Mercurial > octave-nkf
annotate doc/interpreter/basics.txi @ 14618:36f451642f79
doc: Add texi_macros_file to manual.
* basics.txi: Add function to manual.
* aspell-octave.en.pws: Add 'makeinfo' to Octave dictionary.
* help.cc (makeinfo_program, texi_macros_file): Improve doctrings.
| author | Rik <octave@nomad.inbox5.com> |
|---|---|
| date | Thu, 10 May 2012 17:08:50 -0700 |
| parents | 72c96de7a403 |
| children | c3fd61c59e9c |
| rev | line source |
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1 @c Copyright (C) 1996-2012 John W. Eaton |
| 7018 | 2 @c |
| 3 @c This file is part of Octave. | |
| 4 @c | |
| 5 @c Octave is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it | |
| 6 @c under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the | |
| 7 @c Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at | |
| 8 @c your option) any later version. | |
| 9 @c | |
| 10 @c Octave is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT | |
| 11 @c ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or | |
| 12 @c FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License | |
| 13 @c for more details. | |
| 14 @c | |
| 15 @c You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License | |
| 16 @c along with Octave; see the file COPYING. If not, see | |
| 17 @c <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. | |
| 3294 | 18 |
| 4167 | 19 @node Getting Started |
| 3294 | 20 @chapter Getting Started |
| 21 | |
| 22 This chapter explains some of Octave's basic features, including how to | |
| 23 start an Octave session, get help at the command prompt, edit the | |
| 24 command line, and write Octave programs that can be executed as commands | |
| 25 from your shell. | |
| 26 | |
| 27 @menu | |
| 6620 | 28 * Invoking Octave from the Command Line:: |
| 3294 | 29 * Quitting Octave:: |
| 30 * Getting Help:: | |
| 31 * Command Line Editing:: | |
| 32 * Errors:: | |
| 33 * Executable Octave Programs:: | |
| 34 * Comments:: | |
| 35 @end menu | |
| 36 | |
| 6620 | 37 @node Invoking Octave from the Command Line |
| 38 @section Invoking Octave from the Command Line | |
| 3294 | 39 |
| 40 Normally, Octave is used interactively by running the program | |
| 41 @samp{octave} without any arguments. Once started, Octave reads | |
| 42 commands from the terminal until you tell it to exit. | |
| 43 | |
| 44 You can also specify the name of a file on the command line, and Octave | |
| 45 will read and execute the commands from the named file and then exit | |
| 46 when it is finished. | |
| 47 | |
| 48 You can further control how Octave starts by using the command-line | |
| 49 options described in the next section, and Octave itself can remind you | |
| 50 of the options available. Type @samp{octave --help} to display all | |
| 51 available options and briefly describe their use (@samp{octave -h} is a | |
| 52 shorter equivalent). | |
| 53 | |
| 54 @menu | |
| 55 * Command Line Options:: | |
| 56 * Startup Files:: | |
| 57 @end menu | |
| 58 | |
| 4167 | 59 @node Command Line Options |
| 3294 | 60 @subsection Command Line Options |
| 61 @cindex Octave command options | |
| 62 @cindex command options | |
| 63 @cindex options, Octave command | |
| 64 | |
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65 Here is a complete list of the command line options that Octave |
| 3294 | 66 accepts. |
| 67 | |
| 6620 | 68 |
| 3294 | 69 @table @code |
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70 @item --debug |
| 3294 | 71 @itemx -d |
| 72 @cindex @code{--debug} | |
| 73 @cindex @code{-d} | |
| 74 Enter parser debugging mode. Using this option will cause Octave's | |
| 75 parser to print a lot of information about the commands it reads, and is | |
| 76 probably only useful if you are actually trying to debug the parser. | |
| 77 | |
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78 @item --doc-cache-file @var{filename} |
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79 @cindex @code{--doc-cache-file @var{filename}} |
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80 Specify the name of the doc cache file to use. The value of @var{filename} |
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81 specified on the command line will override any value of |
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82 @w{@env{OCTAVE_DOC_CACHE_FILE}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
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83 in the system or user startup files that use the @code{doc_cache_file} |
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84 function. |
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85 |
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86 @item --echo-commands |
| 3294 | 87 @itemx -x |
| 88 @cindex @code{--echo-commands} | |
| 89 @cindex @code{-x} | |
| 90 Echo commands as they are executed. | |
| 91 | |
| 5190 | 92 @item --eval @var{code} |
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93 Evaluate @var{code} and exit when finished unless @option{--persist} is also |
| 5190 | 94 specified. |
| 95 | |
| 3294 | 96 @item --exec-path @var{path} |
| 97 @cindex @code{--exec-path @var{path}} | |
| 98 Specify the path to search for programs to run. The value of @var{path} | |
| 99 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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100 @w{@env{OCTAVE_EXEC_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
| 3294 | 101 in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable |
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102 @w{@env{EXEC_PATH}}. |
| 3294 | 103 |
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104 @item --help |
| 3294 | 105 @itemx -h |
| 106 @itemx -? | |
| 107 @cindex @code{--help} | |
| 108 @cindex @code{-h} | |
| 109 @cindex @code{-?} | |
| 110 Print short help message and exit. | |
| 111 | |
| 6620 | 112 @item --image-path @var{path} |
| 113 @cindex @code{--image-path @var{path}} | |
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114 Add path to the head of the search path for images. The value of |
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115 @var{path} specified on the command line will override any value of |
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116 @w{@env{OCTAVE_IMAGE_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
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117 in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable |
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118 @w{@env{IMAGE_PATH}}. |
| 6620 | 119 |
| 3294 | 120 @item --info-file @var{filename} |
| 121 @cindex @code{--info-file @var{filename}} | |
| 122 Specify the name of the info file to use. The value of @var{filename} | |
