUMENTS
108 @section DISPLAY DOCUMENTS
109 @vindex DISPLAY DOCUMENTS
115 @cmd{DISPLAY DOCUMENTS} displays the documents in the active file. Each
116 document is preceded by a line giving the time and date that it was
117 added. @xref{DOCUMENT}.
119 @node DISPLAY FILE LABEL
120 @section DISPLAY FILE LABEL
121 @vindex DISPLAY FILE LABEL
127 @cmd{DISPLAY FILE LABEL} displays the file label contained in the
129 if any. @xref{FILE LABEL}.
131 This command is a PSPP extension.
134 @section DROP DOCUMENTS
135 @vindex DROP DOCUMENTS
141 @cmd{DROP DOCUMENTS} removes all documents from the active file.
142 New documents can be added with @cmd{DOCUMENT} (@pxref{DOCUMENT}).
144 @cmd{DROP DOCUMENTS} changes only the active file. It does not modify any
145 system files stored on disk.
152 ECHO 'arbitrary text' .
155 Use @cmd{ECHO} to write arbitrary text to the output stream. The text should be enclosed in quotation marks following the normal rules for string tokens (@pxref{Tokens}).
158 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
163 ERASE FILE file_name.
166 @cmd{ERASE FILE} deletes a file from the local filesystem.
167 file_name must be quoted.
168 This command cannot be used if the SAFER setting is active.
179 @cmd{EXECUTE} causes the active file to be read and all pending
180 transformations to be executed.
187 FILE LABEL file_label.
190 @cmd{FILE LABEL} provides a title for the active file. This
191 title will be saved into system files and portable files that are
192 created during this PSPP run.
194 file_label need not be quoted. If quotes are
195 included, they become part of the file label.
205 @cmd{FINISH} terminates the current PSPP session and returns
206 control to the operating system.
209 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
217 @cmd{HOST} suspends the current PSPP session and temporarily returns control
218 to the operating system.
219 This command cannot be used if the SAFER setting is active.
227 INCLUDE [FILE=]'file-name'.
230 @cmd{INCLUDE} causes the PSPP command processor to read an
231 additional command file as if it were included bodily in the current
233 If errors are encountered in the included file, then command processing will
234 stop and no more commands will be processed.
235 Include files may be nested to any depth, up to the limit of available
239 The @cmd{INSERT} command (@pxref{INSERT}) may be used instead of
240 @cmd{INCLUDE} if you require more flexible options.
243 INCLUDE FILE=@var{file-name}.
246 functions identically to
248 INSERT FILE=@var{file-name} ERROR=STOP CD=NO SYNTAX=BATCH.
257 INSERT [FILE=]'file-name'
259 [ERROR=@{CONTINUE,STOP@}]
260 [SYNTAX=@{BATCH,INTERACTIVE@}].
263 @cmd{INSERT} is similar to @cmd{INCLUDE} (@pxref{INCLUDE})
264 but somewhat more flexible.
265 It causes the command processor to read a file as if it were embedded in the
266 current command file.
268 If @samp{CD=YES} is specified, then before including the file, the
269 current directory will be changed to the directory of the included
271 The default setting is @samp{CD=NO}.
272 Note that this directory will remain current until it is
273 changed explicitly (with the @cmd{CD} command, or a subsequent
274 @cmd{INSERT} command with the @samp{CD=YES} option).
275 It will not revert to its original setting even after the included
276 file is finished processing.
278 If @samp{ERROR=STOP} is specified, errors encountered in the
279 inserted file will cause processing to immediately cease.
280 Otherwise processing will continue at the next command.
281 The default setting is @samp{ERROR=CONTINUE}.
283 If @samp{SYNTAX=INTERACTIVE} is specified then the syntax contained in
284 the included file must conform to interactive syntax
285 conventions. @xref{Syntax Variants}.
286 The default setting is @samp{SYNTAX=BATCH}.
293 @cindex changing file permissions
298 /PERMISSIONS = @{READONLY,WRITEABLE@}.
301 @cmd{PERMISSIONS} changes the permissions of a file.
302 There is one mandatory subcommand which specifies the permissions to
303 which the file should be changed.
