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IDLWAVE is a package to support editing command files for the Interactive Data Language (IDL), and for running IDL as an inferior shell.
1. Introduction What IDLWAVE is and what not 2. IDLWAVE in a Nutshell One page quick-start guide 3. Getting Started (Tutorial) Tutorial 4. The IDLWAVE Major Mode The mode to edit IDL programs 5. The IDLWAVE Shell The mode to run IDL as inferior program 6. Installation How to Install or Upgrade 7. Acknowledgement Who helped A. Sources of Routine Info How does IDLWAVE know about routine XYZ B. Configuration Examples The user is king... Index Fast access
The IDLWAVE Major Mode
4.1 Code Formatting Making code look nice 4.2 Routine Info Calling Sequence and Keyword List 4.3 Online Help One key press from source to help 4.4 Completion Completing routine names and Keywords 4.5 Routine Source How to visit the source file of routine XYZ 4.6 Resolving Routines Force the Shell to compile a routine 4.7 Code Templates Abbreviations for frequent constructs 4.8 Actions Changing case, Padding, End checking 4.9 Documentation Header Inserting a standard header 4.10 Motion Commands Moving through the structure of a program 4.11 Miscellaneous Options Things that fit nowhere else
Code Formatting
4.1.1 Code Indentation Reflecting the logical structure 4.1.2 Comment Indentation Special indentation for comment lines 4.1.3 Continuation Lines and Filling Splitting statements over lines 4.1.4 Syntax Highlighting Font-lock support
Actions
4.8.1 Block Boundary Check Is the END correct 4.8.2 Padding Operators Enforcing space around `=' etc 4.8.3 Case Changes Enforcing upper case keywords
The IDLWAVE Shell
5.1 Starting the Shell How to launch IDL as a subprocess 5.2 Using the Shell Interactively working with the Shell 5.3 Debugging IDL Programs Compilation/Debugging
Debugging IDL Programs
5.3.1 Compiling Programs Compiling buffers under the shell 5.3.2 Breakpoints and Stepping Deciding where to stop and look 5.3.3 Examining Variables What is the value now?
Installation
6.1 Installing IDLWAVE How to install the distribution 6.2 Installing Online Help Where to get the additional files needed 6.3 Upgrading from the old `idl.el' file Necessary configuration changes
Sources of Routine Info
A.1 Routine Definitions Where IDL Routines are defined. A.2 Routine Information Sources So how does IDLWAVE know about... A.3 Library Catalog Scanning the Libraries for Routine Info A.4 Load-Path Shadows Routines defined in several places A.5 Documentation Scan Scanning the IDL Manuals
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IDLWAVE is a package to support editing command files for the Interactive Data Language (IDL), and for running IDL as an inferior shell. It also can be used for WAVE/CL command files, but the support for these is limited. Note that this package has nothing to do with the Interface Definition Language as part of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
IDLWAVE is the successor to the `idl.el' and `idl-shell.el'
files written by Chris Chase. The modes and files had to be renamed
because of a name space conflict with CORBAs idl-mode, defined in
Emacs in the file `cc-mode.el'. If you have been using the old
files, check 6.3 Upgrading from the old `idl.el' file for information on how to
switch.
IDLWAVE consists of two parts: A major mode for editing command files
(idlwave-mode) and a mode to allow running the IDL program as an
inferior shell (idlwave-shell-mode). Both modes work closely
together and form a complete development environment.
Here is a brief summary of what IDLWAVE does.
Here are a number of screenshots showing IDLWAVE in action.
In this manual, each section contains a list of user options related to the subject. Don't be confused by the shear number of options available -- in most cases the default settings are just fine. The variables are listed here to make sure you know where to look if you want to change things. For a full description of what a particular variable does and how to configure it, see the documentation string of that variable. Some configuration examples are also given in the appendix.
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| TAB | Indent the current line relative to context. |
| M-C-\ | Re-indent all lines in the current region. |
| M-RET | Start a continuation line. Or split the current line at point. |
| M-q | Fill the current comment paragraph. |
| C-c ? | Display calling sequence, keywords of the procedure/function call at point. |
| M-? | Context sensitive online help. |
| M-TAB | Complete a procedure name, function name or keyword in the buffer. |
| C-c C-i | Update IDLWAVE's knowledge about functions and procedures. |
| C-c C-v | Find the source code of a procedure/function. |
| C-c C-h | Insert a standard documentation header. |
| C-c C-m | Insert a new timestamp and history item in the documentation header. |
| C-c C-s | Start IDL as a subprocess and/or switch to the interaction buffer. |
| M-p | Cycle back through IDL command history matching command line input. |
| M-n | Cycle forward. |
| M-TAB | Complete a procedure name, function name or keyword in the shell buffer. |
| C-c C-d C-c | Save and compile the source file in the current buffer. |
| C-c C-d C-x | Goto next syntax error. |
| C-c C-d C-b | Set a breakpoint at the current source line. |
| C-c C-d C-d | Clear the current breakpoint. |
| C-c C-d C-p | Ask IDL to print the value of the expression near point. |
;; Change the indentation preferences
(setq idlwave-main-block-indent 2 ; default 0
idlwave-block-indent 2 ; default 4
idlwave-end-offset -2) ; default -4
;; Pad some operators with spaces
(setq idlwave-do-actions t
idlwave-surround-by-blank t)
;; Syntax Highlighting
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock)
;; Automatically start the shell when needed
(setq idlwave-shell-automatic-start t)
;; Bind debugging commands with CONTROL and SHIFT modifiers
(setq idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers '(control shift))
;; Where are the online help files?
(setq idlwave-help-directory "~/.idlwave")
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The purpose of this tutorial is to guide you through a very basic development cycle with IDLWAVE. We will type a simple program into a buffer and use the shell to compile, debug and run this program. On the way we will use the most important commands in IDLWAVE. Note however that there is much more funtionality available in IDLWAVE than we cover here, and it will pay off greatly if eventually you go further and read the whole manual.
