Most Octave variables are available for you to use for your own purposes; they never change except when your program assigns values to them, and never affect anything except when your program examines them.
A few variables have special built-in meanings. Some of them, like
pi and eps provide useful predefined constant values.
Others, like do_fortran_indexing and page_screen_output
are examined automatically by Octave, so that you can to tell Octave how
to do certain things. There are also two special variables, ans
and PWD, that are set automatically by Octave and carry
information from the internal workings of Octave to your program.
This chapter documents all the built-in variables of Octave. Most of them are also documented in the chapters that describe functions that use them, or are affected by their values.
I, i, J, j
I and J forms are true constants, and cannot be
modified. The i and j forms are like ordinary variables,
and may be used for other purposes. However, unlike other variables,
they once again assume their special predefined values if they are
cleared See section Miscellaneous Utilities.
Inf, inf
NaN, nan
SEEK_SET
SEEK_CUR
SEEK_END
fseek.
eps
eps is the smallest value
such that `1+eps' is not equal to 1. This number is
system-dependent. On machines that support 64 bit IEEE floating point
arithmetic, eps is approximately
pi
pi is computed as `4.0 * atan (1.0)'.
realmax
realmax is approximately
realmin
realmin is approximately
stdin
stdout
stderr
This section describes the variables that you can use to customize Octave's behavior.
Normally, preferences are set in the file `~/.octaverc', so that you can customize your environment in the same way each time you use Octave without having to remember and retype all the necessary commands. See section Startup Files for more information.
EDITOR
edit_history command.
If the environment variable EDITOR is set when Octave starts, its
value is used as the default. Otherwise, EDITOR is set to
"vi".
IMAGEPATH
INFO_FILE
"/usr/local/info/octave.info".
LOADPATH
LOADPATH
overrides the environment variable OCTAVE_PATH. See section Installing Octave.
LOADPATH is now handled in the same way as TeX handles
TEXINPUTS. If the path starts with `:', the standard path
is prepended to the value of LOADPATH. If it ends with `:'
the standard path is appended to the value of LOADPATH.
In addition, if any path element ends in `//', that directory and
all subdirectories it contains are searched recursively for function
files. This can result in a slight delay as Octave caches the lists of
files found in the LOADPATH the first time Octave searches for a
function. After that, searching is usually much faster because Octave
normally only needs to search its internal cache for files.
To improve performance of recursive directory searching, it is best for
each directory that is to be searched recursively to contain
either additional subdirectories or function files, but
not a mixture of both.
See section Organization of Functions Distributed with Octave for a description of the function file
directories that are distributed with Octave.
OCTAVE_VERSION
PAGER
"less", or, if less is not available
on your system, "more". See section Installing Octave, and
section Input and Output.
PS1
PS1 when it is ready to read a
command. Octave allows the prompt to be customized by inserting a
number of backslash-escaped special characters that are decoded as
follows:
octave).
PS1 is "\s:\#> ". To change it, use a
command like
octave:13> PS1 = "\\u@\\h> "which will result in the prompt `boris@kremvax> ' for the user `boris' logged in on the host `kremvax'. Note that two backslashes are required to enter a backslash into a string. See section String Constants.
PS2
PS1 at the beginning of each line after the first. Octave allows
PS2 to be customized in the same way as PS1. The default
value of PS2 is "> ".
PS4
--echo-input option, the value of
PS4 is printed before each line of input that is echoed. Octave
allows PS4 to be customized in the same way as PS1. The
default value of PS4 is "+ ". See section Invoking Octave, for
a description of --echo-input.
automatic_replot
"true", Octave will automatically send a
replot command to gnuplot each time the plot changes.
Since this is fairly inefficient, the default value is "false".
default_return_value
define_all_return_values is "true". The default value is
[].
default_save_format
save command. Options are
"ascii", "binary", "mat-binary", or
"float-binary". The default value is ascii.
define_all_return_values
define_all_return_values is "true", Octave
will substitute the value specified by default_return_value for
any return values that remain undefined when a function returns. The
default value is "false".
do_fortran_indexing
do_fortran_indexing is "true", Octave allows
you to select elements of a two-dimensional matrix using a single index
by treating the matrix as a single vector created from the columns of
the matrix. The default value is "false".
empty_list_elements_ok
empty_list_elements_ok is
"true", Octave will ignore the empty matrices in the expression
a = [1, [], 3, [], 5]and the variable `a' will be assigned the value `[ 1 3 5 ]'. The default value is
"warn".
gnuplot_binary
"gnuplot". See section Installing Octave.
ignore_function_time_stamp
stat() each time it looks up functions defined in
function files. If ignore_function_time_stamp to
"system", Octave will not automatically recompile function files
in subdirectories of /usr/local/lib/1.1.1 if
they have changed since they were last compiled, but will recompile
other function files in the LOADPATH if they change. If set to
"all", Octave will not recompile any function files unless their
definitions are removed with clear. For any other value of
ignore_function_time_stamp, Octave will always check to see if
functions defined in function files need to recompiled. The default
value of ignore_function_time_stamp is "system".
implicit_str_to_num_ok
implicit_str_to_num_ok is "true", implicit
conversions of strings to their numeric ASCII equivalents are allowed.
