NAME

m.in.pl94.db3 - Import Demographic records from Census PL94-171 dBase3 (CDROM) Files
(GRASS Sites Program)

SYNOPSIS

m.in.pl94.db3 help
m.in.pl94.db3 [-f] [-p] [-n] sc=string [ sc=str . . ] in=/cdrom/pl9417ss.dbf > result_file

This command may be run in command line mode only. Parameters used must be in the order specified.

OPTIONS

Flags:
-f
Output to stdout the list of all field name and starting positions
for the Identification Section of the PL94 file. Other
parameters are not necessary and will be ignored.
-p
Print several information items to stderr input
file is opened.
-n
Output only the sequential number and PL94 logical record
number (LOGRECNU) of matching records to stdout.

Parameters:

sc=string
sc is starting column or a capitilized reference name from the Identification Section of the PL94 Data Dictionary; string is characters to match there. A negative test may also be made with: sc!=string. If more than one test is specified the results are "anded" resulting in a conjunction of the results of the expressions. (See m.in.stf1.tpe for complete details.)
in=name
Path/file for dBase files for state ss.

DESCRIPTION

This program is provided to read the Census PL94 data records from a file for one state. The file is usually on a CD-ROM, but this is not necessary providing the proper path is given for the in= parameter and the contents of the file duplicate that on CD-ROM.

The output consists of records of 517 characters extracted from the input file with a suitable line termination character added (\n) to create a normal text file.

Users of GRASS 4.1 and the Census PL94 files on CD-ROM will generally use this program to select appropriate subsets of PL94 records; write them to one or more files; and then either process these files directly with v.apply.census to print demographics, create site maps or label vector maps, or use m.in.stf1.tpe to extract further subsets.

The PL94 CD-ROM data file for most states is very large, 100+ MB. This program may take 20 to 60 minutes for a single extraction, so plan carefully and don't discard useful subsets that you create on disk.

EXAMPLES

Insert the appropriate CD-ROM and mount it (see your system administrator). (We assume here that it is mounted as the file system /cdrom.)

To extract all Census tract summary records for the state of South Dakota:

m.in.pl94.db3 -p 11=050 in=/cdrom/pl9417sd.dbf > counties.sd

The 11=050 parameter selects those records which have the character string '050' beginning in column 11 of the assembled records. Columns 11-13 are the Summary Level (SUMLEV) field which is used in almost every selection from CD-ROM.

To extract all block records for Lawrence County, South Dakota:

m.in.pl94.db3 -p SUMLEV=100 CNTY=081 in=/cdrom/pl9417sd.dbf > bk.081.sd

100 is the SUMLEV for blocks and 081 is the county code for Lawrence Co.

SEE ALSO

m.in.stf1.tpe is used as a post-processor to select further subsets of PL94 records. NOTE: Unix utility programs, such as grep or awk, can also be used for the for processing the extracted PL94 files.

AUTHOR

Dr. James Hinthorne, GIS Laboratory, Central Washington University, August 1992.