FriCAS Code

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FriCAS FAQ.

Section 1 - About

1.1: What is FriCAS
1.2: What is relation between FriCAS and Axiom
1.3: What does the FriCAS name mean


1.1: What is FriCAS

FriCAS is an advanced computer algebra system.  Its capabilities range
from calculus (integration and differentiation) to abstract algebra.
It can plot functions and has integrated help system.  

1.2: What is relation between FriCAS and Axiom

FriCAS is a fork of Axiom.  FriCAS seeks different developement
methodology and removed several unused parts (without removing
functionality).

1.3: What does the FriCAS name mean

The prefix Fri is a deliberate misspeling of Free -- FriCAS sounds
like Free CAS.  There is also a second meaning: Polish word
"frykas" (which sounds similar to FriCAS) denotes generally 
tasty food,  French word "fricasse" and German "Frikasse" name
a particluar food.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is old Axiom FAQ


FAQ  0: How do I use Axiom?
FAQ  1: Xlib.h is not found
FAQ  2: axiom.sty is not found
FAQ  3: make hangs
FAQ  4: noweb needs to be rebuilt
FAQ  5: lisp needs to be rebuilt
FAQ  6: The interpreter is badly broken 
FAQ  7: The wrong version of GCL was used
FAQ  8: Parallel make (i.e. make -j) fails
FAQ  9: GCL does not build on my system: libbfd.a and bfd.a are missing
FAQ 10: The axiom.input file is ignored
FAQ 11: How do I add a new pamphlet file
FAQ 12: The axiom command fails.
FAQ 13: How can I create and access Lisp functions from Axiom?
FAQ 14: It still doesn't work
FAQ 15: How can I see what the interpreter is trying to do?
FAQ 16: How can I record console output?
FAQ 17: Graphics don't work or sman fails to start ?
FAQ 18: How can the user use the batch mode?
FAQ 19: How can I get equations written on one line?
FAQ 20: Axiom hangs when graphics should be displayed.
FAQ 21: How should I get my AXIOM shell variable and why?
FAQ 22: How do I check out the latest sources?
FAQ 23: How do I patch a file?
FAQ 24: What is the purpose of the domain HACKPI?
FAQ 25: Can I create or edit hypertex pages?
FAQ 26: How can I compile spad files on windows?
FAQ 27: Why can't I input text into the hypertex browser boxes?
FAQ 28: Graphics does not work inside TeXmacs?
FAQ 29: Where can I get help online?
FAQ 30: How can I file a bug report?
FAQ 31: How can I find out if this is a known bug
FAQ 32: How can I input an equation as a string?
FAQ 33: How can I run hypertex standalone?
FAQ 34: How can I find out about a domain?
FAQ 35: Why do .axiom.input defined functions fail in axiom?
FAQ 36: Axiom won't build on FC3
FAQ 37: Axiom won't build on FC4 or FC5
FAQ 38: How can I debug algebra code?
FAQ 39: How can I access lisp code from the Axiom command line?
FAQ 40: Text entry fails in the hypertex browser window

===================================================================
FAQ 0: How do I use Axiom?
===================================================================

Look at the online book. It is automatically built during the 'make'.
However, you can also do

make book

Either way, it will show up in

(yourpath)/axiom/mnt/linux/doc/book.dvi

===================================================================
FAQ 1: Xlib.h is not found
===================================================================

You need to have Xlib.h to build the graphics. If you are building
on a RedHat 8 system you need to install the following RPM:

  rpm -i XFree86-devel-4.2.0-72.i386.rpm

On Debian GNU/Linux, the package 'xlibs-dev' is needed.

===================================================================
FAQ 2: axiom.sty is not found
===================================================================

The build of noweb creates 3 files in the mnt/linux/bin directory:
notangle, noweave, and tex/axiom.sty. The build of the src/scripts
directory copies the document command to the mnt/linux/bin
directory. These four files are necessary to rebuild a Makefile.

These can be recreated in a clean system by typing:

   make start


===================================================================
FAQ 3: make hangs
===================================================================

A pamphlet file was modified and has a syntax error.  The document
command has its output redirected to a file called
obj/linux/tmp/trace.  Latex has found the syntax error and put up a
prompt which stops the make. Look in this file for the error.  You can
also see the error by rerunning make thus:

   make NOISE=

which will override the redirection and allow the latex output to go
to the console.

If the make hangs during the test cases check to see if it occurs
while trying to run graphics. If Axiom does not have permission 
from the X server to open a window then it will hang. Try
'xhost +'

===================================================================
FAQ 4: noweb needs to be rebuilt
===================================================================

The first time noweb is built a dummy file called noweb
is written into the top level directory. If this file is
removed noweb will be rebuilt. The following sequence should work:

  rm noweb
  make noweb


===================================================================
FAQ 5: lisp needs to be rebuilt
===================================================================

The first time lisp is built a dummy file called gcldir
is written into the top level directory. If this file is
removed lisp will be rebuilt. The following sequence should work:

  rm lsp/gcldir
  make 


===================================================================
FAQ 6: The interpreter is badly broken
===================================================================

If you look in src/interp/Makefile.pamphlet you'll see a stanza that
is marked debugsys. You can add ${DEBUGSYS} to the "all" stanza, make
the system and run debugsys. This is a copy of the interpsys image
except that all of the files are interpreted.  Note that you will have
to edit src/interp/debugsys.lisp.pamphlet.  Read the comments
there. At this point you are able to do deep system internal debugging
(which pretty much assumes you know how to navigate the underground
caves in the dark without fear of dragons. If you can play the game at
this level send axiom-developer@nongnu.org a note and we'll inscribe 
your name on a log and throw it on the fire.)

