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1 @c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997 John W. Eaton |
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2 @c This is part of the Octave manual. |
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3 @c For copying conditions, see the file gpl.texi. |
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4 |
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5 @node Statements |
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6 @chapter Statements |
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7 @cindex statements |
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8 |
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9 Statements may be a simple constant expression or a complicated list of |
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10 nested loops and conditional statements. |
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11 |
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12 @dfn{Control statements} such as @code{if}, @code{while}, and so on |
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13 control the flow of execution in Octave programs. All the control |
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14 statements start with special keywords such as @code{if} and |
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15 @code{while}, to distinguish them from simple expressions. |
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16 Many control statements contain other statements; for example, the |
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17 @code{if} statement contains another statement which may or may not be |
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18 executed. |
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19 |
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20 @cindex @code{end} statement |
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21 Each control statement has a corresponding @dfn{end} statement that |
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22 marks the end of the end of the control statement. For example, the |
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23 keyword @code{endif} marks the end of an @code{if} statement, and |
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24 @code{endwhile} marks the end of a @code{while} statement. You can use |
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25 the keyword @code{end} anywhere a more specific end keyword is expected, |
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26 but using the more specific keywords is preferred because if you use |
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27 them, Octave is able to provide better diagnostics for mismatched or |
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28 missing end tokens. |
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29 |
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30 The list of statements contained between keywords like @code{if} or |
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31 @code{while} and the corresponding end statement is called the |
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32 @dfn{body} of a control statement. |
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33 |
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34 @menu |
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35 * The if Statement:: |
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36 * The switch Statement:: |
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37 * The while Statement:: |
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38 * The do-until Statement:: |
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39 * The for Statement:: |
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40 * The break Statement:: |
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41 * The continue Statement:: |
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42 * The unwind_protect Statement:: |
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43 * The try Statement:: |
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44 * Continuation Lines:: |
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45 @end menu |
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46 |
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47 @node The if Statement |
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48 @section The @code{if} Statement |
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49 @cindex @code{if} statement |
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50 @cindex @code{else} statement |
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51 @cindex @code{elseif} statement |
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52 @cindex @code{endif} statement |
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53 |
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54 The @code{if} statement is Octave's decision-making statement. There |
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55 are three basic forms of an @code{if} statement. In its simplest form, |
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56 it looks like this: |
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57 |
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58 @example |
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59 @group |
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60 if (@var{condition}) |
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61 @var{then-body} |
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62 endif |
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63 @end group |
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64 @end example |
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65 |
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66 @noindent |
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67 @var{condition} is an expression that controls what the rest of the |
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68 statement will do. The @var{then-body} is executed only if |
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69 @var{condition} is true. |
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70 |
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71 The condition in an @code{if} statement is considered true if its value |
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72 is non-zero, and false if its value is zero. If the value of the |
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73 conditional expression in an @code{if} statement is a vector or a |
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74 matrix, it is considered true only if @emph{all} of the elements are |
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75 non-zero. |
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76 |
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77 The second form of an if statement looks like this: |
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78 |
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79 @example |
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80 @group |
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81 if (@var{condition}) |
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82 @var{then-body} |
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83 else |
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84 @var{else-body} |
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85 endif |
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86 @end group |
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87 @end example |
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88 |
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89 @noindent |
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90 If @var{condition} is true, @var{then-body} is executed; otherwise, |
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91 @var{else-body} is executed. |
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92 |
