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annotate doc/interpreter/basics.txi @ 10828:322f43e0e170
Grammarcheck .txi documentation files.
| author | Rik <octave@nomad.inbox5.com> |
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| date | Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:45:04 -0700 |
| parents | e103fb2182ce |
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| 7018 | 1 @c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, |
| 8920 | 2 @c 2007, 2008, 2009 John W. Eaton |
| 7018 | 3 @c |
| 4 @c This file is part of Octave. | |
| 5 @c | |
| 6 @c Octave is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it | |
| 7 @c under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the | |
| 8 @c Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at | |
| 9 @c your option) any later version. | |
| 10 @c | |
| 11 @c Octave is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT | |
| 12 @c ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or | |
| 13 @c FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License | |
| 14 @c for more details. | |
| 15 @c | |
| 16 @c You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License | |
| 17 @c along with Octave; see the file COPYING. If not, see | |
| 18 @c <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. | |
| 3294 | 19 |
| 4167 | 20 @node Getting Started |
| 3294 | 21 @chapter Getting Started |
| 22 | |
| 23 This chapter explains some of Octave's basic features, including how to | |
| 24 start an Octave session, get help at the command prompt, edit the | |
| 25 command line, and write Octave programs that can be executed as commands | |
| 26 from your shell. | |
| 27 | |
| 28 @menu | |
| 6620 | 29 * Invoking Octave from the Command Line:: |
| 3294 | 30 * Quitting Octave:: |
| 31 * Getting Help:: | |
| 32 * Command Line Editing:: | |
| 33 * Errors:: | |
| 34 * Executable Octave Programs:: | |
| 35 * Comments:: | |
| 36 @end menu | |
| 37 | |
| 6620 | 38 @node Invoking Octave from the Command Line |
| 39 @section Invoking Octave from the Command Line | |
| 3294 | 40 |
| 41 Normally, Octave is used interactively by running the program | |
| 42 @samp{octave} without any arguments. Once started, Octave reads | |
| 43 commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit. | |
| 44 | |
| 45 You can also specify the name of a file on the command line, and Octave | |
| 46 will read and execute the commands from the named file and then exit | |
| 47 when it is finished. | |
| 48 | |
| 49 You can further control how Octave starts by using the command-line | |
| 50 options described in the next section, and Octave itself can remind you | |
| 51 of the options available. Type @samp{octave --help} to display all | |
| 52 available options and briefly describe their use (@samp{octave -h} is a | |
| 53 shorter equivalent). | |
| 54 | |
| 55 @menu | |
| 56 * Command Line Options:: | |
| 57 * Startup Files:: | |
| 58 @end menu | |
| 59 | |
| 4167 | 60 @node Command Line Options |
| 3294 | 61 @subsection Command Line Options |
| 62 @cindex Octave command options | |
| 63 @cindex command options | |
| 64 @cindex options, Octave command | |
| 65 | |
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66 Here is a complete list of the command line options that Octave |
| 3294 | 67 accepts. |
| 68 | |
| 6620 | 69 |
| 3294 | 70 @table @code |
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71 @item --debug |
| 3294 | 72 @itemx -d |
| 73 @cindex @code{--debug} | |
| 74 @cindex @code{-d} | |
| 75 Enter parser debugging mode. Using this option will cause Octave's | |
| 76 parser to print a lot of information about the commands it reads, and is | |
| 77 probably only useful if you are actually trying to debug the parser. | |
| 78 | |
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79 @item --doc-cache-file @var{filename} |
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80 @cindex @code{--doc-cache-file @var{filename}} |
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81 Specify the name of the doc cache file to use. The value of @var{filename} |
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82 specified on the command line will override any value of |
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83 @w{@env{OCTAVE_DOC_CACHE_FILE}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
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84 in the system or user startup files that use the @code{doc_cache_file} |
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85 function. |
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86 |
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87 @item --echo-commands |
| 3294 | 88 @itemx -x |
| 89 @cindex @code{--echo-commands} | |
| 90 @cindex @code{-x} | |
| 91 Echo commands as they are executed. | |
| 92 | |
| 5190 | 93 @item --eval @var{code} |
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94 Evaluate @var{code} and exit when finished unless @option{--persist} is also |
| 5190 | 95 specified. |
| 96 | |
| 3294 | 97 @item --exec-path @var{path} |
| 98 @cindex @code{--exec-path @var{path}} | |
| 99 Specify the path to search for programs to run. The value of @var{path} | |
| 100 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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101 @w{@env{OCTAVE_EXEC_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
| 3294 | 102 in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable |
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103 @w{@env{EXEC_PATH}}. |
| 3294 | 104 |
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105 @item --help |
| 3294 | 106 @itemx -h |
| 107 @itemx -? | |
| 108 @cindex @code{--help} | |
| 109 @cindex @code{-h} | |
| 110 @cindex @code{-?} | |
| 111 Print short help message and exit. | |
| 112 | |
| 6620 | 113 @item --image-path @var{path} |
| 114 @cindex @code{--image-path @var{path}} | |
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115 Add path to the head of the search path for images. The value of |
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116 @var{path} specified on the command line will override any value of |
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117 @w{@env{OCTAVE_IMAGE_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
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118 in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable |
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119 @w{@env{IMAGE_PATH}}. |
| 6620 | 120 |
| 3294 | 121 @item --info-file @var{filename} |
| 122 @cindex @code{--info-file @var{filename}} | |
| 123 Specify the name of the info file to use. The value of @var{filename} | |
| 124 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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125 @w{@env{OCTAVE_INFO_FILE}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
| 6653 | 126 in the system or user startup files that use the @code{info_file} |
| 6477 | 127 function. |
| 3294 | 128 |
| 129 @item --info-program @var{program} | |
| 130 @cindex @code{--info-program @var{program}} | |
| 131 Specify the name of the info program to use. The value of @var{program} | |
