The main features of the command interpreter are :
- the possibility to add new commands in a very easy way.
- the use of an expression evaluator, written by Mark Morley, which can be used to parse numeric arguments, or make direct computations, and define variables.
- the possibility to write, load and execute programs, which are sequences of commands, using loops and jumps.
- the definition of objects which are arrays of several types of numbers, having names. So it is possible to refer to objects in arguments of commands for example, by giving their name. It is also possible to define structures, whose members are objects or other structures.
- there is an implementation of complex numbers in two ways. The library contains also some functions that simplify the use of arrays of numbers.
It is also possible to glue several applications of the command interpreter.
An application of the command interpreter needs an initialization
file which contains a configuration of the interpreter. This file can
be used in two ways : it can be read in the beginning of the execution,
or it can be included in the executable.
This manual is organized as follows :
In chapter 2 the structure of an initialization file for the interpreter is given. It is divided in sections which will determine the behavior of the interpreter.
In chapter 3 we explain how to write and use programs and command files.
In chapter 4 we show how commands can be written and implemented.
The chapter 5 treats of objects and structures, how they can be defined and used.
The chapter 6 is a description of the expression evaluator.
The chapter 7 is a description of question files, a way to give parameters to the interpreter.
The chapter 8 gives the list of all the commands that are implemented in the library.
In chapter 9 we describe some functions of the library that might be useful in applications of the command interpreter.
The chapter 10 describes the implementations of complex numbers and gives the list of the functions of the library that use these numbers.
The chapter 11 is a short tutorial. The reader can learn how to use
the command interpreter by examining the three applications given
in the directory appli.
The directory mini contains
a smaller version of the interpreter. In this version the following features
of the interpreter have been removed : the possibility to define objects
and structures, the complex numbers, the memory management facilities.