bugGNU Octave - Bugs: bug #59401, Automatic variable `argn` no...

 
 

bug #59401: Automatic variable `argn` no longer works

Submitter:  Markus Mützel <mmuetzel>
Submitted:  Mon 02 Nov 2020 04:43:34 PM UTC
   
 
Category:  Interpreter Severity:  3 - Normal
Priority:  5 - Normal Item Group:  Regression
Status:  Invalid / Not an Octave Bug Assigned to:  None
Originator Name:  Open/Closed:  * Closed
Release:  * 6.0.92 Operating System:  * Any
Fixed Release:  None Planned Release:  None
* Mandatory Fields

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Tue 03 Nov 2020 05:34:02 PM UTC, comment #5: 

Closing this report.  The maintainer for the struct package does need to decide on a solution for bug #59342.

Rik <rik5>
Group administrator
Tue 03 Nov 2020 04:53:03 PM UTC, comment #4: 

You are right. I was checking the 5.2.0 manual. There no longer is any reference to automatic variables in the current docstring of "whos" (checked in the manual for 6.0.92).

Sorry for that.

I guess if we don't want to announce the removal of these variables (were there more than this one?) in the NEWS file, we could close this as invalid.

I only opened this report because I came across this in bug #59342.

Markus Mützel <mmuetzel>
Group administrator
Tue 03 Nov 2020 04:43:09 PM UTC, comment #3: 

I just used `grep` on all the .texi files in doc/interpreter and I can't find a reference to `argn`.  Are you checking in the stable branch, or with the older 5.2 version?

Rik <rik5>
Group administrator
Tue 03 Nov 2020 07:56:37 AM UTC, comment #2: 

Thank you for explaining.
It'd probably be sensible to remove `argn` from the docstring of `whos` in this case.
Are there other automatic variables that we could still reference there? Or are automatic variables completely gone now?

Markus Mützel <mmuetzel>
Group administrator
Mon 02 Nov 2020 07:50:30 PM UTC, comment #1: 

I don't think "argn" is supposed to be visible to users, and thus it would be okay if it disappeared as long as no functionality that depended on it was broken.

jwe replaced obvious instances of argn with inputname back in December, 2018.  See


changeset:   26208:fc7b842daca1
user:        John W. Eaton <jwe@octave.org>
date:        Wed Dec 12 00:50:34 2018 -0500
summary:     use inputname function instead of argn automatic variable


If you must rely on this internal functionality then replace "argn" with


__varval__ (".argn.")


Rik <rik5>
Group administrator
Mon 02 Nov 2020 04:43:34 PM UTC, original submission:  

I previously reported this as a bug in the struct package (bug #59342). But this might actually be a regression in Octave 6.

The automatic variable `argn` is no longer assigned. This still worked in Octave 5.2.0.

I couldn't find documentation for `argn' in the manual. But it is mentioned in the docstring for `whos`.

Was that automatic variable removed on purpose? In this case, it should probably at least be mentioned in the NEWS file.
Usually, we give 2 major release deprecation time...

Markus Mützel <mmuetzel>
Group administrator

 

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    Follow 3 latest changes.

    Date Changed by Updated Field Previous Value => Replaced by
    2020-11-03 rik5 StatusConfirmed Invalid / Not an Octave Bug
        Open/ClosedOpen Closed
    2020-11-02 rik5 StatusNone Confirmed

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