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[LeanCalc.git] / help / CONFIG

Configuration parameters

    Configuration parameters affect how the calculator performs certain
    operations.  Among features that are controlled by these parameters
    are the accuracy of some calculations, the displayed format of results,
    the choice from possible alternative algorithms, and whether or not
    debugging information is displayed.  The parameters are
    read or set using the "config" built-in function; they remain in effect
    until their values are changed by a config or equivalent instruction.
    The following parameters can be specified:

            "all"               all configuration values listed below

            "trace"             turns tracing features on or off
            "display"           sets number of digits in prints.
            "epsilon"           sets error value for transcendentals.
            "maxprint"          sets maximum number of elements printed.
            "mode"              sets printout mode.
            "mode2"             sets 2nd base printout mode.
            "mul2"              sets size for alternative multiply.
            "sq2"               sets size for alternative squaring.
            "pow2"              sets size for alternate powering.
            "redc2"             sets size for alternate REDC.
            "tilde"             enable/disable printing of the roundoff '~'
            "tab"               enable/disable printing of leading tabs
            "quomod"            sets rounding mode for quomod
            "quo"               sets rounding mode for //, default for quo
            "mod"               sets "rounding" mode for %, default for mod
            "sqrt"              sets rounding mode for sqrt
            "appr"              sets rounding mode for appr
            "cfappr"            sets rounding mode for cfappr
            "cfsim"             sets rounding mode for cfsim
            "round"             sets rounding mode for round and bround
            "outround"          sets rounding mode for printing of numbers
            "leadzero"          enables/disables printing of 0 as in 0.5
            "fullzero"          enables/disables padding zeros as in .5000
            "maxscan"           maximum number of scan errors before abort
            "prompt"            default interactive prompt
            "more"              default interactive multi-line input prompt
            "blkmaxprint"       number of block octets to print, 0 means all
            "blkverbose"        TRUE=>print all lines, FALSE=>skip duplicates
            "blkbase"           block output base
            "blkfmt"            block output format
            "calc_debug"        controls internal calc debug information
            "resource_debug"    controls resource file debug information
            "user_debug"        for user defined debug information
            "verbose_quit"      TRUE=>print message on empty quit or abort
            "ctrl_d"            The interactive meaning of ^D (Control D)
            "program"           Read-only calc program or shell script path
            "basename"          Read-only basename of the program value
            "windows"           Read-only indicator of MS windows
            "cygwin"            TRUE=>calc compiled with cygwin, Read-only
            "compile_custom"    TRUE=>calc was compiled with custom functions
            "allow_custom"      TRUE=>custom functions are enabled
            "version"           Read-only calc version

    The "all" config value allows one to save/restore the configuration
    set of values.  The return of:

            config("all")

    is a CONFIG type which may be used as the 2rd arg in a later call.
    One may save, modify and restore the configuration state as follows:

            oldstate = config("all")
            ...
            config("tab", 0)
            config("mod", 10)
            ...
            config("all", oldstate)

    This save/restore method is useful within functions.
    It allows functions to control their configuration without impacting
    the calling function.

    There are two configuration state aliases that may be set.  To
    set the backward compatible standard configuration:

            config("all", "oldstd")

    The "oldstd" will restore the configuration to the default at startup.

    A new configuration that some people prefer may be set by:

            config("all", "newstd")

    The "newstd" is not backward compatible with the historic
    configuration.  Even so, some people prefer this configuration
    and place the config("all", "newstd") command in their CALCRC
    startup files; newstd may also be established by invoking calc
    with the flag -n.