| 132 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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133 @w{@env{OCTAVE_INFO_PROGRAM}} found in the environment, but not any |
| 6477 | 134 commands in the system or user startup files that use the |
| 135 @code{info_program} function. | |
| 3294 | 136 |
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137 @item --interactive |
| 3294 | 138 @itemx -i |
| 139 @cindex @code{--interactive} | |
| 140 @cindex @code{-i} | |
| 141 Force interactive behavior. This can be useful for running Octave via a | |
| 142 remote shell command or inside an Emacs shell buffer. For another way | |
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143 to run Octave within Emacs, see @ref{Emacs Octave Support}. |
| 3294 | 144 |
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145 @item --line-editing |
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146 @cindex @code{--line-editing} |
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147 Force readline use for command-line editing. |
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148 |
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149 @item --no-history |
| 3428 | 150 @itemx -H |
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151 @cindex @code{--no-history} |
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152 @cindex @code{-H} |
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153 Disable recording of command-line history. |
| 3428 | 154 |
| 3294 | 155 @item --no-init-file |
| 156 @cindex @code{--no-init-file} | |
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157 Don't read the initialization files @file{~/.octaverc} and @file{.octaverc}. |
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158 |
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159 @item --no-init-path |
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160 @cindex @code{--no-init-path} |
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161 Don't initialize the search path for function files to include default |
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162 locations. |
| 3294 | 163 |
| 164 @item --no-line-editing | |
| 165 @cindex @code{--no-line-editing} | |
| 166 Disable command-line editing. | |
| 167 | |
| 168 @item --no-site-file | |
| 169 @cindex @code{--no-site-file} | |
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170 Don't read the site-wide @file{octaverc} initialization files. |
| 3294 | 171 |
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172 @item --norc |
| 3294 | 173 @itemx -f |
| 174 @cindex @code{--norc} | |
| 175 @cindex @code{-f} | |
| 176 Don't read any of the system or user initialization files at startup. | |
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177 This is equivalent to using both of the options @option{--no-init-file} |
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178 and @option{--no-site-file}. |
| 3294 | 179 |
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180 @item --path @var{path} |
| 3294 | 181 @itemx -p @var{path} |
| 182 @cindex @code{--path @var{path}} | |
| 183 @cindex @code{-p @var{path}} | |
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184 Add path to the head of the search path for function files. The |
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185 value of @var{path} specified on the command line will override any value |
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186 of @w{@env{OCTAVE_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands in the |
| 6643 | 187 system or user startup files that set the internal load path through one |
| 188 of the path functions. | |
| 3294 | 189 |
| 5190 | 190 @item --persist |
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191 @cindex @code{--persist} |
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192 Go to interactive mode after @option{--eval} or reading from a file |
| 5190 | 193 named on the command line. |
| 194 | |
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195 @item --silent |
| 3294 | 196 @itemx --quiet |
| 197 @itemx -q | |
| 198 @cindex @code{--silent} | |
| 199 @cindex @code{--quiet} | |
| 200 @cindex @code{-q} | |
| 201 Don't print the usual greeting and version message at startup. | |
| 202 | |
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203 @item --traditional |
| 3294 | 204 @itemx --braindead |
| 205 @cindex @code{--traditional} | |
| 206 @cindex @code{--braindead} | |
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207 For compatibility with @sc{matlab}, set initial values for |
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208 user preferences to the following values |
| 3294 | 209 |
| 210 @example | |
| 4455 | 211 @group |
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212 PS1 = ">> " |
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213 PS2 = "" |
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214 allow_noninteger_range_as_index = true |
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215 beep_on_error = true |
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216 confirm_recursive_rmdir = false |
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217 crash_dumps_octave_core = false |
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218 default_save_options = "-mat-binary" |
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219 fixed_point_format = true |
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220 history_timestamp_format_string = "%%-- %D %I:%M %p --%%" |
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221 page_screen_output = false |
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222 print_empty_dimensions = false |
| 6556 | 223 @end group |
| 224 @end example | |
| 225 | |
| 226 @noindent | |
| 227 and disable the following warnings | |
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228 |
| 6556 | 229 @example |
| 230 @group | |
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231 Octave:abbreviated-property-match |
| 7031 | 232 Octave:fopen-file-in-path |
| 233 Octave:function-name-clash | |
| 234 Octave:load-file-in-path | |
| 4455 | 235 @end group |
| 3294 | 236 @end example |
| 237 | |
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238 @item --verbose |
| 3294 | 239 @itemx -V |
| 240 @cindex @code{--verbose} | |
| 241 @cindex @code{-V} | |
| 242 Turn on verbose output. | |
| 243 | |
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244 @item --version |
| 3294 | 245 @itemx -v |
| 246 @cindex @code{--version} | |
| 247 @cindex @code{-v} | |
| 248 Print the program version number and exit. | |
| 249 | |
| 250 @item @var{file} | |
| 5190 | 251 Execute commands from @var{file}. Exit when done unless |
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252 @option{--persist} is also specified. |
| 3294 | 253 @end table |
| 254 | |
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255 Octave also includes several functions which return information |
| 3294 | 256 about the command line, including the number of arguments and all of the |
| 257 options. | |
| 258 | |
| 3332 | 259 @DOCSTRING(argv) |
| 3294 | 260 |
| 6550 | 261 @DOCSTRING(program_name) |
| 262 | |
| 3332 | 263 @DOCSTRING(program_invocation_name) |
| 3294 | 264 |
