[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #56853] [octave-forge] (generate_html) Issues with urlview.m

[Philip Nienhuis]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?56853>

                 Summary: [octave-forge] (generate_html) Issues with urlview.m
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: philipnienhuis
            Submitted on: Tue 03 Sep 2019 11:36:23 AM CEST
                Category: Octave Forge Package
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: Unexpected Error
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: Philip Nienhuis
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: other
        Operating System: Any

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Details:

On L.79-80 of urlview.m there is:

    for cmd = {"firefox", "epiphany"}
      if (! ([err, path] = system (sprintf ("which %s", cmd{}))))



...where Octave chokes on the cmd{} syntax with the message:

error: invalid empty index expression
error: called from
    urlview at line 80 column 7


On L.111-112 there's a similar one: pars{}

I don't know if this has ever worked in Octave, I suppose it might have
otherwise this wouldn't have crept in the code. 
Anyway in Matlab this gives an error as well:

>> a = {'f'}
a = 
    'f'
>> a{}
 a{}
   |
Error: Unbalanced or unexpected parenthesis or bracket.


The fix in this case is probably easy, along the lines of:
-      if (! ([err, path] = system (sprintf ("which %s", cmd{}))))
+      if (! ([err, path] = system (sprintf ("which %s", cmd{1}))))


Another issue with urlview is that it won't work on Windows.
The "which" command referenced on L.80 isn't implemented there, nor in the
mxe-octave binaries.
Further down Ls. 124-127 don't work either on Windows.

I'd suggest a check at the top of urlview.m along the lines of:

if (ispc)
  error ("urlview doesn't work on Windows systems")
endif


cc'íng Olaf as he is the author of urlview.m




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