SPEX Reference manual (PDF) - SRON

2.16 Log: Making and using command files 29
In orderto facilitate the readabilityofthe command files, the user can put comment lines in the command
files. Comment lines are recognized by the first character, that must be #. Also blank lines are allowed
in the command file, in order to enhance (human) readability.
Saving commands to file
After the command log save #a is given on the SPEX command line (#a is the file name), all the
following commands entered by the user (NOT the ones before) are stored on the command file until the
log close out command is given. Exceptions are the commands read from a nested command file (it
is not necessary to save these commands, since they are already in the nested command file). Also, help
calls and the command to open the file (”log save #a”) are not stored.
All commands are expanded to the full keywords before they are saved in the file. However, for execution
this is not important, since the interpreter can read both abbrevated and full keywords.
Saving the commands to the command file can be stopped by giving the command log close save.
The file with the saved commands is closed and remains at the specified path. SPEX will automatically
append the extension ”.com” to the filename.
Saving output to file
It is also possible to store all the output that is printed on the screen to a file. This is usefull for
long sessions or for computer systems with a limited screen buffer. The output saved this way could be
inspected later by (other programs of) the user. It is also useful if SPEX is run in a kind of batch-mode.
The command to save the output is log out #a, where #a should be the filename without extension.
SPEX will automatically append the extension ”.out” to the filename.
Executing commands from file
ASCII files with the .com extension containing SPEX commands can be executed in SPEX using the
command log execute #a, where #a stands for the file name without the ”.com” extension. When a
command file is read and the end of file is reached, the text ”Normal end of command file encountered”
is printed on the screen, and execution of the calling command file is resumed, or if the command file
was opened from the terminal, control is passed over to the terminal again.
For example, the user may have a command file named run which does his entire analysis. This command
file might start with the line ”log exe mydata” that will run the command file mydata that contains all
information regarding to the data sets read, further data selection or binning etc. This could be followed
by a second line in run like ”log exe mymodel” that runs the command file mymodel which could contain
the set-up for the spectral model and/or parameters. Also, often used plot settings (e.g. stacking of
different plot types) could easily placed in separate command files.
Syntax
The following syntax rules apply for command files:
log exe #a - Execute the commands from the file #a. The suffix ”.com” will be automatically appended
to this filename.
log save #a [overwrite] [append]- Storeall subsequent commandson the file #a. The suffix ”.com”
will be automatically appended to this filename. The optional argument ”overwrite” will allow to overwrite
an already existing file with the same name. The argument ”append” indicates that if the file
already exists, the new commands will be appended at the end of this file.
log close save - Close the current command file where commands are stored. No further commands
will be written to this file.
log out #a [overwrite] [append] - Store all subsequent screen output on the file #a. The suffix
”.out” will be automatically appended to this filename. The optional argument ”overwrite” will allow to
overwrite an already existing file with the same name. The argument ”append” indicates that if the file
already exists, the new output will be appended at the end of this file.
log close output - Close the current ascii file where screen output is stored. No further output will be