| 123 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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124 @w{@env{OCTAVE_INFO_FILE}} found in the environment, but not any commands |
| 6653 | 125 in the system or user startup files that use the @code{info_file} |
| 6477 | 126 function. |
| 3294 | 127 |
| 128 @item --info-program @var{program} | |
| 129 @cindex @code{--info-program @var{program}} | |
| 130 Specify the name of the info program to use. The value of @var{program} | |
| 131 specified on the command line will override any value of | |
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132 @w{@env{OCTAVE_INFO_PROGRAM}} found in the environment, but not any |
| 6477 | 133 commands in the system or user startup files that use the |
| 134 @code{info_program} function. | |
| 3294 | 135 |
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136 @item --interactive |
| 3294 | 137 @itemx -i |
| 138 @cindex @code{--interactive} | |
| 139 @cindex @code{-i} | |
| 140 Force interactive behavior. This can be useful for running Octave via a | |
| 141 remote shell command or inside an Emacs shell buffer. For another way | |
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142 to run Octave within Emacs, see @ref{Emacs Octave Support}. |
| 3294 | 143 |
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144 @item --line-editing |
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145 @cindex @code{--line-editing} |
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146 Force readline use for command-line editing. |
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147 |
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148 @item --no-history |
| 3428 | 149 @itemx -H |
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150 @cindex @code{--no-history} |
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151 @cindex @code{-H} |
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152 Disable recording of command-line history. |
| 3428 | 153 |
| 3294 | 154 @item --no-init-file |
| 155 @cindex @code{--no-init-file} | |
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156 Don't read the initialization files @file{~/.octaverc} and @file{.octaverc}. |
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157 |
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158 @item --no-init-path |
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159 @cindex @code{--no-init-path} |
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160 Don't initialize the search path for function files to include default |
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161 locations. |
| 3294 | 162 |
| 163 @item --no-line-editing | |
| 164 @cindex @code{--no-line-editing} | |
| 165 Disable command-line editing. | |
| 166 | |
| 167 @item --no-site-file | |
| 168 @cindex @code{--no-site-file} | |
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169 Don't read the site-wide @file{octaverc} initialization files. |
| 3294 | 170 |
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171 @item --norc |
| 3294 | 172 @itemx -f |
| 173 @cindex @code{--norc} | |
| 174 @cindex @code{-f} | |
| 175 Don't read any of the system or user initialization files at startup. | |
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176 This is equivalent to using both of the options @option{--no-init-file} |
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177 and @option{--no-site-file}. |
| 3294 | 178 |
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179 @item --path @var{path} |
| 3294 | 180 @itemx -p @var{path} |
| 181 @cindex @code{--path @var{path}} | |
| 182 @cindex @code{-p @var{path}} | |
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183 Add path to the head of the search path for function files. The |
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184 value of @var{path} specified on the command line will override any value |
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185 of @w{@env{OCTAVE_PATH}} found in the environment, but not any commands in the |
| 6643 | 186 system or user startup files that set the internal load path through one |
| 187 of the path functions. | |
| 3294 | 188 |
| 5190 | 189 @item --persist |
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190 @cindex @code{--persist} |
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191 Go to interactive mode after @option{--eval} or reading from a file |
| 5190 | 192 named on the command line. |
| 193 | |
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194 @item --silent |
| 3294 | 195 @itemx --quiet |
| 196 @itemx -q | |
| 197 @cindex @code{--silent} | |
| 198 @cindex @code{--quiet} | |
| 199 @cindex @code{-q} | |
| 200 Don't print the usual greeting and version message at startup. | |
| 201 | |
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202 @item --traditional |
| 3294 | 203 @itemx --braindead |
| 204 @cindex @code{--traditional} | |
| 205 @cindex @code{--braindead} | |
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206 For compatibility with @sc{matlab}, set initial values for |
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207 user preferences to the following values |
| 3294 | 208 |
| 209 @example | |
| 4455 | 210 @group |
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211 PS1 = ">> " |
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212 PS2 = "" |
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213 allow_noninteger_range_as_index = true |
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214 beep_on_error = true |
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215 confirm_recursive_rmdir = false |
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216 crash_dumps_octave_core = false |
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217 default_save_options = "-mat-binary" |
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218 do_braindead_shortcircuit_evaluation = true |
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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 |
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340 The @code{dump_prefs} function is useful for determining what customizations |
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341 to Octave are possible and which are in effect. |
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342 |
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343 @DOCSTRING(dump_prefs) |
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344 |
| 4167 | 345 @node Quitting Octave |
| 3294 | 346 @section Quitting Octave |
| 347 @cindex exiting octave | |
| 348 @cindex quitting octave | |
| 349 | |
| 3332 | 350 @DOCSTRING(quit) |
| 3294 | 351 |
| 3332 | 352 @DOCSTRING(atexit) |