I assume that you have access to Emacs or XEmacs with the full IDLWAVE package including online help (see section 6. Installation). I also assume that you are familiar with Emacs and can read the nomenclature of key presses in Emacs (in particular, C stands for CONTROL and M for META (often the ALT key carries this functionality)).
Open a new source file by typing
C-x C-f tutorial.pro RET |
A buffer for this file will pop up, and it should be in IDLWAVE mode. You can see this by looking at the mode line, just below the editing window. Also, the menu bar should contain entries `IDLWAVE' and `Debug'.
Now cut-and-paste the following program, also available as `tutorial.pro' in the IDLWAVE distribution.
function daynr,d,m,y
;; compute a sequence number for a date
;; works 1901-2099.
if y lt 100 then y = y+1900
if m le 2 then delta = 1 else delta = 0
m1 = m + delta*12 + 1
y1 = y * delta
return, d + floor(m1*30.6)+floor(y1*365.25)+5
end
function weekday,day,month,year
;; compute weekday number for date
nr = daynr(day,month,year)
return, nr mod 7
end
pro plot_wday,day,month
;; Plot the weekday of a date in the first 10 years of this century.
years = 2000,+indgen(10)
wdays = intarr(10)
for i=0,n_elements(wdays)-1 do begin
wdays[i] = weekday(day,month,years[i])
end
plot,years,wdays,YS=2,YT="Wday (0=sunday)"
end
|
The indentation probably looks funny, since it's different from the settings you use, so use the TAB key in each line to automatically line it up (or more quickly select the entire buffer with C-x h followed by M-C-\). Notice how different syntactical elements are highlighted in different colors, if you have set up support for font-lock.
Let's check out two particular editing features of IDLWAVE. Place the
cursor after the end statement of the for loop and press
SPC. IDLWAVE blinks back to the beginning of the block and
changes the generic end to the specific endfor
automatically. Now place the cursor in any line you would like to split
into two and press M-RET. The line is split at the cursor
position, with the continuation `$' and indentation all taken care
of. Use C-/ to undo the last change.
The procedure plot_wday is supposed to plot the weekday of a given
date for the first 10 years of the 21st century. I have put in a few
bugs which we are going to fix now.
First, let's launch the IDLWAVE shell. You do this with the command
C-c C-s. The Emacs window will split and display IDL running in a
shell interaction buffer. Type a few commands like print,!PI to
convince yourself that you can work there like in an xterminal, or the
IDLDE. Use the arrow keys to cycle through your command history. Are
we having fun now?
Now go back to the source window and type C-c C-d C-c to compile the program. If you watch the shell buffer, you see that IDLWAVE types `.run tutorial.pro' for you. But the compilation fails because there is a comma in the line `years=...'. The line with the error is highlighted and the cursor positioned at the error, so remove the comma (you should only need to hit Delete!). Compile again, using the same keystrokes as before. Notice that the file is saved for you. This time everything should work fine, and you should see the three routines compile.
Now we want to use the command to plot the weekdays for January 1st. We
could type the full command ourselves, but why do that? Go back to the
shell window, type `plot_' and hit TAB. After a bit of a
delay (while IDLWAVE initializes its routine info database), the window
will split to show all procedures it knows starting with that string,
and plot_wday should be one of them. Saving the buffer was
enough to tell IDLWAVE about this new routine. Click with the middle
mouse button on plot_wday and it will be copied to the shell
buffer, or if you prefer, add `w' to `plot_' to make it
unambiguous, hit TAB, and the full routine name will be completed.
Now provide the two arguments:
plot_wday,1,1 |
and press RET. This fails with an error message telling you the
YT keyword to plot is ambiguous. What are the allowed keywords
again? Go back to the source window and put the cursor into the `plot'
line, and press C-c ?. This pops up the routine info window for
the plot routine, which contains a list of keywords, and the argument
list. Oh, we wanted YTITLE. Fix that up. Recompile with
C-c C-d C-c. Jump back into the shell with C-c C-s, press
the UP arrow to recall the previous command and execute again.
This time we get a plot, but it is pretty ugly -- the points are all
connected with a line. Hmm, isn't there a way for plot to use
symbols instead? What was that keyword? Position the cursor on the
plot line after a comma (where you'd normally type a keyword), and hit
M-Tab. A long list of plot's keywords appears. Aha, there
it is, PSYM. Middle click to insert it. An `=' sign is
included for you too. Now what were the values of PSYM supposed
to be? With the cursor on or after the keyword, press M-? for
online help (alternatively, you could have right clicked on the colored
keyword itself in the completion list). The online help window will pop
up showing the documentation for the PYSM keyword. Ok, let's use
diamonds=4. Fix this, recompile (you know the command by now: C-c
C-d C-c, go back to the shell (if it's vanished, you know the command
to recall it by now: C-c C-s) and execute again. Now things look
pretty good.
Lets try a different day - how about April fool's day?
plot_wday,1,4 |
Oops, this looks very wrong. All April fool's days cannot be
Fridays! We've got a bug in the program, perhaps in the daynr
function. Lets put a breakpoint on the last line there. Position the
cursor on the `return, d+...' line and press C-c C-d C-b.
IDL sets a breakpoint (as you see in the shell window), and the line is
highlighted in some way. Back to the shell buffer, re-execute the
previous command. IDL stops at the line with the breakpoint. Now hold
down the SHIFT key and click with the middle mouse button on a few
variables there: `d', `y', `m', `y1', etc. Maybe
d isn't the correct type. CONTROL-SHIFT middle-click on it for
help. Well, it's an integer, so that's not the problem. Aha, `y1'
is zero, but it should be the year, depending on delta. Shift click
`delta' to see that it's 0. Below, we see the offending line:
`y1=y*delta...' the multiplication should have been a minus sign!
So fix the line to
y1 = y - delta |
Now remove all breakpoints: C-c C-d C-a. Recompile and rerun the command. Everything should now work fine. How about those leap years? Change the code to plot 100 years and see that every 28 years, the sequence of weekdays repeats.
