MATLAB Central Newsreader - ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Re: ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Abe Lau — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:05:04 -0400

"Kenneth Eaton" <Kenneth.dot.Eaton@cchmc.dot.org> wrote in
message <g8daq7$ifd$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> "Abe Lau" <abe@nonexistancegmail.com> wrote in message
> <g8d77r$m03$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> > Hi all,
> > Having written a routine in Matlab with a GUI with 20-30
> > child functions, I would like to generate a list of
> > functions and for inclusion in a report. What I would
> like
> > is to have a functional hierarchy and possibly a brief
> > summary of each function, including the header/doc, no. of
> > lines, etc.
> >
> > I've had a look at the report generator, but it doesn't
> look
> > like it produce what I want. Is there any nice way to
> > generate such a "report"? Thanks.
> >
> > sorry if this message is duplicated. Apparently I sent
> > another two yesterday but it didn't go through and it
> didn't
> > appear in the mathworks newsreader page.
> >
> > Abe
> >
>
> I would suggest you check out the FEX postings FARG and
> FDEP by Urs Schwarz. I also submitted a simple m-file
> content and nesting hierarchy display generator called FTOC.
>
> Ken

Thanks Ken, that's what I'm looking for.

By the way, is there any general guideline how reference/ack
should be made if I use it (and other files in File
Exchange) in my report? I suppose all those files are in
the "public domain", in which I just need to acknowledge the
source and the author without explicit permission from the
author him/herself isn't it?

Re: ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Kenneth Eaton — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:37:01 -0400

> Thanks Ken, that's what I'm looking for.
>
> By the way, is there any general guideline how
reference/ack
> should be made if I use it (and other files in File
> Exchange) in my report? I suppose all those files are in
> the "public domain", in which I just need to acknowledge
the
> source and the author without explicit permission from the
> author him/herself isn't it?

I think you're right that FEX postings are public domain,
but I'm not totally sure. You could probably check with
some MathWorks folks about whether an acknowledgment of the
source and author is enough. If it were me, I might still
double-check if it's okay with the authors, since I'm not
sure of what your "report" encompasses... Is it going to be
published anywhere, or just for internal use?

Re: ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Walter Roberson — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:55:14 -0400

Kenneth Eaton wrote:

>> By the way, is there any general guideline how
> reference/ack
>> should be made if I use it (and other files in File
>> Exchange) in my report? I suppose all those files are in
>> the "public domain", in which I just need to acknowledge
> the
>> source and the author without explicit permission from the
>> author him/herself isn't it?

> I think you're right that FEX postings are public domain,
> but I'm not totally sure.

I *am* sure: they are NOT in the public domain! "public domain"
has a fairly specific legal meaning, and since this is a matter
of copyright, the files do not automatically fall into the public
domain until 40 to 70 years after the death of the author
(exact duration depends on the country, with copyright protection
extending the longest in the USA, courtesy of "The Sonny Bono Act".)

In order for a file to be in the public domain, it is not enough
that the file be readily available, and it would not be enough that
there was no explicit copyright statement in it; it would not be
enough that no owner or year was given. In order for a file to be
in the public domain, it has to be a government publication (in some
countries such as USA), or the author (and anyone else who shares
copyright) must EXPLICITLY place the file in the public domain...
or copyright has to have expired (which takes a long time now.)

Basically if you look at the file and there is not *specific*
statement that "This code is placed in the public domain" then
the file is NOT in the public domain (copyright not having expired.)
And if the author makes even the -slightest- "reservation" as to how
the code can be used, then that reservation negates *all* statement
of the code being in the public domain. Code can only voluntarily
enter the public domain if the copyright holders explicitly release
ALL rights.

And because ALL rights have to have been released for code to be in
the public domain, then if it -were- (hypothetically) the case that
FEX contributions where in the public domain, then there would be no
legal need to give any citation what-so-ever (unless that legal
need was imposed by some other mechanism such as to avoid an
academic charge of "plagerism"). Code that is in the public domain
is free for ALL use with no attribution, as long as you don't claim
to have written it yourself. Modify the contents even the slightest,
though, and you can claim rights for the modified version for yourself.

