% @(#)createcolu.hlq	17.1.1.1 (ESO-IPG) 01/25/02 17:43:26
% @(#)createcolu.hlq	2.2 (ESO-IPG) 10/22/91 17:32:49 
%++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
%.COPYRIGHT  (c)  1990 European Southern Observatory
%.IDENT      createcolu.hlq
%.AUTHOR     JDP, IPG/ESO
%.KEYWORDS   MIDAS, help files, CREATE/COLUMN
%.PURPOSE    On-line help file for the command: CREATE/COLUMN
%.VERSION    1.0  12-OCT-1983 : Creation, JDP
%.VERSION    1.1  04-Mar-1991 : New Table Version, FO
%----------------------------------------------------------------
\se
SECTION./COLU
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CREATE/COLUMN						12-OCT-1983   JDP
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CREATE/COLUMN table column [unit] [format] [type]
	create a table column
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Purpose:      
           Creates a new column in a table. Values in the column are
           initialized to NULL. Information associated with that column is
           also initialized. A column may have a depth, i.e each element
           of the table may be itself an array.
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Syntax:  
           CREATE/COLUMN table column [unit] [format] [type]
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           table  = table name
\ap\pa
           column = column reference (by label)
\ap\pa
           unit   = optional units included in double quotation marks.
                    By default blanks are used as units
\ap\pa
           format = format associated with the column according to the
\\
                    FORTRAN-77 rules, with some extensions. The format 
                    is used by default when the table is displayed 
                    (commands READ/TABLE and PRINT/TABLE). 
                    Possible formats are (lower-case edit the sign)\\
                    for characters: Aww   \\
                    for integers:   Iww      iww      (sign edited)\\
                                    Xww      Oww      for hexa / octal\\
                                    Tww.dd   tww.dd   for Date+Time\\
                                                      (seconds since 1970)\\
                                    Zww      zww      zero-filled\\
                    for floating:   Fww.dd   fww.dd   (sign edited)\\
                                    Eww.dd   eww.dd   (sign edited)\\
                                    Gww.dd  \\
                                    Rww.dd   rww.dd   for Right Ascensions\\
                                    Sww.dd   sww.dd   for Sexagesimal (decl.)\\
                                    Tww.dd   tww.dd   for Date+Time (JD)\\
                                    Zww.dd   zww.dd   zero-filled\\
                    Default format is E12.6 for R*4,D24.17 for R*8,I11 for I*4 
\ap\pa
           type   = column type including its dimension within  parenthesis
                    Possible types are \\
                    R*4(array_size)   real single precision (default)\\
                    R*8(array_size)   real double precision\\
                    C*n               character string, n bytes length\\
                    I*n(array_size)   signed integer (n = 1 , 2 or 4)\\
		    U*4(array_size)   unsigned integer
                    Default array_size is 1.
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See also:
           NAME/COLUMN, WRITE/TABLE, PLOT/TABLE
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Note:      1) The special function M$EXISTC(table,label) may be used at the
           command level to check whether a column exists or not. The function
           returns -2 if the table doesn't exist, the physical number of the
           column or -1 of the column doesn't exist.
\\
           2) Many of the MIDAS commands are not able yet to deal with 3-D 
           tables. If a column is declared as being an array of dimension 12, 
           these commands will only be able to access, for each row of the 
           table, the first element of the array. An exception is the command
           PLOT/TAB: this command is able to plot the data points in a 3-dim 
           table.
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Examples:
\ex
           CREATE/COLUMN mytable :RADVEL "KM.SEC-1" E12.3
\xe\ex
           CREATE/COLUMN mytable :FLUX R*4(12) "Jy" E12.3
             Create a column labeled :FLUX made of 12 real numbers (array)
             in table `mytable.tbl'.
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