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93 Here is an example: |
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94 |
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95 @example |
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96 @group |
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97 if (rem (x, 2) == 0) |
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98 printf ("x is even\n"); |
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99 else |
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100 printf ("x is odd\n"); |
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101 endif |
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102 @end group |
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103 @end example |
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104 |
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105 In this example, if the expression @code{rem (x, 2) == 0} is true (that |
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106 is, the value of @code{x} is divisible by 2), then the first |
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107 @code{printf} statement is evaluated, otherwise the second @code{printf} |
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108 statement is evaluated. |
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109 |
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110 The third and most general form of the @code{if} statement allows |
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111 multiple decisions to be combined in a single statement. It looks like |
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112 this: |
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113 |
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114 @example |
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115 @group |
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116 if (@var{condition}) |
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117 @var{then-body} |
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118 elseif (@var{condition}) |
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119 @var{elseif-body} |
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120 else |
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121 @var{else-body} |
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122 endif |
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123 @end group |
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124 @end example |
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125 |
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126 @noindent |
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127 Any number of @code{elseif} clauses may appear. Each condition is |
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128 tested in turn, and if one is found to be true, its corresponding |
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129 @var{body} is executed. If none of the conditions are true and the |
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130 @code{else} clause is present, its body is executed. Only one |
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131 @code{else} clause may appear, and it must be the last part of the |
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132 statement. |
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133 |
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134 In the following example, if the first condition is true (that is, the |
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135 value of @code{x} is divisible by 2), then the first @code{printf} |
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136 statement is executed. If it is false, then the second condition is |
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137 tested, and if it is true (that is, the value of @code{x} is divisible |
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138 by 3), then the second @code{printf} statement is executed. Otherwise, |
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139 the third @code{printf} statement is performed. |
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140 |
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141 @example |
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142 @group |
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143 if (rem (x, 2) == 0) |
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144 printf ("x is even\n"); |
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145 elseif (rem (x, 3) == 0) |
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146 printf ("x is odd and divisible by 3\n"); |
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147 else |
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148 printf ("x is odd\n"); |
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149 endif |
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150 @end group |
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151 @end example |
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152 |
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153 Note that the @code{elseif} keyword must not be spelled @code{else if}, |
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154 as is allowed in Fortran. If it is, the space between the @code{else} |
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155 and @code{if} will tell Octave to treat this as a new @code{if} |
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156 statement within another @code{if} statement's @code{else} clause. For |
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157 example, if you write |
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158 |
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159 @example |
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160 @group |
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161 if (@var{c1}) |
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162 @var{body-1} |
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163 else if (@var{c2}) |
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164 @var{body-2} |
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165 endif |
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166 @end group |
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167 @end example |
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168 |
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169 @noindent |
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170 Octave will expect additional input to complete the first @code{if} |
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171 statement. If you are using Octave interactively, it will continue to |
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172 prompt you for additional input. If Octave is reading this input from a |
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173 file, it may complain about missing or mismatched @code{end} statements, |
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174 or, if you have not used the more specific @code{end} statements |
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175 (@code{endif}, @code{endfor}, etc.), it may simply produce incorrect |
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176 results, without producing any warning messages. |
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177 |
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178 It is much easier to see the error if we rewrite the statements above |
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179 like this, |
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180 |
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181 @example |
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182 @group |
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183 if (@var{c1}) |
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184 @var{body-1} |
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185 else |
