Text Output

Most Asterix applications which output data in ascii form do so using a DEV parameter. The value taken by this character string parameter determines the destination of the output data. There are five special values for this parameter:

TERMINAL, CONSOLE

Either of these directs output to the terminal (or standard output in UNIX speak). This is often the default choice. Using this option means the output can be piped to further UNIX commands, eg. more

PRINTER

The system default print queue. The output is spooled directly and leaves no work file behind. See the 'Spooling' subtopic for much more info on controlling spooling.

NEWFILE, OLDFILE

If NEWFILE is specified, then output is sent to 'ast_print.lis' (but this can be overridden by particular applications, spectral fitting uses 'fit.op'). If OLDFILE is specified then ASTERIX attempts to open an existing text file for append access.

• Spooling