Tables


Tables in GIPSY are implemented as a set of special routines on top of the GDS basic descriptor routines. So a GIPSY table resides in a GDS set. A set can contain as many tables as necessary and every table can contain as many columns as necessary. Columns can be created and deleted at any moment. The number of elements in a column can grow.

Creating a table

A table is created by creating the first column of the table. This is done using the subroutine GDSA_CRECOL.

Column header

Every column has a column header which holds the following information, is supplied to GDSA_CRECOL when the column is created:

Data types

The following data types are supported:
CHARn
characters. Every cell in the column will contain n characters. (n <= 132)
INT
integers
REAL
single precision real numbers
DBLE
double precision real numbers
LOG
logicals

Reading and writing

For every column type, corresponding read- and write routines exist:

Getting information

There are routines which can be used to obtain information about a table or a column and a routine to list all tables in a set.

Deleting a table

A table is deleted by deleting all columns of the table. This can be done with the subroutine GDSA_DELTAB.
Programming GIPSY