Section4.1

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## 4.1 Input Files

In this section we explain what an input file is and file:input why you would want to know about it. We discuss where Axiom looks for input files and how you can direct it to look elsewhere. We also show how to read the contents of an input file into the workspace and how to use the history facility to generate an input file from the statements you have entered directly into the workspace.

An input file contains Axiom expressions and system commands. Anything that you can enter directly to Axiom can be put into an input file. This is how you save input functions and expressions that you wish to read into Axiom more than one time.

To read an input file into Axiom, use the )read system command. read For example, you can read a file in a particular directory by issuing

)read /spad/src/input/matrix.input

The ``.input'' is optional; this also works:

)read /spad/src/input/matrix

What happens if you just enter )read matrix.input or even )read matrix? Axiom looks in your current working directory for input files that are not qualified by a directory name. Typically, this directory is the directory from which you invoked Axiom.

To change the current working directory, use the )cd system command. The command )cd by itself shows the current working directory:default for searching directory. cd To change it to file:input:where found the src/input subdirectory for user ``babar'', issue

)cd /u/babar/src/input

Axiom looks first in this directory for an input file. If it is not found, it looks in the system's directories, assuming you meant some input file that was provided with Axiom.

If you have the Axiom history facility turned on (which it is by default), you can save all the lines you have entered into the workspace by entering

)history )write

history )write

Axiom tells you what input file to edit to see your statements. The file is in your home directory or in the directory you specified with cd )cd.

In ugLangBlocks we discuss using indentation in input files to group statements into blocks.

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