input software - processing a file

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To process your input file, type input . The program asks you for the filename; it will will work out the filetype (txt or tx0) itself.

The program first works out the observer code by matching the observer name against the list of observer codes and names. It doesn't let you just type in the code - that would leave too much scope for error! If your name does not feature in this list, you will have to ask me to update the file.

The program then reads through your file. It tries to perform six tests on each observation:

1. is the estimate syntax correct?

2. is a sequence file available?

3. can the sequence used by the observer be matched to one of those in the sequence file?

4. can the comparison star(s) used by the observer be found in the observer sequence in the sequence file?

5. could the comparison star(s) used by the observer be found in the best sequence in the sequence file?

6. did the observer calculate the magnitude correctly?

Obviously, if some of the earlier checks in the list fail, then subsequent ones may fail also (e.g. if we don't have the observer's sequence in the sequence file, then we can't check the observer's magnitude).

On the basis of these checks, the program may report an error or a warning. Errors prevent the observation being written to the buffer file. An error will occur if :

check 1 fails (syntax error in the estimate) and/or

check 6 fails (arithmetic error), if we were in a position to check the magnitude.

If any of the other checks fail, then the program will report a warning. In this case, the observation will be written to the buffer file, but it may not have been fully checked.

At the end of this process, the program will have created a buffer file and a log file (e.g. for input file XYZ1001.txt, we have XYZ1001.BUF and XYZ1001.log). The log file contains a list of any errors or warnings generated. They are given in the order 1-6 listed above; 0 = fail, 1 = pass. The log file can be created in either a plain text, or a comma-separated-variable (CSV) format; the latter is convenient if you wish to import it into Excel. You can select which of these formats with the csv or plaintext commands.