DDS is designed around Dictionaries which contain Definitions comprised of "name" and "value" pairs. Definitions may come from the command line, a parameter file (defined by "par=..." on the command line), or input Data Dictionaries. Application programs are controlled by Definitions and binary data are defined by them.
Control Definitions fall into three categories: input, output, and algorithm control. Algorithm control is specific to each application and associated Definitions should be documented with each. Some conventions are recommended, but are not mandatory; some DDS applications may deviate from them to achieve their objectives. Definitions that control input and output are common to most DDS applications and are described in these web pages.
These control Definitions are kept in an internal Dictionary named
"par:". Each processing step has its own, independent
"par:" Dictionary which contains definitions from the
command line and parameter file. These definitions are thus "local
parameters" that only effect the current application execution.
"Global parameters" are Definitions maintained in the Data
Dictionaries.
Only definitions that are potentially meaningful to both end users and programmers are included here. Definitions that are only relevant to "C" or Fortran programmers are described in Developers Section.