shell#

Purpose#

Executes an operating system command.

Format#

shell stmt;

Parameters

stmt:

(literal or ^string) the command to be executed.

Examples#

comstr = "ls ./src";
shell ^comstr;

This lists the contents of the ./src subdirectory, then returns to GAUSS.

shell cmp n1.fmt n1.fmt.old;

This compares the matrix file n1.fmt to an older version of itself, n1.fmt.old, to see if it has changed.

When cmp finishes, control is returned to GAUSS.

shell;

This executes an interactive shell. The OS prompt will appear and OS commands or other programs can be executed. To return to GAUSS, type exit.

Remarks#

shell lets you run shell commands and programs from inside GAUSS. If a command is specified, it is executed; when it finishes, you automatically return to GAUSS. If no command is specified, the shell is executed and control passes to it, so you can issue commands interactively. You have to type exit to get back to GAUSS in that case.

If you specify a command in a string variable, precede it with the ^ (caret) as shown in the examples below.