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186 if (@var{c2}) |
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187 @var{body-2} |
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188 endif |
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189 @end group |
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190 @end example |
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191 |
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192 @noindent |
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193 using the indentation to show how Octave groups the statements. |
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194 @xref{Functions and Scripts}. |
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195 |
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196 @node The switch Statement |
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197 @section The @code{switch} Statement |
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198 @cindex @code{switch} statement |
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199 @cindex @code{case} statement |
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200 @cindex @code{otherwise} statement |
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201 @cindex @code{endswitch} statement |
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202 |
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203 The @code{switch} statement was introduced in Octave 2.0.5. It should |
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204 be considered experimental, and details of the implementation may change |
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205 slightly in future versions of Octave. If you have comments or would |
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206 like to share your experiences in trying to use this new command in real |
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207 programs, please send them to @email{maintainers@@octave.org}. (But if |
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208 you think you've found a bug, please report it to |
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209 @email{bug@@octave.org}. |
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210 |
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211 The general form of the @code{switch} statement is |
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212 |
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213 @example |
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214 @group |
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215 switch @var{expression} |
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216 case @var{label} |
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217 @var{command_list} |
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218 case @var{label} |
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219 @var{command_list} |
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220 @dots{} |
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221 |
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222 otherwise |
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223 @var{command_list} |
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224 endswitch |
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225 @end group |
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226 @end example |
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227 |
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228 @itemize @bullet |
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229 @item |
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230 The identifiers @code{switch}, @code{case}, @code{otherwise}, and |
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231 @code{endswitch} are now keywords. |
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232 |
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233 @item |
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234 The @var{label} may be any expression. |
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235 |
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236 @item |
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237 Duplicate @var{label} values are not detected. The @var{command_list} |
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238 corresponding to the first match will be executed. |
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239 |
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240 @item |
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241 You must have at least one @code{case @var{label} @var{command_list}} |
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242 clause. |
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243 |
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244 @item |
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245 The @code{otherwise @var{command_list}} clause is optional. |
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246 |
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247 @item |
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248 As with all other specific @code{end} keywords, @code{endswitch} may be |
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249 replaced by @code{end}, but you can get better diagnostics if you use |
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250 the specific forms. |
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251 |
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252 @item |
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253 Cases are exclusive, so they don't `fall through' as do the cases |
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254 in the switch statement of the C language. |
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255 |
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256 @item |
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257 The @var{command_list} elements are not optional. Making the list |
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258 optional would have meant requiring a separator between the label and |
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259 the command list. Otherwise, things like |
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260 |
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261 @example |
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262 @group |
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263 switch (foo) |
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264 case (1) -2 |
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265 @dots{} |
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266 @end group |
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267 @end example |
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268 |
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269 @noindent |
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270 would produce surprising results, as would |
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271 |
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272 @example |
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273 @group |
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274 switch (foo) |
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275 case (1) |
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276 case (2) |
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277 doit (); |
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278 @dots{} |
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279 @end group |
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280 @end example |
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281 |
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282 @noindent |
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283 particularly for C programmers. |
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284 |
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285 @item |