| 3294 | 353 |
| 4167 | 354 @node Getting Help |
| 3294 | 355 @section Commands for Getting Help |
| 356 @cindex on-line help | |
| 357 @cindex help, on-line | |
| 358 | |
| 359 The entire text of this manual is available from the Octave prompt | |
| 6620 | 360 via the command @kbd{doc}. In addition, the documentation for |
| 3294 | 361 individual user-written functions and variables is also available via |
| 362 the @kbd{help} command. This section describes the commands used for | |
| 363 reading the manual and the documentation strings for user-supplied | |
| 364 functions and variables. @xref{Function Files}, for more information | |
| 365 about how to document the functions you write. | |
| 366 | |
| 3332 | 367 @DOCSTRING(help) |
| 3294 | 368 |
| 6549 | 369 @DOCSTRING(doc) |
| 370 | |
| 371 @DOCSTRING(lookfor) | |
| 372 | |
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373 To see what is new in the current release of Octave, use the @code{news} |
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374 function. |
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375 |
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376 @DOCSTRING(news) |
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377 |
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378 @DOCSTRING(info) |
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379 |
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380 @DOCSTRING(warranty) |
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381 |
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382 The following functions can be used to change which programs are used |
| 6620 | 383 for displaying the documentation, and where the documentation can be |
| 384 found. | |
| 3294 | 385 |
| 6477 | 386 @DOCSTRING(info_file) |
| 3294 | 387 |
| 6477 | 388 @DOCSTRING(info_program) |
| 3294 | 389 |
| 6477 | 390 @DOCSTRING(makeinfo_program) |
| 3686 | 391 |
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392 @DOCSTRING(texi_macros_file) |
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393 |
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394 @DOCSTRING(doc_cache_file) |
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395 |
| 3332 | 396 @DOCSTRING(suppress_verbose_help_message) |
| 3294 | 397 |
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398 The following functions are principally used internally by Octave for |
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399 generating the documentation. They are documented here for completeness |
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400 and because they may occasionally be useful for users. |
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401 |
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402 @DOCSTRING(gen_doc_cache) |
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403 |
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404 @DOCSTRING(get_help_text) |
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405 |
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406 @DOCSTRING(get_help_text_from_file) |
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407 |
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408 @DOCSTRING(get_first_help_sentence) |
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409 |
| 4167 | 410 @node Command Line Editing |
| 3294 | 411 @section Command Line Editing |
| 412 @cindex command-line editing | |
| 413 @cindex editing the command line | |
| 414 | |
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415 Octave uses the GNU Readline library to provide an extensive set of |
| 3294 | 416 command-line editing and history features. Only the most common |
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417 features are described in this manual. In addition, all of the editing |
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418 functions can be bound to different key strokes at the user's discretion. |
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419 This manual assumes no changes from the default Emacs bindings. See the GNU |
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420 Readline Library manual for more information on customizing Readline and |
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421 for a complete feature list. |
| 3294 | 422 |
| 423 To insert printing characters (letters, digits, symbols, etc.), simply | |
| 424 type the character. Octave will insert the character at the cursor and | |
| 425 advance the cursor forward. | |
| 426 | |
| 427 Many of the command-line editing functions operate using control | |
| 428 characters. For example, the character @kbd{Control-a} moves the cursor | |
| 429 to the beginning of the line. To type @kbd{C-a}, hold down @key{CTRL} | |
| 430 and then press @key{a}. In the following sections, control characters | |
| 431 such as @kbd{Control-a} are written as @kbd{C-a}. | |
| 432 | |
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433 Another set of command-line editing functions use Meta characters. To |
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434 type @kbd{M-u}, hold down the @key{META} key and press @key{u}. Depending |
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435 on the keyboard, the @key{META} key may be labeled @key{ALT} or |
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436 even @key{WINDOWS}. If your terminal does not have a @key{META} key, you |
| 7001 | 437 can still type Meta characters using two-character sequences starting |
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438 with @kbd{ESC}. Thus, to enter @kbd{M-u}, you would type |
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439 @key{ESC} @key{u}. The @kbd{ESC} character sequences are also allowed on |
| 3294 | 440 terminals with real Meta keys. In the following sections, Meta |
| 441 characters such as @kbd{Meta-u} are written as @kbd{M-u}. | |
| 442 | |
| 3428 | 443 |
| 3294 | 444 @menu |
| 445 * Cursor Motion:: | |
| 446 * Killing and Yanking:: | |
| 447 * Commands For Text:: | |
| 448 * Commands For Completion:: | |
| 449 * Commands For History:: | |
| 3439 | 450 * Customizing readline:: |
| 3294 | 451 * Customizing the Prompt:: |
| 452 * Diary and Echo Commands:: | |
| 453 @end menu | |
| 454 | |
| 4167 | 455 @node Cursor Motion |
| 3294 | 456 @subsection Cursor Motion |
| 457 | |
| 458 The following commands allow you to position the cursor. | |
| 459 | |
| 460 @table @kbd | |
| 461 @item C-b | |
| 462 Move back one character. | |
| 463 | |
| 464 @item C-f | |
| 465 Move forward one character. | |
| 466 | |
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467 @item @key{BACKSPACE} |
