2. Using the Class Browser

Most of your source code will be written using the Class Browser. This tool allows you to browse, edit, and search Smalltalk source code.

Open a Class Browser by selecting the Tools/Class Browser menu option from the Launcher window. Class browsers have three panes. The upper-left pane gives a hierarchical view of the classes present in your project. If a class has subclasses, a small square appears to the left of the class name; clicking on it hides or reveals the subclasses.

The upper-right pane contains the message categories for the selected class. Clicking the square next to a category name hides or reveals the methods in that category. The Instance and Class tabs above the method list let you switch between "sides" of the class (i.e., class and metaclass).

The bottom pane is where most of your source code editing takes place. It usually shows the source code for the selected method, or the definition for the selected class. You can switch between four different text views using the tabs above the source code pane; these are, from left to right:

• Source: the source code for the selected method
• Class: the definition for the selected class
• Disassembly: the bytecode disassembly for the selected method
• Comment: the comment for the selected class

In any of these views except for Disassembly you can edit the displayed text and submit it for compilation by typing Ctrl-S.

All of the panes in Pocket Smalltalk windows have "context menus" associated with them. You can access these context menus by right-clicking in the desired pane. Context menus in the class browser allow you to perform a wide variety of operations, some of which will be covered in this tutorial.

For now, you should take a few minutes to experiment with the Class Browser and look at what classes are available. The next page will show you how to build the layout for your application's user interface.