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Emacs is probably the most customizable piece of software available, and it would be a shame if you did not make use of this and adapt IDLWAVE to your own preferences. Customizing Emacs or IDLWAVE means that you have to set Lisp variables in the `.emacs' file in your home directory. This looks scary to many people because of all the parenthesis. However, you can just cut and paste the examples given here and work from there.
Lets first use a boolean variable. These are variables which you turn on or off, much like a checkbox. A value of `t' means on, a value of `nil' means off. Copy the following line into your `.emacs' file, exit and restart Emacs.
(setq idlwave-reserved-word-upcase t) |
When this option is turned on, each reserved word you type into an IDL source buffer will be converted to upper case when you press SPC or RET right after the word. Try it out! `if' changes to `IF', `begin' to `BEGIN'. If you don't like this behavior, remove the option again from your `.emacs' file.
Now I bet you have your own indentation preferences for IDL code. For
example, I like to indent the main block of an IDL program a bit,
different from the conventions used by RSI. Also, I'd like to use only
3 spaces as indentation between BEGIN and END. Try the
following lines in `.emacs'
(setq idlwave-main-block-indent 2) (setq idlwave-block-indent 3) (setq idlwave-end-offset -3) |
Restart Emacs, take the program we developed in the first part of this tutorial and re-indent it with C-c h and M-C-\. You probably want to keep these lines in `.emacs', with values adjusted to your likings. If you want to get more information about any of these variables, type, e.g., C-h v idlwave-main-block-indent RET. To find which variables can be customized, look for items marked `User Option:' in the manual.
If you cannot wrap your head around this Lisp stuff, there is another,
more user-friendly way to customize all the IDLWAVE variables. You can
access it through the IDLWAVE menu in one of the `.pro' buffers,
option Customize->Browse IDLWAVE Group. Here you'll be presented
with all the various variables grouped into categories. You can
navigate the hierarchy (e.g. Idlwave Code Formatting->Idlwave Main Block
Indent), read about the variables, change them, and `Save for Future
Sessions'. Few of these variables need customization, but you can
exercise considerable control over IDLWAVE's functionality with them.
Many people I talk to find the key bindings used for the debugging commands too long and complicated. Do I always have to type C-c C-d C-c to get a single simple command? Due to Emacs rules and conventions I cannot make better bindings by default, but you can. First, there is a way to assign all debugging commands in a single sweep to other combinations. The only problem is that we have to use something which Emacs does not need for other important commands. A good option is to execute debugging commands by holding down CONTROL and SHIFT while pressing a single character: C-S-b for setting a breakpoint, C-S-c for compiling the current source file, C-S-a for deleting all breakpoints. You can have this with
(setq idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers '(shift control)) |
If you have a special keyboard with for example a HYPER key, you could use
(setq idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers '(hyper)) |
instead to get compilation on H-c.
You can also assign specific commands to function keys. This you must do in the mode-hook, a special function which is run when a new buffer gets set up. Keybindings can only be done when the buffer exists. The possibilities for key customization are endless. Here we set function keys f5-f8 to common debugging commands.
;; First for the source buffer
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook
(lambda ()
(local-set-key [f5] 'idlwave-shell-break-here)
(local-set-key [f6] 'idlwave-shell-clear-current-bp)
(local-set-key [f7] 'idlwave-shell-cont)
(local-set-key [f8] 'idlwave-shell-clear-all-bp)))
;; Then for the shell buffer
(add-hook 'idlwave-shell-mode-hook
(lambda ()
(local-set-key [f5] 'idlwave-shell-break-here)
(local-set-key [f6] 'idlwave-shell-clear-current-bp)
(local-set-key [f7] 'idlwave-shell-cont)
(local-set-key [f8] 'idlwave-shell-clear-all-bp)))
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We have already used the routine info display in the first part of this tutorial. This was the key C-c ? which displays information about the IDL routine near the cursor position. Wouldn't it be nice to have the same available for your own library routines and for the huge amount of code in major extension libraries like JHUPL or the IDL-Astro library? To do this, you must give IDLWAVE a chance to study these routines first. We call this Building the library catalog.
From the IDLWAVE entry in the menu bar, select Routine Info/Select
Catalog Directories. If necessary, start the shell first with C-c
C-s (see section 5.1 Starting the Shell). IDLWAVE will find out about the IDL
!PATH variable and offer a list of directories on the path.
Simply select them all (or whichever you want) and click on the
`Scan&Save' button. Then go for a cup of coffee while IDLWAVE
collects information for each and every IDL routine on your search path.
All this information is written to the file `.idlcat' in your home
directory and will from now one be automatically loaded whenever you use
IDLWAVE. Try to use routine info (C-c ?) or completion
(M-<TAB>) while on any routine or partial routine name you know to
be located in the library. E.g., if you have scanned the IDL-Astro
library:
a=readfM-<TAB> |
expands to `readfits('. Then try
a=readfits(C-c ? |
and you get:
Usage: Result = READFITS(filename, header, heap) ... |
I hope you made it until here. Now you are set to work with IDLWAVE.
On the way you will want to change other things, and to learn more about
the possibilities not discussed in this short tutorial. Read the
manual, look at the documentation strings of interesting variables (with
C-h v idlwave<-variable-name> RET) and ask the remaining
questions on comp.lang.idl-pvwave.
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The IDLWAVE major mode supports editing IDL and WAVE/CL command files. In this chapter we describe the main features of the mode and how to customize them.
