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Question: Debugging Maple code

Question:Debugging Maple code

Doug Meade 3073 Maple
testing format document
September 11 2007
1
What tools are available to help with the search for syntax errors within Maple code? It seems to me the built-in debugger is designed to assist with the testing of Maple code with no syntax errors. While this is important, and useful, the code has to be syntactically correct before this is of any use. Here's the situation I am facing. I have a file with more than 3500 lines of Maple code. Close to 1000 lines is the definition of a maplet, which has to be in one execution group. If there is a single missing comma, square bracket, or parenthesis, Maple will generate an error message and will place the cursor somewhere within the offending execution group. I have seen enough error messages that I know what they mean; I'm not complaining about the error message. My complaint is about the location of the cursor. While the location is deterministic, it is rarely close to the actual location of the error. Does anyone have any useful tips for how to locate the source of syntax errors within large Maple programs? I can't begin to count the number of hours I have spent looking for a single missing comma. I know this is a difficult problem, but there should be ways to improve upon the current state of affairs. Maple programmers have their favorite way to write Maple code. Some work in a worksheet or document, some work with a text file and command-line Maple - sometimes with automatic formatting. Joe Riel's emacs add-on appears to be one of the most sophisticated systems. Unfortunately, for me, I am not an emacs user and have not yet seen that taking the time to learn emacs would be time well spent at this point in my career. Would switching to emacs help locate the source of syntax errors? Thanks in advance, Doug
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