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Re: updating the FAQ
|
From: |
John W. Eaton |
|
Subject: |
Re: updating the FAQ |
|
Date: |
Thu, 26 Apr 2007 02:37:56 -0400 |
On 26-Apr-2007, David Bateman wrote:
| John W. Eaton wrote:
| > I'm having some trouble updating the FAQ.
| >
| > It would be very helpful to me if someone could dig up the patches
| > that have been submittedin the past and split them up so each change
| > covers just one question. Then it will be much easier to evaluate the
| > changes.
| >
| > I apologize for not taking care of this as patches were posted
| > earlier.
| >
| > jwe
| >
| >
| What about the attached patch. I updated my previous patch and tidied up
| the makeinfo errors I was getting..
OK, I checked in your patch and also made the following changes.
Thanks,
jwe
Index: doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/octave/doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi,v
retrieving revision 1.20
diff -u -u -r1.20 Octave-FAQ.texi
--- doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi 26 Apr 2007 04:01:08 -0000 1.20
+++ doc/faq/Octave-FAQ.texi 26 Apr 2007 06:37:05 -0000
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
@setchapternewpage off
@direntry
-* Octave-FAQ: (Octave-FAQ). Frequently asked questions about Octave
+* Octave-FAQ: (Octave-FAQ). Frequently asked questions about Octave
@end direntry
@titlepage
@title Octave FAQ
@@ -25,15 +25,15 @@
This is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) for Octave users.
-I'm looking for new questions (@emph{with} answers), better answers, or
-both. Please send suggestions to bug@@octave.org. If you have general
-questions about Octave, or need help for something that is not covered
-by the Octave manual or the FAQ, please use the help@@octave.org mailing
-list.
+We are always looking for new questions (@emph{with} answers), better
+answers, or both. Please send suggestions to @email{bug@@octave.org}.
+If you have general questions about Octave, or need help for something
+that is not covered by the Octave manual or the FAQ, please use the
address@hidden@@octave.org} mailing list.
This FAQ is intended to supplement, not replace, the Octave manual.
-Before posting a question to the help-octave mailing list, you should
-first check to see if the topic is covered in the manual.
+Before posting a question to the @email{help@@octave.org} mailing list,
+you should first check to see if the topic is covered in the manual.
@menu
* What is Octave?::
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
* Getting Octave::
* Installation::
* Common problems::
-* How do I ... ?::
+* How do I ...?::
* MATLAB compatibility::
* Index::
@end menu
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
@menu
* Who develops Octave?::
-* Why is Octave ``GNU Octave''?::
+* Why GNU Octave?::
* What version should I use?::
* On what platforms does Octave run?::
@end menu
@@ -84,43 +84,45 @@
@node Who develops Octave?
@section Who develops Octave?
-Development started in about 1988 with James B. Rawlings of the (U of
-Wisconsin-Madison) and John G. Ekerdt (U. of Texas) and has been going
-full-time since 1992 with John W. Eaton. The community
-of user/developers has in addition contributed some code and fuels the
-discussion on the mailing lists help@@octave.org (for help),
-bug@@octave.org (for bugs), octave-dev@@lists.sourceforge.net (for
-a repository of user-contributed functions).
-
address@hidden Why is Octave ``GNU Octave''?
address@hidden Why is Octave ``GNU Octave''?
-
-Octave was not developed by the FSF, but the FSF does distribute
-Octave, and the developers of Octave support the efforts of the FSF by
-encouraging users of Octave to order Octave on CD-ROM directly from
-the FSF.
-
-The FSF is a nonprofit organization that distributes software and
-manuals to raise funds for more GNU development. Buying a CD-ROM from
-the FSF contributes directly to paying staff to develop GNU software.
-CD-ROMs cost $240 if an organization is buying, or $60 if an individual
-is buying.
+Discussions about writing the software that would eventually become
+Octave started in about 1988 with James B. Rawlings and John W. Eaton at
+the University of Texas. John W. Eaton was the original author of
+Octave, starting full-time development in February 1992. He is still
+the primary maintainer. The community
+of users/developers has in addition contributed some code and fuels the
+discussion on the mailing lists @email{help@@octave.org} (user forum),
address@hidden@@octave.org} (bug reports), @email{maintainers@@octave.org}
+(development issues), and @email{octave-dev@@lists.sourceforge.net} (all
+things related to the Octave Forge repository of user-contributed
+functions).