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265 Here is an example of using these functions to reproduce the command |
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266 line which invoked Octave. |
| 3294 | 267 |
| 268 @example | |
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269 @group |
| 6479 | 270 printf ("%s", program_name ()); |
| 6620 | 271 arg_list = argv (); |
| 3294 | 272 for i = 1:nargin |
| 6479 | 273 printf (" %s", arg_list@{i@}); |
| 3294 | 274 endfor |
| 275 printf ("\n"); | |
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276 @end group |
| 3294 | 277 @end example |
| 278 | |
| 279 @noindent | |
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280 @xref{Indexing Cell Arrays}, for an explanation of how to retrieve objects |
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281 from cell arrays, and @ref{Defining Functions}, for information about the |
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282 variable @code{nargin}. |
| 3294 | 283 |
| 4167 | 284 @node Startup Files |
| 3294 | 285 @subsection Startup Files |
| 286 @cindex initialization | |
| 287 @cindex startup | |
| 288 | |
| 6620 | 289 When Octave starts, it looks for commands to execute from the files in |
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290 the following list. These files may contain any valid Octave commands, |
| 6620 | 291 including function definitions. |
| 3294 | 292 |
| 293 @cindex startup files | |
| 294 | |
| 295 @table @code | |
| 296 @item @var{octave-home}/share/octave/site/m/startup/octaverc | |
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297 @cindex site startup file |
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298 where @var{octave-home} is the directory in which Octave is installed |
| 9906 | 299 (the default is @file{/usr/local}). |
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300 This file is provided so that changes to the default Octave environment |
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301 can be made globally for all users at your site for all versions of Octave |
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302 you have installed. Care should be taken when making changes to this file |
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303 since all users of Octave at your site will be affected. The default file |
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304 may be overridden by the environment variable @w{@env{OCTAVE_SITE_INITFILE}}. |
| 3294 | 305 |
| 306 @item @var{octave-home}/share/octave/@var{version}/m/startup/octaverc | |
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307 @cindex version startup file |
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308 where @var{octave-home} is the directory in which Octave is |
| 9906 | 309 installed (the default is @file{/usr/local}), and @var{version} |
| 3294 | 310 is the version number of Octave. This file is provided so that changes |
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311 to the default Octave environment can be made globally for all users of |
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312 a particular version of Octave. Care should be taken when making |
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313 changes to this file since all users of Octave at your site will be |
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314 affected. The default file may be overridden by the environment variable |
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315 @w{@env{OCTAVE_VERSION_INITFILE}}. |
| 3294 | 316 |
| 317 @item ~/.octaverc | |
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318 @cindex personal startup file |
| 3294 | 319 @cindex @code{~/.octaverc} |
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320 This file is used to make personal changes to the default |
| 3294 | 321 Octave environment. |
| 322 | |
| 323 @item .octaverc | |
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324 @cindex project startup file |
| 3294 | 325 @cindex @code{.octaverc} |
| 326 This file can be used to make changes to the default Octave environment | |
| 327 for a particular project. Octave searches for this file in the current | |
| 328 directory after it reads @file{~/.octaverc}. Any use of the @code{cd} | |
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329 command in the @file{~/.octaverc} file will affect the directory where |
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330 Octave searches for @file{.octaverc}. |
| 3294 | 331 |
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332 If you start Octave in your home directory, commands from the file |
| 3294 | 333 @file{~/.octaverc} will only be executed once. |
| 334 @end table | |
| 335 | |
| 336 A message will be displayed as each of the startup files is read if you | |
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337 invoke Octave with the @option{--verbose} option but without the |
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338 @option{--silent} option. |
| 3294 | 339 |
| 4167 | 340 @node Quitting Octave |
| 3294 | 341 @section Quitting Octave |
| 342 @cindex exiting octave | |
| 343 @cindex quitting octave | |
| 344 | |
| 3332 | 345 @DOCSTRING(quit) |
| 3294 | 346 |
| 3332 | 347 @DOCSTRING(atexit) |
| 3294 | 348 |
| 4167 | 349 @node Getting Help |
| 3294 | 350 @section Commands for Getting Help |
| 351 @cindex on-line help | |
| 352 @cindex help, on-line | |
| 353 | |
| 354 The entire text of this manual is available from the Octave prompt | |
| 6620 | 355 via the command @kbd{doc}. In addition, the documentation for |
| 3294 | 356 individual user-written functions and variables is also available via |
| 357 the @kbd{help} command. This section describes the commands used for | |
| 358 reading the manual and the documentation strings for user-supplied | |
| 359 functions and variables. @xref{Function Files}, for more information | |
| 360 about how to document the functions you write. | |
| 361 | |
| 3332 | 362 @DOCSTRING(help) |
| 3294 | 363 |
| 6549 | 364 @DOCSTRING(doc) |
| 365 | |
| 366 @DOCSTRING(lookfor) | |
| 367 | |
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368 To see what is new in the current release of Octave, use the @code{news} |
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369 function. |
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370 |
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371 @DOCSTRING(news) |
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372 |
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373 @DOCSTRING(info) |
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374 |
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375 @DOCSTRING(warranty) |
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376 |
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377 The following functions can be used to change which programs are used |
| 6620 | 378 for displaying the documentation, and where the documentation can be |
| 379 found. | |
| 3294 | 380 |
| 6477 | 381 @DOCSTRING(info_file) |
| 3294 | 382 |
| 6477 | 383 @DOCSTRING(info_program) |
| 3294 | 384 |
| 6477 | 385 @DOCSTRING(makeinfo_program) |
| 3686 | 386 |
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387 @DOCSTRING(doc_cache_file) |