304 If you set a file's permission to READONLY, then the file will become
305 unwritable either by you or anyone else on the system.
306 If you set the permission to WRITEABLE, then the file will become
307 writeable by you; the permissions afforded to others will be
309 This command cannot be used if the SAFER setting is active.
312 @node PRESERVE and RESTORE
313 @section PRESERVE and RESTORE
323 @cmd{PRESERVE} saves all of the settings that @cmd{SET} (@pxref{SET})
324 can adjust. A later @cmd{RESTORE} command restores those settings.
326 @cmd{PRESERVE} can be nested up to five levels deep.
336 /BLANKS=@{SYSMIS,'.',number@}
337 /DECIMAL=@{DOT,COMMA@}
339 /EPOCH=@{AUTOMATIC,year@}
340 /RIB=@{NATIVE,MSBFIRST,LSBFIRST,VAX@}
341 /RRB=@{NATIVE,ISL,ISB,IDL,IDB,VF,VD,VG,ZS,ZL@}
348 /CPROMPT='cprompt_string'
349 /DPROMPT='dprompt_string'
351 /MXWARNS=max_warnings
353 /WORKSPACE=workspace_size
357 /MITERATE=max_iterations
361 /SEED=@{RANDOM,seed_value@}
362 /UNDEFINED=@{WARN,NOWARN@}
365 /CC@{A,B,C,D,E@}=@{'npre,pre,suf,nsuf','npre.pre.suf.nsuf'@}
366 /DECIMAL=@{DOT,COMMA@}
368 /WIB=@{NATIVE,MSBFIRST,LSBFIRST,VAX@}
369 /WRB=@{NATIVE,ISL,ISB,IDL,IDB,VF,VD,VG,ZS,ZL@}
372 /ERRORS=@{ON,OFF,TERMINAL,LISTING,BOTH,NONE@}
373 /MESSAGES=@{ON,OFF,TERMINAL,LISTING,BOTH,NONE@}
374 /PRINTBACK=@{ON,OFF,TERMINAL,LISTING,BOTH,NONE@}
375 /RESULTS=@{ON,OFF,TERMINAL,LISTING,BOTH,NONE@}
377 (output driver options)
378 /HEADERS=@{NO,YES,BLANK@}
379 /LENGTH=@{NONE,length_in_lines@}
381 /WIDTH=@{NARROW,WIDTH,n_characters@}
384 /JOURNAL=@{ON,OFF@} ['file-name']
387 /COMPRESSION=@{ON,OFF@}
388 /SCOMPRESSION=@{ON,OFF@}
395 (obsolete settings accepted for compatibility, but ignored)
396 /BOXSTRING=@{'xxx','xxxxxxxxxxx'@}
397 /CASE=@{UPPER,UPLOW@}
401 /LOWRES=@{AUTO,ON,OFF@}
403 /MENUS=@{STANDARD,EXTENDED@}
406 /TB1=@{'xxx','xxxxxxxxxxx'@}
411 @cmd{SET} allows the user to adjust several parameters relating to
412 PSPP's execution. Since there are many subcommands to this command, its
413 subcommands will be examined in groups.
415 On subcommands that take boolean values, ON and YES are synonym, and
416 as are OFF and NO, when used as subcommand values.
418 The data input subcommands affect the way that data is read from data
419 files. The data input subcommands are
424 This is the value assigned to an item data item that is empty or
425 contains only white space. An argument of SYSMIS or '.' will cause the
426 system-missing value to be assigned to null items. This is the
427 default. Any real value may be assigned.
431 This value may be set to DOT or COMMA.
432 Setting it to DOT causes the decimal point character to be
433 @samp{.} and the grouping character to be @samp{,}.
435 causes the decimal point character to be @samp{,} and the grouping
436 character to be @samp{.}.
437 The default value is determined from the system locale.
440 Allows the default numeric input/output format to be specified. The
441 default is F8.2. @xref{Input and Output Formats}.
445 Specifies the range of years used when a 2-digit year is read from a
446 data file or used in a date construction expression (@pxref{Date
447 Construction}). If a 4-digit year is specified for the epoch, then
448 2-digit years are interpreted starting from that year, known as the
449 epoch. If AUTOMATIC (the default) is specified, then the epoch begins
450 69 years before the current date.
