Prime User Function Catalog, Pressing "Run"

[Bill Triplett]

goetz,

That does help. Thank you for patiently investigating options, and explaining.

This option you found is good, but it doesn't eliminate the odd problem where in the Shift>Program list of CAS programs, if one of the items listed is a function, a user would not be looking at that list, and pressing "Run" unless a user wanted to fetch that function's name.

If simply pressing "Run" at that point, the user would wish to have that long detailed function name instantly echoed into the command input line. This would be the Home command input area or the CAS command input area, depending on where the user had been working immediately before viewing the catalog. Or, the firmware could be adjusted to allow highlighting the catalog item name, and then copying the name into the copy/paste buffer. Then, a user could decide where to paste it. Example: The user could wish to past the name into code for another program. Functions are often useful that way.

The alternative you found with Vars>CAS>Program is a workable way to get the function name into the command area. However, both methods should work. If specifically shopping the Shift>Program catalog, not only should the user defined function name be available for extraction, when copied and pasted, or echoed, a set of parenthesis should also appear. If the function takes two arguments, then the parenthesis should appear with a comma inside, and with the cursor placed inside between the left parenthesis and the comma. This would remind the user that two arguments are needed.

Hey, I noticed an odd thing. If you have only one user function stored in the calculator, and change its name, the old name stays on that Vars>CAS>Program list you mentioned, along with the new name. Even stranger, if you use the old name, it still works. Stranger still, if you then delete all user programs from the machine, the deleted function still works when given an argument. I suppose this is because the CAS function is still available stored in a CAS variable with the function name. This part probably won't be confusing to me after I get used to the idea that a CAS function or a CAS program are separate creatures. They seem to exist/persist somewhat independently from the catalog list of user defined programs and functions.

Methinks that if a user renames the one and only user defined function in the catalog, then the old function name should automatically vanish from that Vars>CAS>Program name list.

As for why the Omega function was done in CAS, the author wrote a truly astonishing explanation here:

http://www.finetune.jp/~lyuka/technote/l...w-hpp.html

We don't usually see user-defined function authors ... functioning ... at this level.

Bill Triplett