floating-point format in use, as well as the endianness of IEEE 754
floating-point numbers, and translates as needed. However, only IEEE
754 numbers with the same endianness as integer data in the same file
-has actually been observed in system files, and it is likely that
+have actually been observed in system files, and it is likely that
other formats are obsolete or were never used.
System files use a few floating point values for special purposes:
possible to artificially synthesize files that use different encodings
(@pxref{Character Encoding Record}).
-System files are divided into records, each of which begins with a
-4-byte record type, usually regarded as an @code{int32}.
+@menu
+* System File Record Structure::
+* File Header Record::
+* Variable Record::
+* Value Labels Records::
+* Document Record::
+* Machine Integer Info Record::
+* Machine Floating-Point Info Record::
+* Multiple Response Sets Records::
+* Extra Product Info Record::
+* Variable Display Parameter Record::
+* Long Variable Names Record::
+* Very Long String Record::
+* Character Encoding Record::
+* Long String Value Labels Record::
+* Long String Missing Values Record::
+* Data File and Variable Attributes Records::
+* Extended Number of Cases Record::
+* Other Informational Records::
+* Dictionary Termination Record::
+* Data Record::
+@end menu
+
+@node System File Record Structure
+@section System File Record Structure
+
+System files are divided into records with the following format:
+
+@example
+int32 type;
+char data[];
+@end example
+
+This header does not identify the length of the @code{data} or any
+information about what it contains, so the system file reader must
+understand the format of @code{data} based on @code{type}. However,
+records with type 7, called @dfn{extension records}, have a stricter
+format:
+
+@example
+int32 type;
+int32 subtype;
+int32 size;
+int32 count;
+char data[size * count];
+@end example
+
+@table @code
+@item int32 rec_type;
+Record type. Always set to 7.
+
+@item int32 subtype;
+Record subtype. This value identifies a particular kind of extension
+record.
-The records must appear in the following order:
+@item int32 size;
+The size of each piece of data that follows the header, in bytes.
+Known extension records use 1, 4, or 8, for @code{char}, @code{int32},
+and @code{flt64} format data, respectively.
+
+@item int32 count;
+The number of pieces of data that follow the header.
+
+@item char data[size * count];
+Data, whose format and interpretation depend on the subtype.
+@end table
+
+An extension record contains exactly @code{size * count} bytes of
+data, which allows a reader that does not understand an extension
+record to skip it. Extension records provide only nonessential
+information, so this allows for files written by newer software to
+preserve backward compatibility with older or less capable readers.
+
+Records in a system file must appear in the following order:
@itemize @bullet
@item
Extension (type 7) records, in ascending numerical order of their
subtypes.
+System files written by SPSS include at most one of each kind of
+extension record. This is generally true of system files written by
+other software as well, with known exceptions noted below in the
+individual sections about each type of record.
+
@item
Dictionary termination record.
Data record.
@end itemize
-Each type of record is described separately below.
+We advise authors of programs that read system files to tolerate
+format variations. Various kinds of misformatting and corruption have
+been observed in system files written by SPSS and other software
+alike. In particular, because extension records provide nonessential
+information, it is generally better to ignore an extension record
+entirely than to refuse to read a system file.
-@menu
-* File Header Record::
-* Variable Record::
-* Value Labels Records::
-* Document Record::
-* Machine Integer Info Record::
-* Machine Floating-Point Info Record::
-* Multiple Response Sets Records::
-* Extra Product Info Record::
-* Variable Display Parameter Record::
-* Long Variable Names Record::
-* Very Long String Record::
-* Character Encoding Record::
-* Long String Value Labels Record::
-* Long String Missing Values Record::
-* Data File and Variable Attributes Records::
-* Extended Number of Cases Record::
-* Miscellaneous Informational Records::
-* Dictionary Termination Record::
-* Data Record::
-* Encrypted System Files::
-@end menu
+The following sections describe the known kinds of records.
@node File Header Record
@section File Header Record
-The file header is always the first record in the file. It has the
-following format:
+A system file begins with the file header, with the following format:
@example
char rec_type[4];
would be longer than 60 characters; otherwise it is padded on the right
with spaces.
