Command Overview

The set command is used to save time entering commands. Each command processed has a number of variables and parameters which need to be specified. Rather than entering these values every time a command is processed, they can be entered a single time using the set command. An example will illustrate.

Suppose the objective was to perform certain analysis on a file named CMAData.txt which had several columns of interest - "Amount Paid", "Sales Tax" and "Net Due". The tests to perform include Benford's law, Univariate, Stratify and Summary.

The full commands for each of these four tests (if only one variable is tested) are as follows:

1. be ds=file file=CMAData.txt col="Amount Paid" type=f1 recap=step1
2. un ds=file file=CMAData.txt col="Amount Paid" recap=step2
3. st ds=file file=CMAData.txt col="Amount Paid" recap=step3 strata="1 10 20 30 40 50"
4. su ds=file file=CMAData.txt recap=step4 col=Vendor amount="Amount Paid"

These commands would then be repeated for the remaining columns to be tested.

An alternative is to use the set command, as follows:

1. set file=CMAData.txt
2. set col="Amount Paid"
3. be ds=file type=f1 recap=step1
4. un ds=file recap=step2
5. st ds=file recap=step3 strata="1 10 20 30 40 50"
6. su ds=file recap=step4 col=Vendor amount="Amount Paid"

Using the set command, the name of the file and column do not have to be re-entered each time.

Syntax

The command is entered on the command line as the command name ("set", or just "se") followed by a command parameter. The command parameter consists of an argument name, immediately followed by an equal sign ("=") and then immediately followed by a value. The value may be enclosed with quotation marks, and must be enclosed by quotation marks if the value consists of any embedded spaces.

Note that any argument value may be entered except for the datasource ("ds").

To replace an existing value, simply specify the command again, the latest value entered will replace any existing value. Note that currently there is no means to delete a value, other than manually deleting the row on the Excel sheet. Also note that the rows of data stored on the sheet "$Control" are not separated by blank rows. Any blank row signals the end of parameters to be processed.

It is also not necessary to use the set facility at all, nor is it necessary to set up a Sheet, as it will be handled automatically.

An example

The command to set the file parameter as "c:\program files\ezs\xlac\data\CMAData.txt" is as follows:

set file="c:\program files\ezs\xlac\data\CMAData.txt"

Note that the file name is enclosed in quotation marks, as it contains embedded spaces. For parameters with no embedded spaces, quotation marks are not required.

An example of the command bar is shown below:

When the command has been processed, the value accepted will be displayed on the status bar. Too see all currently stored values, either enter the "show" command, or else view the Worksheet "$Control".

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