455 PSPP extension to set the byte ordering (endianness) used for reading
456 data in IB or PIB format (@pxref{Binary and Hexadecimal Numeric
457 Formats}). In MSBFIRST ordering, the most-significant byte appears at
458 the left end of a IB or PIB field. In LSBFIRST ordering, the
459 least-significant byte appears at the left end. VAX ordering is like
460 MSBFIRST, except that each pair of bytes is in reverse order. NATIVE,
461 the default, is equivalent to MSBFIRST or LSBFIRST depending on the
462 native format of the machine running PSPP.
467 PSPP extension to set the floating-point format used for reading data in
468 RB format (@pxref{Binary and Hexadecimal Numeric Formats}). The
473 The native format of the machine running PSPP. Equivalent to either IDL
477 32-bit IEEE 754 single-precision floating point, in little-endian byte
481 32-bit IEEE 754 single-precision floating point, in big-endian byte
485 64-bit IEEE 754 double-precision floating point, in little-endian byte
489 64-bit IEEE 754 double-precision floating point, in big-endian byte
493 32-bit VAX F format, in VAX-endian byte order.
496 64-bit VAX D format, in VAX-endian byte order.
499 64-bit VAX G format, in VAX-endian byte order.
502 32-bit IBM Z architecture short format hexadecimal floating point, in
503 big-endian byte order.
506 64-bit IBM Z architecture long format hexadecimal floating point, in
507 big-endian byte order.
509 Z architecture also supports IEEE 754 floating point. The ZS and ZL
510 formats are only for use with very old input files.
512 The default is NATIVE.
515 Program input subcommands affect the way that programs are parsed when
516 they are typed interactively or run from a command file. They are
520 This is a single character indicating the end of a command. The default
521 is @samp{.}. Don't change this.
524 Whether a blank line is interpreted as ending the current command. The
528 Interaction subcommands affect the way that PSPP interacts with an
529 online user. The interaction subcommands are
533 The command continuation prompt. The default is @samp{ > }.
536 Prompt used when expecting data input within @cmd{BEGIN DATA} (@pxref{BEGIN
537 DATA}). The default is @samp{data> }.
540 The maximum number of errors before PSPP halts processing of the current
541 command file. The default is 50.
544 The maximum number of warnings + errors before PSPP halts processing the
545 current command file.
546 The special value of zero means that all warning situations should be ignored.
547 No warnings will be issued, except a single initial warning advising the user
548 that warnings will not be given.
549 The default value is 100.
552 The command prompt. The default is @samp{PSPP> }.
555 Program execution subcommands control the way that PSPP commands
556 execute. The program execution subcommands are
566 The maximum number of iterations for an uncontrolled loop (@pxref{LOOP}).
569 The initial pseudo-random number seed. Set to a real number or to
570 RANDOM, which will obtain an initial seed from the current time of day.
576 The maximum amount of memory that PSPP will use to store data being processed.
577 If memory in excess of the workspace size is required, then PSPP will start
578 to use temporary files to store the data.
579 Setting a higher value will, in general, mean procedures will run faster,
580 but may cause other applications to run slower.
581 On platforms without virtual memory management, setting a very large workspace
582 may cause PSPP to abort.
584 @cindex memory, amount used to store cases
587 Data output subcommands affect the format of output data. These
596 @anchor{CCx Settings}
598 Set up custom currency formats. @xref{Custom Currency Formats}, for
602 The default DOT setting causes the decimal point character to be
603 @samp{.}. A setting of COMMA causes the decimal point character to be
607 Allows the default numeric input/output format to be specified. The
608 default is F8.2. @xref{Input and Output Formats}.
613 PSPP extension to set the byte ordering (endianness) used for writing
614 data in IB or PIB format (@pxref{Binary and Hexadecimal Numeric
615 Formats}). In MSBFIRST ordering, the most-significant byte appears at
616 the left end of a IB or PIB field. In LSBFIRST ordering, the
617 least-significant byte appears at the left end. VAX ordering is like
618 MSBFIRST, except that each pair of bytes is in reverse order. NATIVE,
619 the default, is equivalent to MSBFIRST or LSBFIRST depending on the
620 native format of the machine running PSPP.
