private void parseValue(String line, int lineNum) {
        // skip a comment line
        if (line.startsWith(COMMENT)) {
            return;
        }

        String[] sp = line.split("\\s+");  // split the fields based on a space
        int len = 0;        // length of a string
        int index = 0;      // the index of an array

        // check for each field in the array
        for(String elem : sp) {
            len = elem.length();  // get the length of a string

            // if it is empty then ignore
            if (len == 0) {
                continue;
            }
            // if not, then put into the array
            else {
                fieldArray[index] = elem;
                index++;
            }
        }
        
        if (index == MAX_FIELD) {
            extractField(fieldArray, lineNum);
        }
    }