[kepler-dev] Feedback on Actor Documentation Errors

[Christopher Brooks]

Hi Glen,
Thanks, I've gone ahead and fixed that typo.  
Please let us know as you find typos in the Ptolemy and Kepler classes.

You could send the Ptolemy class typos to me directly, but it is
probably worth cc'ing kepler-dev so that the devs know that it is
important to spel korectly.  (Sorry)

I spend a certain amount of time fixing spelling errors, but syntax
problems will sneak through, so it is great to have a fresh set of
eyes.


_Christopher
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    I have only recently joined this list (about two weeks ago). And, I've  
    been going through the Getting Started guide and will give feedback to  
    Kirsten (I'm about four days behind getting this done when I said).
    
    Anyhow, after going over this in much more detail, I noticed that some  
    documentation in the Actor's have small typos. I recognize this is a  
    separate issue than the Getting Started Guide (which I hope to finish  
    tonight/tomorrow).
    
    Where do I report documentation errors in actors. For example, here is  
    an error I found in Exec (ptolemy.actor.lib.Exec). Actor is found in  
    Components | General Purpose | Unix Command | Command Line Exec. The  
    author is Christopher Hylands Brooks and Contributor is Edward A. Lee.
    
    Notice that the words "get the" are repeated twice in error in the  
    second sentence:
    
    Execute a command as a separately running subprocess. A command is a  
    single executable. To get the get the effect of executing a command  
    provided in a shell interpreter, you can set command to "cmd"  
    (Windows) or "sh" (Windows with Cygwin or Linux), and then provide  
    commands at the input port. Note that each command must be terminated  
    with a newline. For example, to open a model in vergil and run it, you  
    can set command to "sh" and use a Const actor to provide on the input  
    port the string:
      "vergil -run model.xml\n exit\n"
    
    This actor uses java.lang.Runtime.exec() to invoke a subprocess named  
    by the command parameter in a directory with an environment. Data from  
    the input port (if any) is passed to the input of the subprocess. The  
    subprocess is run until it exits and then contents of the output and  
    error streams of the subprocess (if any) are passed to the output and  
    error ports.
    If the subprocess generates no data on the output or error stream,  
    then the data on the corresponding port(s) will consist of the empty  
    string.
    A much more interesting actor could be written using a Kahn Process  
    Network. This actor would generate output asynchronously as the  
    process was executing.
    Currently, there appears to be no way to get the subprocess to exit by  
    passing it input. For example, if the command is set to the cat  
    command, and we pass in a Const with the value \04, then the cat  
    subprocess does not interpret this as the end of file marker and exit.
    For information about Runtime.exec(), see:
    http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-2000/jw-1229-traps.html
    and
    http://mindprod.com/jgloss/exec.html
    
    
    
    Warmest Regards,
    
    
    Glen Jarvis
    -- 
    913-486-8775
    glen at glenjarvis.com
    http://www.glenjarvis.com
    
    "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -M. Gandhi
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