help
open a help page
Calling Sequence
Description
?topic or ?topic,subtopic or
help(topic) or help(topic,subtopic) or
??topic or ??topic,subtopic or
???topic or ???topic,subtopic or
help()
worksheet
information on the Worksheet Interface
index
list of all help categories
index[category]
list of help files on specific topics
topic
explanation of a specific topic
topic[subtopic]
explanation of a subtopic under a topic
Subtopics can be two, three, or more levels deep (as in ?topic,subtopic,subsubtopic,subsubsubtopic).
Note: The recommended way to invoke help is to use the question mark.
When invoking help with the function call syntax help(topic), Maple keywords (reserved words) must be enclosed in backquotes or double quotes. For example, help(quit) causes a syntax error. Use help(`quit`) or help("quit") instead.
When using the question mark syntax for help, no quotes are required.
Commands entered in 1-D math must end with a semicolon. You can enter multiple commands on one line, separated by semicolons or colons.
When using the question mark syntax, no semicolon is required, and there can be only one command on each line.
For a package export, the function call syntax help(topic:-subtopic) or help(topic[subtopic]) ignores the left argument 'topic'. Use the comma notation help(topic,subtopic) instead.
The question mark syntax ?topic:-subtopic or ?topic[subtopic] does take the argument 'topic' into account.
In contrast to the question mark syntax, help evaluates its arguments. For example, a:=int: help(a); opens the help page for 'int'. Use '' or "" quotes to prevent evaluation.
Using the double question mark syntax (??) causes the topic to open with all of its sections contracted. Using the triple question mark syntax (???) causes the topic to open with the Examples section (if any) expanded, and all other sections contracted.
In the Command-line interface, collapsed sections of help pages do not display in the Command-line interface.
See Also
colon
colondash
Describe
example
keyword
makehelp
quit
quotes
TEXT
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