Programmer Guide
This manual describes the PV‑WAVE programming language in detail. PV‑WAVE uses an intuitive fourth-generation language (4GL) that analyzes and displays data as you enter commands. With it you can perform complex analysis, visualization, and application development quickly and interactively.
The topics in this guide are organized as follows:
Chapter 1: PV-WAVE Programming—Provides an overview of the basic elements of the command language and a brief discussion of its high-level features.Chapter 2: Constants and Variables—Introduces the different types and structures of variables, constants, and predefined system variables.Chapter 3: Expressions and Operators—Explains expressions, which are one or more variables or constants combined with operators. Expressions are the basic building blocks of PV‑WAVE. Chapter 4: Statement Types—Describes the syntax and semantics of PV‑WAVE statements, such as FOR and WHILE loops, CASE statements, and assignments.Chapter 5: Using Subscripts with Arrays—Describes how to use the wide variety of subscript types, ranges, and arrays available with PV‑WAVE.Chapter 6: Working with Structures—Explains how to define and use structures. Chapter 7: Working with Lists and Associative Arrays—Explains how to define and use lists and associative arrays. Chapter 8: Working with Text—Discusses the system routines used for string processing and gives examples.Chapter 9: Working with Data Files—Describes how to read and write formatted and unformatted data files using the traditional routines such as WRITEU, WRITEF, READU, and READF. In addition, a collection of new routines, the DC_READ_* and DC_WRITE_* functions, provide a greatly simplified alternative to other methods of reading and writing data. These routines are discussed in this chapter as well.Chapter 10: Writing Procedures and Functions—Explains how to write your own PV‑WAVE functions and procedures. Topics such as error handling and parameter passing are discussed.Chapter 11: Programming with PV-WAVE—Discusses routines that are useful when programming PV‑WAVE applications. Chapter 12: Tips for Efficient Programming—Explains ways to optimize programs written in the PV‑WAVE language. Chapter 13: Getting Session Information—Describes how to get information about the current PV‑WAVE session.Chapter 14: Creating an OPI Option—Discusses how to use the Option Programming Interface (OPI) to create optional modules that can be loaded explicitly by any PV‑WAVE user. Chapter 15: OpenMP—Discusses OpenMP. Appendix A: Format Strings—Discusses the format strings that you can use to transfer data to and from PV‑WAVE. Appendix B: Modifying Your Environment—Discusses methods for modifying your PV‑WAVE environment for UNIX and Windows systems. 