    The following are synonyms for true:

            "on"
            "true"
            "t"
            "yes"
            "y"
            "set"
            "1"
            any non-zero number

    The following are synonyms for false:

            "off"
            "false"
            "f"
            "no"
            "n"
            "unset"
            "0"
            the number zero (0)

    Examples of setting some parameters are:

            config("mode", "exp");          exponential output
            config("display", 50);          50 digits of output
            epsilon(epsilon() / 8);         3 bits more accuracy
            config("tilde", 0)              disable roundoff tilde printing
            config("tab", "off")            disable leading tab printing


Detailed config descriptions

    =-=

    config("trace", bitflag)

    When nonzero, the "trace" parameter activates one or more features
    that may be useful for debugging.  These features correspond to
    powers of 2 which contribute additively to config("trace"):

        1: opcodes are displayed as functions are evaluated

        2: disables the inclusion of debug lines in opcodes for functions
           whose definitions are introduced with a left-brace.

        4: the number of links for real and complex numbers are displayed
           when the numbers are printed; for real numbers "#" or for
           complex numbers "       printed immediately after the number.

        8: the opcodes for a new functions are displayed when the function
           is successfully defined.

    See also resource_debug, calc_debug and user_debug below for more
    debug levels.

    =-=

    config("display", int)

    The "display" parameter specifies the maximum number of digits after
    the decimal point to be printed in real or exponential mode in
    normal unformatted printing (print, strprint, fprint) or in
    formatted printing (printf, strprintf, fprintf) when precision is not
    specified.  The initial value for oldstd is 20, for newstd 10.
    The parameter may be changed to the value d by either
    config("display", d) or by display (d).  This parameter does not change
    the stored value of a number.  Where rounding is necessary to
    display up to d decimal places, the type of rounding to be used is
    controlled by config("outround").

    =-=

    config("epsilon", real)
    epsilon(real)

    The "epsilon" parameter specifies the default accuracy for the
    calculation of functions for which exact values are not possible or
    not desired.  For most functions, the

                remainder = exact value - calculated value

    has absolute value less than epsilon, but, except when the sign of
    the remainder is controlled by an appropriate parameter, the
    absolute value of the remainder usually does not exceed epsilon/2.
    Functions which require an epsilon value accept an
    optional argument which overrides this default epsilon value for
    that single call.  The value v can be assigned to the "epsilon"
    parameter by either config("epsilon", v) or epsilon(v); each of
    these functions return the current epsilon value; config("epsilon")
    or epsilon() returns but does not change the epsilon value.
    For the transcendental functions and the functions sqrt() and
    appr(), the calculated value is always a multiple of epsilon.

    =-=

    config("mode", "mode_string")
    config("mode2", "mode_string")

    The "mode" parameter is a string specifying the mode for printing of
    numbers by the unformatted print functions, and the default
    ("%d" specifier) for formatted print functions.  The initial mode
    is "real".  The available modes are:

          config("mode")        meaning                         equivalent
              string                                            base() call

            "binary"            base 2 fractions                base(2)
            "bin"

            "octal"             base 8 fractions                base(8)
            "oct"

            "real"              base 10 floating point          base(10)
            "float"
            "default"

            "integer"           base 10 integer                 base(-10)
            "int"

            "hexadecimal"       base 16 fractions               base(16)
            "hex"

            "fraction"          base 10 fractions               base(1/3)
            "frac"

            "scientific"        base 10 scientific notation     base(1e20)
            "sci"
            "exp"

    Where multiple strings are given, the first string listed is what
    config("mode") will return.

    The "mode2" controls the double base output.  When set to a value
    other than "off", calc outputs files in both the "base" mode as
    well as the "base2" mode.  The "mode2" value may be any of the
    "mode" values with the addition of:

            "off"               disable 2nd base output mode    base2(0)

    The base() builtin function sets and returns the "mode" value.
    The base2() builtin function sets and returns the "mode2" value.

    The default "mode" is "real".  The default "mode2" is "off".

    =-=

    config("maxprint", int)

    The "maxprint" parameter specifies the maximum number of elements to
    be displayed when a matrix or list is printed.  The initial value is 16.