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468 Delete the character to the left of the cursor. |
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469 |
| 3294 | 470 @item @key{DEL} |
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471 Delete the character underneath the cursor. |
| 3294 | 472 |
| 473 @item C-d | |
| 474 Delete the character underneath the cursor. | |
| 475 | |
| 476 @item M-f | |
| 477 Move forward a word. | |
| 478 | |
| 479 @item M-b | |
| 480 Move backward a word. | |
| 481 | |
| 482 @item C-a | |
| 483 Move to the start of the line. | |
| 484 | |
| 485 @item C-e | |
| 486 Move to the end of the line. | |
| 487 | |
| 488 @item C-l | |
| 489 Clear the screen, reprinting the current line at the top. | |
| 490 | |
| 491 @item C-_ | |
| 492 @itemx C-/ | |
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493 Undo the last action. You can undo all the way back to an empty line. |
| 3294 | 494 |
| 495 @item M-r | |
| 496 Undo all changes made to this line. This is like typing the `undo' | |
| 497 command enough times to get back to the beginning. | |
| 498 @end table | |
| 499 | |
| 500 The above table describes the most basic possible keystrokes that you need | |
| 501 in order to do editing of the input line. On most terminals, you can | |
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502 also use the left and right arrow keys in place of @kbd{C-f} and @kbd{C-b} |
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503 to move forward and backward. |
| 3294 | 504 |
| 505 Notice how @kbd{C-f} moves forward a character, while @kbd{M-f} moves | |
| 506 forward a word. It is a loose convention that control keystrokes | |
| 507 operate on characters while meta keystrokes operate on words. | |
| 508 | |
| 509 @cindex clearing the screen | |
| 510 | |
| 6620 | 511 The function @code{clc} will allow you to clear the screen from within |
| 512 Octave programs. | |
| 513 | |
| 3332 | 514 @DOCSTRING(clc) |
| 3294 | 515 |
| 4167 | 516 @node Killing and Yanking |
| 3294 | 517 @subsection Killing and Yanking |
| 518 | |
| 519 @dfn{Killing} text means to delete the text from the line, but to save | |
| 520 it away for later use, usually by @dfn{yanking} it back into the line. | |
| 521 If the description for a command says that it `kills' text, then you can | |
| 522 be sure that you can get the text back in a different (or the same) | |
| 523 place later. | |
| 524 | |
| 525 Here is the list of commands for killing text. | |
| 526 | |
| 527 @table @kbd | |
| 528 @item C-k | |
| 529 Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the line. | |
| 530 | |
| 531 @item M-d | |
| 532 Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or if between | |
| 533 words, to the end of the next word. | |
| 534 | |
| 535 @item M-@key{DEL} | |
| 536 Kill from the cursor to the start of the previous word, or if between | |
| 537 words, to the start of the previous word. | |
| 538 | |
| 539 @item C-w | |
| 540 Kill from the cursor to the previous whitespace. This is different than | |
| 541 @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} because the word boundaries differ. | |
| 542 @end table | |
| 543 | |
| 544 And, here is how to @dfn{yank} the text back into the line. Yanking | |
| 545 means to copy the most-recently-killed text from the kill buffer. | |
| 546 | |
| 547 @table @kbd | |
| 548 @item C-y | |
| 549 Yank the most recently killed text back into the buffer at the cursor. | |
| 550 | |
| 551 @item M-y | |
| 552 Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top. You can only do this if | |
| 553 the prior command is @kbd{C-y} or @kbd{M-y}. | |
| 554 @end table | |
| 555 | |
| 556 When you use a kill command, the text is saved in a @dfn{kill-ring}. | |
| 557 Any number of consecutive kills save all of the killed text together, so | |
| 558 that when you yank it back, you get it in one clean sweep. The kill | |
| 559 ring is not line specific; the text that you killed on a previously | |
| 560 typed line is available to be yanked back later, when you are typing | |
| 561 another line. | |
| 562 | |
| 4167 | 563 @node Commands For Text |
| 3294 | 564 @subsection Commands For Changing Text |
| 565 | |
| 566 The following commands can be used for entering characters that would | |
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567 otherwise have a special meaning (e.g., @key{TAB}, @kbd{C-q}, etc.), or |
| 3294 | 568 for quickly correcting typing mistakes. |
| 569 | |
| 570 @table @kbd | |
| 571 @item C-q | |
| 572 @itemx C-v | |
| 573 Add the next character that you type to the line verbatim. This is | |
| 574 how to insert things like @kbd{C-q} for example. | |
| 575 | |
| 576 @item M-@key{TAB} | |
| 577 Insert a tab character. | |
| 578 | |
| 579 @item C-t | |
| 580 Drag the character before the cursor forward over the character at the | |
| 581 cursor, also moving the cursor forward. If the cursor is at the end of | |
| 582 the line, then transpose the two characters before it. | |
| 583 | |
| 584 @item M-t | |
| 585 Drag the word behind the cursor past the word in front of the cursor | |
| 586 moving the cursor over that word as well. | |
| 587 | |
| 588 @item M-u | |
| 589 Uppercase the characters following the cursor to the end of the current | |
| 590 (or following) word, moving the cursor to the end of the word. | |
| 591 | |
| 592 @item M-l | |
| 6620 | 593 Lowercase the characters following the cursor to the end of the current |
| 3294 | 594 (or following) word, moving the cursor to the end of the word. |
| 595 | |
| 596 @item M-c | |
| 597 Uppercase the character following the cursor (or the beginning of the | |
| 598 next word if the cursor is between words), moving the cursor to the end | |
| 599 of the word. | |
| 600 @end table | |
| 601 | |
| 4167 | 602 @node Commands For Completion |
| 3294 | 603 @subsection Letting Readline Type For You |
| 604 @cindex command completion | |
| 605 | |
| 606 The following commands allow Octave to complete command and variable | |
| 607 names for you. | |
| 608 | |
| 609 @table @kbd | |
| 610 @item @key{TAB} | |
| 611 Attempt to do completion on the text before the cursor. Octave can | |
| 612 complete the names of commands and variables. | |
| 613 | |
| 614 @item M-? | |
| 615 List the possible completions of the text before the cursor. | |
| 616 @end table | |
| 617 | |
| 3332 | 618 @DOCSTRING(completion_append_char) |
| 3294 | 619 |
| 3332 | 620 @DOCSTRING(completion_matches) |
| 3294 | 621 |
| 4167 | 622 @node Commands For History |
| 3294 | 623 @subsection Commands For Manipulating The History |
| 624 @cindex command history | |
| 625 @cindex input history | |
| 626 @cindex history of commands | |
| 627 | |