What I would assume (without further checking) is that code from the
FEX can be used for private individuals for non-commercial purposes:
many countries have a "private study" exemption in their copyright laws.
Beyond that, even for internal use in a company where the code did
not get placed in a product, I would assume that copyright holds
and that the copyright status of the code would need to be actively
examined. And for any code going into a commercial product, if the
code author did not explicitly include a license permitting that use,
I would assume that such use would be an illegal "derived work" that
needed a formal copyright clearance before it could be used.

--
Q = quotation(rand);
if isempty(Q); error('Quotation server filesystem problems')
else sprintf('%s',Q), end

Re: ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

John D'Errico — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:51:02 -0400

"Abe Lau" <abe@nonexistancegmail.com> wrote in message
<g8fu4g$jkj$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> "Kenneth Eaton" <Kenneth.dot.Eaton@cchmc.dot.org> wrote in
> message <g8daq7$ifd$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> > "Abe Lau" <abe@nonexistancegmail.com> wrote in message
> > <g8d77r$m03$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> > > Hi all,
> > > Having written a routine in Matlab with a GUI with 20-30
> > > child functions, I would like to generate a list of
> > > functions and for inclusion in a report. What I would
> > like
> > > is to have a functional hierarchy and possibly a brief
> > > summary of each function, including the header/doc, no. of
> > > lines, etc.
> > >
> > > I've had a look at the report generator, but it doesn't
> > look
> > > like it produce what I want. Is there any nice way to
> > > generate such a "report"? Thanks.
> > >
> > > sorry if this message is duplicated. Apparently I sent
> > > another two yesterday but it didn't go through and it
> > didn't
> > > appear in the mathworks newsreader page.
> > >
> > > Abe
> > >
> >
> > I would suggest you check out the FEX postings FARG and
> > FDEP by Urs Schwarz. I also submitted a simple m-file
> > content and nesting hierarchy display generator called FTOC.
> >
> > Ken
>
> Thanks Ken, that's what I'm looking for.
>
> By the way, is there any general guideline how reference/ack
> should be made if I use it (and other files in File
> Exchange) in my report? I suppose all those files are in
> the "public domain", in which I just need to acknowledge the
> source and the author without explicit permission from the
> author him/herself isn't it?

While it is probably true that no permission
MUST be obtained to reference the tools on
the FEX, it is always nice to tell the author of
your plans. If you have found a tool to be of
use, the author will surely be happy to hear
of it. I know that I always appreciate a note.

As far a a citation goes, we tried to resolve
that issue here:

http://matlabwiki.mathworks.com/Citing_Files_from_the_File_Exchange

HTH,
John

ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Abe Lau — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:22:03 -0400

Hi all,
Having written a routine in Matlab with a GUI with 20-30
child functions, I would like to generate a list of
functions and for inclusion in a report. What I would like
is to have a functional hierarchy and possibly a brief
summary of each function, including the header/doc, no. of
lines, etc.

I've had a look at the report generator, but it doesn't look
like it produce what I want. Is there any nice way to
generate such a "report"? Thanks.

sorry if this message is duplicated. Apparently I sent
another two yesterday but it didn't go through and it didn't
appear in the mathworks newsreader page.

Abe

Re: ways to extract list of functions and its hierarchy

Kenneth Eaton — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:23:04 -0400

"Abe Lau" <abe@nonexistancegmail.com> wrote in message
<g8d77r$m03$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> Hi all,
> Having written a routine in Matlab with a GUI with 20-30
> child functions, I would like to generate a list of
> functions and for inclusion in a report. What I would
like
> is to have a functional hierarchy and possibly a brief
> summary of each function, including the header/doc, no. of
> lines, etc.
>
> I've had a look at the report generator, but it doesn't
look
> like it produce what I want. Is there any nice way to
> generate such a "report"? Thanks.
>
> sorry if this message is duplicated. Apparently I sent
> another two yesterday but it didn't go through and it
didn't
> appear in the mathworks newsreader page.
>
> Abe
>

I would suggest you check out the FEX postings FARG and
FDEP by Urs Schwarz. I also submitted a simple m-file
content and nesting hierarchy display generator called FTOC.

Ken