Is * really a valid value for a SAM FLAG field?

[derobins]

The SAM spec (v1.3-r882, page 3) states that * is a valid value for the SAM FLAG field, yet the table just above it indicates that it is an int in the interval [0, 2^16 - 1] without listing the star (as is done where * is a valid value).

Is the text about * being a valid FLAG value an error? Shouldn't 0 mean that no bits are set, not *?

Thanks,

Dana Robinson
The HDF Group

[maubp]

It does sound like a bug in the spec (especially since there is no way to do anything equivalent in BAM). You might want to ask this on the samtools mailing list.