psfgettable

psfgettable [options] file...

-t
    Specifies the name of the table to extract. If omitted, the first table found or a default table might be used.

-c
    Specifies a comma-separated list of column names to extract from the selected table. Example: -c 'FREQ,FLUX'.

-r
    Specifies a range of rows to extract. Can be a single row number or a range like 'min:max' (e.g., '0:99' for the first 100 rows).

-o
    Writes the extracted data to the specified output file instead of standard output.

-F
    Specifies the output format for the extracted data, such as 'ascii', 'csv', or 'fits'.

-p
    Prints the extracted table content to standard output (this is the default behavior if -o is not used).

-l
    Lists all available table names and their respective column names within the specified PSRFITS file, without extracting data.

-h
    Displays a help message and exits.

psfgettable is a specialized command-line utility within the PSRCHIVE software suite, designed for handling Pulsar FITS (PSRFITS) data files. Its primary function is to extract tabular data contained within these complex astronomical data formats.

PSRFITS files are commonly used in radio astronomy to store observational data from pulsars, often including multiple data tables describing various aspects of the observation, such as calibration information, receiver parameters, or processed data products. The command allows users to precisely specify which tables, columns, and rows to extract, providing flexibility in data manipulation. It can output the extracted data to standard output or a specified file, and supports various output formats, making it valuable for scripting and integrating with other data analysis tools. This command is crucial for researchers needing to access specific metadata or auxiliary data stored alongside the main observational arrays in PSRFITS files without resorting to programmatic interfaces.

Requires the PSRCHIVE software suite to be installed.
Only operates on Pulsar FITS (PSRFITS) files, which adhere to a specific astronomical data standard.
Its utility is limited to the domain of radio astronomy data processing and is not a general-purpose table extraction tool.

A common use case involves first using -l to inspect the available tables and columns in a PSRFITS file, then using -t and -c to extract specific information. For instance, one might use it to get calibration parameters or receiver temperature logs from a specific observation.

Due to its command-line nature and support for various output formats like CSV, psfgettable is frequently incorporated into shell scripts or Python scripts for automated data processing pipelines in radio astronomy. This allows for programmatic access and manipulation of complex PSRFITS metadata, facilitating reproducible research workflows.

psfgettable is an integral part of the PSRCHIVE software package, an open-source library and suite of programs for the analysis of pulsar astronomical data.
Developed primarily by research groups in radio astronomy, PSRCHIVE has been under continuous development since the late 1990s/early 2000s, providing essential tools for handling, processing, and analyzing pulsar observations.
The command's evolution has been driven by the increasing complexity and size of pulsar data, necessitating efficient methods for accessing specific metadata and auxiliary information stored in PSRFITS files.

psredit(1), psrstat(1), psrview(1), psrdump(1), fitshdr(1)