This chapter describes system commands, the command-line facilities used to control the Axiom environment. The first section is an introduction and discusses the common syntax of the commands available.
System commands are used to perform Axiom environment management. Among the commands are those that display what has been defined or computed, set up multiple logical Axiom environments (frames), clear definitions, read files of expressions and commands, show what functions are available, and terminate Axiom.
Some commands are restricted: the commands set userlevel interpreter set userlevel compiler set userlevel development
set the user-access level to the three possible choices. All commands are available at development level and the fewest are available at interpreter level. The default user-level is interpreter. user-level In addition to the )set command (discussed in ugSysCmdset ) you can use the HyperDoc settings facility to change the user-level.
Each command listing begins with one or more syntax pattern descriptions plus examples of related commands. The syntax descriptions are intended to be easy to read and do not necessarily represent the most compact way of specifying all possible arguments and options; the descriptions may occasionally be redundant.
All system commands begin with a right parenthesis which should be in the first available column of the input line (that is, immediately after the input prompt, if any). System commands may be issued directly to Axiom or be included in .input files. file:input
A system command argument is a word that directly follows the command name and is not followed or preceded by a right parenthesis. A system command option follows the system command and is directly preceded by a right parenthesis. Options may have arguments: they directly follow the option. This example may make it easier to remember what is an option and what is an argument:
)syscmd arg1 arg2 )opt1 opt1arg1 opt1arg2 )opt2 opt2arg1 ...
In the system command descriptions, optional arguments and options are enclosed in brackets (``['' and ``]''). If an argument or option name is in italics, it is meant to be a variable and must have some actual value substituted for it when the system command call is made. For example, the syntax pattern description
)read fileName [)quietly]
would imply that you must provide an actual file name for fileName but need not use the )quietly option. Thus
is a valid instance of the above pattern.
System command names and options may be abbreviated and may be in upper or lower case. The case of actual arguments may be significant, depending on the particular situation (such as in file names). System command names and options may be abbreviated to the minimum number of starting letters so that the name or option is unique. Thus
is not a valid abbreviation for the )set command, because both )set and )show begin with the letter ``s''. Typically, two or three letters are sufficient for disambiguating names. In our descriptions of the commands, we have used no abbreviations for either command names or options.
In some syntax descriptions we use a vertical line ``|'' to indicate that you must specify one of the listed choices. For example, in
only on and off are acceptable words for following boot. We also sometimes use ``...'' to indicate that additional arguments or options of the listed form are allowed. Finally, in the syntax descriptions we may also list the syntax of related commands.
User Level Required: compiler
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to query, set and remove abbreviations for category, domain and package constructors. Every constructor must have a unique abbreviation. This abbreviation is part of the name of the subdirectory under which the components of the compiled constructor are stored.
Furthermore, by issuing this command you let the system know what file to load automatically if you use a new constructor. Abbreviations must start with a letter and then be followed by up to seven letters or digits. Any letters appearing in the abbreviation must be in uppercase.
When used with the query argument, abbreviation query this command may be used to list the name associated with a particular abbreviation or the abbreviation for a constructor. If no abbreviation or name is given, the names and corresponding abbreviations for all constructors are listed.
The following shows the abbreviation for the constructor List:
The following shows the constructor name corresponding to the abbreviation NNI:
The following lists all constructor names and their abbreviations.
To add an abbreviation for a constructor, use this command with category, domain or package. abbreviation package abbreviation domain abbreviation category The following add abbreviations to the system for a category, domain and package, respectively:
If the )quiet option is used, no output is displayed from this command. You would normally only define an abbreviation in a library source file. If this command is issued for a constructor that has already been loaded, the constructor will be reloaded next time it is referenced. In particular, you can use this command to force the automatic reloading of constructors.
To remove an abbreviation, the remove argument is used. abbreviation remove This is usually only used to correct a previous command that set an abbreviation for a constructor name. If, in fact, the abbreviation does exist, you are prompted for confirmation of the removal request. Either of the following commands will remove the abbreviation VECTOR2 and the constructor name VectorFunctions2 from the system:
User Level Required: development
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used by Axiom system developers to execute expressions written in the BOOT language. For example,
creates and compiles the Common Lisp function ``times3'' obtained by translating the BOOT code.