+
address@hidden Why GNU Octave?
address@hidden Why GNU Octave?
+
+The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like
+operating system which is free software: the GNU system.
+
+GNU is a recursive acronym for ``GNU's Not Unix''; it is pronounced
+guh-noo, approximately like canoe.
+
+The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is the principal organizational
+sponsor of the GNU Project.
+
+Octave became GNU Octave in 1997 (beginning with version 2.0.6). This
+meant agreeing to consider Octave a part of the GNU Project and support
+the efforts of the FSF. However, Octave is not and has never been
+developed by the FSF.
+
+For more information about the GNU project, see @url{www.gnu.org}.
@cindex FSF [Free Software Foundation]
@cindex GNU [GNU's not unix]
-For more information about ordering from the FSF, contact
-gnu@@gnu.org, phone (617) 542-5942 or anonymous ftp the file
address@hidden/pub/gnu/GNUinfo/ORDERS} from ftp.gnu.org.
-
address@hidden FSF, contact <gnu@@gnu.org>
address@hidden GNUware, anonymous FTP sites
-
@node What version should I use?
@section What version should I use?
In general, you will find the latest version on
address@hidden://www.octave.org/download.html}. It is
address@hidden://www.octave.org/download.html}. It is
recommended to use the ``testing'' version of octave for general use,
and the ``development'' version if you want the latest features.
@@ -132,8 +134,8 @@
@node On what platforms does Octave run?
@section On what platforms does Octave run?
-Octave runs on various Unices - at least Linux and Solaris, Mac OS X,
-Windows and anything you can compile it on. Binary distributions exist
+Octave runs on various Unices---at least Linux and Solaris, Mac OS X,
+Windows and anything you can compile it on. Binary distributions exist
at least for Debian, Suse, Fedora and RedHat Linuxes (Intel and AMD
CPUs, at least), for Mac Os X and Windows' 98, 2000 and XP.
@@ -160,21 +162,21 @@
@example
@group
- @@address@hidden:2002,
- author = "John W. Eaton",
- title = "GNU Octave Manual",
- publisher = "Network Theory Limited",
- year = "2002",
- isbn = "0-9541617-2-6"
- @}
+@@address@hidden:2002,
+ author = "John W. Eaton",
+ title = "GNU Octave Manual",
+ publisher = "Network Theory Limited",
+ year = "2002",
+ isbn = "0-9541617-2-6"
address@hidden
@end group
@end example
@node Series 2.9.N
@chapter What's new in version series 2.9.N of Octave
-The 2.9.N series, started in March 2005, have enough new features to
-justify a major version number change. Version 2.9.10 is nearly as
+The 2.9.N series, started in March 2005, has enough new features to
+justify a major version number change. Version 2.9.10 is nearly as
stable as the latest 2.1.N releases and stability should increase as
one gets near version 3.0.
@@ -212,15 +214,6 @@
@end itemize
address@hidden The 2.9.N series, started in 6, 1998. Most bugs
address@hidden reported since version 2.0 was release have been fixed, and a
number of
address@hidden new features have been added. Octave is now much more
compatible with
address@hidden @sc{Matlab}.
-
address@hidden A list of user-visible changes in recent versions of Octave may
be found
address@hidden in the file NEWS, distributed in both source and binary releases
of
address@hidden Octave.
-
@node Octave Features
@chapter What features are unique to Octave?
@@ -230,7 +223,6 @@
* Strings delimitted by double quotes "::
* Line continuation by backslash::
* Informative block closing::
-* Empty argument lists::
* Coherent syntax::
* Exclamation mark as not operator::
@c * Short-circuit boolean operators::
@@ -245,7 +237,7 @@
@section Functions defined on the command-line
Functions can be defined by entering code on the command line, a
-feature not supported by the other leading brand. For example, you may
+feature not supported by the other leading brand. For example, you may
type:
@example
@@ -264,43 +256,33 @@
@node Comments with #
@section Comments with #
-The pound character, '#', may be used to start comments, in addition
-to '%'. See the previous example. The major advantage of this is that as
-'#' is also a comment character for unix script files, any file that
-starts with a string like ``#! /usr/bin/octave -q'' will be treated as
-an octave script and be executed by octave.
