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1 <!doctype html public "-//IETF//DTD HTML Strict//EN"> |
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2 <html> |
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3 <head> |
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4 <title> Changes in Octave version 2 </title> |
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5 </head> |
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6 |
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7 <body> |
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8 <h1> News for Octave Version 2 </h1> |
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9 <hr> |
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10 |
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11 <h2>Summary of changes for version 2.0.4</h2> |
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12 |
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13 <ul> |
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14 <li>It is now possible to use commands like ls, save, and cd as simple |
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15 variable names. They still cannot be used as formal parameters |
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16 for functions, or as the names of structure variables. Failed |
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17 assignments leave them undefined (you can recover the orginal |
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18 function definition using clear). |
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19 <p> |
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20 </li> |
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21 <li>Is is now possible to invoke commands like ls, save, and cd as |
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22 normal functions (for example, load ("foo", "x", "y", "z")). |
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23 </li> |
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24 </ul> |
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25 |
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26 <h2>Summary of changes for version 2.0.3</h2> |
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27 |
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28 <ul> |
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29 <li>The manual has been completely revised and now corresponds much |
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30 more closely to the features of the current version. |
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31 </li> |
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32 <p> |
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33 <li>The return value for assignment expressions is now the RHS since |
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34 that is more consistent with the way other programming languages |
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35 work. However, Octave still prints the entire LHS value so that |
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36 <pre> |
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37 x = zeros (1, 2); |
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38 x(2) = 1 |
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39 </pre> |
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40 still prints |
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41 <pre> |
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42 x = |
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43 |
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44 0 1 |
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45 |
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46 </pre> |
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47 but an assignment like |
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48 <pre> |
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49 z = x(2) = 1 |
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50 </pre> |
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51 sets z to 1 (not [ 0, 1 ] as in previous versions of Octave). |
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52 </li> |
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53 <p> |
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54 <li>It is now much easier to make binary distributions. See the |
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55 Binary Distributions section of the manual for more details. |
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56 </li> |
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57 </ul> |
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58 |
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59 <h2>Summary of changes for version 2.0.2</h2> |
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60 |
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61 <ul> |
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62 </li> |
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63 <li>Octave now stops executing commands from a script file if an error |
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64 is encountered. |
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65 <p> |
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66 </li> |
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67 <li>The return, and break commands now cause Octave to quit executing |
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68 commands from script files. When used in invalid contexts, the |
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69 break, continue, and return commands are now simply ignored |
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70 instead of producing parse errors. |
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71 <p> |
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72 </li> |
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73 <li>size ("") is now [0, 0]. |
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74 <p> |
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75 </li> |
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76 <li>New functions: |
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77 <dl> |
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78 <dt><b>sleep</b></dt> |
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79 <dd>pause execution for a specified number of seconds</dd> |
