Re: Missing functions in "Mapping package"

[Juan Pablo Carbajal]

On Fri, Mar 24, 2017 at 9:02 PM, PhilipNienhuis <address@hidden> wrote:
> NJank wrote
>> On Fri, Mar 24, 2017 at 2:34 PM, Mithil &lt;
>
>> mithilleua@
>
>> &gt; wrote:
>>
>>> Hello
>>>
>>> Thanks for your precious reply.
>>>
>>> As a beginner to open source, I would like to start with some very
>>> elementary contributions in the beginning.
>>>
>>> Function signature which I mentioned in the previous mail meant "Function
>>> definition and specification" which includes input-output relation,
>>> parameters and their types and return value and their types.
>>>
>>
>>
>> I haven't worked on this package, but the following is my general
>> understanding which may answer some of your questions:
>>
>> For function definition as you define it, you will require some knowledge
>> of the intended function. Often the expected behavior is defined as
>> 'matlab
>> compatible input, output, and syntax'. I.e., if a command runs under
>> Matlab, ideally Octave could produce the same output from the same
>> commands. In those cases the intended functional behavior can usually be
>> determined from the Mathworks.com public facing documentation for the
>> function you're working on, including expected input/output syntax,
>> examples, etc. If you have access to Matlab you can do some trial and
>> error
>> yourself with function inputs/outputs, but DO NOT open any matlab
>> functions
>> to see their algorithms. Their code is not free and copying their
>> algorithms would be a violation of their copyright.
>>
>> If you do not have matlab access and the documentation is insufficient to
>> answer certain questions, you can make a test script, post it to the patch
>> tracker and/or mailing list, and request someone send you the output from
>> matlab.
>>
>> For proper form, assuming you're doing m-file coding, you can start by
>> opening the Octave editor and selecting File/New/New Function.   It will
>> prompt you for a function name and give you a fairly decent starting
>> template for the function. The default copyright notice will be at the
>> top.  There will be a texinfo block for documentation, Author info will be
>> placed after than, and then the function/endfunction block should contain
>> the actual code. you can change the input/output form/variable names/etc
>> to
>> whatever makes the most sense in your case.
>>
>> Preferred coding style/conventions can be found here:
>> http://wiki.octave.org/Octave_style_guide
>>
>> After the endfunction line, built in tests should be added. These are
>> tests
>> for expected input handling, output, error cases, etc., and can be run by
>> others to make sure any other changes don't break this function. Each
>> function should have at least one test. Demo's can also be added for
>> functions that warrant it. Would recommend peeking at some of the other
>> Octave functions to see examples of these and documentation formatting.
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/doc/v4.2.1/Test-and-Demo-Functions.html#Test-and-Demo-Functions
>>
>> Once you get a handle on coding m-files for octave, contributing would
>> follow the guidelines here
>> https://octave.sourceforge.io/developers.html
>>
>> Philip and others may correct me, especially with regards to this package,
>> but that's the understanding of the process I've been operating on. Hope
>> it
>> helps.
>
> Thanks Nick,
>
> I think that's a pretty accurate write-up.
>
> Philip
>
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: 
> http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/Missing-functions-in-Mapping-package-tp4682599p4682612.html
> Sent from the Octave - Maintainers mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
To add a short answer to the original author: Yes, if the function
exists in matlab please use the same function signature (and try to
make it return the same, see Nick's answer on this).