Reading non-standard data files
Quick reference
To read a non-standard data file into Quantum, create a dummy data file containing the statement:
#includes datafile;reclen=num_cols[;header=n[r]]
datafile
The name of the non-standard data file
num_cols
The length of each record in bytes (characters).
n
The number of characters (n) or records (n r) to skip at the start of the file.
More information
Quantum can read certain types of non-standard data file. Facilities exist for:
▪skipping unwanted data at the start of a file
▪reading records which are not terminated by a new-line character; for example, where the data is a continuous string of characters in which each record is exactly a given length.
The header parameter is required when there is information at the start of the file which you want to ignore:
▪header=n indicates that n bytes (characters) should be skipped at the start of the file.
▪header=nr indicates that n complete records should be skipped, where a record is assumed to be reclen bytes long.
Quantum reads the data file in binary, and ignores any values in the skipped header. Any non-printable characters in the rest of the data are converted to blanks (these are values other than 32‑127 inclusive).
See also