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80 <dt><b>usleep</b></dt> |
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81 <dd>pause execution for a specified number of microseconds</dd> |
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82 </dl> |
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83 </li> |
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84 </ul> |
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85 </pre> |
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86 |
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87 <h2>Summary of changes for version 2.0.1</h2> |
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88 |
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89 <p> |
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90 Other than bug fixes, there were no user-visible changes in version |
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91 2.0.1. |
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92 |
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93 <h2>Summary of changes for version 2.0</h2> |
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94 |
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95 <p> |
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96 <ul> |
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97 <li>The set and show commands for setting and displaying gnuplot |
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98 parameters have been replaced by gset and gshow. This change will |
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99 probably break lots of things, but it is necessary to allow for |
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100 compatibility with the Matlab graphics and GUI commands in a |
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101 future version of Octave. (For now, the old set and show commands |
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102 do work, but they print an annoying warning message to try to get |
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103 people to switch to using gset.) |
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104 </li> |
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105 <p> |
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106 <li>Octave has been mostly ported to Windows NT and Windows 95 using |
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107 the beta 17 release of the Cygnus GNU-WIN32 tools. Not everything |
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108 works, but it is usable. See the file README.WINDOWS for more |
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109 information. |
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110 </li> |
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111 <p> |
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112 <li>Dynamic linking works on more systems using dlopen() and friends |
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113 (most modern Unix systems) or shl_load() and friends (HP/UX |
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114 systems). A simple example is provided in examples/hello.cc. |
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115 For this feature to work, you must configure Octave with |
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116 --enable-shared. You may also need to have a shared-library |
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117 version of libg++ and libstdc++. |
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118 </li> |
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119 <p> |
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120 <li>New data types can be added to Octave by writing a C++ class. On |
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121 systems that support dynamic linking, new data types can be added |
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122 to an already running Octave binary. A simple example appears in |
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123 the file examples/make_int.cc. Other examples are the standard |
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124 Octave data types defined in the files src/ov*.{h,cc} and |
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125 src/op-*.cc. |
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126 </li> |
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127 <p> |
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128 <li>The configure option --enable-bounds-check turns on bounds |
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129 checking on element references for Octave's internal array and |
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130 matrix classes. It's enabled by default. To disable this |
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131 feature, configure Octave with --disable-bounds-check. |
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132 </li> |
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133 <p> |
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134 <li>The C-style I/O functions (fopen, fprintf, etc.) have been |
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135 rewritten to be more compatible with Matlab. The fputs function |
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136 has also been added. Usage of the *printf functions that was |
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137 allowed in previous versions of Octave should still work. |
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138 However, there is no way to make the new versions of the *scanf |
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139 functions compatible with Matlab *and* previous versions of |
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140 Octave. An optional argument to the *scanf functions is now |
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141 available to make them behave in a way that is compatible with |
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142 previous versions of Octave. |
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143 </li> |
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144 <p> |
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145 <li>Octave can now read files that contain columns of numbers only, |
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146 with no header information. The name of the loaded variable is |