    =-=

    config("mul2", int)
    config("sq2", int)

    Mul2 and sq2 specify the sizes of numbers at which calc switches
    from its first to its second algorithm for multiplying and squaring.
    The first algorithm is the usual method of cross multiplying, which
    runs in a time of O(N^2).  The second method is a recursive and
    complicated method which runs in a time of O(N^1.585).  The argument
    for these parameters is the number of binary words at which the
    second algorithm begins to be used.  The minimum value is 2, and
    the maximum value is very large.  If 2 is used, then the recursive
    algorithm is used all the way down to single digits, which becomes
    slow since the recursion overhead is high.  If a number such as
    1000000 is used, then the recursive algorithm is never used, causing
    calculations for large numbers to slow down.  For a typical example
    on a 386, the two algorithms are about equal in speed for a value
    of 20, which is about 100 decimal digits.  A value of zero resets
    the parameter back to its default value.  Usually there is no need
    to change these parameters.

    =-=

    config("pow2", int)

    Pow2 specifies the sizes of numbers at which calc switches from
    its first to its second algorithm for calculating powers modulo
    another number.  The first algorithm for calculating modular powers
    is by repeated squaring and multiplying and dividing by the modulus.
    The second method uses the REDC algorithm given by Peter Montgomery
    which avoids divisions.  The argument for pow2 is the size of the
    modulus at which the second algorithm begins to be used.

    =-=

    config("redc2", int)

    Redc2 specifies the sizes of numbers at which calc switches from
    its first to its second algorithm when using the REDC algorithm.
    The first algorithm performs a multiply and a modular reduction
    together in one loop which runs in O(N^2).  The second algorithm
    does the REDC calculation using three multiplies, and runs in
    O(N^1.585).  The argument for redc2 is the size of the modulus at
    which the second algorithm begins to be used.

    =-=

    config("tilde", boolean)

    Config("tilde") controls whether or not a leading tilde ('~') is
    printed to indicate that a number has not been printed exactly
    because the number of decimal digits required would exceed the
    specified maximum number.  The initial "tilde" value is 1.

    =-=

    config("tab", boolean)

    Config ("tab") controls the printing of a tab before results
    automatically displayed when working interactively.  It does not
    affect the printing by the functions print, printf, etc.  The initial
    "tab" value is 1.

    =-=

    config("quomod", bitflag)
    config("quo", bitflag)
    config("mod", bitflag)
    config("sqrt", bitflag)
    config("appr", bitflag)
    config("cfappr", bitflag)
    config("cfsim", bitflag)
    config("outround", bitflag)
    config("round", bitflag)

    The "quomod", "quo", "mod", "sqrt", "appr", "cfappr", "cfsim", and
    "round" control the way in which any necessary rounding occurs.
    Rounding occurs when for some reason, a calculated or displayed
    value (the "approximation") has to differ from the "true value",
    e.g. for quomod and quo, the quotient is to be an integer, for sqrt
    and appr, the approximation is to be a multiple of an explicit or
    implicit "epsilon", for round and bround (both controlled by
    config("round")) the number of decimal places or fractional bits
    in the approximation is limited.  Zero value for any of these
    parameters indicates that the true value is greater than the approximation,
    i.e. the rounding is "down", or in the case of mod, that the
    residue has the same sign as the divisor.  If bit 4 of the
    parameter is set, the rounding of to the nearest acceptable candidate
    when this is uniquely determined; in the remaining ambiguous cases,
    the type of rounding is determined by the lower bits of the parameter
    value.  If bit 3 is set, the rounding for quo, appr and sqrt,
    is to the nearest even integer or the nearest even multiple of epsilon,
    and for round to the nearest even "last decimal place".  The effects
    of the 3 lowest bits of the parameter value are as follows:

        Bit 0: Unconditional reversal (down to up, even to odd, etc.)
        Bit 1: Reversal if the exact value is negative
        Bit 2: Reversal if the divisor or epsilon is negative

    (Bit 2 is irrelevant for the functions round and bround since the
    equivalent epsilon (a power of 1/10 or 1/2) is always positive.)

