COMP: Computation Type

This record specifies the type of computation that GeoLab should perform on an input text file - adjustment or simulation.

A simulation is similar to an adjustment computation, but without the need for actual measurements. You specify the coordinates of survey points, and which measurements are to be made and their standard deviations, and GeoLab computes the accuracies of adjusted coordinates that would result from an adjustment.

A simulation (or preanalysis) is performed to design a survey network to meet certain accuracy specifications. A trial-and-error approach is used in which you change the network geometry and/or the types and quantities of measurements to be made until you reach the desired coordinate accuracies.

The format of the COMP record is as follows:

Columns 002-005: COMP
Columns 007-009: ADJ (adjustment, the default) or SIM (simulation, or preanalysis)

Note that this record overrides the corresponding setting in the options file used for the network processing. It is provided for backward compatibility and is not normally used.