DC305 command syntax

Definition

DairyComp 305 (DC305) is driven by one-line text commands. Every command has the same general shape:

VERB[\switches] [items] [FOR conditions] [BY item | DOWNBY item] [\switches]

• Verb: what to do (list, summarize, count, chart).
• Items: the fields to show, such as ID PEN DIM. See item codes.
• FOR clause: which animals (or events) to include.
• BY / DOWNBY: grouping or sort order.
• Switches: options after a backslash that change the layout or content.

The VAS and Select Sires examples write switches straight after the verb (BREDSUM\E FOR LACT>0, ECON\ID750) and also at the end (EVENTS MAST:10 FOR LACT>0\5), and put BY either before or after FOR (BREDSUM BY LCTGP FOR LACT>0, PCT DCC>0 FOR LACT>0 BY PEN). This KB writes switches after the verb with no space.

Verbs

Verb	What it does	Example
LIST / SHOW	One row per animal with the listed items	LIST ID PEN DIM MILK FOR LACT>0
SUM	Counts and averages of numeric items (up to 7 items), overall or by group	SUM MILK DIM BY PEN FOR LACT>0
COUNT	Number of animals matching the conditions	COUNT FOR RC=4 LACT>0
PCT	Percent of the animals in the FOR group that meet the first conditions	PCT DCC>0 FOR LACT>0
EVENTS	Event lists and tables; see events	EVENTS\2SI
BREDSUM	Breeding and conception summary; see BREDSUM	BREDSUM\E FOR LACT>0
GRAPH	One item = histogram; item BY item = scatter	GRAPH MILK BY DIM FOR LACT>0
PLOT	Test-day items over DIM (or test date with \R)	PLOT MILK FOR LACT>0
EGRAPH	Events by calendar date, DIM (cows) or AGE (heifers)	EGRAPH BRED\SN1
ECON	Economic and inventory reports; see inventory reports	ECON\I
FILEOUT	Write items to a CSV or TXT file; see exports	FILEOUT\CH ID LACT DIM FOR LACT>0
SETDAY	Change the “today” that dates and DIM are computed from	SETDAY\T

Other verbs include MONITOR (monthly herd statistics: \3 calculate, \4 display, \S save, \R restore), COWVAL (cow value relative to an average fresh heifer, plus pregnancy value), EPLOT (body score, height, weight) and ALTER (set-up: ALTER\2 item definitions, ALTER\9 event settings).

FOR clause operators

Form	Meaning	Example
item=value	equals	RC=5
item>value	greater than	LACT>1
item>=value	greater than or equal	DIM>=60
item<value	less than	DIM<60
item<=value	less than or equal	DIM<=150
item<>value	not equal	RC<>1
item=low-high	in the range, inclusive	PEN=1-9
item=high-low	reversed range: everything except that range	PEN=9-1 (all pens except 1–9)
item=a;b;c	any of these values (OR)	PEN=1;2;4;8
(cond)(cond)	either set of criteria (OR)	(PEN=1)(PEN=4)

• Several conditions separated by spaces must all be true (AND): FOR LACT>0 RC=3 DIM>100.
• A reversed range is the standard way to say “not in”: RC=3-2 keeps every RC except 2 and 3.
• In PLOT, WITH acts as a second FOR clause, giving two lines on one chart: PLOT MILK FOR LACT=1 SCC1<200 WITH LACT=1 SCC1>=200.

Dates

Date items (FDAT, BDAT, CDAT, DDAT, EDAY …) accept two forms:

• Relative dates: a negative number is days before today. FDAT>-30 means “fresh within the last 30 days”; EDAY>-7 means “events in the last week”.
• Absolute dates: a calendar date or a date range, e.g. FDAT=1/1/26-3/31/26.

A day-count item gives the same filter another way: FOR DIM<30 and FOR FDAT>-30 both pick cows fresh in the last 30 days (they differ only at the boundary day).

Unverified

Absolute date format (m/d/yy vs m/d/yyyy), the boundary-day behavior of relative dates, and whether positive relative values (future days) work on date items such as DUE.

“Today” is the computer’s date unless it is moved with SETDAY: SETDAY\* (back to today), SETDAY\T (most recent test day), SETDAY\E (last event entry date), SETDAY\mm/dd/yy (a given date) or SETDAY\n (n days ahead or behind). DIM, DCC, relative dates and the 21-day table all follow the set day.

BY and DOWNBY

• In SUM, COUNT, PCT and BREDSUM, BY item groups: one row per value of the item (SUM MILK BY PEN, BREDSUM BY LCTGP FOR LACT>0).
• In LIST, BY item sorts ascending; DOWNBY item sorts descending (LIST ID MILK FOR LACT>0 DOWNBY MILK).
• In GRAPH, item BY item makes a scatter plot.

Unverified

That DOWNBY is the descending keyword and applies to LIST (and whether SUM supports it), and whether more than one BY item is allowed.

Switches

Switches go after a backslash, letters and digits right after it, e.g. BREDSUM\E, EVENTS\2. They change the table or layout of a specific command, so the same letter means different things in different commands (\E in BREDSUM is the 21-day table; \E in LIST ejects a page per group).