4.1 Code Formatting Making code look nice 4.2 Routine Info Calling Sequence and Keyword List 4.3 Online Help One key press from source to help 4.4 Completion Completing routine names and Keywords 4.5 Routine Source How to visit the source file of routine XYZ 4.6 Resolving Routines Force the Shell to compile a routine 4.7 Code Templates Abbreviations for frequent constructs 4.8 Actions Changing case, Padding, End checking 4.9 Documentation Header Inserting a standard header 4.10 Motion Commands Moving through the structure of a program 4.11 Miscellaneous Options Things that fit nowhere else
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4.1.1 Code Indentation Reflecting the logical structure 4.1.2 Comment Indentation Special indentation for comment lines 4.1.3 Continuation Lines and Filling Splitting statements over lines 4.1.4 Syntax Highlighting Font-lock support
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Like all Emacs programming modes, IDLWAVE performs code indentation. The TAB key indents the current line relative to context. LFD insert a newline and indents the new line. The indentation is governed by a number of variables.
To re-indent a larger portion of code (e.g. when working with foreign code
written with different conventions), use M-C-\
(indent-region) after marking the relevant code. Useful marking
commands are C-x h (the entire file) or M-C-h (the
current subprogram). See section 4.8 Actions, for information how to impose
additional formatting conventions on foreign code.
0)
5)
idlwave-end-offset.
-4)
idlwave-block-indent will make END lines line up with the block
BEGIN lines.
2)
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In IDL, lines starting with a `;' are called comment lines. Comment lines are indented as follows:
;;; |
The indentation of lines starting with three semicolons remains unchanged. |
;; |
Lines starting with two semicolons are indented like the surrounding code. |
; |
Lines starting with a single semicolon are indent to a minimum column. |
The indentation of comments starting in column 0 is never changed.
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In IDL, a newline character terminates a statement unless preceded by a
`$'. If you would like to start a continuation line, use
M-RET which calls the command idlwave-split-line. It
inserts a `$' to indicate that the following line is a continuation
of the current line, terminates the line with a newline and indents the
new line. The command M-RET can also be used in the middle
of a line to split the line at that point. When used inside a long
string constant, the string is split with the `+' concatenation
operator.
When filling comment paragraphs, IDLWAVE overloads the normal filling
functions and uses a function which creates hanging paragraphs as they
are customary in the IDL routine headers. When auto-fill-mode is
turned on (toggle with C-c C-a), comments will be auto-filled. If
the first line of a paragraph is matched by
idlwave-hang-indent-regexp, subsequent lines are indented to
after the position of this match, as in the following example.
; INPUTS: ; x - an array containing ; lots of interesting numbers. ; ; y - another variable where ; a hanging paragraph is used ; to describe it. |
You also refill a comment paragraph with M-q.
t)
nil means auto fill will only operate on comment lines.
t)
nil means auto fill will split strings with the IDL `+'
operator.
t)
nil means idlwave-split-line will split strings with
`+'.
t)
nil means comment paragraphs are indented under the hanging
indent given by idlwave-hang-indent-regexp match in the first
line of the paragraph.
nil)
nil means use last match on line for
idlwave-indent-regexp.
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Highlighting of keywords, comments, strings etc. can be accomplished
with font-lock. If you are using global-font-lock-mode
(on Emacs), or have font-lock turned on in any other buffer in
XEmacs, it should also automatically work in IDLWAVE buffers. If not,
you can enforce it with the following line in your `.emacs'
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook 'turn-on-font-lock) |
IDLWAVE supports 3 levels of syntax highlighting. The variable
font-lock-maximum-decoration determines which level is selected.
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IDL defines more than one thousand procedures, functions and object
methods. This large command set makes it difficult to remember the
calling sequence and keywords of a command. IDLWAVE contains a list of
all builtin routines with calling sequences and keywords(1). It also scans Emacs buffers and library files for
routine definitions and queries the IDLWAVE-Shell for the properties of
modules currently compiled under the shell. This information is updated
automatically. If you think the information is not up-to-date, use
C-c C-i (idlwave-update-routine-info) to enforce a global
update.
To display the information about a routine, press C-c ? which
calls the command idlwave-routine-info. When the current cursor
position is on the name or in the argument list of a procedure or
function, information will be displayed about the routine. For example,
consider the cursor positions in the following line
plot,x,alog(x+5*sin(x) + 2), 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
On positions 1,2 and 8, information about the `plot' procedure will be shown. On positions 3,4, and 7, the `alog' function will be described, while positions 5 and 6 will select the `sin' function. When you ask for routine information about an object method, and the method exists in several classes, IDLWAVE queries for the class of the object.
The description displayed contains the calling sequence, the list of keywords and the source location of this routine. It looks like this:
Usage: XMANAGER, NAME, ID
Keywords: BACKGROUND CATCH CLEANUP EVENT_HANDLER GROUP_LEADER
JUST_REG MODAL NO_BLOCK
Source: SystemLib [CSB] /soft1/idl53/lib/xmanager.pro
|
If a definition of this routine exists in several files accessible to IDLWAVE, several `Source' lines will point to the different files. This may indicate that your routine is shadowing a library routine, which may or may not be what you want (see section A.4 Load-Path Shadows). The information about the calling sequence and the keywords is derived from the first source listed. Library routines can only be supported if you have scanned the local IDL library (see section A.3 Library Catalog). The source entry consists of a source category, a set of flags and the path to the source file. The following categories exist:
| System | A system routine, but we do not know if it is Builtin or SystemLib. When the system library has bee scanned (see section A.3 Library Catalog), this category will automatically split into the next two. |
| Builtin | A builtin routine with no source code available. |
| SystemLib | A library routine in the official lib directory `!DIR/lib'. |
| Obsolete | A library routine in the official lib directory `!DIR/lib/obsolete'. |
| Library | A file on IDL's search path !PATH.
|
| Other | Any other file not known to be on the search path. |
| Unresolved | The shell lists this routine as unresolved. |
You can define additional categories based on the file name and path
with the variable idlwave-special-lib-alist.
The flags [CSB] indicate if the file is known to IDLWAVE from the
library catalog ([C--], see section A.3 Library Catalog), from the Shell
([-S-]) or from an Emacs buffer ([--B]).
Combinations are possible. If a file contains multiple definitions of
the same routine, the file name will be prefixed with `(Nx)' where
`N' is the number of definitions.