Otherwise, an error message is printed and control is returned to the
top level. The default value is "false".
ok_to_lose_imaginary_part
ok_to_lose_imaginary_part is "true",
implicit conversions of complex numbers to real numbers are allowed (for
example, by fsolve). If the value is "warn", the conversion is allowed,
but a warning is printed. Otherwise, an error message is printed and
control is returned to the top level. The default value is "warn".
output_max_field_width
output_precision and
output_max_field_width. Reasonable combinations can be set using
the format function. See section Basic Input and Output.
output_precision
output_precision and
output_max_field_width. Reasonable combinations can be set using
the format function. See section Basic Input and Output.
page_screen_output
page_screen_output is "true", all output
intended for the screen that is longer than one page is sent through a
pager. This allows you to view one screenful at a time. Some pagers
(such as less---see section Installing Octave) are also capable of moving
backward on the output. The default value is "true".
See section Input and Output.
You can choose the program to use as the pager by setting the variable
PAGER.
prefer_column_vectors
prefer_column_vectors is "true", operations like
for i = 1:10 a (i) = i; endfor(for `a' previously undefined) produce column vectors. Otherwise, row vectors are preferred. The default value is
"false".
If a variable is already defined to be a vector (a matrix with a single
row or column), the original orientation is respected, regardless of the
value of prefer_column_vectors.
prefer_zero_one_indexing
prefer_zero_one_indexing is "true", Octave
will perform zero-one style indexing when there is a conflict with the
normal indexing rules. See section Index Expressions. For example, given a
matrix
a = [1, 2, 3, 4]with
prefer_zero_one_indexing is set to "true", the
expression
a ([1, 1, 1, 1])results in the matrix `[ 1 2 3 4 ]'. If the value of
prefer_zero_one_indexing set to "false", the result would be
the matrix `[ 1 1 1 1 ]'.
In the first case, Octave is selecting each element corresponding to a
`1' in the index vector. In the second, Octave is selecting the
first element multiple times.
The default value for prefer_zero_one_indexing is "false".
print_answer_id_name
print_answer_id_name is "true", variable
names are printed along with the result. Otherwise, only the result
values are printed. The default value is "true".
print_empty_dimensions
print_empty_dimensions is "true", the
dimensions of empty matrices are printed along with the empty matrix
symbol, `[]'. For example, the expression
zeros (3, 0)will print
ans = [](3x0)
propagate_empty_matrices
propagate_empty_matrices is "true",
functions like inverse and svd will return an empty matrix
if they are given one as an argument. The default value is "true".
See section Empty Matrices.
resize_on_range_error
resize_on_range_error is "true", expressions
like
for i = 1:10 a (i) = i; endfor(for `a' previously undefined) result in the variable `a' being resized to be just large enough to hold the new value. Otherwise uninitialized elements are set to zero. If the value of
resize_on_range_error is "false", an error message is
printed and control is returned to the top level. The default value is
"true".
return_last_computed_value
return_last_computed_value is true, and a
function is defined without explicitly specifying a return value, the
function will return the value of the last expression. Otherwise, no
value will be returned. The default value is "false".
For example, the function
function f () 2 + 2; endfunctionwill either return nothing, if
return_last_computed_value is
"false", or 4, if it is "true".
save_precision
save command. The default value is 17.
silent_functions
silent_functions is "true", internal output
from a function is suppressed. Otherwise, the results of expressions
within a function body that are not terminated with a semicolon will
have their values printed. The default value is "false".
For example, if the function
function f () 2 + 2 endfunctionis executed, Octave will either print `ans = 4' or nothing depending on the value of
silent_functions.
split_long_rows
split_long_rows is "true", Octave will
display the matrix in a series of smaller pieces, each of which can fit
within the limits of your terminal width. Each set of rows is labeled
so that you can easily see which columns are currently being displayed.
