.. highlightlang:: us

.. _uniscript:
.. _what-is-uniscript?:

What is UniScript?
==================

UniScript is a programming language which is integrated into
UniPlot and can be used to perform the following tasks: 

* Extend UniPlot with new functions: For example, the data import
  and the legend functions are programmed with UniScript. You can tailor 
  these functions to your own needs.

* Automate the creation of complete reports: You can write
  UniScript functions to automate these steps among others - Load Data, 
  Transform Data - Create Diagrams - Save and Print Reports.

* Perform complex mathematical operations with your data: UniScript
  has powerful functions to convert your data (for example, Search 
  functions, Sort functions, FFT and other functions) and to display the 
  results in 2D or 3D plots.

For all of these tasks, UniScript is more suitable than 
programming languages like BASIC, FORTRAN or C. UniScript is an 
interpreter language. You do not have to compile and link the programs 
as with C or FORTRAN. Of course an interpreter is slower to execute a program 
than a compiler like C, but for some tasks UniScript is almost as 
fast as some of these languages because most of UniScript's operators 
can be applied on vectors and matrices. These and some other 
characteristics, like transparent memory management, make UniScript 
programs much shorter than programs written in C or in one of the 
other programming languages mentioned.

UniScript is a small, compact language. It knows only three different 
data types (real numbers, complex numbers and strings). Only the most 
important flow control structures are supported, but a great number of 
operators are available.

If you are familiar with the C programming language you will notice 
the syntax of UniScript is similar to it and you won't have any 
problems to write your own programs with UniScript. If UniScript can 
not supply the functions you need, you can integrate the functions 
into a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) written in C or FORTRAN and load 
them into UniScript.

:sub:`id-1059231`