Some of the text in the `*Help*' buffer will be active (it highlights when you move the mouse over it). Clicking on these items will have the following effects:
| Usage | If online help is installed, a click with the right mouse button on the Usage: line will access the help for the routine (see section 4.3 Online Help). |
| Keyword | Online help about keywords is also available with the
right mouse button. Clicking on a keyword with the middle
mouse button will insert this keyword in the buffer from where
idlwave-routine-info was called. Holding down SHIFT while
clicking also adds the initial `/'.
|
| Source | Clicking with the middle mouse button on a `Source' line finds the source file of the routine and visits it in another window. Another click on the same line switches back to the buffer from which C-c ? was called. If you use the right mouse button, the source will not be visited by a buffer, but displayed in the online help window. |
| Classes | The Classes line is only included in the routine info window if the current class inherits from other classes. You can click with the middle mouse button to display routine info about the current method in other classes on the inheritance chain. |
t)
nil means, resize the Routine-info `*Help*' window to
fit the content.
5)
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For IDL system routines, RSI provides extensive documentation. IDLWAVE can access an ASCII version of this documentation very quickly and accurately. This is much faster than using the IDL online help application, also because usually IDLWAVE gets you to the right place in the docs directly, without additional browsing and scrolling. For this online help to work, you need an ASCII version of the IDL documentation which is not part of the standard IDLWAVE distribution. The required files can be downloaded from the maintainers webpage. As the text is extracted from PDF files, the formatting of the help text is good for normal text, but graphics and multiline equations will not be well represented. See also A.5 Documentation Scan.
For routines which are not documented in the IDL manual (for example
your own routines), the source code is used as help text. If the
requested information can be found in a (more or less) standard DocLib
file header, IDLWAVE shows the header. Otherwise the routine definition
statement (pro/function) is shown.
In any IDL program, press M-? (idlwave-context-help) or
click with S-Mouse-3 to access context sensitive online help. The
following locations are recognized as context:
| Routine name | The name of a routine (function, procedure, method). |
| Keyword Parameter | Keyword parameter of a routine. |
| System Variable | System variable like !DPI.
|
| IDL Statement | Like PRO, REPEAT, or COMPILE_OPT.
|
| Class name | Class name in OBJ_NEW call.
|
| Executive Command | Executive command like .RUN. Mostly useful in the shell.
|
| Default | The routine that would be selected for routine info display. |
Note that the OBJ_NEW function is special in that the help
displayed depends on the cursor position: If the cursor is on the
`OBJ_NEW', this function is described. If it is on the class name
inside the quotes, the documentation for the class is pulled up. If the
cursor is after the class name, anywhere in the argument list,
the documentation for the corresponding Init method and its
keywords is targeted.
Apart from source buffers, there are two more places from which online help can be accessed.
The help window is normally displayed in a separate frame. The following commands can be used to navigate inside the help system.
| SPACE | Scroll forward one page. |
| RET | Scroll forward one line. |
| DEL | Scroll back one page. |
| n, p | Browse to the next or previous topic (in physical sequence). |
| b, f | Move back and forward through the help topic history. |
| c | Clear the history. |
| Mouse-2 | Follow a link. Active links are displayed in a different font. Items under See Also are active, and classes have links to their methods and back. |
| o | Open a topic. The topic can be selected with completion. |
| * | Load the whole help file into Emacs, for global text searches. |
| q | Kill the help window. |
When the help text is a source file, the following commands are also available.
| h | Jump to DocLib Header of the routine whose source is displayed as help. |
| H | Jump to the first DocLib Header in the file. |
| . (Dot) | Jump back and forth between the routine definition (the
pro/function statement) and the description of the help
item in the DocLib header.
|
| F | Fontify the buffer like source code. See the variable idlwave-help-fontify-source-code.
|
t)
20)
nil)
t)
t)
nil means, make all possible links in help window active.
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IDLWAVE offers completion for class names, routine names and keywords.
As in many programming modes, completion is bound to M-TAB.
Completion uses the same internal information as routine info, so when
necessary it can be updated with C-c C-i
(idlwave-update-routine-info).
The completion function is context sensitive and figures out what to complete at point. Here are example lines and what M-TAB would try to complete when the cursor is on the position marked with a `*'.
plo* Procedure x = a* Function plot,xra* Keyword of |
If the list of completions is too long to fit in the `*Completions*' window, the window can be scrolled by pressing M-TAB repeatedly. Online help (if installed) for each possible completion is available by clicking with Mouse-3 on the item. Items for which system online help (from the IDL manual) is available will be displayed in a different font. For other items, the corresponding source code or DocLib header is available as help text.
The case of the completed words is determined by what is already in the
buffer. When the partial word being completed is all lower case, the
completion will be lower case as well. If at least one character is
upper case, the string will be completed in upper case or mixed case.
The default is to use upper case for procedures, functions and keywords,
and mixed case for object class names and methods, similar to the
conventions in the IDL manuals. These defaults can be changed with the
variable idlwave-completion-case.
nil)
nil means, completion will always honor the settings in
idlwave-completion-case. When nil (the default), lower case
strings will be completed to lower case.
nil)
nil means, the empty string is considered lower case for
completion.
t)
nil means, completion automatically adds `=' after
completed keywords.
t)
nil means, completion automatically adds `(' after
completed function. A value of `2' means, also add the closing
parenthesis and position cursor between the two.
t)
nil means, restore window configuration after successful
completion.
t)
idlwave-completion-show-classes). As a special case, the class
of an object called `self' object is always the class of the
current routine. All classes it inherits from are considered as well
where appropriate.
You can also call idlwave-complete with a prefix arg: C-u
M-TAB. IDLWAVE will then prompt you for the class in order to
narrow down the number of possible completions. The variable
idlwave-query-class can be configured to make this behavior the
default (not recommended). After you have specified the class
for a particular statement (e.g. when completing the method), IDLWAVE
can remember it for the rest of the editing session. Subsequent
completions in the same statement (e.g. keywords) can then reuse this
class information. Remembering the class works by placing a text
property in the object operator `->'. This is not enabled by
default - the variable idlwave-store-inquired-class can be used
to turn it on.
t)
nil means, treat inheritance with completion, online help etc.
