echo

The echo command prints a line of text to standard output while James reads the script.

Syntax

echo <text>

text is the rest of the line, exactly as written. Comment markers ($, #, c) and %name or [expr] forms inside it are part of the text and are not interpreted.

What it does

James prints the text and a newline to standard output, in full. Nothing in the text is shortened, and the text is not stored in the IR or in the mesh file. The text prints in script order as James reads the script, before any part is meshed, because the engine meshes only after the whole script is read.

When James applies it

When it is read. It is legal in any phase: Control, Part or Merge.

Rules James adds

The text is raw: it runs to the end of the physical line, and a $, a # or a c inside it does not start a comment (docs/feature-specs/lexical-rules.md, the raw-text rule). A line holding a $ b # c %x [1+1] prints unchanged.
James prints the whole text. It enforces no length limit on it.

Diagnostics

None: James raises no diagnostic for echo.

Example

The script tests/corpus/110-session-commands-inert/input.tg, which make test runs:

errmod 0
echo hello world
becho beep and text
caption cap Test Caption
block 1 2;1 2;1 2;0 1;0 1;0 1;
endpart

James prints hello world on standard output when it reads line 2, then beep and text for the becho on line 3. The errmod, caption and block lines print nothing, and the IR holds one part.