The basic steps, which assumes that your axiom sources live under tmp/axiom
  0) cd /tmp/axiom 
  1) modify the line in src/interp/Makefile.pamphlet that reads:
        all: ${SAVESYS} ${DOCFILES} # ${DEBUGSYS} 
     to read:
        all: ${SAVESYS} ${DOCFILES} ${DEBUGSYS} 
  2) set up the standard AXIOM shell variable
        export AXIOM=/tmp/axiom/src/interp
  3) set up the standard PATH variable
        export PATH=$AXIOM/bin:$PATH
  4) build the system, including debugsys.lisp
        make
  5) tell debugsys where to find the databases
        export DAASE=$AXIOM
  6) tell debugsys which platform you are on
        export SYS=linux
  7) start a clean lisp image
        obj/linux/bin/lisp
  8) load the debugsys code which loads the axiom system interpreted
        (load "/tmp/axiom/int/interp/debugsys.lisp")
  9) switch to the package the interpreter uses
        (in-package "BOOT")
 10) start the system
        (restart)

and you now have a running Axiom that uses interpreted rather than
compiled code. This makes finding errors easier.
  

===================================================================
FAQ 7: The wrong version of GCL was used
===================================================================

If you are building a version of Axiom on GCL there are several tested
versions. The first is GCL-2.4.1 which is an version 1 Common Lisp.
GCL-2.5 is a version 2 Common Lisp. There is a shell variable called
GCLVERSION that must be changed to choose the version.  Be sure it is
set to either gcl-2.4.1, gcl-2.5 gcl-2.5.2, or gcl-2.6.1 as these are
the only known-good versions of GCL for Axiom.

===================================================================
FAQ 8: Parallel make (i.e. make -j) fails
===================================================================

This is a complex issue. In theory, in order to build the algebra
files we have a whole graph of constraints between the algebra files.
In order to bootstrap the algebra the whole graph of algebra files
need to be built in a particular order to ensure that the required
files exist. This would argue for including the constraint as part of
the makefile stanzas.

However, once the algebra is bootstrapped these constraints are
checked at compile and runtime so it is possible to recompile an
algebra file without compiling the files it depends upon.

If we decided to include the constraints on each stanza then we
gain the benefit that "make -j" works. However, if we later change
a single algebra file it may trigger a rebuild of the entire algebra
library unnecessarily. Since bootstrap happens only once but algebra
compiles happen often it was decided to elide the constraints. This
will cause "make -j" to fail on initial build but vastly improve
later builds.

===================================================================
FAQ 9: GCL does not build on my system: libbfd.a and bfd.a are missing
===================================================================

We are using the option \texttt{--enable-statsysbfd} when building GCL (see
lsp/Makefile) so libbfd.a and bfd.h files are necessary on your system.

On Debian GNU/Linux, the needed package is 'binutils-dev'.

===================================================================
FAQ 10: The axiom.input file is ignored
===================================================================

The standard startup file, "axiom.input", has been renamed to
".axiom.input" to follow convention. This is an incompatible change.
On unix-style systems a filename that begins with a period is not
normally printed in a directory listing. This keeps the user's home
directory from being cluttered up by initialization files.

===================================================================
FAQ 11: How do I add a new pamphlet file
===================================================================

Pamphlet files are the only file format used by Axiom at the source
level. There are several steps to adding a new file to ensure that
Axiom will build it properly.

First, you have to decide where it should reside. Almost all files
reside under the src subdirectory. Never put anything into lsp, int,
obj, or mnt as these will be destroyed by "make clean".

Assume you add a file that extends the interpreter and will
go into the src/interp] subdirectory. You must modify the
src/interp/Makefile.pamphlet to correctly build the file.

You must also modify src/doc/axiom.bib.pamphlet to include
the file. Axiom uses bibtex to cross-reference the various 
pamphlet files. The normal method of citing a file involves
just using the name, for example \cite{asq.c} will build
a citation to the ./src/etc/asq.c.pamphlet file.

You must include the following two lines in your pamphlet file:

\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{axiom}

===================================================================
FAQ 12: The axiom command fails.
===================================================================

This is likely one of two problems. Axiom uses clef as its command
line editor. This has functionality similar to GNU Readline but 
was written independently. The axiom command uses:

  clef -e $AXIOM/bin/AXIOMsys

Clef attempts to create new terminals and this might fail.
The first thing to check is the permission bits on /dev/pty.

Next it is possible to run the axiom image, called AXIOMsys, directly.
Just type AXIOMsys. It won't have command recall or command line
editing but everything else is there.

===================================================================
FAQ 13: How can I create and access Lisp functions from Axiom?
===================================================================

SExpression is the domain that handles raw lisp objects.
It is possible to create SExpression elements directly contruction:

m:=[1::SEX, 2::SEX]
  [1,2]
                             Type: List SExpression
n:=m::SEX
  (1 2)
                             Type: SExpression
car(n)
  1
                             Type: SExpression

You can access lisp functions directly with:

GENSYM()$Lisp

Lisp is the domain, known to the interpreter and compiler, that contains
lisp functions and symbols.

Notice that Axiom is case-sensitive and that generally lisp symbols
are upper case. 

You can also create and call lisp functions. For instance:

)lisp (defun foo () (print "it works"))
    Value = FOO

FOO()$Lisp
 "it works"

    it works
                             Type: SExpression

While accessing and writing functions in Lisp is possible it is
generally not recommended as Axiom contains a programming language
that should be able to achieve almost everything you need.

===================================================================
FAQ 14: It still doesn't work
===================================================================

Send email to:

axiom-developer@nongnu.org

===================================================================
FAQ 15: How can I see what the interpreter is trying to do?
===================================================================

)set message bottomup on

will tell you the signatures that the interpreter is trying to use.

