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#### 6.1.20 `meta`

Usage:

       meta [<item> ...]

Provides information about the metadata for each column. This filter turns the table sideways, so that each row of the output corresponds to a column of the input. The columns of the output table contain metadata items such as column name, units, UCD etc corresponding to each column of the input table.

By default the output table contains columns for all metadata items for which any of the columns have non-blank values.

However, the output may be customised by supplying one or more `<item>` headings, in which case exactly those columns will appear, regardless of whether they have entries. It is not an error to specify an item for which no metadata exists in any of the columns (such entries will result in empty columns).

Some of the metadata items commonly found are:

- `Index`: Position of column in table
- `Name`: Column name
- `Class`: Data type of objects in column
- `Shape`: Shape of array values
- `ElSize`: Size of each element in column (mostly useful for strings)
- `Units`: Unit string
- `Description`: Description of data in the column
- `UCD`: Unified Content Descriptor
- `Utype`: Type in data model
- `Xtype`: Extended data type
- `CoosysSystem`: Sky coordinate system name from COOSYS
- `CoosysEpoch`: Sky epoch from COOSYS
- `CoosysEquinox`: Sky equinox from COOSYS
- `TimesysTimeorigin`: Time origin from TIMESYS
- `TimesysTimescale`: Timescale from TIMESYS
- `TimesysRefposition`: Ref position from TIMESYS
- `STIL_HPX_LEVEL`: Level of HEALPix pixels contained in the table (nside=2^level)
- `STIL_HPX_ISNEST`: True for NEST indexation scheme, False for RING
- `STIL_HPX_COLNAME`: Name of the table column containing HEALPix index; null value or empty string indicates implicit
- `STIL_HPX_CSYS`: 'C'=celestial/equatorial, 'G'=galactic, 'E'=ecliptic

Any table parameters of the input table are propagated to the output one.

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STILTS - Starlink Tables Infrastructure Library Tool Set
Starlink User Note256
STILTS web page: http://www.starlink.ac.uk/stilts/
Author email: m.b.taylor@bristol.ac.uk
Mailing list: topcat-user@jiscmail.ac.uk