[Maxima-bugs] [ maxima-Bugs-857171 ] variable needs to be quoted for DESCRIBE to work

[SourceForge.net <no...@so...>]

Bugs item #857171, was opened at 2003-12-09 14:38
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by robert_dodier
You can respond by visiting: 
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=104933&aid=857171&group_id=4933

Category: Documentation
Group: None
>Status: Closed
Resolution: None
Priority: 5
Submitted By: Robert Dodier (robert_dodier)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: variable needs to be quoted for DESCRIBE to work

Initial Comment:
I'm running Maxima 5.9.0 cvs version of 20031128, with
Clisp 2.31, on linux kernel 2.4.2. I haven't tried this
on any other system.

I find that DESCRIBE(FOO) doesn't work as intended if
FOO is a variable -- it has to be DESCRIBE('FOO).
(If FOO is a function then DESCRIBE works as intended.)

I don't know what's the best solution -- (1) change
DESCRIBE so that it doesn't evaluate its argument? (Is
that possible? Desirable?) (2) Fix up the documentation
so that references to FOO say "Do DESCRIBE('FOO)" ?

There are many places in the texi documents which say
"Do DESCRIBE(FOO)" or "See FOO". Here is a partial list
of those:

   Contexts.texi: CONTEXTS
   Expressions.texi, Runtime.texi: FEATURES, features
   Expressions.texi: PRODHACK
   Expressions.texi: SUMHACK
   Function.texi, xrefs.texi: MACROS
   Input.texi: INFOLISTS, GRIND, %%
   Integration.texi: ROMBERGABS, ROMBERGMIN
   Matrices.texi: LMXCHAR, RMXCHAR, RATMX, LISTARITH,
DETOUT, DOALLMXOPS
   DOMXEXPT, DOMXMXOPS, DOSCMXOPS, DOSCMXPLUS,
SCALARMATRIX, and SPARSE
   near "Do DESCRIBE(option)"
   Operators.texi: MODULUS
   Runtime.texi: RATEXPAND
   Trigonometric.texi: TRIGEXPAND, TRIGSIGN
   Debugging.texi: SETCHECKBREAK, DEBUGMODE
   Equations.texi: IEQNPRINT, SOLVE_INCONSISTENT_ERROR
   Miscellaneous.texi: INF, MINF
   Series.texi: TAYLOR_LOGEXPAND 
   Simplification.texi: MAXPOSEX, MAXNEGEX, CAUCHYSUM
   Special.texi: GAMMALIM 


----------------------------------------------------------------------

>Comment By: Robert Dodier (robert_dodier)
Date: 2004-10-08 18:17

Message:
Logged In: YES 
user_id=501686

I'm closing this bug report since the change suggested (to
make DESCRIBE an MSPEC) was implemented in rev 1.13 of
src/macdes.lisp.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment By: Stavros Macrakis (macrakis)
Date: 2003-12-09 23:44

Message:
Logged In: YES 
user_id=588346

Describe could certainly be made into an MSPEC (like an fexpr 
in Lisp).  In general, I am against making things quote their 
arguments for convenience (because it mucks up 
programmatic use), but in this case I think it makes sense, 
since this really is a command-line, user-oriented command.  
Even after N years of using Maxima, I still commit the error of 
writing describe(gcd), for example.  It seems very unlikely 
that anyone would want to have a variable argument to 
describe.  Well, I suppose someone imaginative or misguided 
might try for i in [first,last] do describe(i), but given that 
describe is usually interactive (asking for the particular case 
to describe), this is not a great idea.

So let's make it into an mspec.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can respond by visiting: 
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=104933&aid=857171&group_id=4933