Also See: )fin ugSysCmdfin, )lisp ugSysCmdlisp, )set ugSysCmdset, and )system ugSysCmdsystem.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command sets the Axiom working current directory. The current directory is used for looking for input files (for )read), Axiom library source files (for )compile), saved history environment files (for )history )restore), compiled Axiom library files (for )library), and files to edit (for )edit). It is also used for writing spool files (via )spool), writing history input files (via )history )write) and history environment files (via )history )save),and compiled Axiom library files (via )compile). read compile history )restore edit spool history )write history )save
If issued with no argument, this command sets the Axiom current directory to your home directory. If an argument is used, it must be a valid directory name. Except for the ``)'' at the beginning of the command, this has the same syntax as the operating system cd command.
Also See: )compile ugSysCmdcompile, )edit ugSysCmdedit, )history ugSysCmdhistory, )library ugSysCmdlibrary, )read ugSysCmdread, and )spool ugSysCmdspool.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to close down interpreter client processes. Such processes are started by HyperDoc to run Axiom examples when you click on their text. When you have finished examining or modifying the example and you do not want the extra window around anymore, issue
to the Axiom prompt in the window.
If you try to close down the last remaining interpreter client process, Axiom will offer to close down the entire Axiom session and return you to the operating system by displaying something like
Type ``y'' (followed by the Return key) if this is what you had in mind. Type ``n'' (followed by the Return key) to cancel the command.
You can use the )quietly option to force Axiom to close down the interpreter client process without closing down the entire Axiom session.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to remove function and variable declarations, definitions and values from the workspace. To empty the entire workspace and reset the step counter to 1, issue
To remove everything in the workspace but not reset the step counter, issue
To remove everything about the object x, issue
To remove everything about the objects x, y and f, issue
The word properties may be abbreviated to the single letter ``p''.
All definitions of functions and values of variables may be removed by either
This retains whatever declarations the objects had. To remove definitions and values for the specific objects x, y and f, issue
To remove the declarations of everything while leaving the definitions and values, issue
To remove declarations for the specific objects x, y and f, issue
The )display names and )display properties commands may be used to see what is currently in the workspace.
The command
does everything that )clear all does, and also clears the internal system function and constructor caches.
Also See: )display ugSysCmddisplay, )history ugSysCmdhistory, and )undo ugSysCmdundo.
User Level Required: compiler
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
You use this command to invoke the new Axiom library compiler or the old Axiom system compiler. The )compile system command is actually a combination of Axiom processing and a call to the Aldor compiler. It is performing double-duty, acting as a front-end to both the Aldor compiler and the old Axiom system compiler. (The old Axiom system compiler was written in Lisp and was an integral part of the Axiom environment. The Aldor compiler is written in C and executed by the operating system when called from within Axiom.)
The command compiles files with file extensions .as, .ao and .al with the Aldor compiler and files with file extension .spad with the old Axiom system compiler. It also can compile files with file extension .lsp. These are assumed to be Lisp files genererated by the Aldor compiler. If you omit the file extension, the command looks to see if you have specified the )new or )old option. If you have given one of these options, the corresponding compiler is used. Otherwise, the command first looks in the standard system directories for files with extension .as, .ao and .al and then files with extension .spad. The first file found has the appropriate compiler invoked on it. If the command cannot find a matching file, an error message is displayed and the command terminates.
The )translate option is used to invoke a special version of the old system compiler that will translate a .spad file to a .as file. That is, the .spad file will be parsed and analyzed and a file using the new syntax will be created. By default, the .as file is created in the same directory as the .spad file. If that directory is not writable, the current directory is used. If the current directory is not writable, an error message is given and the command terminates. Note that )translate implies the )old option so the file extension can safely be omitted. If )translate is given, all other options are ignored. Please be aware that the translation is not necessarily one hundred percent complete or correct. You should attempt to compile the output with the Aldor compiler and make any necessary corrections.
We now describe the options for the new Aldor compiler.
