\name{getParameter}
\alias{getParameter}
\title{
 This gets a scaler parameter from the StatShop database.
}
\usage{
getParameter(model,parameter=listParameterColumns(model),
         iterations=numeric(0), chain=getChains())
}
\arguments{
  \item{model}{Name of model to extract data from.}
  \item{parameter}{Name of database column or columns to extract.  If
    omitted, all columns are returned.}
  \item{iterations}{A vector containing the first and last cycle to
    extract. If omitted use all cycles.}
  \item{chain}{A vector of chains to extract data for.  If omitted, use
    all chains.}
}
\value{
 Returns a coda \code{mcmc} object for a single chain and a
 \code{mcmc.list} object for multiple chains.
}
\description{
 If the parameter argument is a vector of names, it gets a dataframe
 like structure, where the columns are variables.

 NOTE this function uses the column names in the database.
 Use \index{getParameterVector} to get the vector valued parameter.
}
\seealso{
  \code{\link{asp.dbConnect}}, 
  \code{\link{listModels}},\code{\link{listParameterColumns}},
  \code{\link{getParameterVector}},
  \code{\link{getAllParameters}}, \code{\link{getVariable}},
  \code{\link{pQuery}}

}
\keyword{database}