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### A.9.6 Synthetic Column Window

Synthetic Column dialogue window

The Synthetic Column Window allows you to define a new "Synthetic" column, that is one whose values are defined using an algebraic expression based on the values of other columns in the same row. The idea is that the value of the cells in a given row in this column will be calculated on demand as a function of the values of cells of other columns in that row. You can think of this as providing functionality like that of a column-oriented spreadsheet. You can activate the dialogue using the Add Column () or Replace Column () buttons in the Columns Window or from the (right-click) popup menu in the Data Window.

The window consists of a number of fields you must fill in to define the new column:

Name
  The name of the new column. This should preferably be unique (different from all the other column names). It will be easier to use it in algebraic expressions if it is also:
  - Different from other columns even apart from upper/lower case distinctions
  - In the form of a java identifier (starts with a letter, continues with alphanumerics including underscore)
  - Not too long
Expression
  This is the algebraic expression which defines the values that the cells in the new column of the table will have. The rules for writing algebraic expressions are described in Section 7, and detailed documentation of the functions you can use can be seen in the Available Functions Window, which you can see by clicking the Show Functions () button on the toolbar.
Units
  The units of the column. If the quantity it represents is dimensionless or you don't know the units, this can be left blank. It would be a good idea to use a similar format for the units to that used for the existing columns in the table.
Description
  A short textual description of what the values contained by this column are. May be left blank.
UCD
  A Unified Content Descriptor for the column; a UCD is a semantic label attached to the column indicating what kind of quantity it contains by picking one option from a list defined by the CDS. The list of known UCDs is available via a selection box, or you can type a UCD in by hand. You may leave this blank if the you do not wish to assign a UCD to the column. A brief description of the UCD selected is visible below selection box itself.
Index
  Determines the position in the displayed table at which the new column will initially appear.

Of these, the Expression is the only one which must be filled in.

Having filled in the form to your satisfaction, hit the OK button at the bottom and the new column will be added to the table. If you have made some mistake in filling in the fields, a popup window will give you a message describing the problem. This message may be a bit arcane - try not to panic and see if you can rephrase the expression in a way that the parser might be happier with. If you can't work out the problem, it's time to consult your friendly local Java programmer (failing that, your friendly local C programmer may be able to help) or, by all means, contact the author.

If you wish to add more metadata items you can edit the appropriate cells in the Columns Window. You can edit the expression of an existing synthetic column in the same way.

Once created, a synthetic column is added to the Apparent Table and behaves just like any other; it can be moved, hidden/revealed, used in expressions for other synthetic columns and so on. If the table is saved the new column and its contents will be written to the new output table.

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TOPCAT - Tool for OPerations on Catalogues And Tables
Starlink User Note253
TOPCAT web page: http://www.starlink.ac.uk/topcat/
Author email: m.b.taylor@bristol.ac.uk
Mailing list: topcat-user@bristol.ac.uk