+The product name field allow readers to behave differently based on
+quirks in the way that particular software writes system files.
+@xref{Value Labels Records}, for the detail of the quirk that the PSPP
+system file reader tolerates in files written by ReadStat, which has
+@code{https://github.com/WizardMac/ReadStat} in @code{prod_name}.
+
@anchor{layout_code}
@item int32 layout_code;
Normally set to 2, although a few system files have been spotted in
Number of data elements per case. This is the number of variables,
except that long string variables add extra data elements (one for every
8 characters after the first 8). However, string variables do not
-contribute to this value beyond the first 255 bytes. Further, system
-files written by some systems set this value to -1. In general, it is
+contribute to this value beyond the first 255 bytes. Further, some
+software always writes -1 or 0 in this field. In general, it is
unsafe for systems reading system files to rely upon this value.
-@item int32 compressed;
+@item int32 compression;
Set to 0 if the data in the file is not compressed, 1 if the data is
compressed with simple bytecode compression, 2 if the data is ZLIB
compressed. This field has value 2 if and only if @code{rec_type} is
by a number of narrower string variables. @xref{Very Long String
Record}, for details.
+A system file should contain at least one variable and thus at least
+one variable record, but system files have been observed in the wild
+without any variables (thus, no data either).
+
@example
int32 rec_type;
int32 type;
set to the length, in characters, of the variable label. The
documented maximum length varies from 120 to 255 based on SPSS
version, but some files have been seen with longer labels. PSPP
-accepts longer labels and truncates them to 255 bytes on input.
+accepts labels of any length.
@item char label[];
This field is present only if @code{has_var_label} is set to 1. It has
element denotes the additional discrete missing value.
@end table
+@anchor{System File Output Formats}
The @code{print} and @code{write} members of sysfile_variable are output
formats coded into @code{int32} types. The least-significant byte
of the @code{int32} represents the number of decimal places, and the
have value labels, but their value labels are recorded using a
different record type (@pxref{Long String Value Labels Record}).
+ReadStat (@pxref{File Header Record}) writes value labels that label a
+single value more than once. In more detail, it emits value labels
+whose values are longer than string variables' widths, that are
+identical in the actual width of the variable, e.g.@: labels for
+values @code{ABC123} and @code{ABC456} for a string variable with
+width 3. For files written by this software, PSPP ignores such
+labels.
+
The value label record has the following format:
@example
Record type. Always set to 6.
@item int32 n_lines;
-Number of lines of documents present.
+Number of lines of documents present. This should be greater than
+zero, but ReadStats writes system files with zero @code{n_lines}.
@item char lines[][80];
Document lines. The number of elements is defined by @code{n_lines}.
Number of pieces of data in the data part. Always set to 3.
@item flt64 sysmis;
-The system missing value.
-
-@item flt64 highest;
-The value used for HIGHEST in missing values.
-
-@item flt64 lowest;
-The value used for LOWEST in missing values.
+@itemx flt64 highest;
+@itemx flt64 lowest;
+The system missing value, the value used for HIGHEST in missing
+values, and the value used for LOWEST in missing values, respectively.
+@xref{System File Format}, for more information.
+
+The SPSSWriter library in PHP, which identifies itself as @code{FOM
+SPSS 1.0.0} in the file header record @code{prod_name} field, writes
+unexpected values to these fields, but it uses the same values
+consistently throughout the rest of the file.
@end table
@node Multiple Response Sets Records
each separated from the previous by a single space.
Even though a multiple response set must have at least two variables,
-some system files contain multiple response sets with no variables at
-all. The source and meaning of these multiple response sets is
+some system files contain multiple response sets with no variables or
+one variable. The source and meaning of these multiple response sets is
unknown. (Perhaps they arise from creating a multiple response set
then deleting all the variables that it contains?)
@item char attributes[];
The attributes, in a text-based format.
-In record type 17, this field contains a single attribute set. An
+In record subtype 17, this field contains a single attribute set. An
attribute set is a sequence of one or more attributes concatenated
together. Each attribute consists of a name, which has the same
syntax as a variable name, followed by, inside parentheses, a sequence
an attribute with a single value and an attribute array with one
element.