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147 constructed from the file name. Each line in the file must have |
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148 the same number of elements. |
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149 </li> |
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150 <p> |
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151 <li>The interface to the pager has changed. The new built-in variable |
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152 `page_output_immediately' controls when Octave sends output to the |
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153 pager. If it is nonzero, Octave sends output to the pager as soon |
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154 as it is available. Otherwise, Octave buffers its output and |
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155 waits until just before the prompt is printed to flush it to the |
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156 pager. |
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157 </li> |
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158 <p> |
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159 <li>Expressions of the form |
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160 <pre> |
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161 A(i,j) = x |
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162 </pre> |
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163 where X is a scalar and the indices i and j define a matrix of |
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164 elements now work as you would expect rather than giving an error. |
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165 I am told that this is how Matlab 5.0 will behave when it is |
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166 released. |
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167 </li> |
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168 <p> |
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169 <li>Indexing of character strings now works. |
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170 </li> |
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171 <p> |
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172 <li>The echo command has been implemented. |
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173 </li> |
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174 <p> |
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175 <li>The document command is now a regular function. |
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176 </li> |
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177 <p> |
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178 <li>New method for handling errors: |
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179 <pre> |
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180 try |
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181 BODY |
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182 catch |
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183 CLEANUP |
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184 end_try_catch |
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185 </pre> |
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186 Where BODY and CLEANUP are both optional and may contain any |
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187 Octave expressions or commands. The statements in CLEANUP are |
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188 only executed if an error occurs in BODY. |
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189 |
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190 <p> No warnings or error messages are printed while BODY is |
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191 executing. If an error does occur during the execution of BODY, |
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192 CLEANUP can access the text of the message that would have been |
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193 printed in the builtin constant __error_text__. This is the same |
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194 as eval (TRY, CATCH) (which may now also use __error_text__) but |
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195 it is more efficient since the commands do not need to be parsed |
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196 each time the TRY and CATCH statements are evaluated. |
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197 </li> |
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198 <p> |
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199 <li>Octave no longer parses the help command by grabbing everything |
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200 after the keyword `help' until a newline character is read. To |
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201 get help for `;' or `,', now, you need to use the command |
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202 `help semicolon' or `help comma'. |
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203 </li> |
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204 <p> |
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205 <li>Octave's parser now does some simple constant folding. This means |
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206 that expressions like 3*i are now evaluated only once, when a |
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207 function is compiled, and the right hand side of expressions like |
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208 a = [1,2;3,4] are treated as true matrix constants rather than |
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209 lists of elements which must be evaluated each time they are |
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210 needed. |
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211 </li> |
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212 <p> |
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213 <li>Built-in variables that can take values of "true" and "false" can |
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214 now also be set to any nonzero scalar value to indicate "true", |
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215 and 0 to indicate "false". |
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216 </li> |
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217 <p> |
