Linux Unleashed, Third Edition:Smalltalk/X





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The Changes Browser
Each time you make a change to either the class hierarchy or to a method, ST/X writes a record to a changes file. The Changes Browser enables you to inspect and manipulate the changes file. There are two subviews in the Changes Browser: the change list and the contents view. The change list gives a list of all changes in chronological order. An example Changes Browser is shown in Figure 31.10.

Figure 31.10.  The Changes Browser.
To display a change, select one of the changes from the change list. The Changes Browser then displays the contents of the change in the contents view.

The pop-up menu for the change list has the functions described in Table 31.6.
Table 31.6. The Change List pop-up menu.



Function
Description



apply change
Applies the currently selected change.

apply to end
Applies all the changes from the currently selected change to the end of the changes file.

apply all changes
Applies all the changes in the file.

delete
Deletes the currently selected change from the list.

delete to end
Deletes all changes from the currently selected change to the end of the file.

delete changes for
Deletes all changes affecting the same class.

delete all changes
Deletes all changes in the file for the same class as the currently selected change.

update
Rereads the changes file.

compress
Compresses the change list and removes multiple changes for a method leaving the most recent change compared to the current change.

version
Compares a method’s source code in a change with the current version of the method and outputs a message in the Transcript view.

make a change patch
Appends the change to the end of the patches file which will be run and automatically applied at ST/X startup.

update sourcefile
This function is not currently implemented.from change

writeback
Writes the change list back to the changefile changes file. All delete/compress operations performed in the Changes Browser will not affect the changes file unless this operation is performed.



The Changes Browser can be used to recover from a system crash by reapplying all changes that were made after the last snapshot entry. To control the size of the changes file, it is a good idea to apply a compress periodically. This will remove all old changes for a method, leaving the newest one.

Directory Browser
When you select the Directory Browser option, a browser with five subviews is displayed. The top half of the browser displays the current directory and all subdirectories and files contained in it. If you select a directory, it is expanded in the next section to the right across the top half of the browser. If you select a file, the contents of the file are displayed in the lower half of the browser. The pop-up menu for the directory area has only two functions:


•  up—Moves up to the directory above the one selected
•  goto directory—Enables you to go to a specified directory

The content view has the same edit menu as all the other text editors and is discussed in the “Editing in Browsers” section in this chapter. A typical Directory Browser is shown in Figure 31.11.


Figure 31.11.  The Directory Browser.
The Workspace Option
The Workspace option displays a view from which you can enter and compile Smalltalk code. The Workspace is usually used as a testing area or scratch pad when coding. You can use it to test your Smalltalk code before building it into the code library using the System Browser code view.




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