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388 |
| 3332 | 389 @DOCSTRING(suppress_verbose_help_message) |
| 3294 | 390 |
| 4167 | 391 @node Command Line Editing |
| 3294 | 392 @section Command Line Editing |
| 393 @cindex command-line editing | |
| 394 @cindex editing the command line | |
| 395 | |
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396 Octave uses the GNU Readline library to provide an extensive set of |
| 3294 | 397 command-line editing and history features. Only the most common |
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398 features are described in this manual. In addition, all of the editing |
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399 functions can be bound to different key strokes at the user's discretion. |
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400 This manual assumes no changes from the default Emacs bindings. See the GNU |
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401 Readline Library manual for more information on customizing Readline and |
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402 for a complete feature list. |
| 3294 | 403 |
| 404 To insert printing characters (letters, digits, symbols, etc.), simply | |
| 405 type the character. Octave will insert the character at the cursor and | |
| 406 advance the cursor forward. | |
| 407 | |
| 408 Many of the command-line editing functions operate using control | |
| 409 characters. For example, the character @kbd{Control-a} moves the cursor | |
| 410 to the beginning of the line. To type @kbd{C-a}, hold down @key{CTRL} | |
| 411 and then press @key{a}. In the following sections, control characters | |
| 412 such as @kbd{Control-a} are written as @kbd{C-a}. | |
| 413 | |
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414 Another set of command-line editing functions use Meta characters. To |
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415 type @kbd{M-u}, hold down the @key{META} key and press @key{u}. Depending |
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416 on the keyboard, the @key{META} key may be labeled @key{ALT} or |
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417 even @key{WINDOWS}. If your terminal does not have a @key{META} key, you |
| 7001 | 418 can still type Meta characters using two-character sequences starting |
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419 with @kbd{ESC}. Thus, to enter @kbd{M-u}, you would type |
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420 @key{ESC} @key{u}. The @kbd{ESC} character sequences are also allowed on |
| 3294 | 421 terminals with real Meta keys. In the following sections, Meta |
| 422 characters such as @kbd{Meta-u} are written as @kbd{M-u}. | |
| 423 | |
| 3428 | 424 |
| 3294 | 425 @menu |
| 426 * Cursor Motion:: | |
| 427 * Killing and Yanking:: | |
| 428 * Commands For Text:: | |
| 429 * Commands For Completion:: | |
| 430 * Commands For History:: | |
| 3439 | 431 * Customizing readline:: |
| 3294 | 432 * Customizing the Prompt:: |
| 433 * Diary and Echo Commands:: | |
| 434 @end menu | |
| 435 | |
| 4167 | 436 @node Cursor Motion |
| 3294 | 437 @subsection Cursor Motion |
| 438 | |
| 439 The following commands allow you to position the cursor. | |
| 440 | |
| 441 @table @kbd | |
| 442 @item C-b | |
| 443 Move back one character. | |
| 444 | |
| 445 @item C-f | |
| 446 Move forward one character. | |
| 447 | |
| 448 @item @key{DEL} | |
| 449 Delete the character to the left of the cursor. | |
| 450 | |
| 451 @item C-d | |
| 452 Delete the character underneath the cursor. | |
| 453 | |
| 454 @item M-f | |
| 455 Move forward a word. | |
| 456 | |
| 457 @item M-b | |
| 458 Move backward a word. | |
| 459 | |
| 460 @item C-a | |
| 461 Move to the start of the line. | |
| 462 | |
| 463 @item C-e | |
| 464 Move to the end of the line. | |
| 465 | |
| 466 @item C-l | |
| 467 Clear the screen, reprinting the current line at the top. | |
| 468 | |
| 469 @item C-_ | |
| 470 @itemx C-/ | |
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471 Undo the last action. You can undo all the way back to an empty line. |
| 3294 | 472 |
| 473 @item M-r | |
| 474 Undo all changes made to this line. This is like typing the `undo' | |
| 475 command enough times to get back to the beginning. | |
| 476 @end table | |
| 477 | |
| 478 The above table describes the most basic possible keystrokes that you need | |
| 479 in order to do editing of the input line. On most terminals, you can | |
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480 also use the left and right arrow keys in place of @kbd{C-f} and @kbd{C-b} |
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481 to move forward and backward. |
| 3294 | 482 |
| 483 Notice how @kbd{C-f} moves forward a character, while @kbd{M-f} moves | |
| 484 forward a word. It is a loose convention that control keystrokes | |
| 485 operate on characters while meta keystrokes operate on words. | |
| 486 | |
| 487 @cindex clearing the screen | |
| 488 | |
| 6620 | 489 The function @code{clc} will allow you to clear the screen from within |
| 490 Octave programs. | |
| 491 | |
| 3332 | 492 @DOCSTRING(clc) |
| 3294 | 493 |
| 4167 | 494 @node Killing and Yanking |
| 3294 | 495 @subsection Killing and Yanking |
| 496 | |
| 497 @dfn{Killing} text means to delete the text from the line, but to save | |
| 498 it away for later use, usually by @dfn{yanking} it back into the line. | |
| 499 If the description for a command says that it `kills' text, then you can | |
| 500 be sure that you can get the text back in a different (or the same) | |
| 501 place later. | |
| 502 | |
| 503 Here is the list of commands for killing text. | |
| 504 | |
| 505 @table @kbd | |
| 506 @item C-k | |
| 507 Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the line. | |
| 508 | |
| 509 @item M-d | |
| 510 Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or if between | |
| 511 words, to the end of the next word. | |
| 512 | |
| 513 @item M-@key{DEL} | |
| 514 Kill from the cursor to the start of the previous word, or if between | |
| 515 words, to the start of the previous word. | |
| 516 | |
| 517 @item C-w | |
| 518 Kill from the cursor to the previous whitespace. This is different than | |
| 519 @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} because the word boundaries differ. | |
| 520 @end table | |
| 521 | |
| 522 And, here is how to @dfn{yank} the text back into the line. Yanking | |
| 523 means to copy the most-recently-killed text from the kill buffer. | |
| 524 | |
| 525 @table @kbd | |
| 526 @item C-y | |
| 527 Yank the most recently killed text back into the buffer at the cursor. | |
| 528 | |
| 529 @item M-y | |
| 530 Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this if | |
| 531 the prior command is @kbd{C-y} or @kbd{M-y}. | |
| 532 @end table | |
| 533 | |
| 534 When you use a kill command, the text is saved in a @dfn{kill-ring}. | |
| 535 Any number of consecutive kills save all of the killed text together, so | |
| 536 that when you yank it back, you get it in one clean sweep. The kill | |
| 537 ring is not line specific; the text that you killed on a previously | |
| 538 typed line is available to be yanked back later, when you are typing | |