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218 <li>New built-in variables `history_file', `history_size', and |
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219 `saving_history'. |
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220 </li> |
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221 <p> |
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222 <li>New built-in variable `string_fill_char' specifies the character |
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223 to fill with when creating arrays of strings. |
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224 </li> |
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225 <p> |
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226 <li>If the new built-in variable `gnuplot_has_frames' is nonzero, |
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227 Octave assumes that your copy of gnuplot includes support for |
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228 multiple plot windows when using X11. |
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229 |
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230 If the new built-in variable `gnuplot_has_multiplot' is nonzero, |
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231 Octave assumes that your copy of gnuplot has the multiplot support |
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232 that is included in recent 3.6beta releases. |
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233 |
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234 The initial values of these variables are determined by configure, |
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235 but can be changed in your startup script or at the command line |
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236 in case configure got it wrong, or if you upgrade your gnuplot |
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237 installation. |
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238 </li> |
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239 <p> |
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240 <li>The new plot function `figure' allows multiple plot windows when |
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241 using newer versions of gnuplot with X11. |
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242 </li> |
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243 <p> |
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244 <li>Octave now notices when the plotter has exited unexpectedly. |
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245 </li> |
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246 <p> |
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247 <li>New built-in variable `warn_missing_semicolon'. If nonzero, Octave |
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248 will warn when statements in function definitions don't end in |
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249 semicolons. The default value is 0. |
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250 </li> |
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251 <p> |
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252 <li>Octave now attempts to continue after floating point exceptions |
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253 or out-of-memory errors. |
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254 </li> |
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255 <p> |
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256 <li>If Octave crashes, it now attempts to save all user-defined |
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257 variables in a file named `octave-core' in the current directory |
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258 before exiting. |
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259 </li> |
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260 <p> |
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261 <li>It is now possible to get the values of individual option settings |
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262 for the dassl, fsolve, lsode, npsol, qpsol, and quad functions |
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263 using commands like |
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264 <pre> |
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265 dassl_reltol = dassl_options ("relative tolerance"); |
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266 </pre> |
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267 </li> |
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268 <p> |
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269 <li>The svd() function no longer computes the left and right singular |
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270 matrices unnecessarily. This can significantly improve |
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271 performance for large matrices if you are just looking for the |
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272 singular values. |
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273 </li> |
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274 <p> |
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275 <li>The filter() function is now a built-in function. |
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276 </li> |
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277 <p> |
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278 <li>New function randn() returns a pseudo-random number from a normal |
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279 distribution. The rand() and randn() functions have separate |
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280 seeds and generators. |
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281 </li> |
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282 <p> |
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283 <li>Octave's command-line arguments are now available in the built-in |
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284 variable `argv'. The program name is also available in the |
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285 variables `program_invocation_name' and `program_name'. If |
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286 executing a script from the command line (e.g., octave foo.m) or |
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287 using the `#! /bin/octave' hack, the program name is set to the |
