Source & debugger settings

Help index


Log compiles in changes file

If enabled, every class or method change will be recorded in the changes file.

It does NOT make sense, to turn this off.

Log doIts in changes file

If enabled, every doIt, printIt and inspectIt action done in browsers or inspectors will also be recorded in the changes file.

It does not make sense, to turn this on, since the change file will probably grow to a huge size over time.

Change file name

Names the file where changes are recorded.

If multiple users are working in the same directory, it is recommended, to use separate changeFiles (updates are not automatically synchronized).

Changing the name temporarily may also be useful to separate changes done in different projects.


Sourcecode from sourcecode management

If disabled, sources for methods and classes of compiled code are searched along the searchPath for source files.

If enabled, sourceCode will be aquired from a sourceCodeManager.
A classes sourceCode is accessed by its revision number, its module and directory. If configured correctly, no local sourcefiles need to be present.

Using the sourceCodeManager requires that a proper source repository has been setup, the CVS sourcecode management system has been installed and the files are accessable either directly or via a TCP/IP link.

If your CVS repository is accessable in your fileSystem (i.e. the repository is either on a local drive or NFS-mounted), enter the CVS root directory into the 'repository' field.
Otherwise, if the repository is to be accessed via a TCP link in server mode, prefix the root directory by the hostname of your repository server.

We recommend setting the shell environment variable "CVSROOT" to the root directory or server path, before starting Smalltalk/X. This can be done in your "autoexec.bat" (win32) or .profile (unix) or ".login" script.

Notice:
This item is only available in versions which include the sourceCodeManager (i.e. full commercial versions).

Source cache directory name

This is ignored if no source code management is available, or if it is disabled.

When sources are accessed via the source code management, this may take some time (the source has to be extracted via RCS and also, the access may be to a remote machine).
Therefore, extracted source files are cached in a local directory. By default, this directory is "/tmp/stx_sourceCache.

This field allows you to change that directory
(required on many sunos installations, where the default "tmp" partition is too small).

Notice, that if a common sourceCache directory is used, it should be read/write/executable for all users.

Also notice, that you may clean this directory at any time - there is no danger involved, except for a (possibly slow) repository-refetch when a source file is requested the next time.

Notice:
This item is only available in versions which include the sourceCodeManager (i.e. full commercial versions).

Use local source if present

This option is only available, if access via the sourceCode manager is turned on.
If turned on, sourceCode is searched along the searchPath first, THEN, if not found locally, the sourceRepository is consulted.
Using local sources results in faster source code access and less net traffic (although the sourceCodeManager keeps a fileCache of recently accessed files, there may be still a lot of traffic due to revision queries).

Using local source access is recommended if classes have been compiled from modified local files, and the classes revision number does not reflect the actual revision.
(i.e. if source files have been modified & compiled, but not yet checked back into the repository).

Notice:
This item is only available in versions which include the sourceCodeManager (i.e. full commercial versions).


Syntax coloring

Controls if the syntax of methods should be highlighted in the browser, by coloring entities.
Colors and emphasis can be individually configured for various syntactic and semantic entities, such as message selectors, comments, global or local variables etc.

Immediate selector check

If on, a syntax check is done "while you type in new characters" in the browser, and message selectors are checked on the fly.
Any unimplemented message is highlighted (bold-red by default.
You may want to disable this on a slow machine.

Atomatic code formatting

If on, methods source code is formatted (pretty printed) automatically when a methods source is displayed.
For now, the formatter is not invoked on keyboard input; you can reformat a changed method source via the popup menu.
You may want to disable this, if you don't like the formatters output.

The formatter may be configured to either generate lisp-style or c-style block format.

Warning: the formatter is based on the BRFormatter code ported from the RefactoryBrowser package. Porting is still underway and there may be bugs especially with ST/X extended syntax. Use at your own risk.


Show error notifier

Controls if, in case of an unhandled exception, the debugView should be opened immediately or instead, a notifier should come up asking the user.
If turned on, an error notifier will be opened, which shows the top 5 contexts of the calling chain and gives a chance of proceeding, aborting or debugging.

Developers might prefer the default, which is to go into the debugger immediately (saves another confirmation-click).

Verbose backtrace in debugger

The debugView may show the context backtrace (i.e. the calling chain) either in a dense mode, where intermediate contexts (such as "Block>>value" and some other less interesting stuff) are hidden, or in verbose mode, where all contexts are shown.

This toggle controls the default, to be used by a debugView initially.
(Notice, that the debugViews popUpMenu always allows the mode of to be changed later.)

Most people prefer the dense mode, which shows a less confusing, compact backtrace.


Copyright © Claus Gittinger Development & Consulting, all rights reserved


Doc $Revision: 1.11 $ $Date: 2009/09/21 13:52:21 $