| 539 another line. | |
| 540 | |
| 4167 | 541 @node Commands For Text |
| 3294 | 542 @subsection Commands For Changing Text |
| 543 | |
| 544 The following commands can be used for entering characters that would | |
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545 otherwise have a special meaning (e.g., @key{TAB}, @kbd{C-q}, etc.), or |
| 3294 | 546 for quickly correcting typing mistakes. |
| 547 | |
| 548 @table @kbd | |
| 549 @item C-q | |
| 550 @itemx C-v | |
| 551 Add the next character that you type to the line verbatim. This is | |
| 552 how to insert things like @kbd{C-q} for example. | |
| 553 | |
| 554 @item M-@key{TAB} | |
| 555 Insert a tab character. | |
| 556 | |
| 557 @item C-t | |
| 558 Drag the character before the cursor forward over the character at the | |
| 559 cursor, also moving the cursor forward. If the cursor is at the end of | |
| 560 the line, then transpose the two characters before it. | |
| 561 | |
| 562 @item M-t | |
| 563 Drag the word behind the cursor past the word in front of the cursor | |
| 564 moving the cursor over that word as well. | |
| 565 | |
| 566 @item M-u | |
| 567 Uppercase the characters following the cursor to the end of the current | |
| 568 (or following) word, moving the cursor to the end of the word. | |
| 569 | |
| 570 @item M-l | |
| 6620 | 571 Lowercase the characters following the cursor to the end of the current |
| 3294 | 572 (or following) word, moving the cursor to the end of the word. |
| 573 | |
| 574 @item M-c | |
| 575 Uppercase the character following the cursor (or the beginning of the | |
| 576 next word if the cursor is between words), moving the cursor to the end | |
| 577 of the word. | |
| 578 @end table | |
| 579 | |
| 4167 | 580 @node Commands For Completion |
| 3294 | 581 @subsection Letting Readline Type For You |
| 582 @cindex command completion | |
| 583 | |
| 584 The following commands allow Octave to complete command and variable | |
| 585 names for you. | |
| 586 | |
| 587 @table @kbd | |
| 588 @item @key{TAB} | |
| 589 Attempt to do completion on the text before the cursor. Octave can | |
| 590 complete the names of commands and variables. | |
| 591 | |
| 592 @item M-? | |
| 593 List the possible completions of the text before the cursor. | |
| 594 @end table | |
| 595 | |
| 3332 | 596 @DOCSTRING(completion_append_char) |
| 3294 | 597 |
| 3332 | 598 @DOCSTRING(completion_matches) |
| 3294 | 599 |
| 4167 | 600 @node Commands For History |
| 3294 | 601 @subsection Commands For Manipulating The History |
| 602 @cindex command history | |
| 603 @cindex input history | |
| 604 @cindex history of commands | |
| 605 | |
| 606 Octave normally keeps track of the commands you type so that you can | |
| 607 recall previous commands to edit or execute them again. When you exit | |
| 608 Octave, the most recent commands you have typed, up to the number | |
| 609 specified by the variable @code{history_size}, are saved in a file. | |
| 610 When Octave starts, it loads an initial list of commands from the file | |
| 611 named by the variable @code{history_file}. | |
| 612 | |
| 613 Here are the commands for simple browsing and searching the history | |
| 614 list. | |
| 615 | |
| 616 @table @kbd | |
| 617 @item @key{LFD} | |
| 618 @itemx @key{RET} | |
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619 Accept the current line regardless of where the cursor is. If the line is |
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620 non-empty, add it to the history list. If the line was a history |
| 3294 | 621 line, then restore the history line to its original state. |
| 622 | |
| 623 @item C-p | |
| 624 Move `up' through the history list. | |
| 625 | |
| 626 @item C-n | |
| 627 Move `down' through the history list. | |
| 628 | |
| 629 @item M-< | |
| 630 Move to the first line in the history. | |
| 631 | |
| 632 @item M-> | |
| 633 Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line you are entering! | |
| 634 | |
| 635 @item C-r | |
| 636 Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up' through | |
| 637 the history as necessary. This is an incremental search. | |
| 638 | |
| 639 @item C-s | |
| 640 Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down' through | |
| 641 the history as necessary. | |
| 642 @end table | |
| 643 | |
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644 On most terminals, you can also use the up and down arrow keys in place |
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645 of @kbd{C-p} and @kbd{C-n} to move through the history list. |
| 3294 | 646 |
| 647 In addition to the keyboard commands for moving through the history | |
| 648 list, Octave provides three functions for viewing, editing, and | |
| 649 re-running chunks of commands from the history list. | |
| 650 | |
| 3332 | 651 @DOCSTRING(history) |
| 3294 | 652 |
| 3332 | 653 @DOCSTRING(edit_history) |
| 3294 | 654 |
| 3332 | 655 @DOCSTRING(run_history) |
| 3294 | 656 |
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657 @noindent |
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658 Octave also allows you customize the details of when, where, and how history |
| 6620 | 659 is saved. |
| 3294 | 660 |
|
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661 @DOCSTRING(saving_history) |
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662 |
| 3332 | 663 @DOCSTRING(history_file) |
| 3294 | 664 |
| 3332 | 665 @DOCSTRING(history_size) |
| 3294 | 666 |
| 6550 | 667 @DOCSTRING(history_timestamp_format_string) |
| 668 | |
| 6620 | 669 @DOCSTRING(EDITOR) |
| 670 | |
| 4167 | 671 @node Customizing readline |
| 3428 | 672 @subsection Customizing @code{readline} |
|
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673 @cindex @file{~/.inputrc} |
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674 @cindex customizing @code{readline} |
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675 @cindex @code{readline} customization |
| 3428 | 676 |
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677 Octave uses the GNU Readline library for command-line editing and |
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678 history features. Readline is very flexible and can be modified through |
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679 a configuration file of commands (See the GNU Readline library for the |
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680 exact command syntax). The default configuration file is normally |
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681 @file{~/.inputrc}. |
| 6620 | 682 |
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683 Octave provides two commands for initializing Readline and thereby changing |
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684 the command line behavior. |
| 3428 | 685 |
| 3439 | 686 @DOCSTRING(read_readline_init_file) |
| 3428 | 687 |
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688 @DOCSTRING(re_read_readline_init_file) |
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689 |
| 4167 | 690 @node Customizing the Prompt |
| 3294 | 691 @subsection Customizing the Prompt |
| 692 @cindex prompt customization | |
| 693 @cindex customizing the prompt | |
| 694 | |
| 695 The following variables are available for customizing the appearance of | |
