make install_font() own function for clarity, add unit tests, work on Windows, macOS and Linux by scivision · Pull Request #1 · markagold1/dark

scivision · 2026-03-29T22:58:21Z

install_font() own function for clarity and security - didn't want to auto-run system() command deep inside a plotting function
add unit tests for Matlab that are deeper than visual check
make work on Octave and Matlab on Linux, macOS, Windows

The buildfile.m is optional, uniform way to handle install, check and test.

I realize this is a lot of changes, but most are emphasizing the automated tests. The important feature is that your functions work across Octave and Matlab on macOS, Windows, and Linux now--the tests help validate this claim in automated fashion!

add continuous integration self-test

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR refactors font installation into a dedicated install_font() helper, expands automated MATLAB unit tests for dark/undark/hand, and adds GitHub Actions CI to validate behavior across OSes.

Changes:

Extract font installation/verification into install_font.m and update hand.m to check/register fonts more explicitly.
Add MATLAB matlab.unittest test classes for dark, undark, and hand, plus minor script/test tweaks for Octave/MATLAB compatibility.
Add buildfile.m and a new GitHub Actions workflow to run code checks, font install, and unit tests.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 15 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`hand.m`	Adds `fallback` parameter and new font-check logic; refactors primitive styling logic.
`install_font.m`	New cross-platform font install helper (Windows/macOS/Linux) plus restart guidance.
`dark.m`	Refactors styling dispatch for MATLAB/Octave graphics objects.
`undark.m`	Suppresses global-variable analyzer warnings.
`test/TestHand.m`	Adds MATLAB unit tests for `hand()` styling and font behavior.
`test/TestDark.m`	Adds MATLAB unit tests for `dark()` styling across plot types.
`test/TestUndark.m`	Adds MATLAB unit tests for `undark()` restoration behavior.
`test_hand.m`	Uses `1j` instead of `i` in a complex exponential example.
`buildfile.m`	Adds MATLAB buildtool plan and tasks (check/test/install).
`.github/workflows/ci.yml`	Adds CI workflow to run buildtool tasks on multiple OS/MATLAB versions.
`README.md`	Updates platform/version claims and documents buildtool usage; adds font install notes.
`.gitignore`	Ignores MATLAB `.asv` autosave files.

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Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:47Z

dark.m

+        switch class(h(kk))
+          case 'matlab.graphics.chart.primitive.Line'
+            set(h(kk),'Color',colors(index,:))
+            set(h(kk),'MarkerFaceColor',colors(index,:))
+            set(h(kk),'MarkerEdgeColor',colors(index,:))


Replacing isa(...) with switch class(...) means subclasses of these graphics primitives will no longer be styled. If you still want to cover derived chart objects, use isa checks instead of exact class matches.

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:48Z

install_font.m

+  ok = ~system(cmd);
+elseif ismac()
+  disp('Install XKCD Script with Font Book')
+  ok = ~system(sprintf('open -a "Font Book" %s', xkcd_ttf));


The macOS install command does not quote the font path. If xkcd_ttf contains spaces, open -a "Font Book" ... will fail. Wrap the path in quotes and escape as needed when building the command string.

Suggested change

ok = ~system(sprintf('open -a "Font Book" %s', xkcd_ttf));

ok = ~system(sprintf('open -a "Font Book" "%s"', xkcd_ttf));

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:48Z

install_font.m

+      estr = sprintf('%s    See help graphics_toolkit for more information.\n', estr);
+      error('%s', estr)
+    else
+      estr = sprintf('%s    Restart GNU OCtave to refresh font list.\n', estr);


There is a typo in the restart message: "GNU OCtave" should be "GNU Octave".

Suggested change

estr = sprintf('%s Restart GNU OCtave to refresh font list.\n', estr);

estr = sprintf('%s Restart GNU Octave to refresh font list.\n', estr);

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:48Z

test/TestHand.m

+hand()
+
+ax = gca;
+if getenv('CI') == "true"


if getenv('CI') == "true" will fail because getenv returns a char vector in MATLAB; == with a string scalar is not a valid comparison here. Use strcmp(getenv('CI'), 'true') (or convert with string(getenv('CI')) == "true").

Suggested change

if getenv('CI') == "true"

if strcmp(getenv('CI'), 'true')

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:49Z

README.md


-HAND renders a plot in a theme that emulates a hand-drawn plot in an engineering notebook. It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn thme. Once converted you may continue to modify properties, zoom, and pan as desired.
+HAND renders a plot in a theme that emulates a hand-drawn plot in an engineering notebook.
+It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn thme.


Typo: "thme" should be "theme".

Suggested change

It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn thme.

It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn theme.