Another method is to do

)lisp (setq |$monitorNewWorld| t)

and you can view database calls with

)lisp (setq *miss* t)

===================================================================
FAQ 16: How can I record console output?
===================================================================
)spool filename
    starts sending output to the file called filename
)spool )off
    stops sending output to the file

===================================================================
FAQ 17: Graphics don't work or sman fails to start ?
===================================================================

First try running sman as :
sman -debug -noclef -nonag -noht
Try this as root also.
If graphics still don't work or sman fails to start then
look at the error messages . Does it show something like :

ptyopen: Failed to grant access to slave device: No such file or directory
ptyopen: Failed to get name of slave device: No such file or directory
ptyopen: Failed to open slave: Bad address

If so you may need to do a few things 
1) Make sure that devpts support is enabled in you kernel 
   ( CONFIG_DEVPTS_FS=y )
2) Make sure the directory /dev/pts exists
3) Mount devpts as in :
   "mount -t devpts devpts /dev/pts"
   You may also want to add the following line to your /etc/fstab file
   devpts          /dev/pts        devpts  gid=5,mode=602          0       0
   This will ensure that next time you reboot devpts is automatically
   mounted.

===================================================================
FAQ 18: How can the user use the batch mode?
===================================================================

1) create an input file:

echo '2+2' >tst.input
echo '3+3' >>tst.input

2) make sure the AXIOM variable is set

export AXIOM=/path/axiom/mnt/linux
export PATH=$AXIOM/bin:$PATH

3) pipe a )read command to AXIOMsys and capture the output

echo ')read tst.input' | AXIOMsys >tst.output

===================================================================
FAQ 19: How can I get equations written on one line?
===================================================================

> Dear Axiom supporters,
> 2. I would also like to have the output of kind
> 
>  "  - (s-1) * (s+1) * (p^4 +(2*e^3 + (24*s^2 - 4)*e)*p^3 * ...) * ... 
>  "
> 
> For example, my DoCon program can read this format ...
> 
> 2.1 It prints these polynomials like for  (Z[e])[p]:  
>                                               " (e^2 + 2e)*p "
>     How to print it like for  Z[p,e]: 
>                                               " 2*p*e + e^2 "

You may wish to use the InputForm domain, where you can find some
bizarre functions. In your case, "unparse" may help you, as follows.

(1) -> p:=(a+b+y)^2*y+1-(x+y+z)^4

   (1)
        4               3        2             2  2
     - z  + (- 4y - 4x)z  + (- 6y  - 12x y - 6x )z
   + 
          3        2      2      3      4              3        2            2
     (- 4y  - 12x y  - 12x y - 4x )z - y  + (- 4x + 1)y  + (- 6x  + 2b + 2a)y
   + 
          3    2           2      4
     (- 4x  + b  + 2a b + a )y - x  + 1
                                                     Type: Polynomial Integer
(2) -> pi:=p::InputForm

  (2)
  (+
     (+
       (+  (+ (* - 1 (** z 4)) (* (+ (* - 4 y) (* - 4 x)) (** z 3)))
       (* (+ (+ (* - 6 (** y 2)) (* (* - 12 x) y)) (* - 6 (** x 2))) (** z 2)))

      (*
         (+
           (+  (+ (* - 4 (** y 3)) (* (* - 12 x) (** y 2)))
           (* (* - 12 (** x 2)) y))
          (* - 4 (** x 3)))
        z)
      )

    (+
       (+
         (+  (+ (* - 1 (** y 4)) (* (+ (* - 4 x) 1) (** y 3)))
         (* (+ (* - 6 (** x 2)) (+ (* 2 b) (* 2 a))) (** y 2)))
        (* (+ (* - 4 (** x 3)) (+ (+ (** b 2) (* (* 2 a) b)) (** a 2))) y))
      (+ (* - 1 (** x 4)) 1))
    )
                                                              Type: InputForm
(3) -> unparse(pi)

   (3)
  "(-z**4)+((-4*y)+(-4*x))*z**3+((-6*y*y)+(-12*x*y)+(-6*x*x))*z*z+((-4*y**3)+(-
  12*x*y*y)+(-12*x*x*y)+(-4*x**3))*z+(-y**4)+((-4*x)+1)*y**3+((-6*x*x)+2*b+2*a)
  *y*y+((-4*x**3)+b*b+2*a*b+a*a)*y+(-x**4)+1"
                                                                 Type: String


Aternatively you can get the LaTex output string:

(4) -> )lisp (|parseAndInterpret| "integrate(sin(x),x)::TexFormat::OutputForm")


   (4)  ["$$","-{\cos ","\left(","{x} ","\right)}","$$"]
                                                             Type: OutputForm
Value = ((|OutputForm|) WRAPPED BRACKET (AGGLST "\"$$\"" "\"-{\\cos \""
"\"\\left(\"" "\"{x} \"" "\"\\right)}\"" "\"$$\""))

or the text form:

(5) -> )lisp (|parseAndInterpret| "integrate(sin(x),x)::OutputForm")

   (5)  - cos(x)
                                                             Type: OutputForm
Value = ((|OutputForm|) WRAPPED "-" (|cos| |x|))

or the actual string output:

Axiom's algebra gets output to a stream called |$algebraOutputStream|
Thus you can get the output you want by:

)set message autoload off
)lisp (progn
          ; we need a new output stream that is backed by a string
        (setq tmpout (make-string-output-stream))
          ; we hold on to the regular algebra output stream
        (setq save |$algebraOutputStream|)
          ; we capture the algebra output into the string stream
        (setq |$algebraOutputStream| tmpout)
          ; we generate output from string input
        (|parseAndInterpret| "(x+1)^9")
          ; we save the output into the result variable
        (setq result (get-output-stream-string |$algebraOutputStream|))
          ; we restore the regular algebra output stream
        (setq |$algebraOutputStream| save)
          ; and we return the string as our value
        result)

)lisp result

result contains the output from axiom that you want.