The first thing )compile does is look for a source code filename among its arguments. Thus
all invoke )compiler on the file /u/jones/as/mycode.as if the current Axiom working directory is /u/jones/as. (Recall that you can set the working directory via the )cd command. If you don't set it explicitly, it is the directory from which you started Axiom.)
This is frequently all you need to compile your file. This simple command:
Should you not want the )library command automatically invoked, call )compile with the )nolibrary option. For example,
The general description of Aldor command line arguments is in the Aldor documentation. The default options used by the )compile command can be viewed and set using the )set compiler args Axiom system command. The current defaults are
These options mean:
To supplement these default arguments, use the )moreargs option on )compile. For example,
uses the default arguments and appends the -v (verbose) argument flag. The additional argument specification must be enclosed in double quotes.
To completely replace these default arguments for a particular use of )compile, use the )onlyargs option. For example,
only uses the -v (verbose) and -O (optimize) arguments. The argument specification must be enclosed in double quotes. In this example, Lisp code is not produced and so the compilation output will not be available to Axiom.
To completely replace the default arguments for all calls to )compile within your Axiom session, use )set compiler args. For example, to use the above arguments for all compilations, issue
Make sure you include the necessary -l and -Y arguments along with those needed for Lisp file creation. As above, the argument specification must be enclosed in double quotes.
By default, the )library system command exposes all domains and categories it processes. This means that the Axiom intepreter will consider those domains and categories when it is trying to resolve a reference to a function. Sometimes domains and categories should not be exposed. For example, a domain may just be used privately by another domain and may not be meant for top-level use. The )library command should still be used, though, so that the code will be loaded on demand. In this case, you should use the )nolibrary option on )compile and the )noexpose option in the )library command. For example,
Once you have established your own collection of compiled code, you may find it handy to use the )dir option on the )library command. This causes )library to process all compiled code in the specified directory. For example,
You must give an explicit directory after )dir, even if you want all compiled code in the current working directory processed, e.g.
The )compile command works with several file extensions. We saw above what happens when it is invoked on a file with extension .as. A .ao file is a portable binary compiled version of a .as file, and )compile simply passes the .ao file onto Aldor. The generated Lisp file is compiled and )library is automatically called, just as if you had specified a .as file.
A .al file is an archive file containing .ao files. The archive is created (on Unix systems) with the ar program. When )compile is given a .al file, it creates a directory whose name is based on that of the archive. For example, if you issue
the directory mylib.axldir is created. All members of the archive are unarchived into the directory and )compile is called on each .ao file found. It is your responsibility to remove the directory and its contents, if you choose to do so.
A .lsp file is a Lisp source file, presumably, in our context, generated by Aldor when called with the -Flsp option. When )compile is used with a .lsp file, the Lisp file is compiled and )library is called. You must also have present a .asy generated from the same source file.
The following are descriptions of options for the old system compiler.
You can compile category, domain, and package constructors contained in files with file extension .spad. You can compile individual constructors or every constructor in a file.
The full filename is remembered between invocations of this command and )edit commands. The sequence of commands
will call the compiler, edit, and then call the compiler again on the file matrix.spad. If you do not specify a directory, the working current directory (see ugSysCmdcd ) is searched for the file. If the file is not found, the standard system directories are searched.
If you do not give any options, all constructors within a file are compiled. Each constructor should have an )abbreviation command in the file in which it is defined. We suggest that you place the )abbreviation commands at the top of the file in the order in which the constructors are defined. The list of commands serves as a table of contents for the file. abbreviation
The )library option causes directories containing the compiled code for each constructor to be created in the working current directory. The name of such a directory consists of the constructor abbreviation and the .NRLIB file extension. For example, the directory containing the compiled code for the MATRIX constructor is called MATRIX.NRLIB. The )nolibrary option says that such files should not be created. The default is )library. Note that the semantics of )library and )nolibrary for the new Aldor compiler and for the old system compiler are completely different.
The )vartrace option causes the compiler to generate extra code for the constructor to support conditional tracing of variable assignments. (see ugSysCmdtrace ). Without this option, this code is suppressed and one cannot use the )vars option for the trace command.
The )constructor option is used to specify a particular constructor to compile. All other constructors in the file are ignored. The constructor name or abbreviation follows )constructor. Thus either
or
compiles the RectangularMatrix constructor defined in matrix.spad.