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:50Z

hand.m

+function hand(colors_in, fallback)
 % Usage: hand(colors_in)
 %
 %  Hand-drawn-theme plots.


hand now accepts a second argument (fallback), but the usage line and parameter docs still only describe colors_in. Please update the header comment to document the new parameter and its behavior (e.g., how to disable fallback / force font install).

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:50Z

hand.m

+function [font_name, font_size, font_angle] = check_font(fallback)
+  font_angle = 'normal';
+  font_size = 20;
+  font_name = 'xkcd Script';


check_font() calls listfonts(), which is not available in GNU Octave. Since hand() calls check_font() regardless of isoctave(), this will break Octave support. Please branch on isoctave() and use an Octave-compatible font detection strategy (or skip the font check in Octave).

Suggested change

font_name = 'xkcd Script';

font_name = 'xkcd Script';

% In GNU Octave, listfonts() is not available; skip the font check there.

if isoctave()

% Octave will use 'xkcd Script' if installed, or fall back to its default.

warning('Skipping font availability check on GNU Octave; using font "%s" if available.', font_name);

return;

end

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:51Z

hand.m

+    fonts = {'Segoe Print', 'Pacifico', 'Times', 'default'};
+    for i = 1:length(fonts)
+      if any(ismember(fonts_avail, fonts{i}))
+        font_name = fonts{i};
+        break


If none of the fallback fonts are found, font_name remains 'xkcd Script' even though it’s missing, which can cause later font-setting to fail. Ensure this code always assigns a safe default (e.g., 'default') when no listed fallback font is available.

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:51Z

README.md

+HAND has been tested with MATLAB R2023b and R2026a and
+GNU Octave versions 7.1.0, 8.3.0, 9.1.0, and 11.1.0 running on Windows 10, macOS, Linux RHEL 8 and Ubuntu 22.04.
+HAND bundles the excellent "xkcd Script" font from [xkcd-font](https://github.com/ipython/xkcd-font).
+Similar to DARK, HAND is coded using funtions native to MATLAB and GNU Octave without any dependencies on toolboxes or packages, making it highly portable.


Typo in README: "funtions" should be "functions".

Suggested change

Similar to DARK, HAND is coded using funtions native to MATLAB and GNU Octave without any dependencies on toolboxes or packages, making it highly portable.

Similar to DARK, HAND is coded using functions native to MATLAB and GNU Octave without any dependencies on toolboxes or packages, making it highly portable.

Copilot · 2026-03-29T23:03:51Z

.github/workflows/ci.yml

+  push:
+    paths:
+    - "**.m"
+    - ".github/workflows/ci.yml"


This workflow runs only on push. If the intent is to validate pull requests, add a pull_request trigger as well so CI executes for PRs before merge.

Suggested change

- ".github/workflows/ci.yml"

- ".github/workflows/ci.yml"

pull_request:

paths:

- "**.m"

- ".github/workflows/ci.yml"

scivision added 8 commits March 29, 2026 11:13

fix syntax error in modern matlab, improve efficiency of dir check

01e57a9

use switch for clarity & to avoid duplicated function calls

ac8303f

rationalize install_font logic

9946cd2

doc

cdd5dda

lint: unneeded ;

2943f0a

add Matlab unit test

636802a

install_file own script for clarity

490c550

add Matlab unit test

b5a1f09

add continuous integration self-test

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 29, 2026 22:58

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of scivision March 29, 2026 22:58 View session

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make install_font() own function for clarity, add unit tests, work on Windows, macOS and Linux#1

make install_font() own function for clarity, add unit tests, work on Windows, macOS and Linux#1
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	ok = ~system(sprintf('open -a "Font Book" %s', xkcd_ttf));
	ok = ~system(sprintf('open -a "Font Book" "%s"', xkcd_ttf));

	estr = sprintf('%s Restart GNU OCtave to refresh font list.\n', estr);
	estr = sprintf('%s Restart GNU Octave to refresh font list.\n', estr);

	It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn thme.
	It works the same way as DARK, simply run the command "hand" on your current plot to render it in a hand-drawn theme.

-  font_name = 'xkcd Script';
+  font_name = 'xkcd Script';
+  % In GNU Octave, listfonts() is not available; skip the font check there.
+  if isoctave()
+    % Octave will use 'xkcd Script' if installed, or fall back to its default.
+    warning('Skipping font availability check on GNU Octave; using font "%s" if available.', font_name);
+    return;
+  end

	Similar to DARK, HAND is coded using funtions native to MATLAB and GNU Octave without any dependencies on toolboxes or packages, making it highly portable.
	Similar to DARK, HAND is coded using functions native to MATLAB and GNU Octave without any dependencies on toolboxes or packages, making it highly portable.

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