Alternatively you can see the internal representation using |pf2Sex|
(parsed function to s-expression) by doing:

if you start axiom and type

   )trace (|pf2Sex|)

and then type some expression 

   1

you'll see the input and output of this function. This function
(parsed function to s-expression) is internal to the axiom interpreter.
it takes the parsed input line and converts it to a lisp s-expression.
so the above '1' input yields

 1> (|pf2Sex| ((|Integer| (|posn (0 "1" 1 1 "strings") . 0)) . "1"))
 1< (|pf2Sex| 1)

the "1>" line tells you the function input.
the "1<" line tells you the function output.

notice that even a simple input line generates type information.

this function is not part of the exposed user interface because
there is nothing at the user level that needs this information.


===================================================================
FAQ 20: Axiom hangs when graphics should be displayed.
===================================================================

Be sure that your X server will allow you to display windows. try:
'xhost +'

===================================================================
FAQ 21: How should I get my AXIOM shell variable and why?
===================================================================

The AXIOM variable is used at 2 different times, during make and
during execution.

First, lets look at the make case:

The build process needs to know 2 things. It needs to know where
the axiom sources are. It needs to know what kind of system to build.
Both of these pieces of information are in the AXIOM shell variable.

Suppose you download axiom into /tmp/axiom and 
you want to build a linux system. 
The AXIOM shell variable would be set to:

export AXIOM=/tmp/axiom/mnt/linux
             ^^^^^^^^^^
             where          ^^^^^
                            what

when the make starts it looks for where it will find the sources and
gets /tmp/axiom. It next looks for what kind of system to build and
gets linux.

In the top level makefile we see:

SPD=$(shell pwd)

which means that SPD will be the current working directory. 
It got set to:

SPD=/tmp/axiom

which is correct.

Next in the Makefile we see:

SYS=$(notdir $(AXIOM))

which got set to:

SYS=linux

so we can see from this information that the AXIOM shell variable
was set to:

AXIOM=/tmp/axiom/mnt/linux


Second, the AXIOM variable is used at runtime to tell axiom where
it lives. When you build an axiom system everything that is important
and worth keeping lives under the mnt subdirectory. So to "install"
an Axiom system into /usr/local/axiom, for example, you need only
copy the mnt subdirectory thus:

mkdir /usr/local/axiom
cd /tmp/axiom
cp -pr mnt /usr/local/axiom

Now that we've done that we can remove the whole axiom directory
from /tmp because it is no longer needed. 

However, in order to run Axiom we need 2 pieces of information.
First, we have to tell Axiom where it now lives and second, we
have to put the commands on our path so they can be found. So,
since we installed axiom into /usr/local/axiom we need:

export AXIOM=/usr/local/axiom/mnt/linux
export PATH=$AXIOM/bin:$PATH

The AXIOM shell variable tells axiom where to find itself.
The PATH shell variable tells linux where to find executables.

===================================================================
FAQ 22: How do I check out the latest sources?
===================================================================

export CVS_RSH=ssh
cvs -d:ext:anoncvs@savannah.nongnu.org:/cvsroot/axiom co axiom

===================================================================
FAQ 23: How do I patch a file?
===================================================================
This is an example of changing floats.spad.pamphlet and
incorporating a test case in the src/input directory:

1) Applied the negative float rounding/truncation patch from
Savannah to the floats.spad.pamphlet file.

2) Created a simple input file called
     negfloats.input.pamphlet
   in the src/input directory that executes some Axiom
   commands illustrating the bugs

3) Modified the file src/input/Makefile.pamphlet to
   include the following new subsection and stanzas

\subsection{negfloats}
<<negfloats>>=
${OUT}/negfloats.input: ${MID}/negfloats.input
        @ echo 426 making ${OUT}/negfloats.input from ${MID}/negfloats.input
        @ cp ${MID}/negfloats.input ${OUT}/ngefloats.input

${MID}/negfloats.input: ${IN}/negfloats.input.pamphlet
        @ echo 427 making ${MID}/negfloats.input from
${IN}/negfloats.input.pamphlet
        @(cd ${MID} ; \
          ${TANGLE} ${IN}/negfloats.input.pamphlet >negfloats.input )

4) Made a new entry for negfloats in

FILES= ${OUT}/algaggr.input  ${OUT}/algbrbf.input    ${OUT}/algfacob.input \
       ...
       ${OUT}/ndftip.input   ${OUT}/newlodo.input \
       ${OUT}/negfloats.input \
       ...

5) Added a reference to <<negfloats>> in <<*>>=

<<*>>=
...
<<NDFtip>>
<<negfloats>>
...

6) Did axiom 'make' to compile the revised floats domain and
   (hopefully) run the negfloats.input test file.

   ./configure
   (set AXIOM and PATH manually ... yuck :)
   make

===================================================================
FAQ 24: What is the purpose of the domain HACKPI?
===================================================================

HACKPI is a hack provided for the benefit of the axiom interpreter.
As a mathematical type, it is the simple transcendental extension
Q(\pi) of the rational numbers. This type allows interactive users to
use the name '%pi' without a type both where a numerical value is
expected [ as in draw(sin x,x=-%pi..%pi) ] or when the exact symbolic
value is meant.  The interpreter defaults a typeless %pi to HACKPI and
then uses the various conversions to cast it further as required by
the context.

