AIPS HELP file for REBYTE in 31DEC25
As of Wed Mar 26 8:09:11 2025
REBYTE: Stand-alone program to reverse byte order of data area
INPUTS
HELP SECTION
REBYTE
Type: Stand-alone service program
Use: REBYTE is designed to copy a full data area transforming the
byte and word orders of every file it encounters in a manner
appropriate to that file type. Solaris and MAC PPC computers
have one byte order, while Intel computers under Linux and MAC
OS/X have the opposite byte order. REBYTE allows you to
transform a full data area generated with one byte order to a
new data area having the opposite byte order.
Directions:
(1) Install AIPS on your new computer, amking a small data area
temporarily to hold a message file for user 1.
(2) Copy a full data area from your old computer of opposite
byte order to a temporary area on the new computer.
(3) Transform the data in this area to another data area (not
that of step 1 above) using REBYTE outside AIPS:
RUN REBYTE
1 100 (give range of user numbers)
/home/data/temp_1 (input data area)
/home/data/HOST_1 (output data area)
(4) Hints: The output data areas can be the data areas intended
for long-term use on the new computer. Transform the data
from the old disk #1 to the new disk #1 - that disk holds
message, TPUT/TGET, and SAVE/GET files as well as regular
data files. Transform the other old disks to the new system
in any order you choose. DO NOT transform two old disk
areas into one new one unless there is absolutely no overlap
in user numbers.
Warnings: There are three places where REBYTE must simply
convert data files without knowing their format in detail.
These files do not contain double precision variables so the
word swap issue does not arise. However, each word may contain
character data which should not be swapped or binary integer or
floating-point data which should be swapped. REBYTE examines
each word and swaps any that are not 4 printable characters.
There is a finite chance that a binary value might appear to be
character valued, so this might not be correct. The files
affected are the TG file(s) used to store the last adverbs used
by a task (which is written by TPUT, GO, and VPUT and read be
TGET and VGET) and the SG file(s) used to store the full POPS
vocabulary from the lastexit and under user-specified names
(which are used by SAVE, GET, and EXIT). The headers of plot
files also have this uncertainty; they are used by PLGET and
EXTLIST. None of these files are critical, but they should be
used with some caution after a REBYTE. All other files are
converted with full knowledge of their formats and no
uncertainty about accidental confusion between character and
binary values.