Maxima Operator
'
The single quote operator '
prevents evaluation.
Applied to a symbol, the single quote prevents evaluation of the symbol.
Applied to a function call, the single quote prevents evaluation of the function call, although the arguments of the function are still evaluated (if evaluation is not otherwise prevented). The result is the noun form of the function call.
Applied to a parenthesized expression, the single quote prevents evaluation of all symbols and function calls in the expression.
E.g., '(f(x))
means do not evaluate the expression f(x)
.
'f(x)
(with the single quote applied to f
instead of f(x)
)
means return the noun form of f
applied to [x]
.
The single quote does not prevent simplification.
When the global flag noundisp
is true
,
nouns display with a single quote.
This switch is always true
when displaying function definitions.
See also the quote-quote operator and .
Examples:
Applied to a symbol, the single quote prevents evaluation of the symbol.
(%i1) aa: 1024; (%o1) 1024 (%i2) aa^2; (%o2) 1048576 (%i3) 'aa^2; 2 (%o3) aa (%i4) ''%; (%o4) 1048576
Applied to a function call, the single quote prevents evaluation of the function call. The result is the noun form of the function call.
(%i1) x0: 5; (%o1) 5 (%i2) x1: 7; (%o2) 7 (%i3) integrate (x^2, x, x0, x1); 218 (%o3) --- 3 (%i4) 'integrate (x^2, x, x0, x1); 7 / [ 2 (%o4) I x dx ] / 5 (%i5) %, nouns; 218 (%o5) --- 3
Applied to a parenthesized expression, the single quote prevents evaluation of all symbols and function calls in the expression.
(%i1) aa: 1024; (%o1) 1024 (%i2) bb: 19; (%o2) 19 (%i3) sqrt(aa) + bb; (%o3) 51 (%i4) '(sqrt(aa) + bb); (%o4) bb + sqrt(aa) (%i5) ''%; (%o5) 51
The single quote does not prevent simplification.