One could argue that it is unfair to single %pi out from other
constants, but it occurs frequently enough in school examples
(specially for graphs) so it was worth a special hack. In a
non-interactive environment (library), HACKPI would not exist.


===================================================================
FAQ 25: Can I create or edit hypertex pages?
===================================================================
The hypertex is intended to be edited by users. We are looking to
build special purpose pages around courses such as linear algebra.

Assume HERE=$AXIOM/doc/hypertex/pages

The text can be found in $HERE/foo.ht or $HERE/foo.pht

The macros are tex-like and live in $HERE/util.ht

To change a page you need to:

cd $HERE
edit the page
rm *~ (to delete backup copies)
htadd *
hypertex

the htadd command takes arguments:

htadd [-s|-l|-f db-directory] [-d|-n] filenames

but, i'm sorry to say, these have not been fully documented.

The htadd function will maintain the file called $HERE/ht.db
which is a database of absolute byte indexes into files.
Forgetting to run htadd will still work, sort-of, until you
hit a bad byte index and then it will fail.

Hypertex can also be directed elsewhere by using the HTPATH
shell variable. 

===================================================================
FAQ 26: How can I compile spad files on windows?
===================================================================
Something that probably should have been obvious caught me
by surprize today.

I have been working Axiom developer system configurations
for so long now that I had forgotten to make a distinction
between the types of users and the software that they need
to install. This is especially obvious on Windows because,
unlike linux, Windows is very often configured without
any development tools whatever. Only end-users application
programs might installed and even then these can often be
restricted to support an even more limited set of functions
for certain users. That is really what this message is
about. But first let me tell you the story...

*[This is Microsoft's World and while working intensively
with open source and linux we might sometimes forget what
it is like for the other 90% of the world ... :]*


Users, Programmers and Developers

  Anyway, this afternoon I installed Axiom for Windows

http://page.axiom-developer.org/axiom-windows-0.1.3.exe

on an entirely new machine with *no* other software installed
except the basic operating system (Windows 2000). Now that
we know about the problem of paths with spaces, I also opted
to override the default and install Axiom into the directory::

  c:\axiom

instead of::

  c:\Program Files\axiom

which is the default.

Then I proceeded to test Axiom in the usual way by running
a few selected input files. Everything seemed fine.

Finally since we have been talking about compiling spad
files today, I also tried to compile a src/algebra file.
I was very surprized when Axiom when all the way through
the spad compile and then told me (well GCL told me, really)
that it could not find `gcc'!

Then after I thought about it for a while I realized that
GCL really does depend on gcc and that gcc is *not* included
in the version of GCL that is installed with the Axiom
build. Well, of course not, right? <embarrassment> For
over more than a month now, a total of nearly 1,000 users
have downloaded the pre-release versions of axiom-windows
and it did not occur to me that they would not be able to
compile a spad file! sheesh. That seemed so odd to me since
I have been doing exactly that several times a day over
that same time, experimenting and testing new versions.
But then, I *do* have the full developer environment
installed.

So, who are all these people who are apparently quite
satisfied playing with and using this version of Axiom
that only includes about 1/2 of what Axiom can do?
Well, *Axiom Users* I guess. But certainly not Axiom
Programmers in the natural sense of the word because
they (probably) don't even have the pieces installed
that they would need to compile a program. An Axiom
end User then is someone who is satisfied with just
the contents of the mnt directory. They can do all
the calculations that Axiom is pre-programmed to do
and they can even define long calculations including
function definitions and the kind of program control
that can be written in input files, but then can *not*
compile new library files.

What besides the contents of the mnt directory is
required before one can compile library files? Well,
just the C compiler, of course. On windows the
minimum additional software that has to be installed
is called MinGW ( http://www.mingw.org/ ) and consists
of the "mingw-runtime, w32api, binutils and gcc tarball
packages" from ( http://www.mingw.org/download.shtml ):

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/mingw-runtime-3.5.tar.gz?download

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/w32api-3.2.tar.gz?download

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/binutils-2.15.91-20040904-1.tar.gz?download

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/gcc-core-3.4.2-20040916-1.tar.gz?download

You need to download each of these files and unzip them
(using a Windows shareware (evaluation version) program
like WinZip http://www.winzip.com/ http://www.7-zip.org/
or other free equivalent will do) directly into the::

  mnt/windows

directory, the root of your Axiom installation. This is
the most convenient place because the Axiom installation
has already added this location to the path that allows
your system to find and execute this programs.

FINALLY, there is one more thing that you need add. One of
the unix compatibility programs called rm.exe is missing
from::

  mnt/windows/bin

Click on

http://page.axiom-developer.org/rm.exe

and choose "Save As". Locate the `mnt\windows\bin'
directory and click Save.

Now at last you have a Windows Axiom Programmer's system
configuration. You will be able to create, modify and
compile spad files to create your own customized mathematical
library.

When you create .spad files, be sure to save them in
path that does not include spaces. This means that you
can not use `My Documents' which is (more or less) the
Windows default location. If you like, you can create
a directory called `local' within your Axiom base
installation directory. For example::

  c:\test\local

Save your files there. In Axiom you should change the
default directory to `local' so that you can easily
compile files like this::

  )cd ../..
  )cd local
  )co yourfile.spad

and::

  )library yourfile.spad

to load a file compiled during a previous session.

**Enjoy!**

In the next pre-release of Axiom for Windows I think it
would be a good idea if we provided at least the above
end User's and the larger Programmer's configurations in
two complete downloads and self-install files. I have
checked the licenses for MinGW and I am quite sure that
including the run-time and minimal compiler programs in
the Axiom install is allowed by the developers. It is
however very clearly a GPL license.