| 628 Octave normally keeps track of the commands you type so that you can | |
| 629 recall previous commands to edit or execute them again. When you exit | |
| 630 Octave, the most recent commands you have typed, up to the number | |
| 631 specified by the variable @code{history_size}, are saved in a file. | |
| 632 When Octave starts, it loads an initial list of commands from the file | |
| 633 named by the variable @code{history_file}. | |
| 634 | |
| 635 Here are the commands for simple browsing and searching the history | |
| 636 list. | |
| 637 | |
| 638 @table @kbd | |
| 639 @item @key{LFD} | |
| 640 @itemx @key{RET} | |
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641 Accept the current line regardless of where the cursor is. If the line is |
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642 non-empty, add it to the history list. If the line was a history |
| 3294 | 643 line, then restore the history line to its original state. |
| 644 | |
| 645 @item C-p | |
| 646 Move `up' through the history list. | |
| 647 | |
| 648 @item C-n | |
| 649 Move `down' through the history list. | |
| 650 | |
| 651 @item M-< | |
| 652 Move to the first line in the history. | |
| 653 | |
| 654 @item M-> | |
| 655 Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line you are entering! | |
| 656 | |
| 657 @item C-r | |
| 658 Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up' through | |
| 659 the history as necessary. This is an incremental search. | |
| 660 | |
| 661 @item C-s | |
| 662 Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down' through | |
| 663 the history as necessary. | |
| 664 @end table | |
| 665 | |
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666 On most terminals, you can also use the up and down arrow keys in place |
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667 of @kbd{C-p} and @kbd{C-n} to move through the history list. |
| 3294 | 668 |
| 669 In addition to the keyboard commands for moving through the history | |
| 670 list, Octave provides three functions for viewing, editing, and | |
| 671 re-running chunks of commands from the history list. | |
| 672 | |
| 3332 | 673 @DOCSTRING(history) |
| 3294 | 674 |
| 3332 | 675 @DOCSTRING(edit_history) |
| 3294 | 676 |
| 3332 | 677 @DOCSTRING(run_history) |
| 3294 | 678 |
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679 @noindent |
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680 Octave also allows you customize the details of when, where, and how history |
| 6620 | 681 is saved. |
| 3294 | 682 |
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683 @DOCSTRING(saving_history) |
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684 |
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685 @DOCSTRING(history_control) |
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686 |
| 3332 | 687 @DOCSTRING(history_file) |
| 3294 | 688 |
| 3332 | 689 @DOCSTRING(history_size) |
| 3294 | 690 |
| 6550 | 691 @DOCSTRING(history_timestamp_format_string) |
| 692 | |
| 6620 | 693 @DOCSTRING(EDITOR) |
| 694 | |
| 4167 | 695 @node Customizing readline |
| 3428 | 696 @subsection Customizing @code{readline} |
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697 @cindex @code{~/.inputrc} |
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698 @cindex customizing @code{readline} |
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699 @cindex @code{readline} customization |
| 3428 | 700 |
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701 Octave uses the GNU Readline library for command-line editing and |
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702 history features. Readline is very flexible and can be modified through |
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703 a configuration file of commands (See the GNU Readline library for the |
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704 exact command syntax). The default configuration file is normally |
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705 @file{~/.inputrc}. |
| 6620 | 706 |
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707 Octave provides two commands for initializing Readline and thereby changing |
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708 the command line behavior. |
| 3428 | 709 |
| 3439 | 710 @DOCSTRING(read_readline_init_file) |
| 3428 | 711 |
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712 @DOCSTRING(re_read_readline_init_file) |
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713 |
| 4167 | 714 @node Customizing the Prompt |
| 3294 | 715 @subsection Customizing the Prompt |
| 716 @cindex prompt customization | |
| 717 @cindex customizing the prompt | |
| 718 | |
| 719 The following variables are available for customizing the appearance of | |
| 720 the command-line prompts. Octave allows the prompt to be customized by | |
| 721 inserting a number of backslash-escaped special characters that are | |
| 722 decoded as follows: | |
| 723 | |
| 724 @table @samp | |
| 725 @item \t | |
| 726 The time. | |
| 727 | |
| 728 @item \d | |
| 729 The date. | |
| 730 | |
| 731 @item \n | |
| 732 Begins a new line by printing the equivalent of a carriage return | |
| 733 followed by a line feed. | |
| 734 | |
| 735 @item \s | |
| 736 The name of the program (usually just @samp{octave}). | |
| 737 | |
| 738 @item \w | |
| 739 The current working directory. | |
| 740 | |
| 741 @item \W | |
| 742 The basename of the current working directory. | |
| 743 | |
| 744 @item \u | |
| 745 The username of the current user. | |
| 746 | |
| 747 @item \h | |
| 748 The hostname, up to the first `.'. | |
| 749 | |
| 750 @item \H | |
| 751 The hostname. | |
| 752 | |
| 753 @item \# | |
| 754 The command number of this command, counting from when Octave starts. | |
| 755 | |
| 756 @item \! | |
| 757 The history number of this command. This differs from @samp{\#} by the | |
| 758 number of commands in the history list when Octave starts. | |
| 759 | |
| 760 @item \$ | |
| 761 If the effective UID is 0, a @samp{#}, otherwise a @samp{$}. | |
| 762 | |
| 763 @item \nnn | |
| 764 The character whose character code in octal is @var{nnn}. | |
| 765 | |
| 766 @item \\ | |
| 767 A backslash. | |
| 768 @end table | |
| 769 | |
| 3332 | 770 @DOCSTRING(PS1) |
| 3294 | 771 |
| 3332 | 772 @DOCSTRING(PS2) |
| 3294 | 773 |
| 3332 | 774 @DOCSTRING(PS4) |
| 3294 | 775 |
| 4167 | 776 @node Diary and Echo Commands |
| 3294 | 777 @subsection Diary and Echo Commands |
| 778 @cindex diary of commands and output | |
| 6939 | 779 @cindex command and output logs |
| 3294 | 780 @cindex logging commands and output |
| 781 @cindex echoing executing commands | |
| 782 @cindex command echoing | |
| 783 | |
| 784 Octave's diary feature allows you to keep a log of all or part of an | |
