Mint - the Syntax Checker
=========================


The Mint application provides a robust syntax-checking facility for
Maple code files.  Access Mint using the method appropriate for your
operating system.

  Windows:       Click on the Mint application icon. Enter the
                 filename in the parameters box.

  Macintosh:     Double-click on the Mint icon, then open the text file 
                 containing maple input by choosing "Open" from the 
                 File Menu and choosing the file from the dialog box.

  UNIX and DOS:	 Enter "mint filename" at the command line prompt where 
                 filename is the file you wish to check. You can find 
                 the executable mint.exe in the directory that contains
                 the main program executable.
  
You can specify the level of information you require by specifing the
following options before the filename.  If the info_level option is not
specified, the default is level 2. To choose a level, use the option 
-i info_level where info_level is one of the following. 

    0    no information

    1    severe error messages only 

    2    severe and serious error messages

    3    warnings and error messages

    4    usage, warning, and error messages

Mint displays a report for each procedure in the file, followed by a 
global report for statements not contained within any procedure.  If 
the severity of errors found within a procedure is less than what 
info_level specifies, then Mint does not produce a report for that 
procedure.

The classifications for the types of errors and warnings that Mint
finds are severe, serious, and warning.  A severe error is an
undisputable error.  A serious error is almost certainly an error.
Warnings are possible errors.  They point to constructs which may be 
correct in some contexts, but are probable errors in other contexts.


Other Parameters
----------------

  To get a list of the other parameters that you can pass to Mint, 
  do the following:

    Windows, UNIX, and DOS: Start Mint and enter -h in the dialog box.
    
    Macintosh: No other options can be used. 

  Type ?mint to see the help page for a description about the options 
  available for Mint.


Using Mint Interactively
------------------------

  To use Mint interactively, do not enter a filename when entering 
  parameters for Mint.

  If you are using the interactive version of Mint, Mint will 
  display information about the Maple commands that you enter.

Notes for Windows users:

  To store the output of Mint in a file, you must use Mint from 
  a DOS session.  For example: To run Mint on a file called 
  mint_in.txt and store the output in a file called mint_out.txt, 
  issue the following command from a DOS session:

    mint mint_in.txt > mint_out.txt


To Exit An Interactive Mint Session
------------------------------------

  To quit the Mint application do one of the following:

    Windows and DOS: Press 'Ctrl-Z' and 'Enter'. Close any window by 
                     clicking on the close window button (X) at the
                     top of the window or double clicking on the
                     system menu (Windows 3.1).

    UNIX:            Press 'Ctrl-D'.

    Macintosh:       Choose "Quit" from the "File" menu.

For more information on the workings of Mint, refer to the help
pages for Mint.  Type the Maple command ?mint or refer to the Mint 
man page (UNIX only).