In fact, you should expect that over the next few months
many aspects of the Axiom installation will become easier
and more complete. Stay tuned to the MathAction website:

http://page.axiom-developer.org

or this email list for more up to date information!

---------

Lastly, I will define Axiom Developers as those masochists
who are willing to spend their time configuring and testing
new complete releases of Axiom for others. The development
environment of this on Windows is everything the Programmers
have plus the MSYS developer's tools. See
( http://www.mingw.org/msys.shtml ) for the following files:

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/MSYS-1.0.8.exe?download

http://prdownloads.sf.net/mingw/msysDTK-1.0.1.exe?download

Download these self-install files and then run them to
create a programming environment under windows that is
in many ways like linux (however, more minimal :). When
you install these programs, make sure to specify that you
also have MingGW installed.

And one last thing. Before you can run::

  .\configure
  make

You should also have the tla arch program installed so
that you can download the Axiom source files and you will
be able to upload your patches and new features. To get
tla click

http://download.sipsolutions.de/tla-setup.exe

Download and run this program to install tla. Once this is
installed, you will be able to run tla from inside MSYS or
from tla's own special command line shell. The rest of
the instructions for developers is as

http://arch.axiom-developer.org

Axiom Programmers should (optional for Axiom Users and
mandatory for Axiom Developers) also install support for
LaTeX. Of course it is essential that developers, programmers
and even Axiom users devote as much effort as possible to
preparing accurate and easy to read documentation, otherwise
a great deal of effort and intellectual investment in can
be quickly lost.

Axiom Users can also optionally use TeXmacs

http://www.texmacs.org

to interact with Axiom and to prepare high quality mathematical
documents.

The standard form for all Axiom programs and documentation is
the noweb extension of LaTeX (called "pamphlet files" in Axiom
terminology). Pamphlet files contain both documentation and the
program code itself. This format is used for all internal Axiom
coding and the entire Algebra library. It is expected that new
Algebra that is intended by it's author to be shared with other
Axiom users will also be prepared in pamphlet format.

Unfortunately pamphlet format is not (yet) fully supported by
TeXmacs.

There are several Windows compatible versions of LaTeX to choose
from. The one that I have used very successfully is MikTeX
( http://www.miktex.org/ ). To install MikTeX click

http://www.miktex.org/setup.html

and follow the instructions. If your computer is connected to
the Internet then the "small" version (small-miktex-2.4.1705.exe)
will be sufficient for use with Axiom.

For Windows users who have no previous experience with LaTeX
(and even if you do) I would also recommend that you install
a good LaTeX-aware text editor. See

http://www.miktex.org/links.html

One of the easiest to use and completely open source is
TeXnicCenter

http://www.toolscenter.org/front_content.php?idcat=26

Click 'download' and select "TeXnicCenter Setup, Version 1
beta ...". This is a self-installing file. If you install
TeXnicCenter after MikTeX, it will be automatically configured
to support MikTeX.

TeXnicCenter is very easy to use for LaTeX beginners and
it is will supported by it's developers and the users group.
It is also quite easily configured to support LaTeX extensions
such as noweb.

===================================================================
FAQ 27: Why can't I input text into the hypertex browser boxes?
===================================================================

Check your num-lock key. If num-lock is on then you can't input
text into your browser text boxes.

===================================================================
FAQ 28: Graphics does not work inside TeXmacs?
===================================================================

> No, I am not able to get graphics to appear in an X-window
> from inside TeXmacs.  That's what I *want* to be able to do.
> 
> I have TeXmacs 1.0.4.4 (latest being 1.0.4.5).   I know the 
> plugin calls AXIOMsys, and I tried to make it call "axiom"
> or "sman" with no immediate success.

Ok great. You are obviously on the right track. If you compiled
TeXmacs from source then to make tm_axiom call "axiom", the
simplest thing to do is to modify the souce file tm_axiom.c by
replacing "AXIOMsys" with "axiom" and then recompile it. It is
a simple C program with no dependencies and can be compiled
separately. Move the tm_axiom.exe file to the appropriate place
in the TeXmacs installation directory.

If you didn't compile TeXmacs from source you can get just the
tm_axiom.c file from the CVS, modify it and compile as above.

The Axiom graphics process has the ability to create a
postscript format output file containing the graphic.
This can be initiated from the user interface of the
graphics window or also from an Axiom command. Check "Chapter
7 Graphics" of the Axiom book, specifically section "7.1.8
Operations for Two-Dimensional Graphics", `write' operation.
It works something like this:

     viewPort := draw(sin x, x=-%pi..%pi)
     write(viewPort, "output.ps","postscript")
 
These commands can be included directly in the TeXmacs document.

===================================================================
FAQ 29: Where can I get help online?
===================================================================

Axiom Mailinglists and IRC Channel

Several ways to contact the community are available. There is an irc 
channel where developers can find other developers. It is:: 
  
    server: irc.freenode.net 
    channel:#axiom-developer 

  The mailinglists are:
 
  "axiom-math":http://mail.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-math 
("archive":http://mail.nongnu.org/archive/html/axiom-math)
  Discussion of math theory and philosophy related to Axiom

  "axiom-mail":http://mail.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-mail 
("archive":http://mail.nongnu.org/archive/html/axiom-mail)
  General discussion on Axiom

  "axiom-developer":http://mail.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-developer 
("archive":http://mail.nongnu.org/archive/html/axiom-developer)
  When you have issues to compile Axiom or with Axiom internals

  "axiom-legal":http://mail.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-legal 
("archive":http://mail.nongnu.org/archive/html/axiom-legal)
  All legal issues, like license issues



===================================================================
FAQ 30: How can I file a bug report?
===================================================================

Send email with details of the bug report to bugs@axiom-developer.org

The email should contain enough information so we can help you figure
out what the problem could be. Since you are the only one who knows
what the problem is it is necessary to give us enough information to
work out the details.