| 785 interactive session by recording the input you type and the output that | |
| 786 Octave produces in a separate file. | |
| 787 | |
| 3332 | 788 @DOCSTRING(diary) |
| 3294 | 789 |
| 790 Sometimes it is useful to see the commands in a function or script as | |
| 791 they are being evaluated. This can be especially helpful for debugging | |
| 792 some kinds of problems. | |
| 793 | |
| 3332 | 794 @DOCSTRING(echo) |
| 3294 | 795 |
| 3332 | 796 @DOCSTRING(echo_executing_commands) |
| 3294 | 797 |
| 4167 | 798 @node Errors |
| 3294 | 799 @section How Octave Reports Errors |
| 800 @cindex error messages | |
| 801 @cindex messages, error | |
| 802 | |
| 803 Octave reports two kinds of errors for invalid programs. | |
| 804 | |
| 805 A @dfn{parse error} occurs if Octave cannot understand something you | |
| 806 have typed. For example, if you misspell a keyword, | |
| 807 | |
| 808 @example | |
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809 octave:13> function y = f (x) y = x***2; endfunction |
| 3294 | 810 @end example |
| 811 | |
| 812 @noindent | |
| 813 Octave will respond immediately with a message like this: | |
| 814 | |
| 815 @example | |
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816 @group |
| 3294 | 817 parse error: |
| 818 | |
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819 syntax error |
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820 |
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821 >>> function y = f (x) y = x***2; endfunction |
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822 ^ |
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823 @end group |
| 3294 | 824 @end example |
| 825 | |
| 826 @noindent | |
| 827 For most parse errors, Octave uses a caret (@samp{^}) to mark the point | |
| 828 on the line where it was unable to make sense of your input. In this | |
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829 case, Octave generated an error message because the keyword for |
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830 exponentiation (@code{**}) was misspelled. It marked the error at the |
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831 third @samp{*} because the code leading up to this was correct but the final |
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832 @samp{*} was not understood. |
| 3294 | 833 |
| 834 Another class of error message occurs at evaluation time. These | |
| 835 errors are called @dfn{run-time errors}, or sometimes | |
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836 @dfn{evaluation errors}, because they occur when your program is being |
| 3294 | 837 @dfn{run}, or @dfn{evaluated}. For example, if after correcting the |
| 838 mistake in the previous function definition, you type | |
| 839 | |
| 840 @example | |
| 841 octave:13> f () | |
| 842 @end example | |
| 843 | |
| 844 @noindent | |
| 845 Octave will respond with | |
| 846 | |
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847 @example |
| 3294 | 848 @group |
| 849 error: `x' undefined near line 1 column 24 | |
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850 error: called from: |
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851 error: f at line 1, column 22 |
| 3294 | 852 @end group |
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853 @end example |
| 3294 | 854 |
| 6620 | 855 @noindent |
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856 This error message has several parts, and gives quite a bit of |
| 3294 | 857 information to help you locate the source of the error. The messages |
| 858 are generated from the point of the innermost error, and provide a | |
| 859 traceback of enclosing expressions and function calls. | |
| 860 | |
| 861 In the example above, the first line indicates that a variable named | |
| 862 @samp{x} was found to be undefined near line 1 and column 24 of some | |
| 863 function or expression. For errors occurring within functions, lines | |
| 864 are counted from the beginning of the file containing the function | |
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865 definition. For errors occurring outside of an enclosing function, |
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866 the line number indicates the input line number, which is usually displayed |
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867 in the primary prompt string. |
| 3294 | 868 |
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869 The second and third lines of the error message indicate that the error |
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870 occurred within the function @code{f}. If the function @code{f} had been |
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871 called from within another function, for example, @code{g}, the list of |
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872 errors would have ended with one more line: |
| 3294 | 873 |
| 874 @example | |
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875 error: g at line 1, column 17 |
| 3294 | 876 @end example |
| 877 | |
|
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878 These lists of function calls make it fairly easy to trace the |
| 3294 | 879 path your program took before the error occurred, and to correct the |
| 880 error before trying again. | |
| 881 | |
| 4167 | 882 @node Executable Octave Programs |
| 3294 | 883 @section Executable Octave Programs |
| 884 @cindex executable scripts | |
| 885 @cindex scripts | |
|
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886 @cindex batch processing |
| 3294 | 887 @cindex self contained programs |
| 888 @cindex program, self contained | |
| 889 @cindex @samp{#!} | |
| 890 | |
| 891 Once you have learned Octave, you may want to write self-contained | |
| 892 Octave scripts, using the @samp{#!} script mechanism. You can do this | |
| 893 on GNU systems and on many Unix systems @footnote{The @samp{#!} | |
| 894 mechanism works on Unix systems derived from Berkeley Unix, System V | |
| 6481 | 895 Release 4, and some System V Release 3 systems.}. |
| 896 | |
| 897 Self-contained Octave scripts are useful when you want to write a | |
| 898 program which users can invoke without knowing that the program is | |
|
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899 written in the Octave language. Octave scripts are also used for batch |
|
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900 processing of data files. Once an algorithm has been developed and tested |
|
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901 in the interactive portion of Octave, it can be committed to an executable |
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902 script and used again and again on new data files. |
