9. Common problems

This list is probably far too short. Feel free to suggest additional questions (preferably with answers!)

• Octave takes a long time to find symbols.

  Octave uses the genpath function to recursively add directories to the list of directories searched for function files. Check the list of directories with the path command. If the path list is very long check your use of the genpath function.

• When plotting Octave occasionally gives me errors like ‘gnuplot> 9 0.735604 line 26317: invalid command’.

  There is a known bug in gnuplot 4.2 that can cause an off by one error while piping data to gnuplot. The relevant gnuplot bug report can be found at http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1716556&group_id=2055&atid=102055

  If you have obtained your copy of Octave from a distribution please file a bug report requesting that the fix reported in the above bug report be included.

• I cannot install a package. Octave complains about a missing mkoctfile.

  Most distributions split Octave into several packages. The script mkoctfile is then part of a separate package:

  • - Debian/Ubuntu

    aptitude install octave3.0-headers

  • - Fedora

    yum install octave-devel