AttributeValue

Attribute-Value: Each attribute-value file contains data for one class of objects, such as genes or proteins. A file is divided into entries, where one entry describes one database object.

An entry consists of a set of attribute-value pairs, •which describe properties of the object, and relationships of the object to other object. Each attribute-value pair typically resides on a single line of the file, although in some cases for values that are long strings, the value will reside on multiple lines. An attribute- value pair consists of an attribute name, followed by the string " - " and a value, for example:

LEFT - NADP

A value that requires more than one line is continued by a newline followed by a /. Thus, literal slashes at the beginning of a line must be escaped as //. A line that contains only // separates objects. Comment lines can be anywhere in the file and must begin with the following symbol:

#

Starting in version 6.5 of Pathway Tools, attribute-value files can also contain annotation-value pairs. Annotations are a mechanism for attaching labeled values to specific attribute values. For example, we might want to specify a coefficient for a reactant in a chemical reaction. An annotations refers to the attribute value that immediately precedes the annotation. An annotation-value pair consists of a caret symbol "^" that points upward to indicate that the annotation annotates the preceding attribute value, followed by the annotation label, followed by the string " - ", followed by a value. The same attribute name or annotation label with different values can appear any number of times in an object. An example annotation-value pair that refers to the preceding attribute-value pair is:

LEFT - NADP ^COEFFICIENT - 1