Here is a screen session which illustrates the problem:
"
(%i3) trigexpand(sin(a - b));
(%o3) sin(a) cos(b) - cos(a) sin(b)
(%i4) grind(trigexpand(sin(a - b)));
sin(a)*cos(b)-cos(a)*sin(b)$
(%o4) done
(%i5) linel: 200;
(%o5) 200
(%i6) trigexpand(sin(a - b));
(%o6) sin(a) cos(b) - cos(a) sin(b)
"
- as one can see, without 'grind' there are whitespaces before useful 'maxima' output, furthermore, increasing 'linel' increases number of whitespaces.
I do not understand why whitespaces are output in the first place.
I do not understand why increasing 'linel' increases number of the whitespaces.
I couldn't find a way to get rid of the whitespaces except for using 'grind' - maybe I wasn't looking thoroughly enough. If there is other than 'grind' way of customizing console output, it should be clearly described in the documentation very beginning, somewhere in the introduction.
it's a drag to use 'grind' with every command I enter.
'maxima' and LISP versions:
"
Maxima 5.20.1 http://maxima.sourceforge.net
using Lisp SBCL 1.0.34
".
Alas, SF bug tracking system eats the whitespaces in question; just repeating the commands should illustrate my point.
It is the expected behaviour of Maxima to center the output in 2D-display. That is the reason for the observed effect of linel on the output.
In linear display (enter display2d:false) the output is aligned on the left side. Perhaps that is a modus you would like more.
Closing this bug report as invalid.
Dieter Kaiser
Reopening bug and copying the comment from bug 2943452 here:
I do not know how to reopen a bug, so I'm opening a new one which is meant
to be bug #2943403 reopened.
Regarding "It is the expected behaviour of Maxima to center the output in
2D-display.
That is the reason for the observed effect of linel on the output." - no
other interactive program I've dealt so far in more than 30 years of my
involvement with computers behaves the way 'maxima' does.
So, I do not think such a behavior can be called "expected" by most of the
users. As I wrote, 'maxima' documentation should prominently explain _in_
_the_ _very_ _beginning_ how to get rid of such behavior.
Parts of maxima are more than 30 years old, you are too young. :-)
Every math text book I have ever used has formulas centered on the line, which is what maxima does.
If this is annoying, you can use display2d:false, as Dieter says. You lose the 2D display, but you also lose the leading whitespace which seems far more annoying to you.
Closing this report (was marked invalid but not closed before).
Sounds like display2d:false is called for.