<A NAME=semicolon>
<TITLE>semicolon</TITLE></A>
<b><a href=r37_idx.html>INDEX</a></b><p><p>
<B>;</B> _ _ _ <B>SEMICOLON</B> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ <B>command</B><P>
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The semicolon is a statement delimiter, indicating results are to be printed
when used in interactive mode.
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<P> <H3>
examples: </H3>
<P><PRE><TT>
(x+1)**2;
2
X + 2*X + 1
df(x**2 + 1,x);
2*X
</TT></PRE><P>Entering a <em>Return</em> without a semicolon or dollar sign resu
lts in a
prompt on the following line. A semicolon or dollar sign can be
added at this point to execute the statement. In interactive mode, a
statement that is ended with a semicolon and <em>Return</em> has its results
printed on the screen.
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<P>
Inside a group statement <em><<</em>...<em>>></em>
or a <em>begin</em>...<em>end</em> block, a
semicolon or dollar sign separates individual REDUCE statements. Since
results are not printed from a block without a specific <em>return</em>
statement, there is no difference between using the semicolon or dollar
sign. In a group statement, the last value produced is the value
returned by the group statement. Thus, if a semicolon or dollar sign is
placed between the last statement and the ending brackets, the group
statement returns the value 0 or nil, rather than the value of the
last statement.
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