SET: Define a VISTA Variable and Assign it a Value

 

Form: SET var_name=value [var_name=value]
var_name
the name of the variable being defined.
value
its value
SET defines VISTA variables in terms of numerical constants, other variables, or the result of arithmetic operations between other variables. The name of a VISTA variable is any alphanumeric string. The value of the variable is a floating point number. VISTA supports an internal variable table which holds variables defined by you or as the output of a program. These variables can be used to pass the results of arithmetic calculations to keywords, to control the flow of a procedure in IF tests or DO loops, or to store convenient numbers in symbolic form.

Each SET command can handle up to 15 definitions. Each definition must include an '=' sign with the name of the new variable to its left, and a defining expression to its right. The expression on the right may be any proper VISTA arithmetic expression (see the section MATH for rules on expressions).

Examples:

SET Q=6
Sets Q to have the value 6
SET A=1 B=3 C=D=6
Sets several variables at once
SET V=SIND[45]
Functions may be used
SET B=3.141592600.5+4
Any arithmetic expression may be used.
SET C=LOG10[@FILE.1]
References to data from files may be used.
NOTE: All operations are done in double precision floating point. There must be no spaces between the beginning of 'var_name' and the end of 'value'.

IMPORTANT!

The command SET may be left off when defining variables. This saves lots of time. Just use an arithmetic expression defining a variable. Examples:

A=5
defines A to be 5
Q=SIND[45]
defines A to be sine of 45 degrees.