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perl.m, python.m: Redo input validation. * perl.m, python.m: Redo input validation to check for correct number of arguments as well as type. Issue more informative error messages when validation fails. Add more BIST tests for input validation.
author Rik <rik@octave.org>
date Sat, 09 Jul 2022 11:11:53 -0700
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1 GNU Octave -- a high-level language for numerical computations
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2 ==============================================================
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3
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4 Copyright (C) 1996-2022 The Octave Project Developers
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5
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6 See the file COPYRIGHT.md in the top-level directory of this
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7 distribution or <https://octave.org/copyright/>.
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8
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9 Overview
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10 --------
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11
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12 GNU Octave is a high-level interpreted language, primarily intended
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13 for numerical computations. It provides capabilities for the
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14 numerical solution of linear and nonlinear problems, and for
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15 performing other numerical experiments. It also provides extensive
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16 graphics capabilities for data visualization and manipulation. GNU
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17 Octave is normally used through its interactive interface (CLI and
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18 GUI), but it can also be used to write non-interactive programs.
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19 The GNU Octave language is quite similar to Matlab so that most
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20 programs are easily portable.
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21
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22 GNU Octave is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
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23 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
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24 the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
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25 (at your option) any later version.
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26
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27 GNU Octave is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
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28 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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29 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
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30 GNU General Public License for more details.
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31
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32 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
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33 along with Octave; see the file COPYING. If not, see
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34 <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
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35
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36 Availability
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37 ------------
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38
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39 The latest released version of Octave is always available from
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40 <https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave/> and many mirror sites around the
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41 world. You may also find links to binary distributions at
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42 <https://www.octave.org/download.html>. The current development
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43 sources may be found under the Source Code tab on
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44 [Savannah](https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/octave/).
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45
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46 Installation
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47 ------------
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48
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49 Octave requires approximately 475 MB of disk storage to unpack and
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50 compile from source (significantly more, 3.8 GB, if you compile with
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51 debugging symbols). Once installed, Octave requires approximately
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52 75 MB of disk space (again, considerably more, 415 MB, if you don't
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53 build shared libraries or the binaries and libraries include
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54 debugging symbols).
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55
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56 To compile Octave, you will need a recent version of:
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57
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58 - [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/)
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59 - [GNU G++](https://gcc.gnu.org/) or another C++11 compiler
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60 - [GNU Fortran](https://gcc.gnu.org/fortran/), another Fortran 77
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61 compiler, or [f2c](http://www.netlib.org/f2c/)
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62
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63 Octave's Makefiles use features of GNU Make that are not present in
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64 other versions of make. If you use `f2c`, you will need a script
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65 like `fort77` that works like a normal Fortran compiler by combining
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66 `f2c` with your C compiler in a single script.
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67
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68 See the notes in the file `INSTALL.OCTAVE` of the Octave source
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69 distribution for more detailed installation instructions.
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70
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71 Bugs and Patches
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72 ----------------
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73
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74 The file `BUGS` (or `doc/interpreter/bugs.txi`) explains the recommended
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75 procedure for reporting bugs on the [bug tracker](https://bugs.octave.org)
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76 or contributing patches; online documentation is also available
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77 [here](https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/bugs.html).
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78
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79 Documentation
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80 -------------
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81
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82 * [Octave's manual](https://www.octave.org/doc/interpreter/) is a
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83 comprehensive user guide covering introductive and more advanced
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84 topics.
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85 * [Octave's wiki](https://wiki.octave.org) is a user community page,
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86 covering various topics and answering
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87 [FAQ](https://wiki.octave.org/FAQ).
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88 * [Octave's Doxygen](https://www.octave.org/doxygen/) documentation
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89 explains the C++ class libraries.
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90
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91 Partially, the up-to-dateness of the documentation is lagging a bit
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92 behind the development of the software. If you notice omissions or
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93 inconsistencies, please report them at our bug tracker. Specific
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94 suggestions for ways to improve Octave and its documentation are
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95 always welcome. Reports with patches are even more welcome.
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96
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97 Additional Information
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98 ----------------------
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99
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100 Up to date information about Octave is available on the WWW at
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101 <https://www.octave.org>, or ask for help via email
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102 <help@octave.org>.