1)
nil means, show classes in `*Completions*' buffer when
completing object methods and keywords.
t)
nil means, fontify the classes in completions buffer.
nil)
nil)
nil means, store class of a method call as text property on
`->'.
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idlwave-find-module) asks for a module
name, offering the same default as idlwave-routine-info would
have used. In the minibuffer, specify a complete routine name
(including the class part). IDLWAVE will display the source file in
another window.
Since getting the source of a routine into a buffer is so easy with
IDLWAVE, too many buffers visiting different IDL source files are
sometimes created. The special command C-c C-k
(idlwave-kill-autoloaded-buffers) can be used to remove these
buffers.
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The key sequence C-c = calls the command idlwave-resolve
and sends the line `RESOLVE_ROUTINE, 'routine_name'' to IDL
in order to resolve (compile) it. The default routine to be resolved is
taken from context, but you get a chance to edit it.
idlwave-resolve is one way to get a library module within reach
of IDLWAVE's routine info collecting functions. A better way is to
scan (parts of) the library (see section A.3 Library Catalog). Routine info on
library modules will then be available without the need to compile the
modules first, and even without a running shell.
See section A. Sources of Routine Info, for in-depth information where IDLWAVE collects data about routines, and how to update this information.
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IDLWAVE can insert IDL code templates into the buffer. For a few templates, this is done with direct key bindings:
| C-c C-c | CASE statement template
|
| C-c C-f | FOR loop template
|
| C-c C-r | REPEAT loop template
|
| C-c C-w | WHILE loop template
|
Otherwise, special abbreviations are used. Emacs abbreviations are expanded by typing text into the buffer and pressing SPC or RET. The special abbreviations used to insert code templates all start with a `\' (the backslash). Here are a few examples of predefined abbreviations. For a full list, use M-x idlwave-list-abbrevs.
\pr |
PROCEDURE template
|
\fu |
FUNCTION template
|
\c |
CASE statement template
|
\f |
FOR loop template
|
\r |
REPEAT loop template
|
\w |
WHILE loop template
|
\i |
IF statement template
|
\elif |
IF-ELSE statement template
|
\b |
BEGIN
|
The templates are expanded in upper or lower case, depending upon the
variables idlwave-abbrev-change-case and
idlwave-reserved-word-upcase.
"\")
t)
nil means the abbrev hook can move point, e.g. to end up
between the parenthesis of a function call.
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Actions are special commands which are executed automatically while you write code in order to check the structure of the program or to enforce coding standards. Most actions which have been implemented in IDLWAVE are turned off by default, assuming that the average user wants her code the way she writes it. But if you are a lazy typist and want your code to adhere to certain standards, they can be helpful.
Action can be applied in three ways:
idlwave-do-actions
must be non-nil.
nil)
nil means performs actions when indenting.
4.8.1 Block Boundary Check Is the END correct 4.8.2 Padding Operators Enforcing space around `=' etc 4.8.3 Case Changes Enforcing upper case keywords
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Whenever you type an END statement, IDLWAVE finds the
corresponding start of the block and the cursor blinks back to that
location for a second. If you have typed a specific END, like
ENDIF or ENDCASE, you get a warning if that kind of END
does not match the type of block it terminates.
Set the variable idlwave-expand-generic-end in order to have all
generic END statements automatically expanded to a specific type.
You can also type C-c ] to close the current block by inserting
the appropriate END statement.
t)
nil means point blinks to block beginning for
idlwave-show-begin.
t)
nil means expand generic END to ENDIF/ENDELSE/ENDWHILE etc.
t)
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Some operators can be automatically surrounded by spaces. This can
happen when the operator is typed, or also later when the line is
indented. IDLWAVE contains this setting for the operators `&',
`<', `>', `,', `=', and `->'(2),
but the feature is turned off by default. If you want to turn it on,
customize the variables idlwave-surround-by-blank and
idlwave-do-actions. You can also define similar actions for
other operators by using the function idlwave-action-and-binding
in the mode hook. For example, to enforce space padding of the `+'
and `*' operators, try this in `.emacs'
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook
(lambda ()
(setq idlwave-surround-by-blank t) ; Turn this type of actions on
(idlwave-action-and-binding "*" '(idlwave-surround 1 1))
(idlwave-action-and-binding "+" '(idlwave-surround 1 1))))
|
nil)
nil means, enable idlwave-surround. If non-nil,
`=', `<', `>', `&', `,', `->' are
surrounded with spaces by idlwave-surround.
t)
nil means pad `=' for keywords like assignments.
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Actions can be used to change the case of reserved words or expanded
abbreviations by customizing the variables
idlwave-abbrev-change-case and
idlwave-reserved-word-upcase. If you want to change the case of
additional words automatically, put something like the following into
your `.emacs' file:
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook
(lambda ()
;; Capitalize system vars
(idlwave-action-and-binding idlwave-sysvar '(capitalize-word 1) t)
;; Capitalize procedure name
(idlwave-action-and-binding "\\<\\(pro\\|function\\)\\>[ \t]*\\<"
'(capitalize-word 1) t)
;; Capitalize common block name
(idlwave-action-and-binding "\\ |
For more information, see the documentation string for the function
idlwave-action-and-binding.
nil)
nil means all abbrevs will be forced to either upper or lower
case. Legal values are nil, t, and down.
nil)
nil means, reserved words will be made upper case via abbrev
expansion.
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The command C-c C-h inserts a standard routine header into the buffer, with the usual fields for documentation. One of the keywords is `MODIFICATION HISTORY' under which the changes to a routine can be recorded. The command C-c C-m jumps to the `MODIFICATION HISTORY' of the current routine or file and inserts the user name with a timestamp.
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IDLWAVE supports both `Imenu' and `Func-menu', two packages which make it easy to jump to the definitions of functions and procedures in the current file.
