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7.3 GET

     GET
             /FILE='filename'
             /DROP=var_list
             /KEEP=var_list
             /RENAME=(src_names=target_names)...

GET clears the current dictionary and active file and replaces them with the dictionary and data from a specified system file.

The FILE subcommand is the only required subcommand. Specify the system file to be read as a string file name or a file handle (see FILE HANDLE).

By default, all the variables in a system file are read. The DROP subcommand can be used to specify a list of variables that are not to be read. By contrast, the KEEP subcommand can be used to specify variable that are to be read, with all other variables not read.

Normally variables in a system file retain the names that they were saved under. Use the RENAME subcommand to change these names. Specify, within parentheses, a list of variable names followed by an equals sign (=) and the names that they should be renamed to. Multiple parenthesized groups of variable names can be included on a single RENAME subcommand. Variables' names may be swapped using a RENAME subcommand of the form /RENAME=(A B=B A).

Alternate syntax for the RENAME subcommand allows the parentheses to be eliminated. When this is done, only a single variable may be renamed at once. For instance, /RENAME=A=B. This alternate syntax is deprecated.

DROP, KEEP, and RENAME are performed in left-to-right order. They each may be present any number of times. GET never modifies a system file on disk. Only the active file read from the system file is affected by these subcommands.

GET does not cause the data to be read, only the dictionary. The data is read later, when a procedure is executed.