At the top of your Axiom session when you start Axiom there are two
lines printed, the Version line and the Timestamp line. They look

Version: Axiom 3.0 Beta (February 2005)
Timestamp: Thursday January 20, 2005 at 19:34:25

These two lines enable us to determine what version of the source
code you are using. Without this information we can't tell if the
bug has already been fixed or is new.

We also need to know what kind of system you are using. This
includes the kind of software and the kind of hardware. So we
need to know if it is something like

RedHat Linux Version 9 on Intel PC
Solaris 8 on Sun Ultrasparc

Now that we know what version of code you are running and what
kind of system you are running on we need to know what the exact
problem is. It is best if you can send a copy of the failing 
output. If not, please send the EXACT error message so we can
search the code for the error.

===================================================================
FAQ 31: How can I find out if this is a known bug
===================================================================

http://page.axiom-developer.org/zope/mathaction/FrontPage/IssueTracker

contains a page with all of the known bug reports. You can search
thru all of the bug reports to see if your error has happened before
and, if so, if it was fixed.

Please try to do this before filing a bug report. It will save us
all a lot of time.

===================================================================
FAQ 32: How can I input an equation as a string?
===================================================================

There is an embedded command server within AXIOMsys.
Look at:
http://daly.axiom-developer.org/TimothyDaly_files/lisptalk/pages/lisp35.html

In particular, see the function

  parseAndInterpret stringBuf

(which is boot language code. So in lisp I have
to tack on the | | onto the function name and then I can
call it like this:

  (1) -> )lisp (|parseAndInterpret| "integrate(sin x,x)")

   (1)  - cos(x)
                          Type: Union(Expression Integer,...)

  Value = ((|Union| (|Expression| (|Integer|)) (|List| (|Expression|
(|Integer|)))
  ) WRAPPED 0 (1 #<vector 10ccde54> (1 0 . -1)) 0 . 1)

  (2) ->

and sure enough! Axiom parses and interprets the string.

The result appears as stdout and the value returned
seems to contain the type information. The "WRAPPED"
information is the lisp data structure.

> The string output function mentioned in FAQ 19 is a linear
> form of the output. However Axiom's native output machinery
> is called CHARYBDIS which was a research project from the
> 60s with the goal of printing mathematics on typewriters.
> Axiom still uses that code.

===================================================================
FAQ 33: How do I run hypertex standalone?
===================================================================

export AXIOM=/whatever/mnt/linux
export HTPATH=$AXIOM/doc/hypertex/pages
export PATH=$AXIOM/bin:$PATH
hypertex

===================================================================
FAQ 34: How can I find out about a domain?
===================================================================

There is a standalone command called asq which will give information
from Axiom's databases:

asq
asq Integer
asq -sh Integer

===================================================================
FAQ 35: Why do .axiom.input defined functions fail in axiom?
===================================================================
You write this in your .axiom.input file:

mrd(x:Integer,v:Integer):Integer == x+y

You can't see this function even though it appears to be defined. That's
because Axiom is working in a new frame. 

When you start AXIOMsys you are running the interpreter talking directly
to the terminal. So the .input file is actually talking to a frame
at the top level. Your function is defined. 

The .axiom.input file is read in a "frame" called "initial".
AXIOMsys only uses the "initial" frame (although you can define and
use new ones). A frame contains its own variables and function definitions.

The "axiom" command does several things that AXIOMsys does not. In
particular the axiom shell script starts up the 'sman' process which
starts AXIOMsys (which reads the .axiom.input file) and then sman
creates a new frame (usually a random lisp gensym name). In this new
frame (created after .axiom.input is read) your mrandom function is
not defined.

To see this do:
  AXIOMsys
  mrandom(3,3,3)   -- compiles and runs the function
  )quit

Now do:
  axiom
  mrandom(3,3,3)   -- undefined function
  )frame next
  mrandom(3,3,3)   -- compiles and runs the function
  )frame names     -- shows you all of the defined frames 
  )quit


So with the axiom shell script the process is:
  axiom 
    start sman                    (done by axiom shell script)
      sman starts AXIOMsys        (done by sman)
        create frame "initial"    (done by AXIOMsys)
          read .axiom.input       (define your function here)
        create frame "G00234"     (done by sman)
          put up a command prompt (in frame G00234, no functions defined)
        )frame next               (done by you)
                        .... and now you're back in frame initial
                        .... and your function is there


So your function was read and it is defined. However the function got
defined in the "initial" frame (because you defined it in the .axiom.input
file) and is not known in the frame created by sman. The ")frame next"
command will move you around the ring of frames. (See the hardcopy book
on page 579).

===================================================================
FAQ 36: Axiom won't build on FC3
===================================================================
You need to turn off dynamic library load point randomization.
As root do:

echo 0 >/proc/sys/kernel/exec-shield


===================================================================
FAQ 37: Axiom won't build on FC4 or FC5
===================================================================
You need to turn off dynamic library load point randomization.
As root do:

echo 0 >/proc/sys/kernel/randomize_va_space

or do

setarch i386 -R make axiom

If the above fails then it is possible that you may have to take
more drastic measures. This will disable the SELinux:

/usr/sbin/setenforce 0

although it may be possible to tweak the policy directly. Change
/etc/selinux/strict/src/policy/domains/user.te:bool allow_execmem false;
to
/etc/selinux/strict/src/policy/domains/user.te:bool allow_execmem true;

then do:

cd /etc/selinux/strict/src/policy
make load

===================================================================
FAQ 38: How can I debug algebra code?
===================================================================

  Axiom contains some powerful commands to help with testing and
debugging library modules written in Spad and also the Axiom system
itself. The most important of these commands is ')trace'.