| 696 the command-line prompts. Octave allows the prompt to be customized by | |
| 697 inserting a number of backslash-escaped special characters that are | |
| 698 decoded as follows: | |
| 699 | |
| 700 @table @samp | |
| 701 @item \t | |
| 702 The time. | |
| 703 | |
| 704 @item \d | |
| 705 The date. | |
| 706 | |
| 707 @item \n | |
| 708 Begins a new line by printing the equivalent of a carriage return | |
| 709 followed by a line feed. | |
| 710 | |
| 711 @item \s | |
| 712 The name of the program (usually just @samp{octave}). | |
| 713 | |
| 714 @item \w | |
| 715 The current working directory. | |
| 716 | |
| 717 @item \W | |
| 718 The basename of the current working directory. | |
| 719 | |
| 720 @item \u | |
| 721 The username of the current user. | |
| 722 | |
| 723 @item \h | |
| 724 The hostname, up to the first `.'. | |
| 725 | |
| 726 @item \H | |
| 727 The hostname. | |
| 728 | |
| 729 @item \# | |
| 730 The command number of this command, counting from when Octave starts. | |
| 731 | |
| 732 @item \! | |
| 733 The history number of this command. This differs from @samp{\#} by the | |
| 734 number of commands in the history list when Octave starts. | |
| 735 | |
| 736 @item \$ | |
| 737 If the effective UID is 0, a @samp{#}, otherwise a @samp{$}. | |
| 738 | |
| 739 @item \nnn | |
| 740 The character whose character code in octal is @var{nnn}. | |
| 741 | |
| 742 @item \\ | |
| 743 A backslash. | |
| 744 @end table | |
| 745 | |
| 3332 | 746 @DOCSTRING(PS1) |
| 3294 | 747 |
| 3332 | 748 @DOCSTRING(PS2) |
| 3294 | 749 |
| 3332 | 750 @DOCSTRING(PS4) |
| 3294 | 751 |
| 4167 | 752 @node Diary and Echo Commands |
| 3294 | 753 @subsection Diary and Echo Commands |
| 754 @cindex diary of commands and output | |
| 6939 | 755 @cindex command and output logs |
| 3294 | 756 @cindex logging commands and output |
| 757 @cindex echoing executing commands | |
| 758 @cindex command echoing | |
| 759 | |
| 760 Octave's diary feature allows you to keep a log of all or part of an | |
| 761 interactive session by recording the input you type and the output that | |
| 762 Octave produces in a separate file. | |
| 763 | |
| 3332 | 764 @DOCSTRING(diary) |
| 3294 | 765 |
| 766 Sometimes it is useful to see the commands in a function or script as | |
| 767 they are being evaluated. This can be especially helpful for debugging | |
| 768 some kinds of problems. | |
| 769 | |
| 3332 | 770 @DOCSTRING(echo) |
| 3294 | 771 |
| 3332 | 772 @DOCSTRING(echo_executing_commands) |
| 3294 | 773 |
| 4167 | 774 @node Errors |
| 3294 | 775 @section How Octave Reports Errors |
| 776 @cindex error messages | |
| 777 @cindex messages, error | |
| 778 | |
| 779 Octave reports two kinds of errors for invalid programs. | |
| 780 | |
| 781 A @dfn{parse error} occurs if Octave cannot understand something you | |
| 782 have typed. For example, if you misspell a keyword, | |
| 783 | |
| 784 @example | |
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785 octave:13> function y = f (x) y = x***2; endfunction |
| 3294 | 786 @end example |
| 787 | |
| 788 @noindent | |
| 789 Octave will respond immediately with a message like this: | |
| 790 | |
| 791 @example | |
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792 @group |
| 3294 | 793 parse error: |
| 794 | |
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795 syntax error |
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796 |
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797 >>> function y = f (x) y = x***2; endfunction |
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798 ^ |
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799 @end group |
| 3294 | 800 @end example |
| 801 | |
| 802 @noindent | |
| 803 For most parse errors, Octave uses a caret (@samp{^}) to mark the point | |
| 804 on the line where it was unable to make sense of your input. In this | |
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805 case, Octave generated an error message because the keyword for |
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806 exponentiation (@code{**}) was misspelled. It marked the error at the |
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807 third @samp{*} because the code leading up to this was correct but the final |
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808 @samp{*} was not understood. |
| 3294 | 809 |
| 810 Another class of error message occurs at evaluation time. These | |
| 811 errors are called @dfn{run-time errors}, or sometimes | |
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812 @dfn{evaluation errors}, because they occur when your program is being |
| 3294 | 813 @dfn{run}, or @dfn{evaluated}. For example, if after correcting the |
| 814 mistake in the previous function definition, you type | |
| 815 | |
| 816 @example | |
| 817 octave:13> f () | |
| 818 @end example | |
| 819 | |
| 820 @noindent | |
| 821 Octave will respond with | |
| 822 | |
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823 @example |
| 3294 | 824 @group |
| 825 error: `x' undefined near line 1 column 24 | |
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826 error: called from: |
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827 error: f at line 1, column 22 |
| 3294 | 828 @end group |
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829 @end example |
| 3294 | 830 |
| 6620 | 831 @noindent |
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832 This error message has several parts, and gives quite a bit of |
| 3294 | 833 information to help you locate the source of the error. The messages |
| 834 are generated from the point of the innermost error, and provide a | |
| 835 traceback of enclosing expressions and function calls. | |
| 836 | |
| 837 In the example above, the first line indicates that a variable named | |
| 838 @samp{x} was found to be undefined near line 1 and column 24 of some | |
| 839 function or expression. For errors occurring within functions, lines | |
| 840 are counted from the beginning of the file containing the function | |
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841 definition. For errors occurring outside of an enclosing function, |
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842 the line number indicates the input line number, which is usually displayed |
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843 in the primary prompt string. |
| 3294 | 844 |
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845 The second and third lines of the error message indicate that the error |
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846 occurred within the function @code{f}. If the function @code{f} had been |
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847 called from within another function, for example, @code{g}, the list of |
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848 errors would have ended with one more line: |
| 3294 | 849 |
| 850 @example | |
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851 error: g at line 1, column 17 |
| 3294 | 852 @end example |
| 853 | |
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854 These lists of function calls make it fairly easy to trace the |