    For quomod, the quotient is rounded to an integer value as if
    evaluating quo with config("quo") == config("quomod").  Similarly,
    quomod and mod give the same residues if config("mod") == config("quomod").

    For the sqrt function, if bit 5 of config("sqrt") is set, the exact
    square-root is returned when this is possible; otherwise the
    result is rounded to a multiple of epsilon as determined by the
    five lower order bits.  Bit 6 of config("sqrt") controls whether the
    principal or non-principal square-root is returned.

    For the functions cfappr and cfsim, whether the "rounding" is down
    or up, etc. is controlled by the appropriate bits of config("cfappr")
    and config("cfsim") as for quomod, quo, etc.

    The "outround" parameter determines the type of rounding to be used
    by the various kinds of printing to the output: bits 0, 1, 3 and 4
    are used in the same way as for the functions round and bround.

    =-=

    config("leadzero", bool)

    The "leadzero" parameter controls whether or not a 0 is printed
    before the decimal point in non-zero fractions with absolute value
    less than 1, e.g. whether 1/2 is printed as 0.5 or .5.   The
    initial value is 0, corresponding to the printing .5.

    =-=

    config("fullzero", bool)

    The "fullzero" parameter controls whether or not in decimal floating-
    point printing, the digits are padded with zeros to reach the
    number of digits specified by config("display") or by a precision
    specification in formatted printing.  The initial value for this
    parameter is 0, so that, for example, if config("display") >= 2,
    5/4 will print in "real" mode as 1.25.

    =-=

    config("maxscan", int)

    The maxscan value controls how many scan errors are allowed
    before the compiling phase of a computation is aborted.  The initial
    value of "maxscan" is 20.  Setting maxscan to 0 disables this feature.

    =-=

    config("prompt", str)

    The default prompt when in interactive mode is "> ".  One may change
    this prompt to a more cut-and-paste friendly prompt by:

            config("prompt", "; ")

    On windowing systems that support cut/paste of a line, one may
    cut/copy an input line and paste it directly into input.  The
    leading ';' will be ignored.

    =-=

    config("more", str)

    When inside multi-line input, the more prompt is used.  One may
    change it by:

            config("more", ";; ")

    =-=

    config("blkmaxprint", int)

    The "blkmaxprint" config value limits the number of octets to print
    for a block.  A "blkmaxprint" of 0 means to print all octets of a
    block, regardless of size.

    The default is to print only the first 256 octets.

    =-=

    config("blkverbose", bool)

    The "blkverbose" determines if all lines, including duplicates
    should be printed.  If TRUE, then all lines are printed.  If false,
    duplicate lines are skipped and only a "*" is printed in a style
    similar to od.  This config value has not meaning if "blkfmt" is "str".

    The default value for "blkverbose" is FALSE: duplicate lines are
    not printed.

    =-=

    config("blkbase", "blkbase_string")

    The "blkbase" determines the base in which octets of a block
    are printed.  Possible values are:

        "hexadecimal"           Octets printed in 2 digit hex
        "hex"
        "default"

        "octal"                 Octets printed in 3 digit octal
        "oct"

        "character"             Octets printed as chars with non-printing
        "char"                      chars as \123 or \n, \t, \r

        "binary"                Octets printed as 0 or 1 chars
        "bin"

        "raw"                   Octets printed as is, i.e. raw binary
        "none"

    Where multiple strings are given, the first string listed is what
    config("blkbase") will return.

    The default "blkbase" is "hexadecimal".

    =-=

    config("blkfmt", "blkfmt_string")

    The "blkfmt" determines for format of how block are printed:

        "lines"         print in lines of up to 79 chars + newline
        "line"

        "strings"       print as one long string
        "string"
        "str"

        "od_style"      print in od-like format, with leading offset,
        "odstyle"          followed by octets in the given base
        "od"

        "hd_style"      print in hex dump format, with leading offset,
        "hdstyle"          followed by octets in the given base, followed
        "hd"               by chars or '.' if no-printable or blank
        "default"

    Where multiple strings are given, the first string listed is what
    config("blkfmt") will return.

