1.5.1 Getting Started

Scilab is called by running the scilab script in the directory SCIDIR/bin (SCIDIR denotes the directory where Scilab is installed). This shell script runs Scilab in an Xwindow environment (this script file can be invoked with specific parameters such as -nw for ``no-window''). You will immediatly get the Scilab window with the following banner and prompt represented by the -> :

                           ===========
                           S c i l a b
                           ===========
 
 
                  Scilab-2.x  ( 12 July 1998 ) 
                  Copyright (C) 1989-98 INRIA 
 
 
Startup execution:
  loading initial environment
   
 -->

A first contact with Scilab can be made by clicking on Demos with the left mouse button and clicking then on Introduction to SCILAB : the execution of the session is then done by entering empty lines and can be stopped with the buttons Stop and Abort.

Several libraries (see the SCIDIR/scilab.star file) are automatically loaded.

To give the user an idea of some of the capabilities of Scilab we will give later a sample session in Scilab.