For example:
octave:13> rand (2, 9) ans = Columns 1 through 7: 0.92205 0.72628 0.99841 0.62590 0.82422 0.77486 0.30258 0.15999 0.79484 0.75443 0.86995 0.91430 0.23980 0.64591 Columns 8 and 9: 0.08894 0.13266 0.28008 0.65575The default value of
split_long_rows is "true".
suppress_verbose_help_message
suppress_verbose_help_message is "true",
Octave will not add additional help information to the end of the output
from the help command and usage messages for built-in commands.
treat_neg_dim_as_zero
treat_neg_dim_as_zero is "true", expressions
like
eye (-1)produce an empty matrix (i.e., row and column dimensions are zero). Otherwise, an error message is printed and control is returned to the top level. The default value is
"false".
warn_assign_as_truth_value
warn_assign_as_truth_value is "true", a
warning is issued for statements like
if (s = t) ...since such statements are not common, and it is likely that the intent was to write
if (s == t) ...instead. There are times when it is useful to write code that contains assignments within the condition of a
while or if
statement. For example, statements like
while (c = getc()) ...are common in C programming. It is possible to avoid all warnings about such statements by setting
warn_assign_as_truth_value to "false", but that may also
let real errors like
if (x = 1) # intended to test (x == 1)! ...slip by. In such cases, it is possible suppress errors for specific statements by writing them with an extra set of parentheses. For example, writing the previous example as
while ((c = getc())) ...will prevent the warning from being printed for this statement, while allowing Octave to warn about other assignments used in conditional contexts. The default value of
warn_assign_as_truth_value is "true".
warn_comma_in_global_decl
warn_comma_in_global_decl is "true", a
warning is issued for statements like
global a = 1, bwhich makes the variables `a' and `b' global and assigns the value 1 to the variable `a', because in this context, the comma is not interpreted as a statement separator. The default value of
warn_comma_in_global_decl is "true".
warn_divide_by_zero
warn_divide_by_zero is "true", a warning
is issued when Octave encounters a division by zero. If the value is
"false", the warning is omitted. The default value is
"true".
warn_function_name_clash
warn_function_name_clash is "true", a
warning is issued when Octave finds that the name of a function defined
in a function file differs from the name of the file. If the value is
"false", the warning is omitted. The default value is
"true".
whitespace_in_literal_matrix
[ 1, 2, 3, 4 ]If the value of
whitespace_in_literal_matrix is "ignore",
Octave will never insert a comma or a semicolon in a literal matrix
list. For example, the expression `[1 2]' will result in an error
instead of being treated the same as `[1, 2]', and the expression
[ 1, 2, 3, 4 ]will result in the vector [1 2 3 4] instead of a matrix. If the value of
whitespace_in_literal_matrix is "traditional",
Octave will convert spaces to a comma between identifiers and `('. For
example, given the matrix
m = [3 2]the expression
[m (1)]will be parsed as
[m, (1)]and will result in
[3 2 1]and the expression
[ 1, 2, 3, 4 ]will result in a matrix because the newline character is converted to a semicolon (row separator) even though there is a comma at the end of the first line (trailing commas or semicolons are ignored). This is apparently how MATLAB behaves. Any other value for
whitespace_in_literal_matrix results in behavior
that is the same as traditional, except that Octave does not
convert spaces to a comma between identifiers and `('. For
example, the expression
[m (1)]will produce `3'. This is the way Octave has always behaved.
In addition to these variables, there are two other special built-in variables whose values are automatically updated.
ans
3^2 + 4^2is evaluated, the value of
ans is `25'.
PWD
PWD is updated each
time the current working directory is changed with the `cd'
command. See section System Utilities.
Here is a summary of all of Octave's preference variables and their
default values. In the following table OCTAVE_HOME stands for
the root directory where Octave is installed, and VERSION stands
for the Octave version number.
EDITOR EDITOR environment variable, or "vi"
INFO_FILE "OCTAVE_HOME/info/octave.info"
LOADPATH OCTAVE_PATH environment variable, or
".:OCTAVE_HOME/lib/VERSION"
PAGER "less", or "more"
PS1 "\s:\#> "
PS2 "> "
PS4 "+ "
automatic_replot "false"
default_return_value []
do_fortran_indexing "false"
define_all_return_values "false"
empty_list_elements_ok "warn"
gnuplot_binary "gnuplot"
ignore_function_time_stamp "system"
implicit_str_to_num_ok "false"
ok_to_lose_imaginary_part "warn"
output_max_field_width 10
output_precision 5
page_screen_output "true"
prefer_column_vectors "false"
prefer_zero_one_indexing "false"
print_answer_id_name "true"
print_empty_dimensions "true"
resize_on_range_error "true"
return_last_computed_value "false"
save_precision 17
silent_functions "false"
split_long_rows "true"
suppress_verbose_help_message "true"
treat_neg_dim_as_zero "false"
warn_assign_as_truth_value "true"
warn_comma_in_global_decl "true"
warn_divide_by_zero "true"
warn_function_name_clash "true"
whitespace_in_literal_matrix ""