* Added link to numpy vs MATLAB page in scipy docs

murrayrm · murrayrm · commit 3354fcf8fb1a · 2011-07-02T01:55:50.000Z
* Fixed a problem with import statements in rlocus (overwrote statesp.place)
diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+2011-07-01  Richard Murray  <murray@malabar.local>
+
+	* src/rlocus.py: modified scipy import to only import those
+	functions that we actually use.  This fixes a problem pointed out by
+	Carsten Knoll (TU Dresden) where control.place could be overwritten
+	by numpy.place (because of an "from scipy import *" in rlocus.py
+
+	* doc/intro.rst: Added link to scipy web page talking about the
+	differences between numpy and MATLAB (contributed by Shuo Han).
+
 2011-06-25  Richard Murray  <murray@malabar.local>
 
 	* src/xferfcn.py (TransferFunction._common_den): changed tolerance
diff --git a/doc/intro.rst b/doc/intro.rst
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ contains some additional information about how to use the package
 
 Some Differences from MATLAB
 ----------------------------
+The python-control package makes use of NumPy and SciPy.  A list of
+general differences between NumPy and MATLAB can be found here:
+
+  http://www.scipy.org/NumPy_for_Matlab_Users
+
+In terms of the python-control package more specifically, here are
+some thing to keep in mind:
 * You must include commas in vectors.  So [1 2 3] must be [1, 2, 3].
 * Functions that return multiple arguments use tuples
 * Can't use braces for collections; use tuples instead
@@ -30,16 +37,16 @@ Some Differences from MATLAB
 
 Getting Started
 ---------------
-1. Download the latest release from http:sf.net/projects/python-control/files.
+1. Download latest release from http://sf.net/projects/python-control/files.
 2. Untar the source code in a temporary directory and run 'python setup.py
    install' to build and install the code
 3. To see if things are working correctly, run ipython -pylab and run the 
    script 'examples/secord-matlab.py'.  This should generate a set response,
    Bode plot and Nyquist plot for a simple second order system.
 4. To see the commands that are available, run the following commands in
    ipython::
-     >>> import control
-     >>> ?control.matlab
+       >>> import control
+       >>> ?control.matlab
 5. If you want to have a MATLAB-like environment for running the control
    toolbox, use::
-     >>> from control.matlab import *
+       >>> from control.matlab import *
diff --git a/src/__init__.py b/src/__init__.py
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 """
 
 # Import functions from within the control system library
+#! Should probably only import the exact functions we use...
 from xferfcn import *
 from statesp import *
 from freqplot import *
diff --git a/src/rlocus.py b/src/rlocus.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 # $Id$
 
 # Packages used by this module
-from scipy import *
+from scipy import array, poly1d, row_stack, zeros_like
 import scipy.signal             # signal processing toolbox
 import pylab                    # plotting routines
 import xferfcn                  # transfer function manipulation
