If this is an upgrade, please switch to “If this is an upgrade (3.x)…”.
This version of EnterAct is free. Use EnterAct until other editors implement at least some form of AutoLook, then throw it away (hasn't happended yet). While EnterAct is a copyrighted work, please feel free to give this version to any and sundry, post it or put it on a CD, just don't charge for EnterAct itself.
EnterAct is a language-aware editor for C, C++, and Java code. It is a dumb editor with some nice features (hyperlinks, no-clip printing, etc) for other languages and text.
To install EnterAct, see “Installing EnterAct/tt”, in the same folder as this file.
CodeWarrior users please note:
• Metrowerks supplies a few third-party source files with nested comment starts (of the form "/*.../*...*/"); the quick fix is to deselect the the option "Detect nested comments" in EnterAct's Options… dialog. A better fix is to remove the few nested comment starts and leave the checking enabled. These are not in toolbox headers, and you will probably not run into them.
TCL users please note:
• the file "TCL #includes.cpp" contains some unparseable junk (quite deliberate) and EnterAct can't quite handle it yet, so please omit this file from your dictionary by holding down the<Command> key and clicking next to its file name in your project window. A dash '-' will appear next to the name, and it will be skipped.
If you'd like to use EnterAct as a replacement for the THINK Project Manager's internal editor, please see Appendix 4 in the EnterAct manual.
Really really quick start:
• install EnterAct (put EnterAct and the Drag_on Modules folder next to your compiler)
• start EnterAct (wait a moment while it builds your activity log), cancel the first dialog, make a project with the second dialog that appears. The next and last dialog asks you to select a <system> folder--cancel if you have placed EnterAct next to the compiler that applies for your project, otherwise pick an appropriate folder (MPW, CW, Symantec)
• add a bunch of C/C++ files to your project with '“Add Files...” or “Add All In Folder...”, add toolbox files too if you like with "Add Mac Headers" (commands are under the EnterAct menu). Note that things work best if you include definitions for all the names in your source code, especially toolbox terms but also PowerPlant or TCL, and ANSI headers.
• if you want to do Java files, first use the "File Extensions..." dialog to add "java" as an extension for the left project pane, then add your files as above. The source for the standard Java libraries is not shipped with EnterAct, but you can find it on CW9 and on many other CD's.
• select Update Dictionary
• open the AutoLook window
• open a source file, preferably one you're working on or want to understand
• select or click after any term of interest (function, variable, datatype, macro etc), or type it -- watch the definition or prototype (and often suppporting definitions) appear in the AutoLook window, even for local variables
For a more thorough introduction:
• "EnterAct in brief" provides a summary of EnterAct's best features, and is the best way to really get started with EnterAct.
• There is also a "whirlwind tour" in the main EnterAct manual that provides an introduction to EnterAct's basic features.
The “hAWK User’s Manual” and “Read Resource Manual” contain complete instructions for using these Drag_on Modules. Both are thorough descriptions, not “man page” summaries. Read Resource will take about 5 minutes to learn. hAWK will take an hour or two of reading the manual and trying out the supplied programs to break the ice. Writing your own programs will take a bit more effort, but you should find it’s well worth it. Many of the supplied hAWK programs are summarized in the hAWK manual, and there are complete instructions for running at the top of each program file. Most of them are fairly sizeable as hAWK programs go, and solve serious problems while illustrating basic and advanced hAWK programming techniques and the wide range of jobs that hAWK can tackle. A couple are just for fun. Most of your own programs will be much smaller, knocked off in a few minutes to carry out some tedious task in a faster, more enjoyable, and more reliable way than repeating the same commands over and over.
All of the documents and manuals supplied with EnterAct are plain TEXT documents, viewable with any editor (except the readme/install's), but the “EnterAct 3 Manual” and the “hAWK User’s Manual” contain illustrations which only EnterAct will display. For on–line reference, add the manuals to your project for quick access, using the “Add Files...” or “Add All In Folder...” command. They will be listed in the rightmost pane of your project window, and available by double–clicking there.
The file “EnterAct memory needs” will help you determine how much memory to allocate for EnterAct. The default partition of about 7 Meg should handle most large projects.
“Minimal App7” is a very small application that just calls Drag_on Modules. It is intended to demonstrate how easy it is to add the basic ability to call Drag_on Modules to your application, and you’ll find the complete little THINK C project and source for it as well. If you’re interested in adding the ability to call Drag_on Modules to one of your own applications, start by looking at Minimal App7.
(By the way, you can run a hAWK program directly with no dialogs by copying a hAWK command line to the clipboard and then starting Minimal App7. See the document "About Minimal App7" for more on this. You can also run hAWK programs with a command line from within EnterAct, as described in Appendix 2 of the EnterAct manual.)
Also included are source code and projects for hAWK(CW9), Read Resource(THINK 7), and Minimal App7(CW9). Come back to these later, when you’re in a mood to explore the inner workings.
There's a lot of new, powerful stuff here. But there aren’t that many new things to learn, and all of the features provided in EnterAct are designed to be useful on a regular basis, with most “kitchen sink” odd jobs relegated to hAWK. Keep in mind that virtually all of EnterAct’s abilities are designed to work with “first—draft” code, and that lookup is available even if you’ve forgotten the correct spelling of a term (you just have to be “distinctively close”). So all the power will be there when you need it most.
