Serious Bug in 6.0 Help Browser
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg79567] Serious Bug in 6.0 Help Browser
- From: "David Park" <djmpark at comcast.net>
- Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:17:14 -0400 (EDT)
There is a serious bug in the Version 6 Help Browser for user written packages in that the Sliders in Manipulate statements quite often have no effect, especially with graphics statements. Here is a group of Manipulate statements taken from the Documentation for Manipulate. Manipulate[Plot[Sin[x (1 + a x)], {x, 0, 6}], {a, 0, 2}] Manipulate[Factor[x^n - 1], {n, 10, 100, 1}] Manipulate[Plot[Sin[a x + b], {x, 0, 6}], {a, 1, 4}, {b, 0, 10}] Manipulate[ Plot[Sin[a x + b], {x, 0, 6}], {{a, 2, "Multiplier"}, 1, 4}, {{b, 0, "Phase Parameter"}, 0, 10}] Manipulate[ PolarPlot[\[Theta], {\[Theta], 0, t}, PlotRange -> 20], {t, 1, 6 Pi}] Manipulate[ ContourPlot3D[ x^2 + y^2 + a z^3 == 1, {x, -2, 2}, {y, -2, 2}, {z, -2, 2}, Mesh -> None], {a, -2, 2}] Manipulate[Plot3D[Sin[x y + a], {x, 0, 3}, {y, 0, 3}], {a, 0, 1}] When I put these in a Help Browser notebook and evaluate them outside of the Help Browser, that is I evaluate the notebook itself, they all work properly. However, when I evaluate the same statements in the same notebook inside the Help Browser they do not work properly. In all of the graphics manipulators the Sliders slide but have no effect on the plot. The Factor case Slider does work. In my own work with my own manipulator statements I found that sometimes the Sliders would work but mostly they wouldn't. The Manipulator output is present but, as I said, the Sliders have no effect. If I save the Help notebook with all the output cells present, then the Sliders do work within the Help Browser but if a user should reevaluate one of the statements then they will no longer work. If I copy a nonfunctioning Manipulate Input/Output group from the Help Browser back into a regular notebook outside the Help Browser, then the Sliders do again function, even without reevaluation. So there is something about the Help Browser window itself that interfers with proper Manipulator evaluation. It is a disappointment that package developers are on the one hand cut off from the new documentation facilities, and on the other hand significant features of the new Mathematica do not function properly in the old Help Browser. -- David Park djmpark at comcast.net http://home.comcast.net/~djmpark/