-In record type 18, this field contains a sequence of one or more
+In record subtype 18, this field contains a sequence of one or more
variable attribute sets. If more than one variable attribute set is
present, each one after the first is delimited from the previous by
@code{/}. Each variable attribute set consists of a long
variable name,
followed by @code{:}, followed by an attribute set with the same
-syntax as on record type 17.
+syntax as on record subtype 17.
+
+System files written by @code{Stata 14.1/-savespss- 1.77 by
+S.Radyakin} may include multiple records with subtype 18, one per
+variable that has variable attributes.
The total length is @code{count} bytes.
@end table
not been observed in the wild.
@end table
-@node Miscellaneous Informational Records
-@section Miscellaneous Informational Records
+@node Other Informational Records
+@section Other Informational Records
-Some specific types of miscellaneous informational records are
+This chapter documents many specific types of extension records are
documented here, but others are known to exist. PSPP ignores unknown
-miscellaneous informational records when reading system files.
+extension records when reading system files.
-@example
-/* @r{Header.} */
-int32 rec_type;
-int32 subtype;
-int32 size;
-int32 count;
+The following extension record subtypes have also been observed, with
+the following believed meanings:
-/* @r{Exactly @code{size * count} bytes of data.} */
-char data[];
-@end example
-
-@table @code
-@item int32 rec_type;
-Record type. Always set to 7.
-
-@item int32 subtype;
-Record subtype. May take any value. According to Aapi
-H@"am@"al@"ainen, value 5 indicates a set of grouped variables and 6
-indicates date info (probably related to USE). Subtype 24 appears to
-contain XML that describes how data in the file should be displayed
-on-screen.
+@table @asis
+@item 5
+A set of grouped variables (according to Aapi H@"am@"al@"ainen).
-@item int32 size;
-Size of each piece of data in the data part. Should have the value 1,
-4, or 8, for @code{char}, @code{int32}, and @code{flt64} format data,
-respectively.
+@item 6
+Date info, probably related to USE (according to Aapi H@"am@"al@"ainen).
-@item int32 count;
-Number of pieces of data in the data part.
+@item 12
+A UUID in the format described in RFC 4122. Only two examples
+observed, both written by SPSS 13, and in each case the UUID contained
+both upper and lower case.
-@item char data[];
-Arbitrary data. There must be @code{size} times @code{count} bytes of
-data.
+@item 24
+XML that describes how data in the file should be displayed on-screen.
@end table
@node Dictionary Termination Record
@end table
@setfilename ignored
-
-@node Encrypted System Files
-@section Encrypted System Files
-
-SPSS 21 and later support an encrypted system file format.
-
-@quotation Warning
-The SPSS encrypted file format is poorly designed. It is much cheaper
-and faster to decrypt a file encrypted this way than if a well
-designed alternative were used. If you must use this format, use a
-10-byte randomly generated password.
-@end quotation
-
-@subheading Encrypted File Format
-
-Encrypted system files begin with the following 36-byte fixed header:
-
-@example
-0000 1c 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 45 4e 43 52 59 50 54 45 |........ENCRYPTE|
-0010 44 53 41 56 15 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |DSAV............|
-0020 00 00 00 00 |....|
-@end example
-
-Following the fixed header is a complete system file in the usual
-format, except that each 16-byte block is encrypted with AES-256 in
-ECB mode. The AES-256 key is derived from a password in the following
-way:
-
-@enumerate
-@item
-Start from the literal password typed by the user. Truncate it to at
-most 10 bytes, then append (between 1 and 22) null bytes until there
-are exactly 32 bytes. Call this @var{password}.
-
-@item
-Let @var{constant} be the following 73-byte constant:
-
-@example
-0000 00 00 00 01 35 27 13 cc 53 a7 78 89 87 53 22 11
-0010 d6 5b 31 58 dc fe 2e 7e 94 da 2f 00 cc 15 71 80
-0020 0a 6c 63 53 00 38 c3 38 ac 22 f3 63 62 0e ce 85
-0030 3f b8 07 4c 4e 2b 77 c7 21 f5 1a 80 1d 67 fb e1
-0040 e1 83 07 d8 0d 00 00 01 00
-@end example
-
-@item
-Compute CMAC-AES-256(@var{password}, @var{constant}). Call the
-16-byte result @var{cmac}.