| 3294 | 855 path your program took before the error occurred, and to correct the |
| 856 error before trying again. | |
| 857 | |
| 4167 | 858 @node Executable Octave Programs |
| 3294 | 859 @section Executable Octave Programs |
| 860 @cindex executable scripts | |
| 861 @cindex scripts | |
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862 @cindex batch processing |
| 3294 | 863 @cindex self contained programs |
| 864 @cindex program, self contained | |
| 865 @cindex @samp{#!} | |
| 866 | |
| 867 Once you have learned Octave, you may want to write self-contained | |
| 868 Octave scripts, using the @samp{#!} script mechanism. You can do this | |
| 869 on GNU systems and on many Unix systems @footnote{The @samp{#!} | |
| 870 mechanism works on Unix systems derived from Berkeley Unix, System V | |
| 6481 | 871 Release 4, and some System V Release 3 systems.}. |
| 872 | |
| 873 Self-contained Octave scripts are useful when you want to write a | |
| 874 program which users can invoke without knowing that the program is | |
|
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875 written in the Octave language. Octave scripts are also used for batch |
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876 processing of data files. Once an algorithm has been developed and tested |
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877 in the interactive portion of Octave, it can be committed to an executable |
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878 script and used again and again on new data files. |
| 3294 | 879 |
|
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880 As a trivial example of an executable Octave script, you might create a |
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881 text file named @file{hello}, containing the following lines: |
| 3294 | 882 |
| 883 @example | |
| 884 @group | |
| 885 #! @var{octave-interpreter-name} -qf | |
| 886 # a sample Octave program | |
| 887 printf ("Hello, world!\n"); | |
| 888 @end group | |
| 889 @end example | |
| 890 | |
| 891 @noindent | |
| 892 (where @var{octave-interpreter-name} should be replaced with the full | |
|
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893 path and name of your Octave binary). Note that this will only work if |
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894 @samp{#!} appears at the very beginning of the file. After making the |
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895 file executable (with the @code{chmod} command on Unix systems), you can |
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896 simply type: |
| 3294 | 897 |
| 898 @example | |
| 899 hello | |
| 900 @end example | |
| 901 | |
| 902 @noindent | |
| 903 at the shell, and the system will arrange to run Octave as if you had | |
| 904 typed: | |
| 905 | |
| 906 @example | |
| 907 octave hello | |
| 908 @end example | |
| 909 | |
|
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910 The line beginning with @samp{#!} lists the full path and filename of an |
| 3294 | 911 interpreter to be run, and an optional initial command line argument to |
| 912 pass to that interpreter. The operating system then runs the | |
| 913 interpreter with the given argument and the full argument list of the | |
| 914 executed program. The first argument in the list is the full file name | |
|
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915 of the Octave executable. The rest of the argument list will either be |
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916 options to Octave, or data files, or both. The @samp{-qf} options are |
| 3294 | 917 usually specified in stand-alone Octave programs to prevent them from |
| 918 printing the normal startup message, and to keep them from behaving | |
| 919 differently depending on the contents of a particular user's | |
| 6620 | 920 @file{~/.octaverc} file. @xref{Invoking Octave from the Command Line}. |
| 6481 | 921 |
| 922 Note that some operating systems may place a limit on the number of | |
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923 characters that are recognized after @samp{#!}. Also, the arguments |
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924 appearing in a @samp{#!} line are parsed differently by various |
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925 shells/systems. The majority of them group all the arguments together in one |
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926 string and pass it to the interpreter as a single argument. In this case, the |
| 6481 | 927 following script: |
| 928 | |
| 929 @example | |
| 930 @group | |
| 931 #! @var{octave-interpreter-name} -q -f # comment | |
| 932 @end group | |
| 933 @end example | |
| 934 | |
| 935 @noindent | |
|
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936 is equivalent to typing at the command line: |
| 3294 | 937 |
| 6481 | 938 @example |
| 939 @group | |
| 940 octave "-q -f # comment" | |
| 941 @end group | |
| 942 @end example | |
| 3294 | 943 |
| 6481 | 944 @noindent |
|
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945 which will produce an error message. Unfortunately, it is |
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946 not possible for Octave to determine whether it has been called from the |
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947 command line or from a @samp{#!} script, so some care is needed when using the |
| 6481 | 948 @samp{#!} mechanism. |
| 949 | |
| 950 Note that when Octave is started from an executable script, the built-in | |
| 951 function @code{argv} returns a cell array containing the command line | |
|
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952 arguments passed to the executable Octave script, not the arguments |
| 6481 | 953 passed to the Octave interpreter on the @samp{#!} line of the script. |
| 954 For example, the following program will reproduce the command line that | |
|
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955 was used to execute the script, not @samp{-qf}. |
| 3294 | 956 |
| 957 @example | |
| 958 @group | |
| 959 #! /bin/octave -qf | |
| 6479 | 960 printf ("%s", program_name ()); |
| 6620 | 961 arg_list = argv (); |
| 3294 | 962 for i = 1:nargin |
| 6479 | 963 printf (" %s", arg_list@{i@}); |
| 3294 | 964 endfor |
| 965 printf ("\n"); | |
| 966 @end group | |
| 967 @end example | |
| 968 | |
| 4167 | 969 @node Comments |
| 3294 | 970 @section Comments in Octave Programs |
| 971 @cindex comments | |
| 972 @cindex use of comments | |
| 973 @cindex documenting Octave programs | |
| 974 | |
| 975 A @dfn{comment} is some text that is included in a program for the sake | |
|
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976 of human readers, and which is NOT an executable part of the program. |
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977 Comments can explain what the program does, and how it works. Nearly all |
| 3294 | 978 programming languages have provisions for comments, because programs are |
| 979 typically hard to understand without them. | |
| 980 | |
|
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981 @menu |
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982 * Single Line Comments:: |
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983 * Block Comments:: |
