Status of Variables - GNU Octave
Description: GNU Octave

Previous: Persistent Variables, Up: Variables

### 7.3 Status of Variables

When creating simple one-shot programs it can be very convenient to see which variables are available at the prompt. The function `who` and its siblings `whos` and `whos_line_format` will show different information about what is in memory, as the following shows.

         str = "A random string";
         who -variables
              -| *** local user variables:
              -|
              -| __nargin__  str

— Command: who
— Command: who pattern ...
— Command: who option pattern ...
— Command: C = who ("pattern", ...)

> List currently defined variables matching the given patterns. Valid pattern syntax is the same as described for the `clear` command. If no patterns are supplied, all variables are listed. By default, only variables visible in the local scope are displayed.

> The following are valid options but may not be combined.

> `global`
>   List variables in the global scope rather than the current scope.
> `-regexp`
>   The patterns are considered to be regular expressions when matching the variables to display. The same pattern syntax accepted by the `regexp` function is used.
> `-file`
>   The next argument is treated as a filename. All variables found within the specified file are listed. No patterns are accepted when reading variables from a file.

> If called as a function, return a cell array of defined variable names matching the given patterns.

> See also: whos, isglobal, isvarname, exist, regexp.

— Command: whos
— Command: whos pattern ...
— Command: whos option pattern ...
— Command: S = whos ("pattern", ...)

> Provide detailed information on currently defined variables matching the given patterns. Options and pattern syntax are the same as for the `who` command. Extended information about each variable is summarized in a table with the following default entries.

> Attr
>   Attributes of the listed variable. Possible attributes are:
>   blank
>     Variable in local scope
>   `a`
>     Automatic variable. An automatic variable is one created by the interpreter, for example `argn`.
>   `c`
>     Variable of complex type.
>   `f`
>     Formal parameter (function argument).
>   `g`
>     Variable with global scope.
>   `p`
>     Persistent variable.
> Name
>   The name of the variable.
> Size
>   The logical size of the variable. A scalar is 1x1, a vector is 1xN or Nx1, a 2-D matrix is MxN.
> Bytes
>   The amount of memory currently used to store the variable.
> Class
>   The class of the variable. Examples include double, single, char, uint16, cell, and struct.

> The table can be customized to display more or less information through the function `whos_line_format`.

> If `whos` is called as a function, return a struct array of defined variable names matching the given patterns. Fields in the structure describing each variable are: name, size, bytes, class, global, sparse, complex, nesting, persistent.

> See also: who, whos_line_format.

— Built-in Function: val = whos_line_format ()
— Built-in Function: old_val = whos_line_format (new_val)
— Built-in Function: whos_line_format (new_val, "local")

> Query or set the format string used by the command `whos`.

> A full format string is:

>               %[modifier]<command>[:width[:left-min[:balance]]];

> The following command sequences are available:

> `%a`
>   Prints attributes of variables (g=global, p=persistent, f=formal parameter, a=automatic variable).
> `%b`
>   Prints number of bytes occupied by variables.
> `%c`
>   Prints class names of variables.
> `%e`
>   Prints elements held by variables.
> `%n`
>   Prints variable names.
> `%s`
>   Prints dimensions of variables.
> `%t`
>   Prints type names of variables.

> Every command may also have an alignment modifier:

> `l`
>   Left alignment.
> `r`
>   Right alignment (default).
> `c`
>   Column-aligned (only applicable to command %s).

> The `width` parameter is a positive integer specifying the minimum number of columns used for printing. No maximum is needed as the field will auto-expand as required.

> The parameters `left-min` and `balance` are only available when the column-aligned modifier is used with the command ‘`%s`’. `balance` specifies the column number within the field width which will be aligned between entries. Numbering starts from 0 which indicates the leftmost column. `left-min` specifies the minimum field width to the left of the specified balance column.

> The default format is `" %a:4; %ln:6; %cs:16:6:1; %rb:12; %lc:-1;\n"`.

> When called from inside a function with the "local" option, the variable is changed locally for the function and any subroutines it calls. The original variable value is restored when exiting the function.

> See also: whos.