The )break and )nobreak options determine what the old system compiler does when it encounters an error. )break is the default and it indicates that processing should stop at the first error. The value of the )set break variable then controls what happens.
Also See: )abbreviation ugSysCmdabbreviation, )edit ugSysCmdedit, and )library ugSysCmdlibrary.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to display the contents of the workspace and signatures of functions with a given name.A signature gives the argument and return types of a function.
The command
lists the names of all user-defined objects in the workspace. This is useful if you do not wish to see everything about the objects and need only be reminded of their names.
The commands
all do the same thing: show the values and types and declared modes of all variables in the workspace. If you have defined functions, their signatures and definitions will also be displayed.
To show all information about a particular variable or user functions, for example, something named d, issue
To just show the value (and the type) of d, issue
To just show the declared mode of d, issue
All modemaps for a given operation may be displayed by using )display operations. A modemap is a collection of information about a particular reference to an operation. This includes the types of the arguments and the return value, the location of the implementation and any conditions on the types. The modemap may contain patterns. The following displays the modemaps for the operation complexcomplexComplexCategory:
Also See: )clear ugSysCmdclear, )history ugSysCmdhistory, )set ugSysCmdset, )show ugSysCmdshow, and )what ugSysCmdwhat.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to edit files. It works in conjunction with the )read and )compile commands to remember the name of the file on which you are working. By specifying the name fully, you can edit any file you wish. Thus
will place you in an editor looking at the file /u/julius/matrix.input. editing files By default, the editor is vi, vi but if you have an EDITOR shell environment variable defined, that editor will be used. When Axiom is running under the X Window System, it will try to open a separate xterm running your editor if it thinks one is necessary. Korn shell For example, under the Korn shell, if you issue
then the emacs emacs editor will be used by )edit.
If you do not specify a file name, the last file you edited, read or compiled will be used. If there is no ``last file'' you will be placed in the editor editing an empty unnamed file.
It is possible to use the )system command to edit a file directly. For example,
calls emacs to edit the file. emacs
Also See: )system ugSysCmdsystem, )compile ugSysCmdcompile, and )read ugSysCmdread.
User Level Required: development
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used by Axiom developers to leave the Axiom system and return to the underlying Common Lisp system. To return to Axiom, issue the ``(|spad|)'' function call to Common Lisp.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
A frame can be thought of as a logical session within the physical session that you get when you start the system. You can have as many frames as you want, within the limits of your computer's storage, paging space, and so on. Each frame has its own step number, environment and history. You can have a variable named a in one frame and it will have nothing to do with anything that might be called a in any other frame.
Some frames are created by the HyperDoc program and these can have pretty strange names, since they are generated automatically. frame names To find out the names of all frames, issue
It will indicate the name of the current frame.
You create a new frame frame new `` quark'' by issuing
The history facility can be turned on by issuing either )set history on or )history )on. If the history facility is on and you are saving history information in a file rather than in the Axiom environment then a history file with filename quark.axh will be created as you enter commands. If you wish to go back to what you were doing in the frame next `` initial'' frame, use frame last
or
to cycle through the ring of available frames to get back to `` initial''.
If you want to throw away a frame (say `` quark''), issue
If you omit the name, the current frame is dropped. frame drop
If you do use frames with the history facility on and writing to a file, you may want to delete some of the older history files. file:history These are directories, so you may want to issue a command like rm -r quark.axh to the operating system.
You can bring things from another frame by using frame import )frame import. For example, to bring the f and g from the frame `` quark'' to the current frame, issue
If you want everything from the frame `` quark'', issue
You will be asked to verify that you really want everything.
There are two )set flags set message frame to make it easier to tell where you are.
will print more messages about frames when it is set on. By default, it is off.
will give a prompt set message prompt frame that looks like
prompt:with frame name when you start up. In this case, the frame name and step make up the prompt.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command displays help information about system commands. If you issue
then this very text will be shown. You can also give the name or abbreviation of a system command to display information about it. For example,
will display the description of the )clear system command.
