ADDDD Process

To access this process:

Data ribbon >> Data Tools >> Tables >> Add Fields.
View the Find Command screen, select ADDDD and click Run.
Enter "ADDDD" into the Command Line and press <ENTER>.

See this process in the Command Table.

Process Overview

Adds extra fields to a file, requesting the field names and parameters interactively, in the same way as that used for entering a new Data Definition.

The default value is entered for all records of an explicit field.

ADDDD will also work on a file with just a Data Definition, e.g. a prototype.

Since ADDDD modifies the file description, it can be used for this purpose, with no addition of fields.

Implicit fields may be added in-place; i.e. the input file name can be the same as the output file name. For new explicit fields, the input file name must be different to the output.

A FORTRAN read format can be supplied at the File Description prompt of ADDDD. This format should be given within parenthesis and in standard FORTRAN format, for example (F10.3,2A4,5F9.3). Once this format is written into the Data Definition of the file, it will be automatically detected and used by fixed format data input processes such as INPUTW.

Input Files

Name	Description	I/O Status	Required	Type
IN	Input file.	Overwritten	Yes	Table

Output Files

Name	I/O Status	Required	Type	Description
OUT	Output file. This may be the same as IN for in-place operation; in this mode, only implicit fields may be added.	Output	Yes	Table

Notes

Clicking OK shows a prompt:

>FILE DESCRIPTION> Up to 60 characters.

>FIELDNAME> Name of the new field or ! to terminate.

>TYPE A/N (N)> A for alphanumeric, N for numeric

>LENGTH (1)> Length of the alphanumeric field.

>STORED (Y)> Y for explicit, N for implicit

>DEFAULT> Default value. Can be left blank

>CONFIRM ? > enter OK, ok, YES, Y or y to end Data Definition

The ! character, entered at the FIELDNAME prompt, is generally used to terminate Data Definition entry.

Note: When running ADDDD in a macro, you must use the ] character to terminate the Data Definition entry. This will avoid the termination of the macro at that position.

If ! is entered at any prompt other than FIELDNAME then this will cancel the entry for the existing fieldname, and return control back to the FIELDNAME prompt.

ADDDD includes token parsing. This means that answers to successive interactive prompts can be entered on a single line separated by one or more spaces. For example, will give a numeric explicit field with a name of AU and a default value of 0:

FIELDNAME >AU N Y 0

Default values for alpha fields require quotes if they contain imbedded blanks. Otherwise the process will treat the blank as a separator between the responses to successive interactive prompts.

Token parsing stops at 40 characters. Therefore the total number of characters on a line (including spaces) must not exceed 40. It also means that a default value of more than 40 characters cannot be entered using ADDDD (or INPUTD or INPFIL). Longer default values should be entered using DMEDIT. SETVAL can be used to propagate long alphanumeric strings through entire files.

Fields can be an alphanumeric or numeric, and are restricted to 24 characters. If you attempt to add a field name that already exists in the selected object, a warning will be displayed and it will not be added. Similarly, restricted Datamine field names cannot be used.

Fields must not start with the following characters: "*", "&", "@", "!", "?", ".".

Fields must not contain spaces, or the following characters: ",", "!", " :", "*", "&", "=", "()".

Examples

1. Addition of one alphanumeric (ALPHA) and one numeric (NUMERIC) field.

!ADDDD &IN(INFILE),&OUT(NEWFILE)

INPUT DATA DESCRIPTION FOR FILE INFILE .
FILE DESCRIPTION > Extended File

SUPPLY DETAILS OF FIELDS AS FOLLOWS-
NEXT FIELDNAME > ALPHA
FIELD 1 > ALPHA
---------------------
TYPE A/N(N)> A
LENGTH (1)> 8
STORED? (Y)> Y
DEFAULT >

NEXT FIELDNAME > NUMBER
FIELD 2 > NUMBER
---------------------
TYPE A/N(N)> N
STORED? (Y)> Y
DEFAULT >

NEXT FIELDNAME >!
END OF DD
CONFIRM ? OK

2. Definition of a FORTRAN read format in the file description:

!ADDDD &IN(INFILE),&OUT(NEWFILE)

INPUT DATA DESCRIPTION FOR FILE INFILE .
FILE DESCRIPTION > (F10.3,2A4,2F9.3,2A4,F6.0)

SUPPLY DETAILS OF FIELDS AS FOLLOWS-
NEXT FIELDNAME > ALPHA
FIELD 1 > ALPHA
---------------------
TYPE A/N(N)> A
LENGTH (1)> 8
STORED? (Y)> Y
DEFAULT >

NEXT FIELDNAME > NUMBER
FIELD 2 > NUMBER
---------------------
TYPE A/N(N)> N
STORED? (Y)> Y
DEFAULT >

NEXT FIELDNAME > !
END OF DD
CONFIRM ? OK

Error and Warning Messages

Message	Description
>>> BLANK FIRST CHARACTER IN FIELDNAME - ILLEGAL <<<	Blank fieldnames are not permitted. If one is entered, the above error message will be given and the FIELDNAME > prompt repeated.
>>> MAX FIELDS - DATA DEFINITION TERMINATED <<<	The maximum number of words occupied by fields is 64. Each numeric field takes 1 word, and each set of 4 characters in an alphanumeric field also takes one word. If the maximum number of words is exceeded, the Data Definition entry will be terminated with the above message; any multi-word alphanumeric field being entered at this point may be incomplete.
>>> FIELD NAME ALREADY EXISTS - IGNORED <<<	The same fieldname cannot appear twice in a file; if it does, the process issues the error message above and returns to the FIELDNAME > prompt.
>>> CANNOT ADD EXPLICIT FIELDS WHEN DOING IN-PLACE OPERATION - ILLEGAL <<<	If an attempt is made to add explicit fields during an in-place update, the above message is displayed and the field is ignored.