Instead of displaying which variables are in memory, it is possible to determine if a given variable is available. That way it is possible to alter the behavior of a program depending on the existence of a variable. The following example illustrates this.

         if (! exist ("meaning", "var"))
           disp ("The program has no 'meaning'");
         endif

— Built-in Function: exist (name, type)

> Return 1 if the name exists as a variable, 2 if the name is an absolute file name, an ordinary file in Octave's `path`, or (after appending ‘`.m`’) a function file in Octave's `path`, 3 if the name is a ‘`.oct`’ or ‘`.mex`’ file in Octave's `path`, 5 if the name is a built-in function, 7 if the name is a directory, or 103 if the name is a function not associated with a file (entered on the command line).

> Otherwise, return 0.

> This function also returns 2 if a regular file called name exists in Octave's search path. If you want information about other types of files, you should use some combination of the functions `file_in_path` and `stat` instead.

> If the optional argument type is supplied, check only for symbols of the specified type. Valid types are

> "var"
>   Check only for variables.
> "builtin"
>   Check only for built-in functions.
> "file"
>   Check only for files.
> "dir"
>   Check only for directories.

> See also: file_in_loadpath.

Usually Octave will manage the memory, but sometimes it can be practical to remove variables from memory manually. This is usually needed when working with large variables that fill a substantial part of the memory. On a computer that uses the IEEE floating point format, the following program allocates a matrix that requires around 128 MB memory.

         large_matrix = zeros (4000, 4000);

Since having this variable in memory might slow down other computations, it can be necessary to remove it manually from memory. The `clear` function allows this.

— Command: clear [options] pattern ...

> Delete the names matching the given patterns from the symbol table. The pattern may contain the following special characters:

> `?`
>   Match any single character.
> `*`
>   Match zero or more characters.
> `[` list`]`
>   Match the list of characters specified by list. If the first character is `!` or `^`, match all characters except those specified by list. For example, the pattern ‘`[a-zA-Z]`’ will match all lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters.

> For example, the command

>               clear foo b*r

> clears the name `foo` and all names that begin with the letter `b` and end with the letter `r`.

> If `clear` is called without any arguments, all user-defined variables (local and global) are cleared from the symbol table. If `clear` is called with at least one argument, only the visible names matching the arguments are cleared. For example, suppose you have defined a function `foo`, and then hidden it by performing the assignment `foo = 2`. Executing the command `clear foo` once will clear the variable definition and restore the definition of `foo` as a function. Executing `clear foo` a second time will clear the function definition.

> The following options are available in both long and short form

> `-all, -a`
>   Clears all local and global user-defined variables and all functions from the symbol table.
> `-exclusive, -x`
>   Clears the variables that don't match the following pattern.
> `-functions, -f`
>   Clears the function names and the built-in symbols names.
> `-global, -g`
>   Clears the global symbol names.
> `-variables, -v`
>   Clears the local variable names.
> `-classes, -c`
>   Clears the class structure table and clears all objects.
> `-regexp, -r`
>   The arguments are treated as regular expressions as any variables that match will be cleared.
> With the exception of `exclusive`, all long options can be used without the dash as well.

— Function File: pack ()

> Consolidate workspace memory in matlab. This function is provided for compatibility, but does nothing in Octave.

Information about a function or variable such as its location in the file system can also be acquired from within Octave. This is usually only useful during development of programs, and not within a program.

— Command: type name ...
— Command: type -q name ...
— Function File: dfns = type ("name", ...)

> Display the definition of each name that refers to a function.

> Normally also displays whether each name is user-defined or built-in; the `-q` option suppresses this behavior.

> If an output argument is requested nothing is displayed. Instead, a cell array of strings is returned, where each element corresponds to the definition of each requested function.

— Command: which name ...

> Display the type of each name. If name is defined from a function file, the full name of the file is also displayed.

> See also: help, lookfor.

— Command: what
— Command: what dir
— Function File: w = what (dir)

> List the Octave specific files in directory dir. If dir is not specified then the current directory is used. If a return argument is requested, the files found are returned in the structure w.

> See also: which.