+The pound character, @samp{#}, may be used to start comments, in addition
+to @samp{%}. See the previous example. The major advantage of this is
+that as @samp{#} is also a comment character for unix script files, any
+file that starts with a string like @samp{#! /usr/bin/octave -q} will be
+treated as an octave script and be executed by octave.
@node Strings delimitted by double quotes "
@section Strings delimitted by double quotes "
-The double-quote, '"', may be used to delimit strings, in addition to
-the single quote address@hidden'}''. See the previous example. Also, double
-quoted strings include backslash interpretation (like C++, C, and
-Perl) while single quoted are uninterpreted (like Matlab and Perl).
+The double quote, @samp{"}, may be used to delimit strings, in addition to
+the single quote @samp{'}. See the previous example. Also, double-quoted
+strings include backslash interpretation (like C++, C, and Perl) while
+single quoted are uninterpreted (like Matlab and Perl).
@node Line continuation by backslash
@section Line continuation by backslash
-Lines can be continued with a backslash, '\', in addition to three
-points '...'. See the previous example.
+Lines can be continued with a backslash, @samp{\}, in addition to three
+points @address@hidden See the previous example.
@node Informative block closing
@section Informative block closing
-You may close ``function'', ``for'', ``while'', ``if'' ... blocks with
-``endfunction'', ``endfor'', ``endwhile'' ...
-Also, by default, M-files may end with 'end' without eliciting a warning.
-
address@hidden Empty argument lists
address@hidden Empty argument lists
-
-Parameter-less function calls may be made more readable by writing an
-empty argument list.
address@hidden
address@hidden
-octave:1> rand()
-ans = 0.76213
address@hidden group
address@hidden example
+You may close @code{function}, @code{for}, @code{while}, @code{if},
address@hidden blocks with @code{endfunction}, @code{endfor}, @code{endwhile},
address@hidden keywords in addition to using @code{end}. As with Matlab, the
address@hidden (or @code{endfunction}) keyword that marks the end of a
+function defined in a @file{.m} file is optional.
@node Coherent syntax
@section Coherent syntax
@@ -332,33 +314,6 @@
@end group
@end example
address@hidden @item You can also use the function @code{is_struct} to determine
address@hidden whether a given value is a data structure. For example
-
address@hidden @example
address@hidden is_struct (x)
address@hidden @end example
-
address@hidden @noindent
address@hidden returns 1 if the value of the variable @var{x} is a data
structure.
address@hidden @end itemize
-
address@hidden This feature should be considered experimental, but you should
expect it
address@hidden to work. Suggestions for ways to improve it are welcome.
-
address@hidden @node Short-circuit boolean operators
address@hidden @section Short-circuit boolean operators
-
address@hidden @cindex Boolean operators, short-circuit
address@hidden @cindex Logical operators, short-circuit
address@hidden @cindex Short-circuit boolean operators
address@hidden @cindex Operators, boolean
-
address@hidden Octave's @samp{&&} and @samp{||} logical operators are evaluated
in
address@hidden a short-circuit fashion (like the corresponding operators in the
C
address@hidden language) and work differently than the element by element
operators
address@hidden @samp{&} and @samp{|}.
-
@node Increment and decrement operators
@section Increment and decrement operators
@@ -367,7 +322,7 @@
@cindex Operators, increment
@cindex Operators, decrement
-If you like the '++', '+=' etc operators, rejoice!
+If you like the @samp{++}, @samp{+=} etc operators, rejoice!
Octave includes the C-like increment and decrement operators @samp{++}
and @samp{--} in both their prefix and postfix forms, in addition to
@samp{+=}, @samp{-=}, @samp{*=}, @samp{/=}, @samp{^=}, @samp{.*=},
@@ -378,10 +333,10 @@
value of @var{x} as the result of the expression. It is exactly the
same as the expression @address@hidden = @var{x} + 1}.
-To post-increment a variable @var{x}, you would write @address@hidden
+To post-increment a variable @var{x}, you would write @code{x++}.
This adds one to the variable @var{x}, but returns the value that
@var{x} had prior to incrementing it. For example, if @var{x} is equal
-to 2, the result of the expression @address@hidden is 2, and the new
+to 2, the result of the expression @code{x++} is 2, and the new
value of @var{x} is 3.
