End User Documentation
ThunderBlitz USER README FILE : revision 1.100 date 2006-07-03
CURRENT VERSION OF THUNDERBLITZ : 1.1.9
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WARNING :BEFORE YOU INSTALL THIS, YOU MUST REMOVE ALL PRECEDING
BLITZ3DIDE(THUNDERBLITZ) PLUGIN VERSIONS FROM THE PLUGIN DIR OF ECLIPSE.
WARNING : I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF DATA, THOUGH I NEVER LOST ANYTHING.
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SHORT "HOW TO INSTALL" :
- REMOVE PRECEDENT BB3DIDE(or THUNDERBLITZ) PLUGIN FROM eclipse/plugin directory
- FROM ZIP EXTRACT THE JAR FILE IN THE eclipse/plugin directory.
- RUN ECLIPSE WITH -clean option (only the first time)
(example : $prompt> eclipse -clean)
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LIST OF FEATURES (see also section 3 of this document):
- SYNTAX HIGHLIGHT
- CODE ASSISTANT + CODE COMPLETION(CTRL+space)
- CODE EXPLORER VIEW
- COMPILER MESSAGES VIEW
- ACTIONS AND BUTTONS FOR debug, run, compile, open help, open scancode picker.
- COMMENT AND UNCOMMENT multiple lines
Pressing "ALT+," you can comment an entire block of selected lines
Pressing "CTRL+," you can uncomment an entire block of selected lines.
- CONTEXT HELP
Place the keyboard cursor on a blitz keyword and press F9. The default
web browser will open on the selected command help (make sure you set
the right help index path in preferences).
- CONTEXT INFORMATION (informations about function parameters when digiting)
- HOVER INFORMATION (informations about the words pointed by mouse)
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Latest updates !!!
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- Now the code completion propose all definitions found in the current project.
This prevents the current file to view only direct includes. In other words when
a user define a new function or a new variable inside a document in the project,
it becomes available in all files of the same project.(I'm developing another
way to connect files that include each other, for the best information proposal,
but for now this solution solves many problems.)
- LOG sistem implemented using log4j. A log/thunderblitz folder should appears
in eclipse root. Here we have a log file and its backups. It can be useful for
debugging the plugin. The properties of the log can be modified but it's
better to ask me how. I set it to INFO level, so it should not hurt your performance
in developing blitz application.
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COMING UPDATES
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Stay tuned, i'm working on many features that
surely you'll want to have in an editor, like
-higlight matching brackets.
-higlight errors in document from error view.
-real time higlight of new definitions.
-something similar to javadoc
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Index:
1. Installation instructions
2. bb3dPerspective, setting preferences and creating projects
3. Features
4. issues?(tell me yours!!!)
5. logging
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1. Installation instructions
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The 1.1.6 version is packaged as a JAR archive. So you can simply put this
file in the /eclipse/plugin directory and start (only for the first time):
eclipse -clean
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2. bb3dPerspective, setting preferences and creating projects
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2.1 - BB3DPERSPECTIVE
You can choose to adopt the Blitz perspective simply by :
Window->open perspective->other->bb3d perspective.
If you chose this perspective the default aspect of it is provided with
a b3dExplorer view and a message View.
2.2 - SETTING PREFERENCES
You can switch to a blitz3d perspective selecting
Window->Show Perspective->Other->bb3dperspective
To set the right folder of your compiler and help dir follow this steps:
Window->preferences->ThunderBlitz preferences->Blitz Paths
To set the editor colors follow these steps :
Window->preferences->ThunderBlitz preferences->Blitz syntax appearance
To set the TextHover,Context Information and Content Assistant properties :
Window->preferences->ThunderBlitz preferences->Blitz Assistant
If you don't set a correct path for blitz compiler, the plugin load a set of
default keywords,that may be different from your real blitz version.
2.3 - CREATING PROJECTS
To create a bb file you should have a project. You can make a project
in many ways. The simplest is to create a 'Simple' Project and then create the
file inside or import from existing files in fileSystem.
The project file management is though an eclipse related feature,
so i cannot explain how to use eclipse!.
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3. Features
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3.1 - Syntax highlight
Syntax higlight : The editor highlight all globals, types, functions,and
keywords, and constants.
Make sure to press SAVE(or CTRL+S) to have the syntax higlight updated on new
keywords.
3.2 - Code completion
Pressing '.' or CTRL+SPACE you can access to a code completion dialog.
3.3 - Explorer view
The bb3dExplorer (folded with navigator view) allow you to see your defined
variables and functions and double clicking on them make the editor jump to
the associated line of definition.
Make sure to press SAVE (or CTRL-S) to have the explorer updated on screen
with the editor content.
3.4 - Messages view
This is the main window when you'll see all output messages from your
compiler.
3.5 - Action buttons
You have 4 standard blitz buttons (debug, run, compile,scancode picker) in toolbar
and in a menu.
3.6 - Commenting and uncommenting
Pressing "ALT+," you can comment an entire block of selected lines
Pressing "CTRL+," you can uncomment an entire block of selected lines.
3.7 - contextual help
Place the cursor on a blitz keyword and press F9. The default web browser will
open on the selected
command help (make sure you set the right help index path in preferences).
3.8 - Context Information
When you are typing a function and press the '(' character to enter parameters,
a popup appears to show you info for this function. You will find this very useful
in coding.
In preferences you can disable this feature or change the background color.
3.9 - Text Hovering
You can simply put the mouse pointer on a keyword to show its properties.
In preferences you can disable this feature.
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4. Issues
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Please i can't know all issues without your precious testing. Let me know if there
are some problems. Write me at godwraith01_NO_SPAM_@yahoo.com (delete _NO_SPAM_
to get the mail working).
This is the damn chapter of issues. This is no more an alpha version, but
problems and issues still exist.
-The update of syntax, and codeCompletion works only once the document is saved.
-Sometime the code coloring does not work anymore, until the editor is reopened.
This happens very seldom.
-The completion proposals are all user definitions in the project, regardless
the inclusion net.
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5. Logging
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This is not really a characteristic of the plugin for the user, but for me
to understand the behavior and some bugs of ThunderBlitz. The log is in
/yourEclipseDir/log/thunderblitz/thunderblitz.log and is set to be 128KB
at maximum. Only 5 files of backup are allowed, then the oldest informations
are deleted.
If you have some problem you can give me the report of the last .log file,
explaining me the kind of problem.