-
-@item
-The 32-byte AES-256 key is @var{cmac} || @var{cmac}, that is,
-@var{cmac} repeated twice.
-@end enumerate
-
-@subsubheading Example
-
-Consider the password @samp{pspp}. @var{password} is:
-
-@example
-0000 70 73 70 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |pspp............|
-0010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-@var{cmac} is:
-
-@example
-0000 3e da 09 8e 66 04 d4 fd f9 63 0c 2c a8 6f b0 45
-@end example
-
-@noindent
-The AES-256 key is:
-
-@example
-0000 3e da 09 8e 66 04 d4 fd f9 63 0c 2c a8 6f b0 45
-0010 3e da 09 8e 66 04 d4 fd f9 63 0c 2c a8 6f b0 45
-@end example
-
-@subheading Password Encoding
-
-SPSS also supports what it calls ``encrypted passwords.'' These are
-not encrypted. They are encoded with a simple, fixed scheme. An
-encoded password is always a multiple of 2 characters long, and never
-longer than 20 characters. The characters in an encoded password are
-always in the graphic ASCII range 33 through 126. Each successive
-pair of characters in the password encodes a single byte in the
-plaintext password.
-
-Use the following algorithm to decode a pair of characters:
-
-@enumerate
-@item
-Let @var{a} be the ASCII code of the first character, and @var{b} be
-the ASCII code of the second character.
-
-@item
-Let @var{ah} be the most significant 4 bits of @var{a}. Find the line
-in the table below that has @var{ah} on the left side. The right side
-of the line is a set of possible values for the most significant 4
-bits of the decoded byte.
-
-@display
-@t{2 } @result{} @t{2367}
-@t{3 } @result{} @t{0145}
-@t{47} @result{} @t{89cd}
-@t{56} @result{} @t{abef}
-@end display
-
-@item
-Let @var{bh} be the most significant 4 bits of @var{b}. Find the line
-in the second table below that has @var{bh} on the left side. The
-right side of the line is a set of possible values for the most
-significant 4 bits of the decoded byte. Together with the results of
-the previous step, only a single possibility is left.
-
-@display
-@t{2 } @result{} @t{139b}
-@t{3 } @result{} @t{028a}
-@t{47} @result{} @t{46ce}
-@t{56} @result{} @t{57df}
-@end display
-
-@item
-Let @var{al} be the least significant 4 bits of @var{a}. Find the
-line in the table below that has @var{al} on the left side. The right
-side of the line is a set of possible values for the least significant
-4 bits of the decoded byte.
-
-@display
-@t{03cf} @result{} @t{0145}
-@t{12de} @result{} @t{2367}
-@t{478b} @result{} @t{89cd}
-@t{569a} @result{} @t{abef}
-@end display
-
-@item
-Let @var{bl} be the least significant 4 bits of @var{b}. Find the
-line in the table below that has @var{bl} on the left side. The right
-side of the line is a set of possible values for the least significant
-4 bits of the decoded byte. Together with the results of the previous
-step, only a single possibility is left.
-
-@display
-@t{03cf} @result{} @t{028a}
-@t{12de} @result{} @t{139b}
-@t{478b} @result{} @t{46ce}
-@t{569a} @result{} @t{57df}
-@end display
-@end enumerate
-
-@subsubheading Example
-
-Consider the encoded character pair @samp{-|}. @var{a} is
-0x2d and @var{b} is 0x7c, so @var{ah} is 2, @var{bh} is 7, @var{al} is
-0xd, and @var{bl} is 0xc. @var{ah} means that the most significant
-four bits of the decoded character is 2, 3, 6, or 7, and @var{bh}
-means that they are 4, 6, 0xc, or 0xe. The single possibility in
-common is 6, so the most significant four bits are 6. Similarly,
-@var{al} means that the least significant four bits are 2, 3, 6, or 7,
-and @var{bl} means they are 0, 2, 8, or 0xa, so the least significant
-four bits are 2. The decoded character is therefore 0x62, the letter
-@samp{b}.
projects / pspp / blobdiff