CHAPTER 2 - Screen Editor - Revision history

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2018-06-03T22:43:03Z

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Wongck at 16:19, 28 January 2012

2012-01-28T16:19:43Z

Wongck at 15:41, 12 October 2011

2011-10-12T15:41:35Z

Silver Surfer: Added category

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Added category

Evilmoo: /* SAVING PREFERENCES */

2007-09-07T17:38:56Z

‎SAVING PREFERENCES

Evilmoo: /* LOAD MONST */

2007-09-07T17:36:12Z

‎LOAD MONST

Evilmoo: continued reformatting

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continued reformatting

Show changes

Evilmoo at 19:59, 13 June 2007

2007-06-13T19:59:20Z

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Evilmoo at 15:37, 13 June 2007

2007-06-13T15:37:06Z

Zorro 2 at 14:49, 11 September 2006

2006-09-11T14:49:34Z

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 </pre>
-Back to [[Devpac_Manual]]
+Back to [[HiSoft DevpacST Version 2 - Manual]]
 [[Category:HiSoft DevpacST Manual]]

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 </pre>
 Back to [[Devpac_Manual]]
-[[Category:Programming]]
+[[Category:HiSoft DevpacST Manual]]

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 In  addition to saving the editor configuration  the  current setting from the Assembly Options dialogue box are also saved.
-     All assembly and run options can be found on the Program menu
+===ASSEMBLING & RUNNING PROGRAMS===
-ASSEMBLY
+=====ASSEMBLY=====
-     To  assemble the program you are currently editing  click  on
+To  assemble the program you are currently editing  click  on Assemble from the Program menu, or press Alt-A. The meaning of the various  options,  together  with the assembly process  itself  is detailed in the next chapter.  The only option covered here is the Output option.
 Assemble from the Program menu, or press Alt-A. The meaning of the
-various  options,  together  with the assembly process  itself  is
+GenST  can  assemble  to  disk,   to  memory,  or  nowhere  - assembling to nowhere is ideal for syntax checking while  assembly to  memory is much faster than to disk and good for trying  things out quickly.  When you assemble to memory you have to specify  the maximum  program  size in the Max:  entry in the  dialogue  box  - normally this is 20k,  enough for an average program with debug or a large program with no debug.  This number determines the program buffer  size,  used  by  the assembler  to  store  your  assembled program.  If  you  get  the program buffer  full  error  when  you assemble  something  you should change the number  to  be  larger. There  is  of course a penalty for this - the bigger  the  program buffer  size  the  smaller  the amount  of  memory  left  for  the assembler  itself  to use while assembling your  program.  If  the
-detailed in the next chapter.  The only option covered here is the
+assembler  itself aborts with Out of memory it means there is  not enough left for a complete assembly - you should reduce the buffer size, or if this still fails you will have to assemble to disk.
 Output option.
-     GenST  can  assemble  to  disk,   to  memory,  or  nowhere  -
+When  you assemble to disk the program buffer size number  is ignored,  giving maximum room in memory for the assembler  itself. If you haven't saved your program source code yet the file will be based on the name NONAME.
-     If you click on Run or press Alt-X (eXecute) you can then run
+=====RUNNING PROGRAMS=====
-**     If  only non-fatal errors occurred  during  assembly  (e.g.
+If you click on Run or press Alt-X (eXecute) you can then run a  program  previously assembled into memory.  When  your  program finishes it will return you to the editor.  If the assembly didn't complete  normally for any reason then it is not possible  to  run the program.
-PLEASE NOTE
+** If  only non-fatal errors occurred  during  assembly  (e.g. undefined  symbols)  you  will  still be  permitted  to  run  your program, at your own risk.
-DEBUG
+When  running a Run command from the editor the  machine  may seem  to  'hang up' and not run the program.  This occurs  if  the mouse  is in the menu bar area of the screen and can be  corrected by  moving  the  mouse.  Similarly when  a  program  has  finished running,  the machine may not return to the editor.  Again, moving the mouse will cure the problem.  This is due to a feature of  GEM beyond our control.
-**   If  the  Load  MonST option is disabled this  option  is  not
+=====DEBUG=====
 MONST

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 =====LOAD MONST=====
-By  default  a  copy of MonST is  loaded  during  the  editor initialisation,  allowing it to be accessed at the press of a key. Should  this not be required it can be disabled with this  option. This will save around 24k of memory.  The new value of this option will  only  have  an effect if you save the  preferences  and  re-execute the editor.
+By default a copy of MonST is loaded during the editor initialisation, allowing it to be accessed at the press of a key. Should this not be required it can be disabled with this option. This will save around 24k of memory.  The new value of this option will only have an effect if you save the preferences and re-execute the editor.
-     If  you click on the Cancel button any changes you make  will
+=====SAVING PREFERENCES=====
 be  ignores.  If you click on the OK button the  changes  specific
-will remain in force until you quit the editor.  If you would like
+If  you click on the Cancel button any changes you make  will be  ignores.  If you click on the OK button the  changes  specific will remain in force until you quit the editor.  If you would like the  configuration made permanent then click on the  Save  button, which will create the file GENST2.INF on your disk.  Next time you
 run GenST the configuration will be read from that file.
                    ASSEMBLING & RUNNING PROGRAMS