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288 name of the script. |
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289 </li> |
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290 <p> |
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291 <li>New built-in variable `completion_append_char' used as the |
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292 character to append to successful command-line completion |
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293 attempts. The default is " " (a single space). |
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294 </li> |
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295 <p> |
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296 <li>Octave now uses a modified copy of the readline library from |
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297 version 1.14.5 of GNU bash. |
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298 </li> |
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299 <p> |
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300 <li>In prompt strings, `\H' expands to the whole host name. |
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301 </li> |
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302 <p> |
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303 <li>New built-in variable `beep_on_error'. If nonzero, Octave will try |
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304 to ring your terminal's bell before printing an error message. |
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305 The default value is 0. |
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306 </li> |
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307 <p> |
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308 <li>For functions defined from files, the type command now prints the |
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309 text of the file. You can still get the text reconstructed from |
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310 the parse tree by using the new option -t (-transformed). |
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311 </li> |
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312 <p> |
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313 <li>New command-line argument --traditional sets the following |
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314 preference variables for compatibility with Matlab: |
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315 <pre> |
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316 PS1 = ">> " |
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317 PS2 = "" |
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318 beep_on_error = 1 |
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319 default_save_format = "mat-binary" |
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320 define_all_return_values = 1 |
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321 do_fortran_indexing = 1 |
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322 empty_list_elements_ok = 1 |
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323 implicit_str_to_num_ok = 1 |
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324 ok_to_lose_imaginary_part = 1 |
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325 page_screen_output = 0 |
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326 prefer_column_vectors = 0 |
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327 prefer_zero_one_indexing = 1 |
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328 print_empty_dimensions = 0 |
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329 treat_neg_dim_as_zero = 1 |
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330 warn_function_name_clash = 0 |
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331 whitespace_in_literal_matrix = "traditional" |
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332 </pre> |
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333 </li> |
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334 <p> |
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335 <li>New functions: |
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336 <dl> |
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337 <dt><b>readdir</b></dt> |
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338 <dd>returns names of files in directory as array of strings |
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339 </dd> |
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340 <dt><b>mkdir</b></dt> |
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341 <dd>create a directory |
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342 </dd> |
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343 <dt><b>rmdir</b></dt> |
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344 <dd>remove a directory |
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345 </dd> |
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346 <dt><b>rename</b></dt> |
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347 <dd>rename a file |
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348 </dd> |
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349 <dt><b>unlink</b></dt> |
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350 <dd>delete a file |
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351 </dd> |
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352 <dt><b>umask</b></dt> |
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353 <dd>set permission mask for file creation |
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354 </dd> |
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355 <dt><b>stat</b></dt> |
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356 <dd>get information about a file |
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357 </dd> |
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358 <dt><b>lstat</b></dt> |
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359 <dd>get information about a symbolic link |
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360 </dd> |
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361 <dt><b>glob</b></dt> |
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362 <dd>perform filename globbing |
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363 </dd> |
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364 <dt><b>fnmatch</b></dt> |
