Re: Exporting data to a text file

[Ben Pfaff]

On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 03:37:58AM +0000, Crichton, Ronald wrote:
> I used SPSS some time back, and one of the features I liked was the
> ability to create an output file (either a system file or as a text
> file).  I would like to establish whether PSPP will suit my needs.  I
> would like to read input data from a text file.  The max line length
> would be 446 characters.  I would then carry out some data
> manipulations: computes, creation of new fields, possibly with what
> SPSS used to call MATCH FILES within PSPP, and finally export the data
> as a text file.  The text file may not have the same number of
> variables it started with (as they are often not all required) and the
> export procedure in PSPP would need to have the ability to write the
> variables to the output file in a different sequence from the input
> file, also on line lengths up to 446 characters.

PSPP should be able to do all of this.  PSPP has all of the features
that you specifically mentioned.  The line length should not be a
problem, because PSPP does not have fixed limits for line lengths.

If you have a more specific list of requirements, then we can tell you
in more detail whether we'd expect you to notice any omissions.

Most of these features are best supported through command syntax.  A lot
of the features cannot be accessed through the dialogs in the GUI.

> SPSS had a couple of good reporting procedures called TABLES and
> another called REPORTS.  Is anything similar to them available in
> PSPP?  But that is not my primary need.

PSPP doesn't have TABLES or REPORTS or anything as sophisticated.