Several commands allow to move quickly through the structure of an IDL program. These are
| C-M-a | Beginning of subprogram |
| C-M-e | End of subprogram |
| C-c { | Beginning of block (stay inside the block) |
| C-c } | End of block (stay inside the block) |
| M-C-n | Forward block (on same level) |
| M-C-p | Backward block (on same level) |
| M-C-d | Down block (enters a block) |
| M-C-u | Backward up block (leaves a block) |
| C-c C-n | Next Statement |
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t)
nil means display a startup message when idlwave-mode'
is first called.
idlwave-mode.
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The IDLWAVE shell is an Emacs major mode which allows to run the IDL program as an inferior process of Emacs. It can be used to work with IDL interactively, to compile and run IDL programs in Emacs buffers and to debug these programs. The IDLWAVE shell uses `comint', an Emacs packages which handles the communication with the IDL program. Unfortunately IDL for Windows and MacOS does not allow the interaction with Emacs(3), so the IDLWAVE shell only works under GNU and Unix.
5.1 Starting the Shell How to launch IDL as a subprocess 5.2 Using the Shell Interactively working with the Shell 5.3 Debugging IDL Programs Compilation/Debugging
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The IDLWAVE shell can be started with the command M-x
idlwave-shell. In idlwave-mode the function is bound to
C-c C-s. It creates a buffer `*idl*' which is used to
interact with the shell. If the shell is already running, C-c C-s
will simple switch to the shell buffer. The command C-c C-l
(idlwave-shell-recenter-shell-window) displays the
shell window without selecting it.
In order to create a separate frame for the IDLWAVE shell buffer, call
idlwave-shell with a prefix argument: C-u C-c C-s or
C-u C-c C-l. If you always want a dedicated frame for the shell
window, configure the variable
idlwave-shell-use-dedicated-frame.
The shell can also be started automatically when another command tries
to send a command to it. To enable auto start, set the variable
idlwave-shell-automatic-start to t.
nil means attempt to invoke idlwave-shell if not already
running.
nil)
nil means, IDLWAVE should use a special frame to display
shell buffer.
idlwave-shell-mode.
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The IDLWAVE shell works in the same fashion as other shell modes in Emacs. It provides command history, command line editing and job control. The UP and DOWN arrows cycle through the input history just like in an X terminal(4). Here is a list of commonly used commands.
| UP | Cycle backwards in input history |
| DOWN | Cycle forwards in input history |
| M-p | Cycle backwards in input history matching input |
| M-n | Cycle forwards in input history matching input |
| M-r | Previous input matching a regexp |
| M-s | Next input that matches a regexp |
| return | Send input or copy line to current prompt |
| C-c C-a | Beginning of line; skip prompt |
| C-c C-u | Kill input to beginning of line |
| C-c C-w | Kill word before cursor |
| C-c C-c | Send ^C |
| C-c C-z | Send ^Z |
| C-c C-\ | Send ^\ |
| C-c C-o | Delete last batch of process output |
| C-c C-r | Show last batch of process output |
| C-c C-l | List input history |
In addition to these standard `comint' commands,
idlwave-shell-mode provides many of the commands which simplify
writing IDL code, including abbreviations, online help, and completion.
See 4.2 Routine Info and 4.3 Online Help and 4.4 Completion for more
information on these commands.
| TAB | Completion of file names, routine names and keywords
(idlwave-shell-complete)
|
| M-TAB | Same as TAB |
| C-c ? | Routine Info display (idlwave-routine-info)
|
| M-? | IDL online help on routine (idlwave-routine-info-from-idlhelp)
|
| C-c C-i | Update routine info from buffers and shell
(idlwave-update-routine-info)
|
| C-c C-v | Find the source file of a routine (idlwave-find-module)
|
| C-c = | Compile a library routine (idlwave-resolve)
|
t)
nil means UP and DOWN arrows move through command
history like xterm.
IDLWAVE works in line input mode: You compose a full command line, using
all the power Emacs gives you to do this. When you press RET, the
whole line is sent to IDL. Sometimes it is necessary to send single
characters (without a newline), for example when an IDL program is
waiting for single character input with the GET_KBRD function.
You can send a single character to IDL with the command C-c C-x
(idlwave-shell-send-char). When you press C-c C-y
(idlwave-shell-char-mode-loop), IDLWAVE runs a blocking loop
which accepts characters and immediately sends them to IDL. The loop
can be exited with C-g. It terminates also automatically when the
current IDL command is finished. Check the documentation of the two
variables described below for a way to make IDL programs trigger
automatic switches of the input mode.
nil)
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Programs can be compiled, run, and debugged directly from the source
buffer in Emacs. The IDLWAVE shell installs key bindings both in the
shell buffer and in all IDL code buffers of the current Emacs session.
On Emacs versions which support this, it also installs a debugging
toolbar. The display of the toolbar can be toggled with C-c C-d
C-t (idlwave-shell-toggle-toolbar).
The debugging key bindings are by default on the prefix key C-c C-d, so for example setting a breakpoint is done with C-c C-d C-b, compiling a source file with C-c C-d C-c. If you find this too much work you can choose a combination of modifier keys which is not used by other commands. For example, if you write in `.emacs'
(setq idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers '(control shift)) |
a breakpoint can be set by pressing b while holding down
shift and control keys, i.e. C-S-b. Compiling a
source file will be on C-S-c, deleting a breakpoint C-S-d
etc. In the remainder of this chapter we will assume that the C-c
C-d bindings are active, but each of these bindings will have an
equivalent single-keypress shortcut with the modifiers given in the
idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers variable.
idlwave-shell-mode-prefix-map.
t)
nil means, debug commands will be bound to the prefix
key, like C-c C-d C-b.
nil)
t)
nil means, use the debugging toolbar in all IDL related
buffers.
5.3.1 Compiling Programs Compiling buffers under the shell 5.3.2 Breakpoints and Stepping Deciding where to stop and look 5.3.3 Examining Variables What is the value now?
