1starconvert(1)              General Commands Manual             starconvert(1)
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NAME

6       starconvert - convert text data files to StarPlot format
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SYNOPSIS

9       starconvert [ options ] spec-file input-file [ output-file ]
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DESCRIPTION

12       Although many stellar data files are publicly available on the Internet
13       from NASA and other astronomical organizations, there is no set  format
14       for these files.  The program starconvert acts as a buffer between this
15       confusion and the format in which StarPlot requires data files.  To  do
16       so,  it  uses  a  specification file that details how various fields of
17       stellar data (name, distance, right ascension, etc.) may  be  extracted
18       from the original data file.
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20       On  the  StarPlot  web  site  are  available some packages of data that
21       include both an original data file from NASA, and also a  specification
22       file.   These packages are referred to as "data sets", from which star‐
23       convert can produce a data file in StarPlot format.  For ease  of  use,
24       this should be done via the starpkg(1) shell script.
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26       The starconvert command uses the specifications in spec-file to convert
27       input-file to StarPlot data format  and  writes  the  results  to  out‐
28       put-file  if specified, or standard output if not.  The first two argu‐
29       ments are required.  Exactly ONE may be replaced with a  dash  `-'  for
30       reading from standard input.
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OPTIONS

33       --     Signals  the  end  of  the  options.   This  allows you to use a
34              spec-file whose filename begins with the '-' character.
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36       --add-sun
37              Add an entry for the Sun to the generated  StarPlot-format  data
38              file,  if  it  is  not  already present in the original raw data
39              file.  This is the default behavior, so this flag has an  effect
40              only if it reverses an earlier --no-add-sun flag.
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42       --no-add-sun
43              Do not add an entry for the Sun to the generated StarPlot-format
44              data file, unless it is present in the original raw  data  file.
45              Adding  the  Sun  is  otherwise done by default, since most star
46              catalogs do not include it.
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SPECIFICATION FILES

49       For detailed information on how to write a specification file, see  the
50       example  file  listed  below.   Be  aware  that  I expect to change the
51       default format of starconvert spec files after  version  1.0,  although
52       starconvert will remain backwards-compatible.
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FILES

55       /usr/share/doc/starplot-0.95.5/ - Contains documentation
56       /usr/share/doc/starplot-0.95.5/examples/example.spec - Example specifi‐
57       cation file
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SEE ALSO

60       starplot(1), starpkg(1)
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AUTHOR

63       Copyright  ©  2000-2002  under  the  GNU  GPL  by  Kevin   B.   McCarty
64       <starplot@starplot.org>.  The StarPlot web page is at www.starplot.org.
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68                                   Nov 2002                     starconvert(1)
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