Re: Extension to "help"?

[Mark Odegard]

> 
> | I'd like to suggest a useful extension to octave's "help".
> 
> This was already in the PROJECTS file:
> 
>   * As the number of m-files with octave grows perhaps a 'Contents.m'
>     file for each toolbox (directory) would be appropriate so one
>     knows exactly what functions are in a toolbox with a quick look.
>     It would be best to generate information for each function directly
>     from the M-files, so that the information doesn't have to be
>     duplicated, and will remain current if the M-files change.  It
>     would also be best to do as much of this as possible in an M-file,
>     though I wouldn't mind adding some basic support for listing the
>     names of all the directories in the LOADPATH, and the names of all
>     the M-files in a given directory if that is needed.
> 
> I've added the following text to this item:
> 
>     Also make it possible to recursively search for Contents files:
> 
>       help dir        -- Contents from dir
>       help dir//      -- Contents from dir and all its subdirectories
>       help dir1/dir2  -- Contents from dir2 which is under dir1
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> jwe
> 

I use the following script to extract line(s) from the m-file into
a contents file in a given m-file directory
 
/bin/rm -f Contents.m
grep -h "^%[A-Z-]" *.m > Contents.m
 
With, for example, the following file in directory plots

{107} more AAAAAA.m 
%Plotting Functions

You, of course, only want to have one line beginning with

%{Capital_Letter}other stuff

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