[RPL/2] The documentation

[BERTRAND Joël]

Khanh-Dang Nguyen Thu Lam a écrit :
> Hello,

	Hello,

> RPL/2 is really a great tool, and it deserves to be more well-known,
> especially by HP calcs users. I like it, as I like my HP calcs, each
> having its own pros and cons.

	I know.

> Unfortunately, the documentation is still poor, especially about how to
> draw advanced graphes with gnuplot.

	Especially about all new intrinsics I have introduced. Not only with 
graphes with gnuplot (DRWS, DRAW, DRAX, AXES...) in 2D and 3D modes, but 
with TeX output, ultitasking (and SMP) with DETACH, RECV, SEND, WFPROC, 
files and file locks and a lot of others news. For example, I have 
tested the multitasking with :

#!/usr/local/bin/rpl -sc

/*
  * With multithread and recursive function.
  * RPL/2 4.00pre8p is required.
  * (C) JKB, 12th of august 2006.
  */

BOTTLES
<<
         // Child process is started.
         100 'RECURSIVE' detach
         -> PROC
         <<
                 do PROC recv until end drop2

                 do
                         // Parent waits for datas sent by child.
                         do PROC recv until end
                         list-> drop dup " on the wall," + 
disp "." + 					disp "Take one down, pass it around," disp

                         if dup 1 same not then
                                 do PROC recv until end list-> drop
                         else
                                 1 "No more bottles of beer"
                         end
                         " on the wall." + disp drop "" disp
                 until
                         1 same
                 end

                 // Parent waits for Child's death.
                 PROC wfproc
         >>
 >>

RECURSIVE
<<
         while
                 dup
         repeat
                 1 - dup dup ->str
                 if over 1 > then " bottles " else " bottle " end +
                 "of beer" + 2 ->list dup
                 // Child send datas to parent process.
                 send send
                 // Recursive function is caught.
                 RECURSIVE
         end
 >>

to fix some bugs in interprocess calls (DETACH, SEND, RECV, WFPROC) but 
I don't have time to write the documentation.


> I had to look into the source code
> to understand how some commands do work, but most users must have no
> time to do it. That's why I propose to write the documentation for the
> RPL/2 <=> gnuplot part (french version only, as my english is not that
> good). For this, I would like to have some more information than what
> the HELP command gives, especially about how to set the PPAR parameters.

	No problem. All docs are written with LaTeX.

> For example, despite my efforts, I didn't manage to set the axes to
> what I expect for 3D graphes, and the online help didn't help me :)

	You can send an example with your question. I hope I can help you ;-)

> As there is not much documentation, I also suggest, from my user point
> of view, to reorganize the text displayed by the help command when run
> with no arguments. Instead of listing all the commands in alphabetical
> order, I think it would be more helpful if they were sorted by
> categories: one for arrays processing, one for plotting, and so on. Not
> that easy because some commands could be in several categories, but I
> think it is worth the effort.

	Why not ? If I understand, you would find a list like the list you 
obtain with man rpl. I think it is possible without a lot of work.

	Regards,

	JKB