← Older revision	Revision as of 22:43, 3 June 2018
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-<pre>
+Here begins Part 2 of the extensive Devpac Docs.  Again, it was typed by the Animal House and edited by Sewer Rat.
                              CHAPTER 2
                            SCREEN EDITOR
-INTRODUCTION
+===INTRODUCTION===
-     To  enter  and assemble your programs you need an  editor  of
+To enter and assemble your programs you need an editor of some sort and an assembler. GenST combines both of these functions together in one integrated program, giving a GEM-driven full-screen editor and a fast, full specification assembler.  It also allows you to run your assembled programs directly from memory without having to quit the program or do a disk  access and to access a debugger at the press of a key.  The fact that all these features are combined in one program means that the correcting errors and making changes is as fast as possible without the need for slow disk accesses and other programs.
-THE EDITOR
+To run GenST, double click on the GENST2.PRG icon from the Desktop.  When it has loaded a menu bar will appear and an empty window will open, ready for you to enter and assemble your programs.
-     A  text  editor is a program which allows you  to  enter  and
-alter lines of text, store them on disk, and load them back again.
+===THE EDITOR===
-There  are two types of text editors:  line editors,  which  treat
-each  line separately and can be very tricky to  use,  and  screen
+A text editor is a program which allows you to enter and alter lines of text, store them on disk, and load them back again.  There are two types of text editors: line editors,  which treat each line separately and can be very tricky to use, and screen editors, which display your text a screen at a time.  The latter tend to be much easier to use.
-editors,  which display your text a screen at a time.  The  latter
-tend to be much easier to use.
+The editor section of GenST is a screen editor which allows you to enter and edit text and save and load from disk, as you would expect.  It also lets you print all or some of  your text, search and replace text patterns and use any of the ST's desk-accessories.  It is GEM-based, which means it uses all the user-friendly features of GEM programs that you have become familiar with on your computer such as windows, menus and mice.  However, if you're a die-hard, used to the hostile world of computers before the advent of WIMP's, you'll be pleased to know that you can do practically everything you'll want to do from the keyboard without having to touch a mouse.
-     The  editor section of GenST is a screen editor which  allows
-you  to enter and edit text and save and load from  disk,  as  you
+The editor is 'RAM-based', which means that the file you are editing stays in memory for the whole time, so you don't have to wait while your disk grinds away loading different sections of the file as you edit.  As the ST range has so much memory, the size limitations often found in older computer editors don't exist with GenST; if you have enough memory you can edit files of over 300k (though make sure your disk is large enough to cope with saving it if you do!).  As all editing operations, including things  like searching, are RAM based they act blindingly quickly.
-would  expect.  It also lets you print all or some of  your  text,
-search  and  replace text patterns and use any of the  ST's  desk-
+When you have typed in your program it is not much use if you are unable to save it to disk, so the editor has a comprehensive range of save and load options, allowing you to save all or part of the text and to load other files into the middle of the current one, for example.
-accessories.  It is GEM-based,  which means it uses all the  user-
-friendly  features of GEM programs that you have  become  familiar
+To get things to happen in the editor, there are various methods available to you.  Features may be accessed in one or more of the following ways;
-     Using a single key, such as a Function or cursor key:
+* Using a single key, such as a Function or cursor key:
-     Clicking on a menu item, such as SAVE:
+* Clicking on a menu item, such as SAVE:
-     Using  a  menu  shortcut,   by  pressing  the  Alternate  key
+* Using  a  menu  shortcut, by pressing the Alternate key (subsequently referred to as Alt) in conjunction with another such as Alt-F for Find:
-     Using  the control key (subsequently referred to as Ctrl)  in
+* Using the control key (subsequently referred to as Ctrl) in conjunction with another, such as Ctrl-A for cursor word left:
-     Clicking on the screen, such as a scroll bar.
+* Clicking on the screen, such as a scroll bar.
-     The  menu short cuts have been chosen to be east and  obvious
+The menu short cuts have been chosen to be easy and obvious to remember, while the Ctrl commands are based on those used in Wordstar, and many other compatible editors since.
 A FEW WORDS ABOUT DIALOGUE BOXES

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:49, 11 September 2006
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		+	Back to [[Devpac_Manual]]