@cmd{GET} clears the current dictionary and active dataset and
replaces them with the dictionary and data from a specified file.
-The @subcmd{FILE} subcommand is the only required subcommand.
-Specify the system
-file or portable file to be read as a string file name or
-a file handle (@pxref{File Handles}).
+The @subcmd{FILE} subcommand is the only required subcommand. Specify
+the SPSS system file, SPSS/PC+ system file, or SPSS portable file to
+be read as a string file name or a file handle (@pxref{File Handles}).
By default, all the variables in a file are read. The DROP
subcommand can be used to specify a list of variables that are not to be
file on disk. Only the active dataset read from the file
is affected by these subcommands.
-@pspp{} tries to automatically detect the encoding of string data in the
-file. Sometimes, however, this does not work well,
-especially for files written by old versions of SPSS or @pspp{}. Specify
-the @subcmd{ENCODING} subcommand with an @acronym{IANA} character set name as its string
+@pspp{} automatically detects the encoding of string data in the file,
+when possible. The character encoding of old SPSS system files cannot
+always be guessed correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include
+any indication of their encoding. Specify the @subcmd{ENCODING}
+subcommand with an @acronym{IANA} character set name as its string
argument to override the default. Use @cmd{SYSFILE INFO} to analyze
the encodings that might be valid for a system file. The
@subcmd{ENCODING} subcommand is a @pspp{} extension.
[ENCODING='@var{encoding}']
[/ARRANGEMENT=@{DELIMITED,FIXED@}]
[/FIRSTCASE=@{@var{first_case}@}]
- [/IMPORTCASE=@{ALL,FIRST @var{max_cases},PERCENT @var{percent}@}]
+ [/IMPORTCASES=...]
@dots{}additional subcommands depending on ARRANGEMENT@dots{}
@end display
to the number of the first line to read: 2 to skip the first line, 3
to skip the first two lines, and so on.
-@subcmd{IMPORTCASE} can be used to limit the number of cases read from the
-input file. With the default setting, ALL, all cases in the file are
-read. Specify FIRST @var{max_cases} to read at most @var{max_cases} cases
-from the file. Use @subcmd{PERCENT @var{percent}} to read only @var{percent}
-percent, approximately, of the cases contained in the file. (The
-percentage is approximate, because there is no way to accurately count
-the number of cases in the file without reading the entire file. The
-number of cases in some kinds of unusual files cannot be estimated;
-@pspp{} will read all cases in such files.)
+@subcmd{IMPORTCASES} is ignored, for compatibility. Use @cmd{N OF
+CASES} to limit the number of cases read from a file (@pxref{N OF
+CASES}), or @cmd{SAMPLE} to obtain a random sample of cases
+(@pxref{SAMPLE}).
-@subcmd{FIRSTCASE} and @subcmd{IMPORTCASE} may be used with delimited and fixed-format
-data. The remaining subcommands, which apply only to one of the two file
-arrangements, are described below.
+The remaining subcommands apply only to one of the two file
+arrangements, described below.
@menu
* GET DATA /TYPE=TXT /ARRANGEMENT=DELIMITED::
[/IMPORTCASE=@{ALL,FIRST @var{max_cases},PERCENT @var{percent}@}]
/DELIMITERS="@var{delimiters}"
- [/QUALIFIER="@var{quotes}" [/ESCAPE]]
+ [/QUALIFIER="@var{quotes}"
[/DELCASE=@{LINE,VARIABLES @var{n_variables}@}]
/VARIABLES=@var{del_var1} [@var{del_var2}]@dots{}
where each @var{del_var} takes the form:
instead of terminating it. The ability to specify more than one quote
character is a @pspp{} extension.
-By default, a character specified on @subcmd{QUALIFIER} cannot itself be
-embedded within a field that it quotes, because the quote character
-always terminates the quoted field. With ESCAPE, however, a doubled
-quote character within a quoted field inserts a single instance of the
-quote into the field. For example, if @samp{'} is specified on
-@subcmd{QUALIFIER}, then without ESCAPE @code{'a''b'} specifies a pair of
-fields that contain @samp{a} and @samp{b}, but with ESCAPE it
-specifies a single field that contains @samp{a'b}. ESCAPE is a @pspp{}
-extension.
+The character specified on @subcmd{QUALIFIER} can be embedded within a
+field that it quotes by doubling the qualifier. For example, if
+@samp{'} is specified on @subcmd{QUALIFIER}, then @code{'a''b'}
+specifies a field that contains @samp{a'b}.
The @subcmd{DELCASE} subcommand controls how data may be broken across lines in
the data file. With LINE, the default setting, each line must contain
SYSFILE INFO FILE='@var{file_name}' [ENCODING='@var{encoding}'].
@end display
-@cmd{SYSFILE INFO} reads the dictionary in a system file and
-displays the information in its dictionary.
-
-Specify a file name or file handle. @cmd{SYSFILE INFO} reads that file as
-a system file and displays information on its dictionary.
-
-@pspp{} tries to automatically detect the encoding of string data in
-the file. Sometimes, however, this does not work well, especially for
-files written by old versions of SPSS or @pspp{}. Specify the
-@subcmd{ENCODING} subcommand with an @acronym{IANA} character set name
-as its string argument to override the default, or specify
-@code{ENCODING='DETECT'} to analyze and report possibly valid
-encodings for the system file. The @subcmd{ENCODING} subcommand is a
-@pspp{} extension.
+@cmd{SYSFILE INFO} reads the dictionary in an SPSS system file,
+SPSS/PC+ system file, or SPSS portable file, and displays the
+information in its dictionary.
+
+Specify a file name or file handle. @cmd{SYSFILE INFO} reads that
+file and displays information on its dictionary.
+
+@pspp{} automatically detects the encoding of string data in the file,
+when possible. The character encoding of old SPSS system files cannot
+always be guessed correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include
+any indication of their encoding. Specify the @subcmd{ENCODING}
+subcommand with an @acronym{IANA} character set name as its string
+argument to override the default, or specify @code{ENCODING='DETECT'}
+to analyze and report possibly valid encodings for the system file.
+The @subcmd{ENCODING} subcommand is a @pspp{} extension.
@cmd{SYSFILE INFO} does not affect the current active dataset.
projects / pspp / blobdiff