All this material is available in the Axiom User Guide and in HyperDoc. In HyperDoc, choose the Commands item from the Reference menu.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
The history facility within Axiom allows you to restore your environment to that of another session and recall previous computational results. Additional commands allow you to review previous input lines and to create an .input file of the lines typed to file:input Axiom.
Axiom saves your input and output if the history facility is turned on (which is the default). This information is saved if either of
has been issued. Issuing either
will discontinue the recording of information. history )on set history on set history off history )off
Whether the facility is disabled or not, the value of % in Axiom always refers to the result of the last computation. If you have not yet entered anything, % evaluates to an object of type Variable('%). The function %% may be used to refer to other previous results if the history facility is enabled. In that case, %%(n) is the output from step n if n > 0. If n < 0, the step is computed relative to the current step. Thus %%(-1) is also the previous step, %%(-2), is the step before that, and so on. If an invalid step number is given, Axiom will signal an error.
The environment information can either be saved in a file or entirely in memory (the default). Each frame (ugSysCmdframe ) has its own history database. When it is kept in a file, some of it may also be kept in memory for efficiency. When the information is saved in a file, the name of the file is of the form FRAME.axh where `` FRAME'' is the name of the current frame. The history file is placed in the current working directory (see ugSysCmdcd ). Note that these history database files are not text files (in fact, they are directories themselves), and so are not in human-readable format.
The options to the )history command are as follows:
Also See: )frame ugSysCmdframe, )read ugSysCmdread, )set ugSysCmdset, and )undo ugSysCmdundo.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command replaces the )load system command that was available in Axiom releases before version 2.0. The )library command makes available to Axiom the compiled objects in the libraries listed.
For example, if you )compile dopler.as in your home directory, issue )library dopler to have Axiom look at the library, determine the category and domain constructors present, update the internal database with various properties of the constructors, and arrange for the constructors to be automatically loaded when needed. If the )noexpose option has not been given, the constructors will be exposed (that is, available) in the current frame.
If you compiled a file with the old system compiler, you will have an NRLIB present, for example, DOPLER.NRLIB, where DOPLER is a constructor abbreviation. The command )library DOPLER will then do the analysis and database updates as above.
To tell the system about all libraries in a directory, use )library )dir dirName where dirName is an explicit directory. You may specify ``.'' as the directory, which means the current directory from which you started the system or the one you set via the )cd command. The directory name is required.
You may only want to tell the system about particular constructors within a library. In this case, use the )only option. The command )library dopler )only Test1 will only cause the Test1 constructor to be analyzed, autoloaded, etc..
Finally, each constructor in a library are usually automatically exposed when the )library command is used. Use the )noexpose option if you not want them exposed. At a later time you can use )set expose add constructor to expose any hidden constructors.
Note for Axiom beta testers: At various times this command was called )local and )with before the name )library became the official name.
Also See: )cd ugSysCmdcd, )compile ugSysCmdcompile, )frame ugSysCmdframe, and )set ugSysCmdset.
User Level Required: development
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used by Axiom system developers to have single expressions evaluated by the Common Lisp system on which Axiom is built. The lispExpression is read by the Common Lisp reader and evaluated. If this expression is not complete (unbalanced parentheses, say), the reader will wait until a complete expression is entered.
Since this command is only useful for evaluating single expressions, the )fin command may be used to drop out of Axiom into Common Lisp.
Also See: )system ugSysCmdsystem, )boot ugSysCmdboot, and )fin ugSysCmdfin.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Description:
This command is obsolete. Use )library instead.
User Level Required: development
Command Syntax:
This command has the same arguments as options as the )trace command.
Command Description:
This command is used by Axiom system developers to trace Common Lisp or BOOT functions. It is not supported for general use.
Also See: )boot ugSysCmdboot, )lisp ugSysCmdlisp, and )trace ugSysCmdtrace.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to terminate Axiom and return to the operating system. Other than by redoing all your computations or by using the )history )restore command to try to restore your working environment, you cannot return to Axiom in the same state.
)pquit differs from the )quit in that it always asks for confirmation that you want to terminate Axiom (the ``p'' is for ``protected''). quit When you enter the )pquit command, Axiom responds
Please enter y or yes if you really want to leave the interactive
environment and return to the operating system:
If you respond with y or yes, you will see the message
You are now leaving the Axiom interactive environment.
