General Information

The following list contains basic concepts, rules, and tips that you will use over and over during any PV-WAVE session. More detail about each item is provided in subsequent lessons and in the appendix.

Start online help by typing HELP at the WAVE> prompt.

Start online documentation by entering HELP, /doc at the WAVE> prompt.

Obtain online information about saved variables, procedures, etc., by entering INFO at the WAVE> prompt.

PV-WAVE is not case sensitive; upper and lower case letters are used in this manual to enable you to learn names and to distinguish functions from keywords more easily.

Press the <Return> (or <Enter>) key to indicate you have completed the entry of a command and to execute the command.

Use the “up” arrow (­) key to recall the most recent line of input to PV-WAVE. (This works on most computers.) After you display a line, you can edit it and then press the <Return> (or <Enter>) key to execute it. Recall up to 200 lines by pressing this key repeatedly.

Commas (,) are used to separate one argument from another.

Use the ampersand (&) to enter more than one command on a line.

To continue a command from one line to another, append a dollar sign ($) at the end of the line you wish to continue.

The RETALL command is very useful when you encounter an error or interrupt. After an error, PV-WAVE stops at the end of the last procedure, which may not return you to the main program level. Your variables are available at the main program level. Entering the RETALL command returns you to the main program level. Alternatively, you may enter the RETURN command, which will return you to the next highest program level.

A semicolon (;) is used to begin a comment in a PV-WAVE .pro file or program.