For matrix and vector arguments, the increment and decrement operators
@@ -441,27 +396,20 @@
@cindex Octave, documentation
-The Octave distribution includes a 375+ page manual that is also
+The Octave distribution includes a 550+ page manual that is also
distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL.
address@hidden The Octave manual is intended to be a complete reference for
Octave, but
address@hidden it is not a finished document.
It is available on the web at
@url{http://www.octave.org/docs.html} and you will also
find there instructions on how to order a paper version.
address@hidden Because the Octave manual is written using Texinfo, t
The complete text of the Octave manual is also available using the GNU
Info system via the GNU Emacs, info, or xinfo programs, or by using
the @samp{help -i} command to start the GNU info browser directly from
the Octave prompt.
address@hidden It is also possible to use your favorite WWW browser to read the
Octave
address@hidden manual by converting the Texinfo source to HTML using the
address@hidden @code{texi2html} program.
-
If you have problems using this documentation, or find that some topic
is not adequately explained, indexed, or cross-referenced, please send
-a bug report to bug@@octave.org.
+a bug report to @email{bug@@octave.org}.
@node Getting additional help
@@ -470,36 +418,24 @@
@cindex Additional help
@cindex Mailing lists, help-octave
-If you can't find an answer to your question, the mailing list
-
address@hidden
-help@@octave.org
address@hidden example
-
address@hidden
-is available for questions related to using, installing, and porting
-Octave that are not adequately answered by the Octave manual or by this
-document.
+If you can't find an answer to your question, the
address@hidden@@octave.org} mailing list is available for questions related
+to using, installing, and porting Octave that are not adequately
+answered by the Octave manual or by this document.
@node User community
@section User community
-If you would like to join the discussion and receive all messages sent
-to the list, please send a short note to
+To subscribe to the list, go to @url{www.octave.org/archive.html} and
+follow the link to the subscription page for the list.
address@hidden
address@hidden
-help-request@@octave.org
- ^^^^^^^
address@hidden group
address@hidden example
@strong{Please do not} send requests to be added or removed from the the
mailing list, or other administrative trivia to the list itself.
An archive of old postings to the help-octave mailing list is maintained
on @url{http://www.octave.org/archive.html}.
-You will also find some user advice and code spread over the web. Good
+You will also find some user advice and code spread over the web. Good
starting points are the Octave Wiki @url{http://wiki.octave.org} and
Octave-Forge @url{htt://octave.sourceforge.net}
@@ -530,7 +466,7 @@
@cindex Mailing lists, bug-octave
If for some reason you cannot use Octave's @code{bug_report} function,
-mail your bug report to "bug@@octave.org". Your message needs to
+mail your bug report to @email{bug@@octave.org}. Your message needs to
include enough information to allow the maintainers of Octave to fix the
bug. Please read the section on bugs and bug reports in the Octave
manual for a list of things that should be included in every bug report.
@@ -566,8 +502,8 @@
@cindex Pre-compiled binary packages
@cindex Binaries
-The Octave project does not ship binary packages, but other projects do.
-For an up-to-date listing of packagers, see:
+The Octave project does not distribute binary packages, but other
+projects do. For an up-to-date listing of packagers, see:
@itemize @bullet
@item @url{http://www.octave.org/download.html}
@@ -588,11 +524,11 @@
@cindex EMX
@cindex OS/2 support
-Octave currently runs on Unix-like systems, OS/2, and Windows NT/95
+Octave currently runs on Unix-like systems, Mac OS X, and Windows
(using the Cygwin tools from Red Hat). It should be possible
to make Octave work on other systems as well. If you are interested in
porting Octave to other systems, please contact
-bug@@octave.org.
address@hidden@@octave.org}.
@c @menu
@c * Octave for Unix::
@@ -600,12 +536,6 @@
@c * latest versions::
@c @end menu
address@hidden @node Octave for Unix
address@hidden @section How do I get a copy of Octave for Unix?
-
address@hidden You can get Octave from a friend who has a copy, by anonymous
FTP, or by
address@hidden ordering a tape or CD-ROM from the Free Software Foundation
(FSF).
-
@c @cindex Octave, ordering
@c @cindex Octave, getting a copy
@@ -614,13 +544,11 @@
@cindex Octave, building
-Octave 2.9.10 requires approximately 400MB of disk storage to unpack
-and compile from source (about 120MB if you don't compile with
-debugging symbols or create shared libraries). Once installed, Octave
-requires approximately 65MB of disk space (again, considerably less if
address@hidden How do I measure installed size?