Issue the command axiom to the operating system to start a new session.
and Axiom will terminate and return you to the operating system (or the environment from which you invoked the system). If you responded with something other than y or yes, then the message
You have chosen to remain in the Axiom interactive environment.
will be displayed and, indeed, Axiom would still be running.
Also See: )fin ugSysCmdfin, )history ugSysCmdhistory, )close ugSysCmdclose, )quit ugSysCmdquit, and )system ugSysCmdsystem.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to terminate Axiom and return to the operating system. Other than by redoing all your computations or by using the )history )restore command to try to restore your working environment, you cannot return to Axiom in the same state.
)quit differs from the )pquit in that it asks for pquit confirmation only if the command
has been issued. set quit protected Otherwise, )quit will make Axiom terminate and return you to the operating system (or the environment from which you invoked the system).
The default setting is )set quit protected so that )quit and )pquit behave in the same way. If you do issue
we set quit unprotected suggest that you do not (somehow) assign )quit to be executed when you press, say, a function key.
Also See: )fin ugSysCmdfin, )history ugSysCmdhistory, )close ugSysCmdclose, )pquit ugSysCmdpquit, and )system ugSysCmdsystem.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to read .input files into Axiom. file:input The command
will read the contents of the file matrix.input into Axiom. The ``.input'' file extension is optional. See ugInOutIn for more information about .input files.
This command remembers the previous file you edited, read or compiled. If you do not specify a file name, the previous file will be read.
The )ifthere option checks to see whether the .input file exists. If it does not, the )read command does nothing. If you do not use this option and the file does not exist, you are asked to give the name of an existing .input file.
The )quiet option suppresses output while the file is being read.
Also See: )compile ugSysCmdcompile, )edit ugSysCmdedit, and )history ugSysCmdhistory.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
The )set command is used to view or set system variables that control what messages are displayed, the type of output desired, the status of the history facility, the way Axiom user functions are cached, and so on. Since this collection is very large, we will not discuss them here. Rather, we will show how the facility is used. We urge you to explore the )set options to familiarize yourself with how you can modify your Axiom working environment. There is a HyperDoc version of this same facility available from the main HyperDoc menu.
The )set command is command-driven with a menu display. It is tree-structured. To see all top-level nodes, issue )set by itself.
Variables with values have them displayed near the right margin. Subtrees of selections have ``...'' displayed in the value field. For example, there are many kinds of messages, so issue )set message to see the choices.
The current setting for the variable that displays computation timings:displaying whether computation times timings:displaying are displayed is visible in the menu displayed by the last command. To see more information, issue
This shows that time printing is on now. To turn it off, issue
As noted above, not all settings have so many qualifiers. For example, to change the )quit command to being unprotected (that is, you will not be prompted for verification), you need only issue
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description: This command displays information about Axiom domain, package and category constructors. If no options are given, the )operations option is assumed. For example,
each display basic information about the Polynomial domain constructor and then provide a listing of operations. Since Polynomial requires a Ring (for example, Integer) as argument, the above commands all refer to a unspecified ring R. In the list of operations, $ means Polynomial(R).
The basic information displayed includes the signature of the constructor (the name and arguments), the constructor abbreviation, the exposure status of the constructor, and the name of the library source file for the constructor.
If operation information about a specific domain is wanted, the full or abbreviated domain name may be used. For example,
are among the combinations that will display the operations exported by the domain Polynomial(Integer) (as opposed to the general domain constructor Polynomial). Attributes may be listed by using the )attributes option.
Also See: )display ugSysCmddisplay, )set ugSysCmdset, and )what ugSysCmdwhat.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to save (spool) all Axiom input and output file:spool into a file, called a spool file. You can only have one spool file active at a time. To start spool, issue this command with a filename. For example,
To stop spooling, issue )spool with no filename.
If the filename is qualified with a directory, then the output will be placed in that directory. If no directory information is given, the spool file will be placed in the directory:for spool files current directory. The current directory is the directory from which you started Axiom or is the directory you specified using the )cd command. cd
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to create short synonyms for system command expressions. For example, the following synonyms might simplify commands you often use.
