ftdelrow - Delete rows from a table.
ftdelrow infile[ext] outfile rows
ftdelrow deletes rows in a table, either in place or in a copy of the
input file. If the output file name is 'none' or blank then the rows
are deleted in place in the input file itself. The user is prompted to
confirm the operation before the rows are actually deleted. If an
output file is specified, then the rows are deleted in a copy of the
- infile [filename]
- File name and extension name or number enclosed in square brackets
of the input table (e.g., 'file.fits[events]'). If a specific
extension name is not given then the first table extension in the file
that is not a Good Time Interval (GTI) extension will be opened.
- outfile [filename]
- Output file name. This file will contain a copy of the input file
(including any other HDUs in the file) minus the deleted rows in the
table. Precede the output file name with an exclamation point, !, (or \! on
the Unix command line), to overwrite a preexisting file with the same
name (or set the clobber parameter to YES). If the file name is "none"
or is blank, then the rows will be deleted directly in the input file
instead of in a copy of the file.
- rows [string]
- List of rows or row ranges to be deleted, e.g. '3,10-15,45' will delete row 3, rows 10 through 15 inclusive, and row 45. The
rows must be given in increasing order, and the row ranges must not
overlap. A text file containing a list of rows or row ranges may be used
instead by preceding the text file name with an '@' character.
- confirm = NO [boolean]
- If the row deletion is being performed directly in the input table
and not in a copy, then a brief description of the table will be
displayed, and the user will be asked to confirm the delete
operation. If NO is entered, then the rows will not be deleted.
- (clobber = NO) [boolean]
- If the output file already exists, then setting "clobber = yes" will
cause it to be overwritten.
- (chatter = 1) [integer, 0 - 5]
- Controls the amount of informative text written to standard
output. Setting chatter = 5 will produce detailed diagnostic output.
Setting chatter = 0 will disable all output, including the description
of the table that is about to be modified in the case where the rows
are being deleted in place.
Note that when commands are issued on the Unix command line, strings
containing special characters such as '[' or ']' must be enclosed in
single or double quotes.
1. Delete the rows 11 - 15, 20 - 30, and row 50 in the EVENTS extension.
The rows will be deleted in the output copy, and the input file will remain unmodified.
ftdelrow 'infile.fits[events]' outfile.fits 11-15,20-30,50
Or, using the '@' syntax for an input text list of rows:
ftdelrow 'infile.fits[events]' outfile.fits @rows.txt
Where rows.txt contains:
2. Delete rows 50 through the end of the table, in place.
The user will be asked to confirm the operation before the rows
are actually deleted.
ftdelrow 'infile.fits[events]' none 5,7,50-
3. Delete row 15 in place, without prompting the user to confirm the operation.
ftdelrow 'infile.fits[events]' none 15 confirm=YES chatter=0
fv, the interactive FITS file editor, can also be used to delete rows
in a FITS table.
The design of this task is based on the fdelrow task in the ftools