2.3.1.10 Load External Routine (%X)

One of the newest and most interesting aspects of Cogsys 3.x is its external routine capabilities. Discussion of the creation and use of external routines is complicated enough to merit its own chapter (3. Extensions). However, loading an external routine is a relatively simple end-user command. A single argument is needed: the name of the file that contains the Cogsys Extension Routine. By convention, these files are named with the `*.CXR' extension.

Only one extension may be loaded at a time. Successive calls to Load External Routine implicitly unload the previously loaded code. Currently, the only extensions available are those for creating pictures. Expect options to this command to become more sophisticated when these limitations are gone.

These are the extensions are included with Cogsys 3.x:

`RANDEXT.CXR'

create pictures that contain random dot patterns

`CIRCEXT.CXR'

create pictures that contain circles

`SQUAREXT.CXR'

create pictures that contain squares

`ATTNEXT.CXR'

create pictures for attention experiments

`TXTEXT.CXR'

create pictures that contain text

Name:

Load External Routine

Class:

Control

Code:

%X

Syntax:

%X[filename]

System:

Loads the external routine filename into memory.

History:

The entire external loading functionality is brand new!

Test Files:

`LCXR_T01.IN'

tests basic operation

Example:

input

%X[randext.cxr] %I[1,2,10] #B[1,20]

cogsys

Loads the Cogsys random dot extension routine, `randext.cxr'. The %I invokes the Create Pictures from CXR command (2.3.5.5 Create Pictures from CXR (%I)), which uses the CXR to create a picture. The #B command then displays that picture.