Live vs dead animals. LIST/SHOW, COUNT/PCT/SUM, EVENTS, GRAPH and EXAM cover live animals only by default. Add:

• \B for both live and dead (sold or died) animals,
• \D for dead animals only (those that have left the herd).

\L on EVENTS, BREDSUM, GRAPH and PLOT reads the archive files (closed lactations).

Common LIST switches: \2 double space, \A averages per sort group, \C compressed, \E eject per group, \Ln limit n per group, \N sequence number, \P/\Pn columns, \Q summary only, \T totals, \U underline, \V events under each cow (\Vn last n), \Z include zeroes.

COUNT/PCT/SUM switches: \I lists the individual animals with the summary; \Z includes zeroes in averages; SUM\Qn splits into quartiles or other n-tiles (\Q3, \Q4, \Q5).

Saved commands

Herds save their own commands under short names (for example a daily fresh cow list or a to-breed list), and DC305 expands the name when it is typed. Saved command names, and the user-defined items they use, vary by herd. Never assume another herd’s names; check the herd’s private dc305-vocab mapping.

Special values

• 0 means unset for numeric items: a cow that was never scored or tested holds 0, not a blank. COUNT, PCT and SUM exclude zeroes from averages by default; \Z puts them back in. Outside DC305 (exports), the zeroes are in the data and must be filtered out.
• DOW (day of week) runs 1 = Saturday through 7 = Friday, not Sunday or Monday first.

Unverified

DOW numbering (1 = Saturday … 7 = Friday) against the DC305 item help.

How to pull it in DC305

Patterns that combine the parts above:

LIST ID PEN LACT DIM RC FOR LACT>0 RC=3 DIM>100 BY PEN       open cows past 100 DIM, by pen
LIST ID PEN MILK FOR LACT>0 DIM=0-30 DOWNBY MILK             fresh cows, highest milk first
SUM MILK DIM FOR LACT>0 RC<>6 BY LACT                        lactating averages by lactation
SUM SCC=200 PSCC=200 FOR SCC>0 PSCC>0                        2×2 table: this test vs last test SCC
COUNT FOR LACT>0 PEN=9-6                                     adult cows outside pens 6–9
COUNT FOR LACT>0 PEN=1;2;4;8                                 adult cows in pens 1, 2, 4 or 8
COUNT\B FOR LACT>0 FDAT>-365                                 cows fresh in the last year, incl. sold/died
PCT DCC>0 FOR LACT>0 BY PEN                                  % pregnant, by pen
PCT DOPN<150 DCC>0 FOR LACT>0                                % conceived before 150 DIM
LIST ID FDAT DIM FOR FDAT>-14                                fresh in the last 14 days
EVENTS FRESH ID LACT FOR EDAY=1/1/26-1/31/26                 calvings in January
BREDSUM\E FOR LACT>0                                         21-day pregnancy risk table, cows
PLOT MILK FOR LACT=1 SCC1<200 WITH LACT=1 SCC1>=200          1st-lact milk, first-test SCC <200 vs >=200
GRAPH MILK BY DIM FOR LACT>0                                 milk vs DIM scatter

Before running any command on a new herd:

1. Look up the herd’s item, event and saved-command names in its private dc305-vocab mapping.
2. Confirm switch letters with the command help on that install.
3. Check the row count against an independent count (e.g. COUNT with the same FOR clause), and decide whether animals that left the herd belong in it (\B).

Typical range

Herd context: any DC305 herd; item names, saved commands, switches and limits vary by herd setup and DC305 version.

• Command length: DC305 limits a command line after saved names and abbreviations are expanded, at roughly 230–240 characters. A short saved command can expand past the limit.

Unverified

The exact command-length limit after expansion, and whether scheduled or exported tasks have a different limit.

• SUM: averages up to 7 items per command.
• Item names: usually up to about five characters.
• DOW values: 1–7 (1 = Saturday).
• Unset numeric items: 0.

Common mistakes

• Writing a range backwards by accident. DIM=150-60 means “except 60–150”, not “60 to 150”. The command runs and returns the wrong cows.
• Forgetting animals that left. Most commands cover live animals only. Counting past calvings, deaths or sales needs \B (live and dead) or \D (dead only).
• Averaging zeroes by mistake. \Z on SUM, or averaging exported data yourself, counts never-tested cows as 0 and drags averages down.
• Treating BY the same in every verb. It groups in SUM/COUNT/PCT, sorts in LIST and makes a scatter in GRAPH.
• Using PLOT for non-test-day items. PLOT charts test-day items; use GRAPH for other items.
• Reading current items as past values. In EVENTS, item columns such as PEN show today’s value, not the value on the event date.
• Leaving SETDAY moved. Every DIM and relative date shifts until it is reset with SETDAY\*.
• Assuming DOW 1 is Sunday or Monday. In DC305 it is Saturday.
• Copying saved commands or user items between herds. Names and definitions differ by herd.
• Using a switch letter from another command. \E in BREDSUM is not \E in LIST.
• Hitting the length limit. A long command can fail after expansion even though the typed text looks short. Split it, or save parts as items.

Related

• DC305 item codes
• DC305 events
• DC305 BREDSUM
• DC305 RC codes