Once defined, synonyms can be used in place of the longer command expressions. Thus
is the same as the longer
To list all defined synonyms, issue either of
To list, say, all synonyms that contain the substring ``ap'', issue
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command may be used to issue commands to the operating system while remaining in Axiom. The cmdExpression is passed to the operating system for execution.
To get an operating system shell, issue, for example, )system sh. When you enter the key combination, Ctrl-- D (pressing and holding the Ctrl key and then pressing the D key) the shell will terminate and you will return to Axiom. We do not recommend this way of creating a shell because Common Lisp may field some interrupts instead of the shell. If possible, use a shell running in another window.
If you execute programs that misbehave you may not be able to return to Axiom. If this happens, you may have no other choice than to restart Axiom and restore the environment via )history )restore, if possible.
Also See: )boot ugSysCmdboot, )fin ugSysCmdfin, )lisp ugSysCmdlisp, )pquit ugSysCmdpquit, and )quit ugSysCmdquit.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
where options can be one or more of
Command Description:
This command is used to trace the execution of functions that make up the Axiom system, functions defined by users, and functions from the system library. Almost all options are available for each type of function but exceptions will be noted below.
To list all functions, constructors, domains and packages that are traced, simply issue
To untrace everything that is traced, issue
When a function is traced, the default system action is to display the arguments to the function and the return value when the function is exited. Note that if a function is left via an action such as a THROW, no return value will be displayed. Also, optimization of tail recursion may decrease the number of times a function is actually invoked and so may cause less trace information to be displayed. Other information can be displayed or collected when a function is traced and this is controlled by the various options. Most options will be of interest only to Axiom system developers. If a domain or package is traced, the default action is to trace all functions exported.
Individual interpreter, lisp or boot functions can be traced by listing their names after )trace. Any options that are present must follow the functions to be traced.
traces the function f. To untrace f, issue
Note that if a function name contains a special character, it will be necessary to escape the character with an underscore
To trace all domains or packages that are or will be created from a particular constructor, give the constructor name or abbreviation after )trace.
The first command traces all domains currently instantiated with Matrix. If additional domains are instantiated with this constructor (for example, if you have used Matrix(Integer) and Matrix(Float)), they will be automatically traced. The second command traces List(Integer). It is possible to trace individual functions in a domain or package. See the )ops option below.
The following are the general options for the )trace command.
The following are the options for tracing constructors, domains and packages.
Also See: )boot ugSysCmdboot, )lisp ugSysCmdlisp, and )ltrace ugSysCmdltrace.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
where option is one of
Command Description:
This command is used to restore the state of the user environment to an earlier point in the interactive session. The argument of an )undo is an integer which must designate some step number in the interactive session.
These commands return the state of the interactive environment to that immediately after step n. If n is a positive number, then n refers to step nummber n. If n is a negative number, it refers to the \tt n-th previous command (that is, undoes the effects of the last commands).
A )clear all resets the )undo facility. Otherwise, an )undo undoes the effect of )clear with options properties, value, and mode, and that of a previous undo. If any such system commands are given between steps and ( ), their effect is undone for )undo m for any ..
The command )undo is equivalent to )undo -1 (it undoes the effect of the previous user expression). The command )undo 0 undoes any of the above system commands issued since the last user expression.
This command returns the state of the interactive environment to that immediately before step n. Any )undo or )clear system commands given before step n will not be undone.
This command reads the file redo.input. created by the last )undo command. This file consists of all user input lines, excluding those backtracked over due to a previous )undo.
Also See: )history ugSysCmdhistory. The command )history )write will eliminate the ``undone'' command lines of your program.
User Level Required: interpreter
Command Syntax:
Command Description:
This command is used to display lists of things in the system. The patterns are all strings and, if present, restrict the contents of the lists. Only those items that contain one or more of the strings as substrings are displayed. For example,
displays all command synonyms,
displays all command synonyms containing the substring ``ver'',
displays all command synonyms containing the substring ``ver'' or the substring ``pr''. Output similar to the following will be displayed
Several other things can be listed with the )what command:
Also See: )display ugSysCmddisplay, )set ugSysCmdset, and )show ugSysCmdshow.