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984 * Comments and the Help System:: |
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985 @end menu |
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986 |
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987 @node Single Line Comments |
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988 @subsection Single Line Comments |
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989 @cindex @samp{#} |
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990 @cindex @samp{%} |
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991 |
| 3294 | 992 In the Octave language, a comment starts with either the sharp sign |
| 993 character, @samp{#}, or the percent symbol @samp{%} and continues to the | |
|
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994 end of the line. Any text following the sharp sign or percent symbol is |
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995 ignored by the Octave interpreter and not executed. The following example |
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996 shows whole line and partial line comments. |
|
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997 |
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998 @example |
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999 @group |
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1000 function countdown |
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1001 # Count down for main rocket engines |
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1002 disp(3); |
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1003 disp(2); |
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1004 disp(1); |
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1005 disp("Blast Off!"); # Rocket leaves pad |
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1006 endfunction |
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1007 @end group |
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1008 @end example |
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1009 |
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1010 @node Block Comments |
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1011 @subsection Block Comments |
|
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1012 @cindex block comments |
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1013 @cindex multi-line comments |
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1014 @cindex @samp{#@{} |
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1015 @cindex @samp{%@{} |
| 3294 | 1016 |
|
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1017 Entire blocks of code can be commented by enclosing the code between |
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1018 matching @samp{#@{} and @samp{#@}} or @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} markers. |
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1019 For example, |
|
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1020 |
|
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1021 @example |
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1022 @group |
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1023 function quick_countdown |
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1024 # Count down for main rocket engines |
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1025 disp(3); |
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1026 #@{ |
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1027 disp(2); |
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1028 disp(1); |
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1029 #@} |
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1030 disp("Blast Off!"); # Rocket leaves pad |
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1031 endfunction |
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1032 @end group |
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1033 @end example |
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1034 |
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1035 @noindent |
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1036 will produce a very quick countdown from '3' to 'Blast Off' as the |
|
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1037 lines "@code{disp(2);}" and "@code{disp(1);}" won't be executed. |
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1038 |
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1039 @node Comments and the Help System |
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1040 @subsection Comments and the Help System |
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1041 @cindex documenting functions |
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1042 @cindex documenting user scripts |
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1043 @cindex help, user-defined functions |
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1044 |
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1045 The @code{help} command (@pxref{Getting Help}) is able to find the first |
|
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1046 block of comments in a function and return those as a documentation |
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1047 string. This means that the same commands used to get help |
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1048 on built-in functions are available for properly formatted user-defined |
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1049 functions. For example, after defining the function @code{f} below, |
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1050 |
| 3294 | 1051 @example |
| 1052 @group | |
| 1053 function xdot = f (x, t) | |
| 1054 | |
| 1055 # usage: f (x, t) | |
| 1056 # | |
|
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1057 # This function defines the right-hand |
| 3294 | 1058 # side functions for a set of nonlinear |
| 1059 # differential equations. | |
| 1060 | |
| 1061 r = 0.25; | |
| 1062 @dots{} | |
| 1063 endfunction | |
| 1064 @end group | |
| 1065 @end example | |
| 1066 | |
| 1067 the command @kbd{help f} produces the output | |
| 1068 | |
| 1069 @example | |
| 1070 @group | |
| 1071 usage: f (x, t) | |
| 1072 | |
|
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1073 This function defines the right-hand |
| 3294 | 1074 side functions for a set of nonlinear |
| 1075 differential equations. | |
| 1076 @end group | |
| 1077 @end example | |
| 1078 | |
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1079 Although it is possible to put comment lines into keyboard-composed, |
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1080 throw-away Octave programs, it usually isn't very useful because the |
| 3294 | 1081 purpose of a comment is to help you or another person understand the |
| 1082 program at a later time. | |
| 1083 | |
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1084 The @code{help} parser currently only recognizes single line comments |
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1085 (@pxref{Single Line Comments}) and not block comments for the initial |
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1086 help text. |