LIBMANUAL procedure

Prints a "Manual" containing information about library procedures (R.W. Payne).


Options

CHANNEL = scalar
Channel to which to print the manual; default is to use the current output channel

REFERENCE = string
Whether to print just reference information (no, yes); default no

INDENTATION = scalar
Number of spaces to leave before the first column in each line; default 0

LIBRARY = string
Defines the library for which information is required (GenStat, local); default Gene


Parameter

MODULES = text
Modules to be included in the manual; by default the manual is for the whole library


Description

LIBMANUAL prints a manual containing information about procedures in the GenStat Procedure Library. There is first a header page, with title and list of index lines giving brief details about the procedures. Then Help information is printed about each of the procedures in turn. LIBMANUAL takes account of the current environment (as controlled by the OUTPRINT option of SET) to decide whether to start each procedure on a new page. The information is stored in a backing-store file whose name is defined by Library procedure LIBFILENAME; there must be a free backing-store channel to which the file can be attached. A second file may also have been defined to supply information about procedures in the local library, and you can then set option LIBRARY=local to print a manual for the local instead of the main library.

   Unless otherwise specified, the manual will contain every procedure in the library. However, there is a parameter, MODULES, which can be set to a text to indicate that only procedures in a particular set of modules should be included. Details of the modules in the library can be obtained using procedure LIBINFORM, and some procedures may belong to more than one. In particular, there are modules called PLn (where n is a positive integer 1, 2...) to indicate the procedures that were added in release PLn of the Library, PLnHELP to indicate the procedures whose help information was last modified in release PLn of the library, and PLnPROCEDURE to indicate those where the procedure itself was last modified in release PLn. Thus, a manual for the procedures that were new in Release PL15 can be obtained by putting

LIBMANUAL 'PL15'

   The CHANNEL option specifies the output channel to which the Manual is to be printed; by default it is printed to the current output channel.

   The REFERENCE option allows just a reference summary to be obtained, instead of the full information each procedure. Finally, the INDENTATION option can be used to indent the information by a specified number of columns, so that the manual can conveniently be put into a folder or binder.


Options: CHANNEL, REFERENCE, INDENTATION, LIBRARY. Parameter: MODULES.


Method

LIBMANUAL first prints a header, followed by a list of index lines describing the contents of the library. It then runs a loop over the procedures in the library, accessing and printing the Help information. This information is stored in the library Help file, the name of which is supplied by procedure LIBFILENAME. The file is opened on the first available backing-store channel; if all the channels are in use, the procedures stops with a diagnostic. Afterwards the channel is closed.

   OUTPUT directives are executed at the start and end of the procedure, to switch output channels as requested by the CHANNEL option.