.TH RPTS 1 "MIDI"
.SH NAME
rpts \- ascii data file ``repeat'' preprocessor
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBrpts\fP [\fB-c\fP] [\fB-r\fP#] [file or stdin]
.br
\fBrpts\fP [\fB-c\fP] [\fB-r\fP#\fB\-\fP#] file
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fIRpts\fP implements ascii data file control constructs used to specify
logical sections in a piece of music.
Input data lines are passed to the output as specified by control lines
(see below).
Although many programs that read ascii data files also implement
these control constructs (e.g. gc2mpu(1), tab2mpu(1)), it is expected
that these programs will stop doing so at some time in favor of the
use of \fIrpts\fP (although at that time all references to ``RPT'' will
probably become ``SECT'' and ``RPT'' will be used to specify actual
repeated sections rather than sections in general).
.PP
The \fB\-c\fP option inhibits stripping comment lines from the input.
The default case is to strip out all lines beginning with ``# ''
(i.e. sharp sign followed by a space).
.PP
The command line \fB\-r\fP argument can be used to specify which
``repeat'' is to be generated;
Repeats may be numbered with arbitrary non-negative integers.
Note that a series of repeats can be generated by specifying a range separated
by a hyphen, but the data file name must be specified on the command line
rather than as standard input (so the program can seek back to the beginning).
.SH "CONTROL LINES"
Control lines begin with a keyword and may contain arguments separated by
whitespace.
Any input line not recognized as a control line is considered a data line.
The various control line keywords and their meanings are:
.IP #ALLRPTS
The following input is applicable to all repeats;
(this is the default situation).
The #ALLRPTS control is used to end sections
started by #NOTRPT and #ONLYRPT (below).
.IP #NOTRPT
The following input is appropriate in all repeats \fIexcept\fP
those provided as arguments.
.IP #ONLYRPT
The following input should only appear in those repeats listed as arguments.
.IP #SKIP
Any data or controls between this and the first ENDSKIP encountered are ignored.
This is largely a debugging aid.
.IP #ENDSKIP
See \fBSKIP\fP, above.
.IP "# "
A sharp sign followed by a space is considered a comment line
and is not passed through to the output unless the \fB\-c\fP option
has been specified (see above).
.SH SEE ALSO
dp(5), dp2mpu(1), gc(5), gc2mpu(1), m(5), m2mpu(1), tab(5), tab2mpu(1)
.SH AUTHOR
Peter Langston, Bell Communications Research
(bellcore!psl)