### 11.19 VARIABLE ROLE

    VARIABLE ROLE
            /role var_list
            [/role var_list]…

`VARIABLE ROLE` sets the intended role of a variable for use in dialog boxes in graphical user interfaces. Each role specifies one of the following roles for the variables that follow it:

`INPUT`

  An input variable, such as an independent variable.

`TARGET`

  An output variable, such as an dependent variable.

`BOTH`

  A variable used for input and output.

`NONE`

  No role assigned. (This is a variable’s default role.)

`PARTITION`

  Used to break the data into groups for testing.

`SPLIT`

  No meaning except for certain third party software. (This role’s meaning is unrelated to `SPLIT FILE`.)

The PSPPIRE GUI does not yet use variable roles as intended.