| 3294 | 903 |
|
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904 As a trivial example of an executable Octave script, you might create a |
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905 text file named @file{hello}, containing the following lines: |
| 3294 | 906 |
| 907 @example | |
| 908 @group | |
| 909 #! @var{octave-interpreter-name} -qf | |
| 910 # a sample Octave program | |
| 911 printf ("Hello, world!\n"); | |
| 912 @end group | |
| 913 @end example | |
| 914 | |
| 915 @noindent | |
| 916 (where @var{octave-interpreter-name} should be replaced with the full | |
|
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917 path and name of your Octave binary). Note that this will only work if |
|
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918 @samp{#!} appears at the very beginning of the file. After making the |
|
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919 file executable (with the @code{chmod} command on Unix systems), you can |
|
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920 simply type: |
| 3294 | 921 |
| 922 @example | |
| 923 hello | |
| 924 @end example | |
| 925 | |
| 926 @noindent | |
| 927 at the shell, and the system will arrange to run Octave as if you had | |
| 928 typed: | |
| 929 | |
| 930 @example | |
| 931 octave hello | |
| 932 @end example | |
| 933 | |
|
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934 The line beginning with @samp{#!} lists the full path and filename of an |
| 3294 | 935 interpreter to be run, and an optional initial command line argument to |
| 936 pass to that interpreter. The operating system then runs the | |
| 937 interpreter with the given argument and the full argument list of the | |
| 938 executed program. The first argument in the list is the full file name | |
|
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939 of the Octave executable. The rest of the argument list will either be |
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940 options to Octave, or data files, or both. The @samp{-qf} options are |
| 3294 | 941 usually specified in stand-alone Octave programs to prevent them from |
| 942 printing the normal startup message, and to keep them from behaving | |
| 943 differently depending on the contents of a particular user's | |
| 6620 | 944 @file{~/.octaverc} file. @xref{Invoking Octave from the Command Line}. |
| 6481 | 945 |
| 946 Note that some operating systems may place a limit on the number of | |
|
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947 characters that are recognized after @samp{#!}. Also, the arguments |
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948 appearing in a @samp{#!} line are parsed differently by various |
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949 shells/systems. The majority of them group all the arguments together in one |
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950 string and pass it to the interpreter as a single argument. In this case, the |
| 6481 | 951 following script: |
| 952 | |
| 953 @example | |
| 954 @group | |
| 955 #! @var{octave-interpreter-name} -q -f # comment | |
| 956 @end group | |
| 957 @end example | |
| 958 | |
| 959 @noindent | |
|
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960 is equivalent to typing at the command line: |
| 3294 | 961 |
| 6481 | 962 @example |
| 963 @group | |
| 964 octave "-q -f # comment" | |
| 965 @end group | |
| 966 @end example | |
| 3294 | 967 |
| 6481 | 968 @noindent |
|
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969 which will produce an error message. Unfortunately, it is |
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970 not possible for Octave to determine whether it has been called from the |
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971 command line or from a @samp{#!} script, so some care is needed when using the |
| 6481 | 972 @samp{#!} mechanism. |
| 973 | |
| 974 Note that when Octave is started from an executable script, the built-in | |
| 975 function @code{argv} returns a cell array containing the command line | |
|
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976 arguments passed to the executable Octave script, not the arguments |
| 6481 | 977 passed to the Octave interpreter on the @samp{#!} line of the script. |
| 978 For example, the following program will reproduce the command line that | |
|
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979 was used to execute the script, not @samp{-qf}. |
| 3294 | 980 |
| 981 @example | |
| 982 @group | |
| 983 #! /bin/octave -qf | |
| 6479 | 984 printf ("%s", program_name ()); |
| 6620 | 985 arg_list = argv (); |
| 3294 | 986 for i = 1:nargin |
| 6479 | 987 printf (" %s", arg_list@{i@}); |
| 3294 | 988 endfor |
| 989 printf ("\n"); | |
| 990 @end group | |
| 991 @end example | |
| 992 | |
| 4167 | 993 @node Comments |
| 3294 | 994 @section Comments in Octave Programs |
| 995 @cindex comments | |
| 996 @cindex use of comments | |
| 997 @cindex documenting Octave programs | |
| 998 | |
| 999 A @dfn{comment} is some text that is included in a program for the sake | |
|
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1000 of human readers, and which is NOT an executable part of the program. |
|
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1001 Comments can explain what the program does, and how it works. Nearly all |
| 3294 | 1002 programming languages have provisions for comments, because programs are |
| 1003 typically hard to understand without them. | |
| 1004 | |
|
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1005 @menu |
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1006 * Single Line Comments:: |
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1007 * Block Comments:: |
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1008 * Comments and the Help System:: |
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1009 @end menu |
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1010 |
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1011 @node Single Line Comments |
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1012 @subsection Single Line Comments |
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1013 @cindex @samp{#} |
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1014 @cindex @samp{%} |
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1015 |
| 3294 | 1016 In the Octave language, a comment starts with either the sharp sign |
| 1017 character, @samp{#}, or the percent symbol @samp{%} and continues to the | |
|
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1018 end of the line. Any text following the sharp sign or percent symbol is |