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365 <dd>match strings with filename globbing patterns |
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366 </dd> |
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367 <dt><b>more</b></dt> |
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368 <dd>turn the pager on or off |
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369 </dd> |
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370 <dt><b>gammaln</b></dt> |
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371 <dd>alias for lgamma |
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372 </dd> |
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373 </dl> |
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374 </li> |
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375 <p> |
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376 <li>New audio functions from Andreas Weingessel: |
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377 <dl> |
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378 <dt><b>lin2mu</b></dt> |
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379 <dd>linear to mu-law encoding |
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380 </dd> |
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381 <dt><b>loadaudio</b></dt> |
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382 <dd>load an audio file to a vector |
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383 </dd> |
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384 <dt><b>mu2lin</b></dt> |
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385 <dd>mu-law to linear encoding |
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386 </dd> |
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387 <dt><b>playaudio</b></dt> |
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388 <dd>play an audio file |
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389 </dd> |
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390 <dt><b>record</b></dt> |
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391 <dd>record sound and store in vector |
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392 </dd> |
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393 <dt><b>saveaudio</b></dt> |
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394 <dd>save a vector as an audio file |
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395 </dd> |
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396 <dt><b>setaudio</b></dt> |
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397 <dd>executes mixer shell command |
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398 </dd> |
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399 </dl> |
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400 </li> |
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401 <p> |
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402 <li>New plotting functions from Vinayak Dutt. Ones dealing with |
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403 multiple plots on one page require features from gnuplot 3.6beta |
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404 (or later). |
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405 <dl> |
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406 <dt><b>bottom_title</b></dt> |
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407 <dd>put title at the bottom of the plot |
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408 </dd> |
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409 <dt><b>mplot</b></dt> |
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410 <dd>multiplot version of plot |
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411 </dd> |
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412 <dt><b>multiplot</b></dt> |
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413 <dd>switch multiple-plot mode on or off |
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414 </dd> |
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415 <dt><b>oneplot</b></dt> |
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416 <dd>return to one plot per page |
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417 </dd> |
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418 <dt><b>plot_border</b></dt> |
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419 <dd>put a border around plots |
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420 </dd> |
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421 <dt><b>subplot</b></dt> |
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422 <dd>position multiple plots on a single page |
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423 </dd> |
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424 <dt><b>subwindow</b></dt> |
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425 <dd>set subwindow position for next plot |
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426 </dd> |
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427 <dt><b>top_title</b></dt> |
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428 <dd>put title at the top of the plot |
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429 </dd> |
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430 <dt><b>zlabel</b></dt> |
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431 <dd>put a label on the z-axis |
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432 </dd> |
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433 </dl> |
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434 </li> |
|
|
435 <p> |
|
|
436 <li>New string functions |
|
|
437 <dl> |
|
|
438 <dt><b>bin2dec</b></dt> |
|
|
439 <dd>convert a string of ones and zeros to an integer |
|
|
440 </dd> |
|
|
441 <dt><b>blanks</b></dt> |
|
|
442 <dd>create a string of blanks |
|
|
443 </dd> |
|
|
444 <dt><b>deblank</b></dt> |
|
|
445 <dd>delete trailing blanks |
|
|
446 </dd> |
|
|
447 <dt><b>dec2bin</b></dt> |
|
|
448 <dd>convert an integer to a string of ones and zeros |
|
|
449 </dd> |
|
|
450 <dt><b>dec2hex</b></dt> |
|
|
451 <dd>convert an integer to a hexadecimal string |
|
|
452 </dd> |
|
|
453 <dt><b>findstr</b></dt> |
|
|
454 <dd>locate occurrences of one string in another |
|
|
455 </dd> |
|
|
456 <dt><b>hex2dec</b></dt> |
|
|
457 <dd>convert a hexadecimal string to an integer |
|
|
458 </dd> |
|
|
459 <dt><b>index</b></dt> |
|
|
460 <dd>return position of first occurrence a string in another |
|
|
461 </dd> |
|
|