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286 The implementation is simple-minded and currently offers no real |
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287 performance improvement over an equivalent @code{if} block, even if all |
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288 the labels are integer constants. Perhaps a future variation on this |
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289 could detect all constant integer labels and improve performance by |
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290 using a jump table. |
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291 @end itemize |
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292 |
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293 @node The while Statement |
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294 @section The @code{while} Statement |
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295 @cindex @code{while} statement |
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296 @cindex @code{endwhile} statement |
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297 @cindex loop |
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298 @cindex body of a loop |
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299 |
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300 In programming, a @dfn{loop} means a part of a program that is (or at least can |
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301 be) executed two or more times in succession. |
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302 |
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303 The @code{while} statement is the simplest looping statement in Octave. |
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304 It repeatedly executes a statement as long as a condition is true. As |
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305 with the condition in an @code{if} statement, the condition in a |
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306 @code{while} statement is considered true if its value is non-zero, and |
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307 false if its value is zero. If the value of the conditional expression |
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308 in a @code{while} statement is a vector or a matrix, it is considered |
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309 true only if @emph{all} of the elements are non-zero. |
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310 |
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311 Octave's @code{while} statement looks like this: |
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312 |
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313 @example |
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314 @group |
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315 while (@var{condition}) |
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316 @var{body} |
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317 endwhile |
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318 @end group |
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319 @end example |
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320 |
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321 @noindent |
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322 Here @var{body} is a statement or list of statements that we call the |
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323 @dfn{body} of the loop, and @var{condition} is an expression that |
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324 controls how long the loop keeps running. |
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325 |
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326 The first thing the @code{while} statement does is test @var{condition}. |
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327 If @var{condition} is true, it executes the statement @var{body}. After |
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328 @var{body} has been executed, @var{condition} is tested again, and if it |
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329 is still true, @var{body} is executed again. This process repeats until |
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330 @var{condition} is no longer true. If @var{condition} is initially |
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331 false, the body of the loop is never executed. |
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332 |
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333 This example creates a variable @code{fib} that contains the first ten |
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334 elements of the Fibonacci sequence. |
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335 |
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336 @example |
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337 @group |
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338 fib = ones (1, 10); |
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339 i = 3; |
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340 while (i <= 10) |
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341 fib (i) = fib (i-1) + fib (i-2); |
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342 i++; |
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343 endwhile |
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344 @end group |
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345 @end example |
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346 |
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347 @noindent |
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348 Here the body of the loop contains two statements. |
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349 |
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350 The loop works like this: first, the value of @code{i} is set to 3. |
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351 Then, the @code{while} tests whether @code{i} is less than or equal to |
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352 10. This is the case when @code{i} equals 3, so the value of the |
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353 @code{i}-th element of @code{fib} is set to the sum of the previous two |
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354 values in the sequence. Then the @code{i++} increments the value of |
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355 @code{i} and the loop repeats. The loop terminates when @code{i} |
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356 reaches 11. |
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357 |
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358 A newline is not required between the condition and the |
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359 body; but using one makes the program clearer unless the body is very |
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360 simple. |
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361 |
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362 @node The do-until Statement |
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363 @section The @code{do-until} Statement |
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364 @cindex @code{do-until} statement |
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365 |
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366 The @code{do-until} statement is similar to the @code{while} statement, |
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367 except that it repeatedly executes a statement until a condition becomes |
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368 true, and the test of the condition is at the end of the loop, so the |
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369 body of the loop is always executed at least once. As with the |
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370 condition in an @code{if} statement, the condition in a @code{do-until} |