625 PSPP extension to set the floating-point format used for writing data in
626 RB format (@pxref{Binary and Hexadecimal Numeric Formats}). The choices
627 are the same as SET RIB. The default is NATIVE.
630 In the PSPP text-based interface, the output routing subcommands
631 affect where output is sent. The following values are allowed for
632 each of these subcommands:
637 Discard this kind of output.
640 Write this output to the terminal, but not to listing files and other
644 Write this output to listing files and other output devices, but not
649 Write this type of output to all output devices.
652 These output routing subcommands are:
656 Applies to error and warning messages. The default is BOTH.
659 Applies to notes. The default is BOTH.
662 Determines whether the syntax used for input is printed back as part
663 of the output. The default is NONE.
666 Applies to everything not in one of the above categories, such as the
667 results of statistical procedures. The default is BOTH.
670 These subcommands have no effect on output in the PSPP GUI
673 Output driver option subcommands affect output drivers' settings. These
691 Logging subcommands affect logging of commands executed to external
692 files. These subcommands are
697 These subcommands, which are synonyms, control the journal. The
698 default is ON, which causes commands entered interactively to be
699 written to the journal file. Commands included from syntax files that
700 are included interactively and error messages printed by PSPP are also
701 written to the journal file, prefixed by @samp{>}. OFF disables use
704 The journal is named @file{pspp.jnl} by default. A different name may
708 System file subcommands affect the default format of system files
709 produced by PSPP. These subcommands are
716 Whether system files created by @cmd{SAVE} or @cmd{XSAVE} are
717 compressed by default. The default is ON.
720 Security subcommands affect the operations that commands are allowed to
721 perform. The security subcommands are
725 Setting this option disables the following operations:
733 The PERMISSIONS command.
735 Pipes (file names beginning or ending with @samp{|}).
738 Be aware that this setting does not guarantee safety (commands can still
739 overwrite files, for instance) but it is an improvement.
740 When set, this setting cannot be reset during the same session, for
741 obvious security reasons.
745 @cindex encoding, characters
746 This item is used to set the default character encoding.
747 The encoding may be specified either as an encoding name or alias
748 (see @url{http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets}), or
750 If given as a locale name, only the character encoding of the
753 System files written by PSPP will use this encoding.
754 System files read by PSPP, for which the encoding is unknown, will be
755 interpreted using this encoding.
757 The full list of valid encodings and locale names/alias are operating system
759 The following are all examples of acceptable syntax on common GNU/Linux
763 SET LOCALE='iso-8859-1'.
765 SET LOCALE='ru_RU.cp1251'.
767 SET LOCALE='japanese'.
771 Contrary to the intuition, this command does not affect any aspect
772 of the system's locale.
776 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
805 @cmd{SHOW} can be used to display the current state of PSPP's execution
806 parameters. Parameters that can be changed using @cmd{SET}
807 (@pxref{SET}), can be examined using @cmd{SHOW} using the subcommand
808 with the same name. @code{SHOW} supports the following additional
815 Show all custom currency settings (CCA through CCE).
817 Show details of the lack of warranty for PSPP.
819 Display the terms of PSPP's copyright licence (@pxref{License}).
822 Specifying @cmd{SHOW} without any subcommands is equivalent to SHOW ALL.
829 SUBTITLE 'subtitle_string'.
831 SUBTITLE subtitle_string.
834 @cmd{SUBTITLE} provides a subtitle to a particular PSPP
835 run. This subtitle appears at the top of each output page below the
836 title, if headers are enabled on the output device.
838 Specify a subtitle as a string in quotes. The alternate syntax that did
839 not require quotes is now obsolete. If it is used then the subtitle is
840 converted to all uppercase.
847 TITLE 'title_string'.
852 @cmd{TITLE} provides a title to a particular PSPP run.
853 This title appears at the top of each output page, if headers are enabled
854 on the output device.
856 Specify a title as a string in quotes. The alternate syntax that did
857 not require quotes is now obsolete. If it is used then the title is
858 converted to all uppercase.