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<A NAME=SETQ>

<TITLE>SETQ</TITLE></A>
<b><a href=r37_idx.html>INDEX</a></b><p><p>



<B>SETQ</B> _ _ _  _ _ _  _ _ _  _ _ _ <B>operator</B><P>
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The <em>setq</em> operator is an infix or prefix binary assignment operator. 
It is identical to <em>:=</em>. 
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syntax: </H3>
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<em>setq</em>(&lt;restricted\_expression&gt;,&lt;expression&gt;) or 
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&lt;restricted\_expression&gt; <em>setq</em> &lt;expression&gt; 
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&lt;restricted expression&gt; is ordinarily a single identifier, though 
simple expressions may be used (see Comments below). &lt;expression&gt; can 
be any valid REDUCE expression. If &lt;expression&gt; is a 
<A HREF=r37_0345.html>matrix</A> 
identifier, then &lt;restricted\_expression&gt; can be a matrix identifier 
(redimensioned if necessary), which has each element set to the 
corresponding elements of the identifier on the right-hand side. 
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 <P> <H3> 
examples: </H3>
<P><PRE><TT>
setq(b,6); 

  B := 6 


c setq sin(x); 

  C := SIN(X) 


w + setq(c,x+3) + z; 

  W + X + Z + 3 


c; 

  X + 3 


setq(a1 + a2,25); 

  A1 + A2 := 25 


a1; 

  - (A2 - 25)

</TT></PRE><P>Embedding a <em>setq</em> statement in an expression has the side 
effect of making 
the assignment, as shown in the third example above. 
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Assignments are generally done for identifiers, but may be done for simple 
expressions as well, subject to the following remarks: 
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 _ _ _ (i) 
If the left-hand side is an identifier, an operator, or a power, the rule 
is added to the rule table. 
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 _ _ _ (ii) 
If the operators <em>- + /</em> appear on the left-hand side, all but the first 

term of the expression is moved to the right-hand side. 
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 _ _ _ (iii) 
If the operator <em>*</em> appears on the left-hand side, any constant terms are
 
moved to the right-hand side, but the symbolic factors remain. 
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Be careful not to make a recursive <em>setq</em> assignment that is not 
controlled inside a loop statement. The process of resubstitution 
continues until you get a stack overflow message. <em>setq</em> can be used 
to attach functionality to operators, as the <em>:=</em> does. 
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