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1019 ignored by the Octave interpreter and not executed. The following example |
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1020 shows whole line and partial line comments. |
|
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1021 |
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1022 @example |
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1023 @group |
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1024 function countdown |
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1025 # Count down for main rocket engines |
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1026 disp(3); |
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1027 disp(2); |
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1028 disp(1); |
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1029 disp("Blast Off!"); # Rocket leaves pad |
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1030 endfunction |
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1031 @end group |
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1032 @end example |
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1033 |
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1034 @node Block Comments |
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1035 @subsection Block Comments |
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1036 @cindex block comments |
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1037 @cindex multi-line comments |
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1038 @cindex @samp{#@{} |
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1039 @cindex @samp{%@{} |
| 3294 | 1040 |
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1041 Entire blocks of code can be commented by enclosing the code between |
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1042 matching @samp{#@{} and @samp{#@}} or @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} markers. |
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1043 For example, |
|
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1044 |
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1045 @example |
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1046 @group |
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1047 function quick_countdown |
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1048 # Count down for main rocket engines |
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1049 disp(3); |
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1050 #@{ |
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1051 disp(2); |
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1052 disp(1); |
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1053 #@} |
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1054 disp("Blast Off!"); # Rocket leaves pad |
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1055 endfunction |
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1056 @end group |
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1057 @end example |
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1058 |
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1059 @noindent |
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1060 will produce a very quick countdown from '3' to 'Blast Off' as the |
|
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1061 lines "@code{disp(2);}" and "@code{disp(1);}" won't be executed. |
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1062 |
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1063 The block comment markers must appear alone as the only characters on a line |
|
14038
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1064 (excepting whitespace) in order to be parsed correctly. |
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1065 |
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1066 @node Comments and the Help System |
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1067 @subsection Comments and the Help System |
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1068 @cindex documenting functions |
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1069 @cindex documenting user scripts |
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1070 @cindex help, user-defined functions |
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1071 |
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1072 The @code{help} command (@pxref{Getting Help}) is able to find the first |
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1073 block of comments in a function and return those as a documentation |
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1074 string. This means that the same commands used to get help |
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1075 on built-in functions are available for properly formatted user-defined |
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1076 functions. For example, after defining the function @code{f} below, |
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1077 |
| 3294 | 1078 @example |
| 1079 @group | |
| 1080 function xdot = f (x, t) | |
| 1081 | |
| 1082 # usage: f (x, t) | |
| 1083 # | |
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1084 # This function defines the right-hand |
| 3294 | 1085 # side functions for a set of nonlinear |
| 1086 # differential equations. | |
| 1087 | |
| 1088 r = 0.25; | |
| 1089 @dots{} | |
| 1090 endfunction | |
| 1091 @end group | |
| 1092 @end example | |
| 1093 | |
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1094 @noindent |
| 3294 | 1095 the command @kbd{help f} produces the output |
| 1096 | |
| 1097 @example | |
| 1098 @group | |
| 1099 usage: f (x, t) | |
| 1100 | |
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1101 This function defines the right-hand |
| 3294 | 1102 side functions for a set of nonlinear |
| 1103 differential equations. | |
| 1104 @end group | |
| 1105 @end example | |
| 1106 | |
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1107 Although it is possible to put comment lines into keyboard-composed, |
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1108 throw-away Octave programs, it usually isn't very useful because the |
| 3294 | 1109 purpose of a comment is to help you or another person understand the |
| 1110 program at a later time. | |
| 1111 | |
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1112 The @code{help} parser currently only recognizes single line comments |
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1113 (@pxref{Single Line Comments}) and not block comments for the initial |
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1114 help text. |