NAME

     gmtconvert - Convert between ASCII and binary 1-D tables


SYNOPSIS

     gmtconvert [ inputfiles] [ -H[nrec] ] [ -M[flag] ] [ -V ]  [
     -: ] [ -bi[s]n ] [ -bo[s] ]


DESCRIPTION

     gmtconvert reads its  standard  input  [or  inputfiles]  and
     writes  out  the  information  to standard output.  Its main
     purpose is to convert between binary and ASCII data  tables.
     Input  (and hence output) may have multiple subheaders if -M
     is selected.

     datafile(s)
          ASCII (or binary, see -bi) file(s) holding a number  of
          data columns.


OPTIONS

     -H   Input file(s) has Header record(s).  Number  of  header
          records  can  be  changed  by editing your .gmtdefaults
          file.  If used, GMT default is 1 header record.

     -M   Multiple segment file(s).  Segments are separated by  a
          special  record.   For  ASCII files the first character
          must be flag [Default is '>'].  For  binary  files  all
          fields must be NaN.

     -:   Toggles      between      (longitude,latitude)      and
          (latitude,longitude)    input/output.     [Default   is
          (longitude,latitude)].

     -bi  Selects binary input.  Append s  for  single  precision
          [Default  is  double].   Append  n  for  the  number of
          columns in the binary file(s).

     -bo  Selects binary output.  Append s for  single  precision
          [Default is double].


EXAMPLES

     To convert the binary file test.b (single precision) with  4
     columns to ASCII, try

     gmtconvert test.b -bis4 > test.dat

     To convert the multiple segment ASCII table test.d to a dou-
     ble precision binary file, try

     gmtconvert test.d -M -bo > test.b


BUGS

     When GMT is installed under  a  non-UNIX  operating  system,
     such as Windows 95/98/NT or the Cygnus or DJGPP ports of GNU
     to Windows, binary output to stdout will not work.  This  is
     because  stdout  is  done  in  TEXT mode (instead of BINARY)
     mode; on Unix systems there is only one mode and no problem.
     The workaround on Win32 platforms is to append :bname to the
     -bo which forces an internal redirection of  output  to  the
     file bname.  See GMT Technical Reference Appendix L for more
     details.


SEE ALSO

     gmt(l), minmax(l)