This command is used to trace the execution of functions that make
up the Axiom system, functions defined by users, and functions from
the system library. Almost all options are available for each type
of function but exceptions will be noted below.

To list all functions, constructors, domains and packages that are
traced, simply issue::

  )trace

To untrace everything that is traced, issue::

  )trace )off

When a function is traced, the default system action is to display
the arguments to the function and the return value when the function
is exited. Other information can be displayed or collected when a
function is traced and this is controlled by the various options.
If a domain or package is traced, the default action is to trace all
functions exported. Individual interpreter, lisp or boot functions
can be traced by listing their names after ')trace'. Any options that
are present must follow the functions to be traced. For example::

  )trace f

traces the function f. To untrace f, issue::

  )trace f )off

Note that if a function name contains a special character, it will
be necessary to escape the character with an underscore::

  )trace _/D_,1

To trace all domains or packages that are or will be created from a
particular constructor, give the constructor name or abbreviation
after ')trace'::

  )trace MATRIX
  )trace List Integer

The first command traces all domains currently instantiated with
Matrix. If additional domains are instantiated with this constructor
(for example, if you have used 'Matrix(Integer)' and 'Matrix(Float)'),
they will be automatically traced. The second command traces
'List(Integer)'.

The following are the general options for the ')trace' command.

')break after' -- causes a Common Lisp break loop to be entered after
exiting the traced function.

')break before' -- causes a Common Lisp break loop to be entered before
entering the traced function.

')break' -- is the same as )break before.

')count' -- causes the system to keep a count of the number of times the
traced function is entered.

The total can be displayed with::

   )trace )stats

and cleared with::

   )trace )stats reset

')count n' -- causes information about the traced function to be displayed
for the first n executions. After the n-th execution, the function is
untraced.

')depth n' -- causes trace information to be shown for only n levels of
recursion of the traced function.

The command::

  )trace fib )depth 10

will cause the display of only 10 levels of trace information for the
recursive execution of a user function fib.

')math' causes -- the function arguments and return value to be displayed
in the Axiom monospace two-dimensional math format.

')nonquietly' -- causes the display of additional messages when a function
is traced.

')nt' -- This suppresses all normal trace information. This option is useful
if the ')count' or ')timer' options are used and you are interested in the
statistics but not the function calling information.

')off' -- causes untracing of all or specific functions. Without an argument,
all functions, constructors, domains and packages are untraced. Otherwise,
the given functions and other objects are untraced.

To immediately retrace the untraced functions, issue::

  )trace )restore

')only listOfDataToDisplay' -- causes only specific trace information to be
shown.

')restore' -- causes the last untraced functions to be retraced. If
additional options are present, they are added to those previously in
effect.

')stats' -- causes the display of statistics collected by the use of the
')count' and ')timer' options.

')stats reset' -- resets to 0 the statistics collected by the use of the
')count' and ')timer' options.

')timer' -- causes the system to keep a count of execution times for the
traced function. The total can be displayed with ')trace )stats' and
cleared with ')trace )stats reset'.

')varbreak var1 ... varN' -- causes a Common Lisp break loop to be
entered after the assignment to any of the listed variables in the
traced function.

')vars' -- causes the display of the value of any variable after it is
assigned in the traced function. Note that library code must have been
compiled using the ')vartrace' option in order to support this option.

')vars var1  ... varN' -- causes the display of the value of any of
the specified variables after they are assigned in the traced function.
Note that library code must have been compiled using the ')vartrace'
option in order to support this option.

')within executingFunction' -- causes the display of trace information
only if the traced function is called when the given executingFunction
is running.

The following are the options for tracing constructors, domains and
packages.

')local op1 ... opN' -- causes local functions of the constructor to
be traced. Note that to untrace an individual local function, you must
use the fully qualified internal name, using the escape character before
the semicolon. For example::

  )trace FRAC )local
  )trace FRAC_;cancelGcd )off

')ops op1 ... opN' -- By default, all operations from a domain or package
are traced when the domain or package is traced. This option allows you
to specify that only particular operations should be traced.

The command::

  )trace Integer )ops min max _+ _-

traces four operations from the domain Integer. Since + and - are special
characters, it is necessary to escape them with an underscore.

Also See: ')boot', ')lisp' , and ')ltrace'. Please refer to the
Axiom Book section "Axiom System Commands" for more detailed information.

===================================================================
FAQ 39: How can I access lisp code from the Axiom command line?
===================================================================

To run a lisp command from the command line use )lisp:

 --> )lisp (+ 2 3)

If you want to run a lot of lisp commands from the command line do:

 --> )lisp (setq $dalymode t)
 --> (+ 2 3)
 --> (defun foo (x y) (+ x y))
 --> (foo 2 3)
 --> 2 + 3

$dalymode says:
 
   If the first character is a '('
     then it is lisp
     else it is axiom

to disable it do:

  --> (setq $dalymode nil)

I wrote this change to the interpreter because I tend to use lisp a lot
during maintenance. It breaks some syntax but you can work around that.

If you really want to "drop" into lisp do:

  --> )fin
BOOT> (+ 2 3)

and now you are talking only to lisp at a lisp command prompt in
the BOOT package. To restart Axiom type:

BOOT>(restart)


===================================================================
FAQ 40: Text entry fails in the hypertex browser window
===================================================================

Check that "Num Lock" is disabled.

I appears that the Num Lock key prevents the text window
from accepting text. This is a known problem with no current fix.