This function creates a new empty Table and optionally initialises its attributes.

The Table class is a type of KeyMap that represents a two-dimensional table of values. The AST_MAPGET... and AST_MAPPUT... methods provided by the KeyMap class should be used for storing and retrieving values from individual cells within a Table. Each entry in the KeyMap represents a single cell of the table and has an associated key of the form " $<$COL$>$(i)" where "$<$COL$>$" is the name of a table column and " i" is the row index (the first row is row 1). Keys of this form should always be used when using KeyMap methods to access entries within a Table.

Columns must be declared using the AST_ADDCOLUMN method before values can be stored within them. This also fixes the type and shape of the values that may be stored in any cell of the column. Cells may contain scalar or vector values of any data type supported by the KeyMap class. Multi-dimensional arrays may also be stored, but these must be vectorised when storing and retrieving them within a table cell. All cells within a single column must have the same type and shape (specified when the column is declared).

Tables may have parameters that describe global properties of the entire table. These are stored as entries in the parent KeyMap and can be access using the get and set method of the KeyMap class. However, parameters must be declared using the AST_ADDPARAMETER method before being accessed.

Note - since accessing entries within a KeyMap is a relatively slow process, it is not recommended to use the Table class to store very large tables.

RESULT = AST_TABLE( OPTIONS, STATUS )

OPTIONS = CHARACTER $\ast$ ( $\ast$ ) (Given)

STATUS = INTEGER (Given and Returned)

AST_TABLE = INTEGER

• A null Object pointer (AST__NULL) will be returned if this function is invoked with STATUS set to an error value, or if it should fail for any reason.

The protected interface to this function includes an extra parameter at the end of the parameter list described above. This parameter is a pointer to the integer inherited status variable: " int $\ast$status" .