[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #60806] Usability enhancement - include usage instructions in files generated by save

[Tasos Papastylianou]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?60806>

                 Summary: Usability enhancement - include usage instructions
in files generated by save
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: tpapastylianou
            Submitted on: Mon 21 Jun 2021 10:47:34 AM UTC
                Category: Interpreter
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: Feature Request
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: Tasos Papastylianou
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
                 Release: 6.2.0
         Discussion Lock: Any
        Operating System: Any

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Details:

This feature request is inspired by this question on stackoverflow:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/68056408/how-to-get-specific-data-drom-text-in-octave

Effectively, one of the more subtle differences between octave and matlab, is
how the 'save' command works:

 • matlab generally results in the creation of a binary file with the '.mat'
extension, unless otherwise specified (which is uncommon).

 • octave does not enforce a particular extension, and defaults to 'text'
mode

This creates an odd situation, where a textfile containing octave data, which
has been created via the 'save' command in octave, seems like an arbitrary
text file to the user, who then tries to write code to parse it, and it's not
obvious that it can simply be 'loaded'.

>From a usability point of view, it might be worth including in the
comment-header of that file a small addition, effectively letting the user
know that this is a file generated by the 'save' command and can be loaded in
octave using the 'load' command.

In other words, instead of, say:


# Created by Octave 6.2.0, Mon Jun 21 11:35:12 2021 BST <tasos@tasos-lenovo>
# name: a
# type: scalar
1


# name: b
# type: scalar
2


change this to, say:


# This data-containing file has been generated via the octave 'save' command.
# Use the 'load' command to add its contents to a new session.
#
# Created by Octave 6.2.0, Mon Jun 21 11:35:12 2021 BST <tasos@tasos-lenovo>
# name: a
# type: scalar
1


# name: b
# type: scalar
2





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