    The default "blkfmt" is "hd_style".

    =-=

    config("calc_debug", bitflag)

    The "calc_debug" is intended for controlling internal calc routines
    that test its operation, or collect or display information that
    might be useful for debug purposes.  Much of the output from these
    will make sense only to calc wizards.   Zero value (the default for
    both oldstd and newstd) of config("resource_debug") corresponds to
    switching off all these routines.  For nonzero value, particular
    bits currently have the following meanings:

        n               Meaning of bit n of config("calc_debug")

        0       outputs shell commands prior to execution

        1       outputs currently active functions when a quit instruction
                is executed

        2       some details of shs, shs1 and md5 hash states are included
                in the output when these are printed

        3       when a function constructs a block value, tests are
                made that the result has the properties required for use of
                that block, e.g. that the pointer to the start of the
                block is not NULL, and that its "length" is not negative.
                A failure will result in a runtime error.

        4       Report on changes to the state of stdin as well as changes
                to internal variables that control the setting and restoring
                of stdin.

        5       Report on changes to the run state of calc.

        6       Report on rand() subtractive 100 shuffle generator issues.

    Bits >= 7 are reserved for future use and should not be used at this time.

    By default, "calc_debug" is 0.  The initial value may be overridden
    by the -D command line option.

    =-=

    config("resource_debug", bitflag)
    config("lib_debug", bitflag)

    The "resource_debug" parameter is intended for controlling the possible
    display of special information relating to functions, objects, and
    other structures created by instructions in calc scripts.
    Zero value of config("resource_debug") means that no such information
    is displayed.  For other values, the non-zero bits which currently
    have meanings are as follows:

        n               Meaning of bit n of config("resource_debug")

        0       When a function is defined, redefined or undefined at
                interactive level, a message saying what has been done
                is displayed.

        1       When a function is defined, redefined or undefined during
                the reading of a file, a message saying what has been done
                is displayed.

        2       Show func will display more information about a functions
                arguments and argument summary information.

        3       During execution, allow calc standard resource files
                to output additional debugging information.

    The value for config("resource_debug") in both oldstd and newstd is 3,
    but if calc is invoked with the -d flag, its initial value is zero.
    Thus, if calc is started without the -d flag, until config("resource_debug")
    is changed, a message will be output when a function is defined
    either interactively or during the reading of a file.

    The name config("lib_debug") is equivalent to config("resource_debug")
    and is included for backward compatibility.

    By default, "resource_debug" is 3.  The -d flag changes this default to 0.
    The initial value may be overridden by the -D command line option.

    =-=

    config("user_debug", int)

    The "user_debug" is provided for use by users.  Calc ignores this value
    other than to set it to 0 by default (for both "oldstd" and "newstd").
    No calc code or standard resource should change this value.  Users
    should feel free to use it in any way.   In particular they may
    use particular bits for special purposes as with "calc_debug", or
    they may use it to indicate a debug level with larger values
    indicating more stringent and more informative tests with presumably
    slower operation or more memory usage, and a particular value (like
    -1 or 0) corresponding to "no tests".

    By default, "user_debug" is 0.  The initial value may be overridden
    by the -D command line option.

    =-=

    config("verbose_quit", bool)

    The "verbose_quit" controls the print of the message:

        quit or abort executed

    when a non-interactive quit or abort without an argument is encountered.
    A quit of abort without an argument does not display a message when
    invoked at the interactive level.

    By deafult, "verbose_quit" is false.

