Invokes the PARI-GP calculator, loading the file1, file2, ... (written in the
GP language) on startup. gp is an advanced programmable calculator,
which computes symbolically as long as possible, numerically where needed,
and contains a wealth of number-theoretic functions (elliptic curves, class
field theory...). It can be programmed with the GP scripting language. Its
basic data types are
Command line options are availaible in both short form (-f) and POSIX-like
(--fast). Numeric arguments can be followed by a modifier
k
,
M
or
G
at the user's convenience; in that case the argument is multiplied by 10^3,
10^6, or 10^9 respectively.
-f, --fast
Fast start (or factory settings). Do not read
.gprc
(see below) upon startup.
-p, --primelimit limit
Upon startup, gp computes a table of small primes used in
number-theoretic applications. If
primelimit
is set, the table include primes up to that bound instead of the default.
Unreasonably high values will considerably increase startup time. Exceedingly
small values will cause some number-theoretic functions to fail with the
message "not enough precomputed primes".
-q, --quiet
Quiet mode. Don't print headers or history numbers, don't say goodbye.
-s, --stacksize limit
Size of gp internal stack allocated on startup. When gp runs out of space, it
interrupts the current computation and raises a
stack overflow
exception. If this occurs frequently, start with a bigger stack. The stack
size can also be
increased from within gp, using
default(parisize,...);
it may be convenient to set
stacksize
from your
.gprc.
Note that computations with a
smaller
stack may be more efficient due to better data locality. Most computations
should need less than 20MB.
--emacs
gp can be run in an
Emacs
shell (see GP User's manual for details). This flag is then required for
smooth interaction with the relevant
Emacs
package (pari.el). It is set automatically by the pari.el package, and will
produce nice display oddities if you set it outside of an
Emacs
session.
--help
print a summary of available command-line options.
--test
run gp in test mode: suppress printing of history numbers and wrap long
output lines (to get readable diff output). For benches only.
--texmacs
gp can be run from a
TeXmacs
frontend. This flag is set by TeXmacs, to enable special purpose
communication channels. Do not set it yourself.
--version
output version info (banner) then exit.
--version-short
output version number then exit.
USE
?
to get online help.
??
to get extended online help (more precisely, to call the external help
program,
gphelp
by default)
quit
(or \q), or
EOF
(Ctrl-D) to quit
gp.
The following works only when gp was linked with GNU
readline
library:
arrow keys
for editing and viewing the input history.
TAB
for automatic completion
MANUALS
The following material is included in the standard distribution (originally
in TeX format):
The User's Guide to PARI/GP
(users.dvi)
The User's Guide to the PARI library
(library.dvi)
PARI/GP, a tutorial
(tutorial.dvi)
PARI/GP reference card
(refcard.ps): 4 pages, based on an earlier version by Joseph H. Silverman.
pariemacs.txt
explains the use of the pari.el package, and how to customize it (prompt,
colors).
FILES
gp
main executable
$HOME/.gprc
(or $GPRC if set) read at beginning of execution by each
gp
shell. A default gprc
gprc.dft
is provided with the distribution. If this file cannot be found,
/etc/gprc
is checked instead.
pari.log
default logfile (can be changed in
.gprc
or interactively using
default()
)
pari.ps
default psfile used for postscript output (as above)
gphelp
default external help program (as above)
pari.el
elisp package to run pari in an
Emacs
shell. Must be loaded from your
.emacs
file.
*.gp
GP programs
ENVIRONMENT
$GPRC
place to look for the user's gprc file (before $HOME/.gprc, ./gprc, and
/etc/gprc in this order).
$GP_DATA_DIR
directory containing precomputed data. For now, the Galois resolvents files
in directory
galdata/,
needed by the
polgalois
function, in degrees 8 to 11.
$GPHELP
name of the external help program invoked by ?? and ??? shortcuts.
$GPTMPDIR
name of the directory where temporary files will be generated.
Despite the leading G, GP has nothing to do with GNU. The first version was
originally called GPC, for Great Programmable Calculator. For some reason,
the trailing C was eventually dropped.
PARI has nothing to do with the French capital. The name is a pun about the
project's early stages when the authors started to implement a library for
"Pascal ARIthmetic" in the PASCAL programming language (they quickly
switched to C).
For the benefit of non-native French speakers, here's a slightly expanded
explanation:
Blaise Pascal
(1623-1662) was a famous French mathematician and philosopher who was one
of the founders of probability and devised one of the first "arithmetic
machines". He once proposed the following "proof" of the existence of God
for the unbelievers: whether He exists or not I lose nothing by believing
in Him, whereas if He does and I misbehave... This is the so-called "pari
de Pascal" (Pascal's Wager).
Note that PARI also means "fairy" in Persian.
AUTHORS
PARI was originally written by Christian Batut, Dominique Bernardi, Henri
Cohen, and Michel Olivier in Laboratoire A2X (Universite Bordeaux I, France),
and was maintained by Henri Cohen up to version 1.39.15 (1995), and by Karim
Belabas since then.
A great number of people have contributed to the successive improvements
which eventually resulted in the present version. See the AUTHORS file in
the distribution.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass
Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.