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371 statement is considered true if its value is non-zero, and false if its |
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372 value is zero. If the value of the conditional expression in a |
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373 @code{do-until} statement is a vector or a matrix, it is considered |
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374 true only if @emph{all} of the elements are non-zero. |
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375 |
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376 Octave's @code{do-until} statement looks like this: |
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377 |
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378 @example |
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379 @group |
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380 do |
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381 @var{body} |
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382 until (@var{condition}) |
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383 @end group |
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384 @end example |
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385 |
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386 @noindent |
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387 Here @var{body} is a statement or list of statements that we call the |
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388 @dfn{body} of the loop, and @var{condition} is an expression that |
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389 controls how long the loop keeps running. |
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390 |
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391 This example creates a variable @code{fib} that contains the first ten |
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392 elements of the Fibonacci sequence. |
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393 |
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394 @example |
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395 @group |
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396 fib = ones (1, 10); |
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397 i = 2; |
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398 do |
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399 i++; |
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400 fib (i) = fib (i-1) + fib (i-2); |
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401 until (i == 10) |
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402 @end group |
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403 @end example |
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404 |
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405 A newline is not required between the @code{do} keyword and the |
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406 body; but using one makes the program clearer unless the body is very |
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407 simple. |
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408 |
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409 @node The for Statement |
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410 @section The @code{for} Statement |
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411 @cindex @code{for} statement |
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412 @cindex @code{endfor} statement |
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413 |
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414 The @code{for} statement makes it more convenient to count iterations of a |
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415 loop. The general form of the @code{for} statement looks like this: |
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416 |
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417 @example |
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418 @group |
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419 for @var{var} = @var{expression} |
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420 @var{body} |
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421 endfor |
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422 @end group |
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423 @end example |
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424 |
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425 @noindent |
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426 where @var{body} stands for any statement or list of statements, |
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427 @var{expression} is any valid expression, and @var{var} may take several |
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428 forms. Usually it is a simple variable name or an indexed variable. If |
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429 the value of @var{expression} is a structure, @var{var} may also be a |
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430 list. @xref{Looping Over Structure Elements}, below. |
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431 |
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432 The assignment expression in the @code{for} statement works a bit |
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433 differently than Octave's normal assignment statement. Instead of |
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434 assigning the complete result of the expression, it assigns each column |
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435 of the expression to @var{var} in turn. If @var{expression} is a range, |
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436 a row vector, or a scalar, the value of @var{var} will be a scalar each |
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437 time the loop body is executed. If @var{var} is a column vector or a |
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438 matrix, @var{var} will be a column vector each time the loop body is |
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439 executed. |
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440 |
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441 The following example shows another way to create a vector containing |
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442 the first ten elements of the Fibonacci sequence, this time using the |
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443 @code{for} statement: |
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444 |
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445 @example |
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446 @group |
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447 fib = ones (1, 10); |
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448 for i = 3:10 |
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449 fib (i) = fib (i-1) + fib (i-2); |
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450 endfor |
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451 @end group |
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452 @end example |
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453 |
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454 @noindent |
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455 This code works by first evaluating the expression @code{3:10}, to |
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456 produce a range of values from 3 to 10 inclusive. Then the variable |
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457 @code{i} is assigned the first element of the range and the body of the |
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458 loop is executed once. When the end of the loop body is reached, the |
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459 next value in the range is assigned to the variable @code{i}, and the |
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460 loop body is executed again. This process continues until there are no |