    =-=

    config("ctrl_d", "ctrl_d_string")

    For calc that is using the calc binding (not GNU-readline) facility:

        The "ctrl_d" controls the interactive meaning of ^D (Control D):

            "virgin_eof"  If ^D is the only character that has been typed
            "virgineof"   on a line, then calc will exit.  Otherwise ^D
            "virgin"      will act according to the calc binding, which
            "default"     by default is a Emacs-style delete-char.

            "never_eof"   The ^D never exits calc and only acts according
            "nevereof"    calc binding, which by default is a Emacs-style
            "never"       delete-char.

            "empty_eof"   The ^D always exits calc if typed on an empty line.
            "emptyeof"    This condition occurs when ^D either the first
            "empty"       character typed, or when all other characters on
                          the line have been removed (say by deleting them).

        Where multiple strings are given, the first string listed is what
        config("ctrl_d") will return.

        Note that config("ctrl_d") actually controls each and every character
        that is bound to ``delete_char''.  By default, ``delete_char'' is
        Control D.  Any character(s) bound to ``delete_char'' will cause calc
        to exit (or not exit) as directed by config("ctrl_d").

        See the ``binding'' help for information on the default calc bindings.

        The default "ctrl_d", without GNU-readline is "virgin_eof".

    For calc that was compiled with the GNU-readline facility:

        The "ctrl_d" controls the interactive meaning of ^D (Control D):

            "virgin_eof"  Same as "empty_eof"
            "virgineof"
            "virgin"
            "default"

            "never_eof"   The ^D never exits calc and only acts according
            "nevereof"    calc binding, which by default is a Emacs-style
            "never"       delete-char.

            "empty_eof"   The ^D always exits calc if typed on an empty line.
            "emptyeof"    This condition occurs when ^D either the first
            "empty"       character typed, or when all other characters on

        Where multiple strings are given, the first string listed is what
        config("ctrl_d") will return.

        The default "ctrl_d", with GNU-readline is effectively "empty_eof".

        Literally it is "virgin_eof", but since "virgin_eof" is the
        same as "empty_eof", the default is effectively "empty_eof".

    Emacs users may find the default behavior objectionable, particularly
    when using the GNU-readline facility.  Such users may want to add the line:

        config("ctrl_d", "never_eof"),;

    to their ~/.calcrc startup file to prevent ^D from causing calc to exit.

    =-=

    config("program")           <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    The full path to the calc program, or the calc shell script can be
    obtained by:

        config("program")

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("basename")          <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    The calc program, or the calc shell script basename can be obtained by:

        config("basename")

    The config("basename") is the config("program") without any leading
    path.  If config("program") has a / in it, config("basename") is
    everything after the last /, otherwise config("basename") is the
    same as config("program").

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("windows")           <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    Returns TRUE if you are running on a MS windows system, false if you
    are running on an operating system that does not hate you.

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("cygwin")            <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    Returns TRUE if you calc was compiled with cygwin, false otherwise.

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("compile_custom")    <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    Returns TRUE if you calc was compiled with -DCUSTOM.  By default,
    the calc Makefile uses ALLOW_CUSTOM= -DCUSTOM so by default
    config("compile_custom") is TRUE.  If, however, calc is compiled
    without -DCUSTOM, then config("compile_custom") will be FALSE.

    The config("compile_custom") value is only affected by compile
    flags.   The calc -D runtime command line option does not change
    the config("compile_custom") value.

    See also config("allow_custom").

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("allow_custom")      <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    Returns TRUE if you custom functions are enabled.  To allow the use
    of custom functions, calc must be compiled with -DCUSTOM (which it
    is by default) AND calc run be run with the -D runtime command line
    option (which it is not by default).

    If config("allow_custom") is TRUE, then custom functions are allowed.
    If config("allow_custom") is FALSE, then custom functions are not
    allowed.

    See also config("compile_custom").

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.

    =-=

    config("version")           <== NOTE: This is a read-only config value

    The version string of the calc program can be obtained by:

        config("version")

    This config parameter is read-only and cannot be set.