mavscript

With Mavscript you can do calculations in a text document.

The following file formats are supported:

Text files
OpenDocument Text odt (OpenOffice, LibreOffice)
Hypertext html
LaTeX tex (pdflatex, xelatex)
other text based formats (i.e. svg). The text file may be packed in a zip-archive.

File format with limited support:

OfficeOpenXML docx (MS Word).
Experimentally supported. Automatic language detection shall be turned off in Word.

How it works

Mavscript reads the calculation commands in the template. These commands start with the control characters §m and end with one of the following control characters: §i, §o, §io und §n. Their meaning will be explained later. The commands are forwarded to the Computer-Algebra-System (Yacas). The algebra program returns an answer to Mavscript, i.e. the result of the calculation command. Mavscript now can insert this answer in the text, where the command was. When all calculations are done Mavscript saves the text document in a new file out-template. The template file remains unchanged.

You do not always want to replace the calculation command by the answer from the algebra program. When you assign a value to a variable you usually want that the command remains in the text. Therefore there are the following possibilites.

  Input in the template file    Output             Notes
  --------------------------    ------             -----

  §m l:=5 §i                    l:=5               The command remains unchanged. §i stands for input.
  §m b:=4 §i                    b:=4               The control characters are removed.
  §m h:=2 §i m                  h:=2 m                         
 
  §m V:=l*b*h §io               V:=l*b*h --> 40    Both the input and the output are shown.
  §m 2 + 3*4 §io                2 + 3*4 --> 14     §io stands for input/output.

  §m doubleVol := 2*V §n                           Sometimes you do not want to show the command or its result.
  §m gl:=x^2-l^2 §n                                §n stands for nothing.

  §m doubleVol §o               80                 Only the return value (answer) is shown. §o stands for output.
  §m Solve(gl,x) §o             {x==5,x==(-5)}     This is useful if you want to separate the calculation and
                                                   the results.

Some rules:

A command must be placed in a single line. (Exceptions: odt, docx)
Several commands may be in the same line. Example: §m a:=3 §i, §m b:=4 §i.
Mavscript attaches a semicolon (;) to each command. Therefore the semicolon can be omitted in the commands.
In OpenOffice Writer and Word the entire command shall be formatted the same way.
The syntax of the commands depends on the algebra program used.
1. For the built-in program Yacas (default mode) an Introduction and the Function Reference are enclosed in the directory path-to-mavscript/INFO/yacas.
2. In addition to Yacas the Java-Interpreter BeanShell is built-in. The manual is enclosed in the directory path-to-mavscript/INFO/beanshell .
3. Experimentally the computer-algebra-system Jasymca is built-in. The manual is enclosed in the directory path-to-mavscript/INFO/jasymca .
4. The last possibility is to let Mavscript connect to a Port (on localhost or on a remote server).

Mavscript vs. spread sheet applications

The goal of Mavscript is to allow calculations in a text document. Mainly Mavscript is used where spread sheet applications are not that much suitable: The mathematical functionality may be insufficient (algebra!) or the calculations are to much hidden (hard to debug, hard to understand for others). In such cases the use of Mavscript with a computer-algebra-system, such a yacas, shows to be favourable.
The disadvantage compared to a spread sheet application is less interactivity, especially when using graphs that depend on the results.

Installation

see How to install

Usage

STANDARD

If Mavscript has been installed as described and the included algebra program yacas is used:

Create a template (input) file: template.txt, template.html or template.odt
Drag the template file with the mouse on the Mavscript-icon on the desktop.
A window opens and the calculation is executed. When finished, check if there is an error message and close the window.
Open the output file (out-template.txt, out-template.html or out-template.odt) .

ALTERNATE (in order to use advanced functions or if the standard procedure does not work)

Mavscript alternately can be called out of the shell (command prompt, konsole, terminal).
cd path-to-mavscript and then:

mavscript-yacas inputfile (Windows)
./mavscript-yacas inputfile (Linux, Mac)
java -jar mavscript*.jar inputfile (all platforms)

ENHANCED FUNCTIONS

mavscript --help Shows the available start parameters.
see start parameters
Mavscript with BeanShell

Mavscript can also be connected to stdin and stdout pipes:
cat inputfile | mavscript-yacas > outputfile or
echo '§m nf(Pi*8^2,1) §io' | mavscript-yacas (answering "nf(Pi*8^2,1) --> 201.1")

Disclaimer

Use it at your own risk. Mavscript comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
The program Mavscript is subject to the free Licence GPL. It is included in the file path-to-mavscript/INFO/LICENCE-GPL.txt . The licence allows the usage of the program, but does impose clear rules if you intend to distribute it. Mavscript is copyrighted by A.Vontobel.
The computer-algebra-system Yacas that is included is subject to the free licence LGPL. It is included in the file path-to-mavscript/INFO/yacas/COPYING . The licence allows the usage of the program, but does impose clear rules if you intend to distribute it.
The Java-Interpreter BeanShell that is included is subject to the free licence LGPL. It is included in the file path-to-mavscript/INFO/beanshell/LGPL.txt . The licence allows the usage of the program, but does impose clear rules if you intend to distribute it.
The computer-algebra-system Jasymca that is included is subject to the free licence GPL. It is included in the file path-to-mavscript/INFO/jasymca/Copying.html . The licence allows the usage of the program, but does impose clear rules if you intend to distribute it.