import numpy as np

def is_float( s ):
    try:
        float(s)
        return True
    except ValueError:
        return False
   
def loaddat( filename ):
    """ Load ascii data files into a numpy array
    """
    mdata = {}
    tdata = []
    for l in open( filename ) :
        if l.startswith( "#" ) : 
            if ":" in l :
                tmp = [e.strip() for e in l[1:].partition(':')]
                mdata[tmp[0]] = tmp[2]
        elif l and not l.isspace() :
            vals = [ float( i ) for i in l.split() if is_float( i ) ]
            if len( vals ) > 0 :
                tdata.append( vals[0] )
        elif len( tdata ) > 0 :
            break
    return tdata, mdata

d,m = loaddat('../Pholidoptera_litoralis/Time_stamps/Chang/sychronization_2013-07-31-102053h_5-msec.dat')

# the dictionary of meta data:
print m
print
# use the value of a specific metadata item:
print 'The animal number was: ', m['Animal']
print

# the data array:
print d
print

# the fifth value of the data array:
print 'The sixth data value: ', d[0]
print