Introduction

Invoking Splus

Type Splus (with a capital S) at the UNIX system prompt "$" (could also be "cs%", "ug.cs%", etc.)

$ Splus

To quit Splus, type q() at the Splus prompt ">".

> q()

Creating files outside of Splus

The easiest way to save the work you are doing in Splus is copy it to a UNIX file while running Splus (this is assuming you are invoking Splus from inside X-windows). To do this, you must open a second window.

To open a window: Hold down the right mouse button while the mouse is not in a window (the mouse cursor should look like an arrow). Still holding down the right mouse button, slide the cursor onto the word "Windows" so that it becomes highlighted (dark grey). Release the right mouse button.

To close a window: Click with the right mouse button on the arrow in the upper left hand corner of the window. Choose close if you want the window to appear as an icon (drawing of a little computer with the word "server" or "xterm" ... printed underneath) at the bottom of your screen (you can then re-open the window by double-clicking with the left mouse button on the icon), or quit to close the window altogether.

To move a window: Move the mouse cursor into the grey bar at the top of the window, or one of the edges. Hold down the left mouse button. You can now drag the window anywhere on the screen.

To resize a window: Move the mouse cursor to any of the four corners of the window. The cursor will turn into a bull's eye when it is in the right spot. Hold down the left mouse button. You can now stretch or shrink the window.

Move and resize the two windows to reduce any overlap. It is preferable not to shrink the width of the window from which you will be using Splus. To bring a window to the foreground, move the mouse cursor to the grey bar at the top of the window and click once with the left mouse button.

The mouse cursor must be in the window in which you wish to type. Move the mouse cursor to the new window you have just opened. At the UNIX prompt, type em (or use your favorite editor, for example, vi or jove) and the name of the file you want to create.

$ em filename

You are now in an editor window. You can type text in this window, use the backspace key (or the delete key), and move around using the arrow keys. There are many useful commands you can use in emacs for text editing, but the following are the only commands you need to know:

save text: CTRL-xs (hold the control button down and type xm)

exit file: CTRL-xc

To insert text from Splus into your file, you need to block (highlight) it. Place the mouse cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to block. Click once with the left mouse button. Move the mouse cursor to the end of the text you wish to block. Click once with the middle mouse button. If you block the wrong text, click once with the left mouse button to "un-block" the text. Now, move the mouse cursor to your editing window. Make sure your editing cursor (black box in the jove file) is located where you want to paste your text. Click once with the right mouse button. The text you blocked will be pasted into the file.

start block
left mouse button
end block
middle mouse button
cancel block
left mouse button
paste block
right mouse button

Splus Demo

To get an idea of the various functions available in Splus, try the Splus demonstration. At the Splus prompt, type demo():

> demo()

Splus will display a menu of different groups of functions. Picking a group runs each of the functions in that group, which produces graphics and text on the screen. You will need to move the windows so that you can type your selection from within your original Splus window.

Splus HELP

Splus has on-line help documentation to help you learn precisely what each function does and what each data object contains. The expression

> help(help)

causes the documentation for the function help to be printed on the terminal. You may not always know the name of the function or data object for which you require information in which case it is helpful to use the help.start function. The following command will open a help window with a menu for all the help topics.

> help.start(gui='motif')

To quit the Splus help window system, click on the word "file" in the upper left hand corner of the window, with the left mouse button, then click on the word exit. Each time you choose a subject from the help menu, a new window with the help documentation is opened. Each of these widows can be closed as outlined above.

Misc.

If you run into problems while using Splus and want to kill a command, CTRL-c usually works (hold down the control key and type c simultaneously).

To repeat a command, type

> history()

to retrieve past Splus expressions. A single expression may be chosen from those found. Alternatively, type

> again()

to repeat only the last expression.

Where to now?

Table of Contents

Entering Data