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461 more elements to assign. |
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462 |
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463 Although it is possible to rewrite all @code{for} loops as @code{while} |
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464 loops, the Octave language has both statements because often a |
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465 @code{for} loop is both less work to type and more natural to think of. |
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|
466 Counting the number of iterations is very common in loops and it can be |
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467 easier to think of this counting as part of looping rather than as |
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468 something to do inside the loop. |
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469 |
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470 @menu |
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|
471 * Looping Over Structure Elements:: |
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472 @end menu |
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473 |
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4167
|
474 @node Looping Over Structure Elements |
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3294
|
475 @subsection Looping Over Structure Elements |
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|
476 @cindex structure elements, looping over |
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477 @cindex looping over structure elements |
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478 |
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479 A special form of the @code{for} statement allows you to loop over all |
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|
480 the elements of a structure: |
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481 |
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482 @example |
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|
483 @group |
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484 for [ @var{val}, @var{key} ] = @var{expression} |
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|
485 @var{body} |
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486 endfor |
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487 @end group |
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488 @end example |
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489 |
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490 @noindent |
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|
491 In this form of the @code{for} statement, the value of @var{expression} |
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|
492 must be a structure. If it is, @var{key} and @var{val} are set to the |
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|
493 name of the element and the corresponding value in turn, until there are |
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494 no more elements. For example, |
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|
495 |
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496 @example |
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497 @group |
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498 x.a = 1 |
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499 x.b = [1, 2; 3, 4] |
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500 x.c = "string" |
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|
501 for [val, key] = x |
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|
502 key |
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503 val |
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504 endfor |
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505 |
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506 @print{} key = a |
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|
507 @print{} val = 1 |
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|
508 @print{} key = b |
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|
509 @print{} val = |
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|
510 @print{} |
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|
511 @print{} 1 2 |
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|
512 @print{} 3 4 |
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|
513 @print{} |
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|
514 @print{} key = c |
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|
515 @print{} val = string |
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|
516 @end group |
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|
517 @end example |
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|
518 |
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|
519 The elements are not accessed in any particular order. If you need to |
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|
520 cycle through the list in a particular way, you will have to use the |
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|
521 function @code{struct_elements} and sort the list yourself. |
|
|
522 |
|
|
523 The @var{key} variable may also be omitted. If it is, the brackets are |
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|
524 also optional. This is useful for cycling through the values of all the |
|
|
525 structure elements when the names of the elements do not need to be |
|
|
526 known. |
|
|
527 |
|
4167
|
528 @node The break Statement |
|
3294
|
529 @section The @code{break} Statement |
|
|
530 @cindex @code{break} statement |
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|
531 |
|
|
532 The @code{break} statement jumps out of the innermost @code{for} or |
|
|
533 @code{while} loop that encloses it. The @code{break} statement may only |
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|
534 be used within the body of a loop. The following example finds the |
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|
535 smallest divisor of a given integer, and also identifies prime numbers: |
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|
536 |
|
|
537 @example |
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|
538 @group |
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|
539 num = 103; |
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|
540 div = 2; |
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|
541 while (div*div <= num) |
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|
542 if (rem (num, div) == 0) |
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|
543 break; |
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|
544 endif |
|
|
545 div++; |
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|
546 endwhile |
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|
547 if (rem (num, div) == 0) |
|
|
548 printf ("Smallest divisor of %d is %d\n", num, div) |
|
|
549 else |
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|
550 printf ("%d is prime\n", num); |
|
|
551 endif |
|
|
552 @end group |
|
|
553 @end example |
|
|
554 |
|
|
555 When the remainder is zero in the first @code{while} statement, Octave |
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|
556 immediately @dfn{breaks out} of the loop. This means that Octave |
|
|
557 proceeds immediately to the statement following the loop and continues |
|
|
558 processing. (This is very different from the @code{exit} statement |
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|
559 which stops the entire Octave program.) |
|
|
560 |
|
|
561 Here is another program equivalent to the previous one. It illustrates |
|
|
562 how the @var{condition} of a @code{while} statement could just as well |
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|
563 be replaced with a @code{break} inside an @code{if}: |
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|
564 |
|
|
565 @example |
|
|
566 @group |
|
|
567 num = 103; |
|
|
568 div = 2; |
|
|
569 while (1) |
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|