462 <dt><b>rindex</b></dt> |
|
|
463 <dd>return position of last occurrence a string in another |
|
|
464 </dd> |
|
|
465 <dt><b>split</b></dt> |
|
|
466 <dd>divide one string into pieces separated by another |
|
|
467 </dd> |
|
|
468 <dt><b>str2mat</b></dt> |
|
|
469 <dd>create a string matrix from a list of strings |
|
|
470 </dd> |
|
|
471 <dt><b>strrep</b></dt> |
|
|
472 <dd>replace substrings in a string |
|
|
473 </dd> |
|
|
474 <dt><b>substr</b></dt> |
|
|
475 <dd>extract a substring |
|
|
476 </dd> |
|
|
477 </dl> |
|
|
478 <p> |
|
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479 The following functions return a matrix of ones and zeros. |
|
|
480 Elements that are nonzero indicate that the condition was true for |
|
|
481 the corresponding character in the string array. |
|
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482 <dl> |
|
|
483 <dt><b>isalnum</b></dt> |
|
|
484 <dd>letter or a digit |
|
|
485 </dd> |
|
|
486 <dt><b>isalpha</b></dt> |
|
|
487 <dd>letter |
|
|
488 </dd> |
|
|
489 <dt><b>isascii</b></dt> |
|
|
490 <dd>ascii |
|
|
491 </dd> |
|
|
492 <dt><b>iscntrl</b></dt> |
|
|
493 <dd>control character |
|
|
494 </dd> |
|
|
495 <dt><b>isdigit</b></dt> |
|
|
496 <dd>digit |
|
|
497 </dd> |
|
|
498 <dt><b>isgraph</b></dt> |
|
|
499 <dd>printable (but not space character) |
|
|
500 </dd> |
|
|
501 <dt><b>islower</b></dt> |
|
|
502 <dd>lower case |
|
|
503 </dd> |
|
|
504 <dt><b>isprint</b></dt> |
|
|
505 <dd>printable (including space character) |
|
|
506 </dd> |
|
|
507 <dt><b>ispunct</b></dt> |
|
|
508 <dd>punctuation |
|
|
509 </dd> |
|
|
510 <dt><b>isspace</b></dt> |
|
|
511 <dd>whitespace |
|
|
512 </dd> |
|
|
513 <dt><b>isupper</b></dt> |
|
|
514 <dd>upper case |
|
|
515 </dd> |
|
|
516 <dt><b>isxdigit</b></dt> |
|
|
517 <dd>hexadecimal digit |
|
|
518 </dd> |
|
|
519 </dl> |
|
|
520 <p> |
|
2590
|
521 These functions return new strings. |
|
2699
|
522 <dl> |
|
|
523 <dt><b>tolower</b></dt> |
|
|
524 <dd>convert to lower case |
|
|
525 </dd> |
|
|
526 <dt><b>toupper</b></dt> |
|
|
527 <dd>convert to upper case |
|
|
528 </dd> |
|
|
529 </dl> |
|
|
530 </li> |
|
|
531 <p> |
|
|
532 <li>New function, fgetl. Both fgetl and fgets accept an optional |
|
2590
|
533 second argument that specifies a maximum number of characters to |
|
|
534 read, and the function fgets is now compatible with Matlab. |
|
2699
|
535 </li> |
|
|
536 <p> |
|
|
537 <li>Printing in hexadecimal format now works (format hex). It is also |
|
2590
|
538 possible to print the internal bit representation of a value |
|
|
539 (format bit). Note that these formats are only implemented for |
|
|
540 numeric values. |
|
2699
|
541 </li> |
|
|
542 <p> |
|
|
543 <li>Additional structure features: |
|
|
544 <ul> |
|
|
545 <li>Name completion now works for structures. |
|
|
546 </li> |
|
|
547 <li>Values and names of structure elements are now printed by |
|
|
548 default. The new built-in variable `struct_levels_to_print' |
|
|
549 controls the depth of nested structures to print. The default |
|
|
550 value is 2. |
|
|
551 </li> |
|
|
552 <li>New functions: |
|
|
553 <dl> |
|
|
554 <dt><b>struct_contains (S, NAME)</b></dt> |
|
|
555 <dd>returns 1 if S is a structure with element NAME; otherwise returns 0. |
|
|
556 </dd> |
|
|
557 <dt><b>struct_elements (S)</b></dt> |
|
|
558 <dd>returns the names of all elements of structure S in an array of |
|
|
559 strings. |
|
|
560 </dd> |
|
|
561 </dl> |
|
|
562 </li> |
|
|
563 </ul> |
|
|
564 </li> |
|
|
565 <p> |
|
|
566 <li>New io/subprocess functions: |
|
|
567 <dl> |
|
|
568 <dt><b>fputs</b></dt> |
|
|
569 <dd>write a string to a file with no formatting |
|
|
570 </dd> |
|
|
571 <dt><b>popen2</b></dt> |
|
|
572 <dd>start a subprocess with 2-way communication |
|
|
573 </dd> |
|
|
574 <dt><b>mkfifo</b></dt> |
|
|
575 <dd>create a FIFO special file |
|
|
576 </dd> |
|
|
577 <dt><b>popen</b></dt> |
|
|
578 <dd>open a pipe to a subprocess |
|
|
579 </dd> |
|
|
580 <dt><b>pclose</b></dt> |
|
|
581 <dd>close a pipe from a subprocess |
|
|
582 </dd> |
|
|
583 <dt><b>waitpid</b></dt> |
|
|
584 <dd>check the status of or wait for subprocesses |
|
|
585 </dd> |
|
|
586 </dl> |
|
|
587 </li> |
|
|
588 <p> |
|
|
589 <li>New time functions: |
|
|
590 <dl> |
|
|
591 <dt><b>asctime</b></dt> |
|
|
592 <dd>format time structure according to local format |
|
|
593 </dd> |
|
|
594 <dt><b>ctime</b></dt> |
|
|
595 <dd>equivalent to `asctime (localtime (TMSTRUCT))' |
|
|
596 </dd> |
|
|
597 <dt><b>gmtime</b></dt> |
|
|
598 <dd>return time structure corresponding to UTC |
|
|
599 </dd> |
|
|
600 <dt><b>localtime</b></dt> |
|
|
601 <dd>return time structure corresponding to local time zone |
|
|
602 </dd> |
|
|
603 <dt><b>strftime</b></dt> |
|
|
604 <dd>print given time structure using specified format |
|
|
605 </dd> |
|
|
606 <dt><b>time</b></dt> |
|
|
607 <dd>return current time |
|
|
608 </dd> |
|
|
609 </dl> |
|
|
610 <p> |
|
2590
|
611 The `clock' and `date' functions are now implemented in M-files |
|
|
612 using these basic functions. |
|
2699
|
613 </li> |
|
|
614 <p> |
|
|
615 <li>Access to additional Unix system calls: |
|
|
616 <dl> |
|
|
617 <dt><b>dup2</b></dt> |
|
|
618 <dd>duplicate a file descriptor |
|
|
619 </dd> |
|
|
620 <dt><b>exec</b></dt> |
|
|
621 <dd>replace current process with a new process |
|
|
622 </dd> |
|
|
623 <dt><b>fcntl</b></dt> |
|
|
624 <dd>control open file descriptors |
|
|
625 </dd> |
|
|
626 <dt><b>fork</b></dt> |
|
|
627 <dd>create a copy of the current process |
|
|
628 </dd> |
|
|
629 <dt><b>getpgrp</b></dt> |
|
|
630 <dd>return the process group id of the current process |
|
|
631 </dd> |
|
|
632 <dt><b>getpid</b></dt> |
|
|
633 <dd>return the process id of the current process |
|
|
634 </dd> |
|
|
635 <dt><b>getppid</b></dt> |
|
|
636 <dd>return the process id of the parent process |
|
|
637 </dd> |
|
|
638 <dt><b>getuid</b></dt> |
|
|
639 <dd>return the real user id of the current process |
|
|
640 </dd> |
|
|
641 <dt><b>getgid</b></dt> |
|
|
642 <dd>return the real group id of the current process |
|
|
643 </dd> |
|
|
644 <dt><b>geteuid</b></dt> |
|
|
645 <dd>return the effective user id of the current process |
|
|
646 </dd> |
|
|
647 <dt><b>getegid</b></dt> |
|
|
648 <dd>return the effective group id of the current process |
|
|
649 </dd> |
|
|
650 <dt><b>pipe</b></dt> |
|
|
651 <dd>create an interprocess channel |
|
|
652 </dd> |
|
|
653 </dl> |
|
|
654 </li> |
|
|
655 <p> |
|
|
656 <li>Other new functions: |
|
|
