PSPP-BUG: [bug #38682] Documentation for UPDATE is unclear

[John Darrington]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?38682>

                 Summary: Documentation for UPDATE is unclear
                 Project: PSPP
            Submitted by: jmd
            Submitted on: Mon 08 Apr 2013 09:35:03 AM CEST
                Category: Documentation
                Severity: 5 - Average
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: None
                  Effort: 0.00

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Details:

Ronald Crichton wrote:

   I now realise that the PSPP update command reads data from the Master file
     and reads data from the Transaction file and from this data the 'active'
     file is manipulated to reflect the intended updates.  The original data
in
     Master remains unaffected.  At the end of the run nothing changes.  To
     retain the updates the active file must be saved.


     The user manual is a little ambiguous in this regard. The first sentence
     states "UPDATE updates a master file..." which is not quite correct, as
the
     master file is not updated.   Then the first dot point refers to values
     being replaced "in the new active file."  I missed this on my first
reading
     of the manual.  May I suggest the manual be changed to make it clear
that
     the master file is not actually updated and that the active file must be
     saved to retain a permanent record of the updates




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