570 if (rem (num, div) == 0) |
|
|
571 printf ("Smallest divisor of %d is %d\n", num, div); |
|
|
572 break; |
|
|
573 endif |
|
|
574 div++; |
|
|
575 if (div*div > num) |
|
|
576 printf ("%d is prime\n", num); |
|
|
577 break; |
|
|
578 endif |
|
|
579 endwhile |
|
|
580 @end group |
|
|
581 @end example |
|
|
582 |
|
4167
|
583 @node The continue Statement |
|
3294
|
584 @section The @code{continue} Statement |
|
|
585 @cindex @code{continue} statement |
|
|
586 |
|
|
587 The @code{continue} statement, like @code{break}, is used only inside |
|
|
588 @code{for} or @code{while} loops. It skips over the rest of the loop |
|
|
589 body, causing the next cycle around the loop to begin immediately. |
|
|
590 Contrast this with @code{break}, which jumps out of the loop altogether. |
|
|
591 Here is an example: |
|
|
592 |
|
|
593 @example |
|
|
594 @group |
|
|
595 # print elements of a vector of random |
|
|
596 # integers that are even. |
|
|
597 |
|
|
598 # first, create a row vector of 10 random |
|
|
599 # integers with values between 0 and 100: |
|
|
600 |
|
|
601 vec = round (rand (1, 10) * 100); |
|
|
602 |
|
|
603 # print what we're interested in: |
|
|
604 |
|
|
605 for x = vec |
|
|
606 if (rem (x, 2) != 0) |
|
|
607 continue; |
|
|
608 endif |
|
|
609 printf ("%d\n", x); |
|
|
610 endfor |
|
|
611 @end group |
|
|
612 @end example |
|
|
613 |
|
|
614 If one of the elements of @var{vec} is an odd number, this example skips |
|
|
615 the print statement for that element, and continues back to the first |
|
|
616 statement in the loop. |
|
|
617 |
|
|
618 This is not a practical example of the @code{continue} statement, but it |
|
|
619 should give you a clear understanding of how it works. Normally, one |
|
|
620 would probably write the loop like this: |
|
|
621 |
|
|
622 @example |
|
|
623 @group |
|
|
624 for x = vec |
|
|
625 if (rem (x, 2) == 0) |
|
|
626 printf ("%d\n", x); |
|
|
627 endif |
|
|
628 endfor |
|
|
629 @end group |
|
|
630 @end example |
|
|
631 |
|
4167
|
632 @node The unwind_protect Statement |
|
3294
|
633 @section The @code{unwind_protect} Statement |
|
|
634 @cindex @code{unwind_protect} statement |
|
|
635 @cindex @code{unwind_protect_cleanup} |
|
|
636 @cindex @code{end_unwind_protect} |
|
|
637 |
|
|
638 Octave supports a limited form of exception handling modelled after the |
|
|
639 unwind-protect form of Lisp. |
|
|
640 |
|
|
641 The general form of an @code{unwind_protect} block looks like this: |
|
|
642 |
|
|
643 @example |
|
|
644 @group |
|
|
645 unwind_protect |
|
|
646 @var{body} |
|
|
647 unwind_protect_cleanup |
|
|
648 @var{cleanup} |
|
|
649 end_unwind_protect |
|
|
650 @end group |
|
|
651 @end example |
|
|
652 |
|
|
653 @noindent |
|
|
654 Where @var{body} and @var{cleanup} are both optional and may contain any |
|
|
655 Octave expressions or commands. The statements in @var{cleanup} are |
|
|
656 guaranteed to be executed regardless of how control exits @var{body}. |
|
|
657 |
|
|
658 This is useful to protect temporary changes to global variables from |
|
|
659 possible errors. For example, the following code will always restore |
|
6501
|
660 the original value of the global variable @code{frobnositcate} |
|
3294
|
661 even if an error occurs while performing the indexing operation. |
|
|
662 |
|
|
663 @example |
|
|
664 @group |
|
6501
|
665 save_frobnosticate = frobnosticate; |
|
3294
|
666 unwind_protect |
|
6501
|
667 frobnosticate = true; |
|
|
668 @dots{} |
|
3294
|
669 unwind_protect_cleanup |
|
6501
|
670 frobnosticate = save_frobnosticate; |
|
3294
|
671 end_unwind_protect |
|
|
672 @end group |
|
|
673 @end example |
|
|
674 |
|
6501
|
675 Without @code{unwind_protect}, the value of @var{frobnosticate} |
|
3294
|
676 would not be restored if an error occurs while performing the indexing |
|
|
677 operation because evaluation would stop at the point of the error and |
|
|
678 the statement to restore the value would not be executed. |
|
|
679 |
|
4167
|
680 @node The try Statement |
|
3294
|
681 @section The @code{try} Statement |
|
|
682 @cindex @code{try} statement |
|
|
683 @cindex @code{catch} |
|
|
684 @cindex @code{end_try_catch} |
|
|
685 |
|
|
686 In addition to unwind_protect, Octave supports another limited form of |
|
|
687 exception handling. |
|
|
688 |
|
|
689 The general form of a @code{try} block looks like this: |
|
|
690 |
|
|
691 @example |
|
|
692 @group |
|
|
693 try |
|
|
694 @var{body} |
|
|
695 catch |
|
|
696 @var{cleanup} |
|
|
697 end_try_catch |
|
|
698 @end group |
|
|
699 @end example |
|
|
700 |
|
|
701 Where @var{body} and @var{cleanup} are both optional and may contain any |
|
|
702 Octave expressions or commands. The statements in @var{cleanup} are |
|
|
703 only executed if an error occurs in @var{body}. |
|
|
704 |
|
|
705 No warnings or error messages are printed while @var{body} is |
|
|
706 executing. If an error does occur during the execution of @var{body}, |
|
4699
|
707 @var{cleanup} can use the function @code{lasterr} to access the text |
|
|
708 of the message that would have been printed. This is the same |
|
|
709 as @code{eval (@var{try}, @var{catch})} but it is more efficient since |
|
|
710 the commands do not need to be parsed each time the @var{try} and |
|
|
711 @var{catch} statements are evaluated. @xref{Error Handling}, for more |
|
|
712 information about the @code{lasterr} function. |
|
3294
|
713 |
|
|
714 Octave's @var{try} block is a very limited variation on the Lisp |
|
|
715 condition-case form (limited because it cannot handle different classes |
|
|
716 of errors separately). Perhaps at some point Octave can have some sort |
|
|
717 of classification of errors and try-catch can be improved to be as |
|
|
718 powerful as condition-case in Lisp. |
|
|
719 |
|
|
720 @cindex continuation lines |
|
|
721 @cindex @code{...} continuation marker |
|
|
722 @cindex @code{\} continuation marker |
|
|
723 |
|
4167
|
724 @node Continuation Lines |
|
3294
|
725 @section Continuation Lines |
|
|
726 |
|
|
727 In the Octave language, most statements end with a newline character and |
|
|
728 you must tell Octave to ignore the newline character in order to |
|
|
729 continue a statement from one line to the next. Lines that end with the |
|
|
730 characters @code{...} or @code{\} are joined with the following line |
|
|
731 before they are divided into tokens by Octave's parser. For example, |
|
|
732 the lines |
|
|
733 |
|
|
734 @example |
|
|
735 @group |
|
|
736 x = long_variable_name ... |
|
|
737 + longer_variable_name \ |
|
|
738 - 42 |
|
|
739 @end group |
|
|
740 @end example |
|
|
741 |
|
|
742 @noindent |
|
|
743 form a single statement. The backslash character on the second line |
|
|
744 above is interpreted a continuation character, @emph{not} as a division |
|
|
745 operator. |
|
|
746 |
|
|
747 For continuation lines that do not occur inside string constants, |
|
|
748 whitespace and comments may appear between the continuation marker and |
|
|
749 the newline character. For example, the statement |
|
|
750 |
|
|
751 @example |
|
|
752 @group |
|
|
753 x = long_variable_name ... # comment one |
|
|
754 + longer_variable_name \ # comment two |
|
|
755 - 42 # last comment |
|
|
756 @end group |
|
|
757 @end example |
|
|
758 |
|
|
759 @noindent |
|
|
760 is equivalent to the one shown above. Inside string constants, the |
|
|
761 continuation marker must appear at the end of the line just before the |
|
|
762 newline character. |
|
|
763 |
|
|
764 Input that occurs inside parentheses can be continued to the next line |
|
|
765 without having to use a continuation marker. For example, it is |
|
|
766 possible to write statements like |
|
|
767 |
|
|
768 @example |
|
|
769 @group |
|
|
770 if (fine_dining_destination == on_a_boat |
|
|
771 || fine_dining_destination == on_a_train) |
|
4541
|
772 seuss (i, will, not, eat, them, sam, i, am, i, |
|
3294
|
773 will, not, eat, green, eggs, and, ham); |
|
|
774 endif |
|
|
775 @end group |
|
|
776 @end example |
|
|
777 |
|
|
778 @noindent |
|
|
779 without having to add to the clutter with continuation markers. |