657 <dl> |
|
|
658 <dt><b>commutation_matrix</b></dt> |
|
|
659 <dd>compute special matrix form |
|
|
660 </dd> |
|
|
661 <dt><b>duplication_matrix</b></dt> |
|
|
662 <dd>compute special matrix form |
|
|
663 </dd> |
|
|
664 <dt><b>common_size.m</b></dt> |
|
|
665 <dd>bring arguments to a common size |
|
|
666 </dd> |
|
|
667 <dt><b>completion_matches</b></dt> |
|
|
668 <dd>perform command completion on string |
|
|
669 </dd> |
|
|
670 <dt><b>tilde_expand</b></dt> |
|
|
671 <dd>perform tilde expansion on string |
|
|
672 </dd> |
|
|
673 <dt><b>meshgrid</b></dt> |
|
|
674 <dd>compatible with Matlab's meshgrid function |
|
|
675 </dd> |
|
|
676 <dt><b>tmpnam</b></dt> |
|
|
677 <dd>replaces octave_tmp_file_name |
|
|
678 </dd> |
|
|
679 <dt><b>atexit</b></dt> |
|
|
680 <dd>register functions to be called when Octave exits |
|
|
681 </dd> |
|
|
682 <dt><b>putenv</b></dt> |
|
|
683 <dd>define an environment variable |
|
|
684 </dd> |
|
|
685 <dt><b>bincoeff</b></dt> |
|
|
686 <dd>compute binomial coefficients |
|
|
687 </dd> |
|
|
688 <dt><b>nextpow2</b></dt> |
|
|
689 <dd>compute the next power of 2 greater than a number |
|
|
690 </dd> |
|
|
691 <dt><b>detrend</b></dt> |
|
|
692 <dd>remove a best fit polynomial from data |
|
|
693 </dd> |
|
|
694 <dt><b>erfinv</b></dt> |
|
|
695 <dd>inverse error function |
|
|
696 </dd> |
|
|
697 <dt><b>shift</b></dt> |
|
|
698 <dd>perform a circular shift on the elements of a matrix |
|
|
699 </dd> |
|
|
700 <dt><b>pow2</b></dt> |
|
|
701 <dd>compute 2 .^ x |
|
|
702 </dd> |
|
|
703 <dt><b>log2</b></dt> |
|
|
704 <dd>compute base 2 logarithms |
|
|
705 </dd> |
|
|
706 <dt><b>diff</b></dt> |
|
|
707 <dd>compute differences of matrix elements |
|
|
708 </dd> |
|
|
709 <dt><b>vech</b></dt> |
|
|
710 <dd>stack columns of a matrix below the diagonal |
|
|
711 </dd> |
|
|
712 <dt><b>vec</b></dt> |
|
|
713 <dd>stack columns of a matrix to form a vector |
|
|
714 </dd> |
|
|
715 <dt><b>xor</b></dt> |
|
|
716 <dd>compute exclusive or |
|
|
717 </dd> |
|
|
718 </dl> |
|
|
719 </li> |
|
|
720 <p> |
|
|
721 <li>Functions for getting info from the password database on Unix systems: |
|
|
722 <dl> |
|
|
723 <dt><b>getpwent</b></dt> |
|
|
724 <dd>read entry from password-file stream, opening if necessary |
|
|
725 </dd> |
|
|
726 <dt><b>getpwuid</b></dt> |
|
|
727 <dd>search for password entry with matching user ID |
|
|
728 </dd> |
|
|
729 <dt><b>getpwnam</b></dt> |
|
|
730 <dd>search for password entry with matching username |
|
|
731 </dd> |
|
|
732 <dt><b>setpwent</b></dt> |
|
|
733 <dd>rewind the password-file stream |
|
|
734 </dd> |
|
|
735 <dt><b>endpwent</b></dt> |
|
|
736 <dd>close the password-file stream |
|
|
737 </dd> |
|
|
738 </dl> |
|
|
739 </li> |
|
|
740 <p> |
|
|
741 <li>Functions for getting info from the group database on Unix systems: |
|
|
742 <dl> |
|
|
743 <dt><b>getgrent</b></dt> |
|
|
744 <dd>read entry from group-file stream, opening if necessary |
|
|
745 </dd> |
|
|
746 <dt><b>getgrgid</b></dt> |
|
|
747 <dd>search for group entry with matching group ID |
|
|
748 </dd> |
|
|
749 <dt><b>getgrnam</b></dt> |
|
|
750 <dd>search for group entry with matching group name |
|
|
751 </dd> |
|
|
752 <dt><b>setgrent</b></dt> |
|
|
753 <dd>rewind the pgroup-file stream |
|
|
754 </dd> |
|
|
755 <dt><b>endgrent</b></dt> |
|
|
756 <dd>close the group-file stream |
|
|
757 </dd> |
|
|
758 </dl> |
|
|
759 </li> |
|
|
760 <p> |
|
|
761 <li>The New function octave_config_info returns a structure containing |
|
2590
|
762 information about how Octave was configured and compiled. |
|
2699
|
763 </li> |
|
|
764 <p> |
|
|
765 <li>New function getrusage returns a structure containing system |
|
2590
|
766 resource usage statistics. The `cputime' function is now defined |
|
|
767 in an M-file using getrusage. |
|
2699
|
768 </li> |
|
|
769 <p> |
|
|
770 <li>The info reader is now a separate binary that runs as a |
|
2590
|
771 subprocess. You still need the info reader distributed with |
|
|
772 Octave though, because there are some new command-line arguments |
|
|
773 that are not yet available in the public release of Info. |
|
2699
|
774 </li> |
|
|
775 <p> |
|
|
776 <li>There is a new built-in variable, INFO_PROGRAM, which is used as |
|
2590
|
777 the name of the info program to run. Its initial value is |
|
|
778 $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave/VERSION/exec/ARCH/info, but that value can |
|
|
779 be overridden by the environment variable OCTAVE_INFO_PROGRAM, or |
|
|
780 the command line argument --info-program NAME, or by setting the |
|
|
781 value of INFO_PROGRAM in a startup script. |
|
2699
|
782 </li> |
|
|
783 <p> |
|
|
784 <li>There is a new built-in variable, EXEC_PATH, which is used as |
|
2590
|
785 the list of directories to search when executing subprograms. Its |
|
|
786 initial value is taken from the environment variable |
|
|
787 OCTAVE_EXEC_PATH (if it exists) or PATH, but that value can be |
|
|
788 overridden by the the command line argument --exec-path PATH, or |
|
|
789 by setting the value of EXEC_PATH in a startup script. If the |
|
|
790 EXEC_PATH begins (ends) with a colon, the directories |
|
|
791 $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave/VERSION/exec/ARCH and $OCTAVE_HOME/bin are |
|
|
792 prepended (appended) to EXEC_PATH (if you don't specify a value |
|
|
793 for EXEC_PATH explicitly, these special directories are prepended |
|
|
794 to your PATH). |
|
2699
|
795 </li> |
|
|
796 <p> |
|
|
797 <li>If it is present, Octave will now use an `ls-R' database file to |
|
2590
|
798 speed up recursive path searching. Octave looks for a file called |
|
|
799 ls-R in the directory specified by the environment variable |
|
|
800 OCTAVE_DB_DIR. If that is not set but the environment variable |
|
|
801 OCTAVE_HOME is set, Octave looks in $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave. |
|
|
802 Otherwise, Octave looks in the directory $datadir/octave (normally |
|
|
803 /usr/local/lib/octave). |
|
2699
|
804 </li> |
|
|
805 <p> |
|
|
806 <li>New examples directory. |
|
|
807 </li> |
|
|
808 <p> |
|
|
809 <li>There is a new script, mkoctfile, that can be used to create .oct |
|
2590
|
810 files suitable for dynamic linking. |
|
2699
|
811 </li> |
|
|
812 <p> |
|
|
813 <li>Many more bug fixes. |
|
|
814 </li> |
|
|
815 <p> |
|
|
816 <li>ChangeLogs are now kept in each subdirectory.</li> |
|
|
817 </li> |
|
|
818 </ul> |
|
2590
|
819 |
|
|
820 </body> |
|
|
821 </html> |