-you don't build shared libraries or the binaries and libraries do not
-include debugging symbols).
+Octave 2.9.10 requires approximately 800MB of disk storage to unpack
+and compile from source (considerably less if you don't compile with
+debugging symbols). Once installed, Octave requires approximately 200MB
+of disk space (again, considerably less if you don't compile with
+debugging symbols).
@menu
* What else do I need?::
@@ -638,23 +566,21 @@
@cindex GNU Bison
To compile Octave, you will need a recent version of GNU Make. You
-will also need g++ 2.9.0 or later, although g++ 3.3 or later is
-recommended. Octave has been successfully built with all versions of
-g++ between 3.3 and 4.1. Later versions may work, but C++ is still evolving,
-so don't be too surprised if you run into some trouble.
+will also need GCC 3.3 or later, although GCC 4.1 or later is
+recommended.
address@hidden must have gnu make to compile octave}. Octave's Makefiles
address@hidden must have GNU Make to compile octave}. Octave's Makefiles
use features of GNU Make that are not present in other versions of make.
GNU Make is very portable and easy to install.
@node Other C++ compilers?
@section Can I compile Octave with another C++ compiler?
-Currently, Octave can only be compiled with the GNU C++ compiler. It
-would be nice to make it possible to compile Octave with other C++
-compilers, but the maintainers do not have sufficient time to devote to
-this. If you are interested in working to make Octave portable to other
-compilers, please contact bug@@octave.org.
+Yes, but development is done primarily with GCC, so you may hit some
+incompatibilities. Octave is intended to be portable to any standard
+conforming compiler. If you have difficulties that you think are bugs,
+please report them to the @email{bug@@octave.org} mailing list, or ask
+for help on the @email{help@@octave.org} mailing list.
@node Common problems
@chapter Common problems
@@ -678,15 +604,15 @@
function files is installed this way.
@end itemize
address@hidden How do I ... ?
address@hidden How do I ... ?
address@hidden How do I ...?
address@hidden How do I ...?
@menu
* How do I set the number of displayed decimals?::
@end menu
@cindex Tips and tricks
address@hidden How do I ... ?
address@hidden How do I @dots{} ?
@node How do I set the number of displayed decimals?
@section How do I set the number of displayed decimals?
@@ -700,13 +626,9 @@
octave:3> format short
octave:4> pi
pi = 3.1416
-octave:5> output_precision = 3;
-octave:6> pi
-pi = 3.14
@end group
@end example
-
@node MATLAB compatibility
@chapter Porting programs from @sc{Matlab} to Octave
@@ -734,41 +656,16 @@
and most likely do not affect the execution of function files.
The differences of the second category are usually because the authors
-of Octave decided on a better (subjective) implementation that the way
address@hidden does it, and so introduced ``user preference variables'' so that
-you can customize Octave's behavior to be either @sc{Matlab}-compatible or
-to use Octave's new features. To make Octave more @sc{Matlab}-compatible,
-put the following statements in your @file{~/.octaverc} file, or use the
-command line option @samp{--traditional}, which implies all of these
-settings. Note that this list may not be complete, because some new
-variables may have been introduced since this document was last updated.
-
address@hidden
address@hidden
- PS1 = ">> "
- PS2 = ""
- beep_on_error = true
- crash_dumps_octave_core = false
- default_save_format = "mat-binary"
- fixed_point_format = true
- page_screen_output = false
- print_empty_dimensions = false
- warn_function_name_clash = false
address@hidden group
address@hidden example
-
-Some other known differences are:
-
address@hidden @bullet
address@hidden
-The Octave plotting functions are mostly compatible with the ones from
address@hidden 3.x, but not from @sc{Matlab} 4.x.
address@hidden itemize
+of Octave decided on a better (subjective) implementation than the way
address@hidden works. To make Octave more @sc{Matlab}-compatible, use the
+command line option @samp{--traditional} (though really, with the latest
+2.9.N version, most of the things that the @samp{--traditional} option
+does are just cosmetic.
The third category of differences is (hopefully) shrinking. If you find
a difference between Octave behavior and @sc{Matlab}, then you should send a
description of this difference (with code illustrating the difference,
-if possible) to bug@@octave.org.
+if possible) to @email{bug@@octave.org}.
@node Index
@appendix Concept Index