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In order to compile the current buffer under the IDLWAVE shell, press
C-c C-d C-c (idlwave-save-and-run). This first saves the
current buffer and then send the command `.run path/to/file' to the
shell. You can also execute C-c C-d C-c from the shell buffer, in
which case the most recently compiled buffer will be saved and
re-compiled.
When developing or debugging a program, it is often necessary to execute
the same command line many times. A convenient way to do this is
C-c C-d C-y (idlwave-shell-execute-default-command-line).
This command first resets IDL from a state of interrupted execution by
closing all files and returning to the main interpreter level. Then a
default command line is send to the shell. To edit the default command
line, call idlwave-shell-execute-default-command-line with a
prefix argument: C-u C-c C-d C-y.
t)
nil means, mark the source code line where IDL is currently
stopped. The value decides about the preferred method. Legal values
are nil, t, arrow, and face.
">")
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You can set breakpoints and step through a program with IDLWAVE.
Setting a breakpoint in the current line of the source buffer is done
with C-c C-d C-b (idlwave-shell-break-here). With a prefix
arg of 1, the breakpoint gets a /ONCE keyword, meaning that it
will be deleted after first use. With a numeric prefix greater than
one, the breakpoint will only be active the nth time it is hit.
To clear the breakpoint in the current line, use C-c C-d C-d
(idlwave-clear-current-bp). To clear all breakpoints, use
C-c C-d C-a (idlwave-clear-all-bp). Breakpoint lines are
highlighted in the source code.
Once the program has stopped somewhere, you can step through it. Here is a summary of the breakpoint and stepping commands:
| C-c C-d C-b | Set breakpoint (idlwave-shell-break-here)
|
| C-c C-d C-i | Set breakpoint in function named here (idlwave-shell-break-in)
|
| C-c C-d C-d | Clear current breakpoint (idlwave-shell-clear-current-bp)
|
| C-c C-d C-a | Clear all breakpoints (idlwave-shell-clear-all-bp)
|
| C-c C-d C-s | Step, into function calls (idlwave-shell-step)
|
| C-c C-d C-n | Step, over function calls (idlwave-shell-stepover)
|
| C-c C-d C-k | Skip one statement (idlwave-shell-skip)
|
| C-c C-d C-u | Continue to end of block (idlwave-shell-up)
|
| C-c C-d C-m | Continue to end of function (idlwave-shell-return)
|
| C-c C-d C-o | Continue past end of function (idlwave-shell-out)
|
| C-c C-d C-h | Continue to line at cursor position (idlwave-shell-to-here)
|
| C-c C-d C-r | Continue execution to next breakpoint (idlwave-shell-cont)
|
| C-c C-d C-up | Show higher level in calling stack (idlwave-shell-stack-up)
|
| C-c C-d C-down | Show lower level in calling stack (idlwave-shell-stack-down)
|
t)
nil means, mark breakpoints in the source file buffers. The
value indicates the preferred method. Legal values are nil,
t, face, and glyph.
idlwave-shell-mark-breakpoints has the value face.
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When execution is stopped you can examine the values of variables. The command C-c C-d C-p prints the expression at point, while C-c C-d ? shows help on this expression. The expression at point is an array expression or a function call, or the contents of a pair of parenthesis. The selected expression becomes highlighted in the source code for a short time. Calling the above commands with a prefix argument will prompt for an expression instead of using the one at point.
It is very convenient to click with the mouse on expressions to retrieve their value. Expression printing is also bound to S-Mouse-2 and expression help to C-S-Mouse-2. I.e. you need to hold down SHIFT and CONTROL while clicking with the mouse.
Printing of expressions also works on higher levels of the calling
stack. This means that you can examine the values of variables and
expressions inside the routine which called the current routine etc.
Use the commands C-c C-d C-UP
(idlwave-shell-stack-up) and C-c C-d C-DOWN
(idlwave-shell-stack-down) or the corresponding toolbar buttons
to move through the calling stack. The mode line of the shell window
will indicate the routine and the calling stack level which define the
context for printing expressions. The following restrictions apply for
all levels except the current:
ROUTINE_NAMES, which may
or may not be available in future versions of IDL.
idlwave-shell-expression-overlay.
Allows you to choose the font, color and other properties for
the expression printed by IDL.
nil)
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6.1 Installing IDLWAVE How to install the distribution 6.2 Installing Online Help Where to get the additional files needed 6.3 Upgrading from the old `idl.el' file Necessary configuration changes
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IDLWAVE is part of Emacs 21.1 and later. It is also an XEmacs package and can be installed from the XEmacs ftp site with the normal package management system on XEmacs 21. These pre-installed versions should work out-of-the-box. However, the files needed for online help are not distributed with XEmacs/Emacs and have to be installed separately(5) (see section 6.2 Installing Online Help).
You can also download IDLWAVE and install it yourself from the maintainers webpage. Follow the instructions in the INSTALL file.
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If you want to use the online help display, two additional files (an ASCII version of the IDL documentation and a topics/code file) must be installed. These files can also be downloaded from the maintainers webpage. You need to place the files somewhere on your system and tell IDLWAVE where they are with
(setq idlwave-help-directory "/path/to/help/files/") |
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If you have been using the old `idl.el' and `idl-shell.el' files and would like to use IDLWAVE, you need to update your customization in `.emacs'.
autoload and auto-mode-alist forms
pointing to the `idl.el' and `idl-shell.el' files. Install
the new autoload forms.
idlwave-shell-mode-hook. Instead, set the variable
idlwave-shell-use-dedicated-frame with
(setq idlwave-shell-use-dedicated-frame t) |
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The main contributors to the IDLWAVE package have been:
The following people have also contributed to the development of IDLWAVE with patches, ideas, bug reports and suggestions.
Thanks to everyone!
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In 4.2 Routine Info and 4.4 Completion it was shown how IDLWAVE displays the calling sequence and keywords of routines, and how it completes routine names and keywords. For these features to work, IDLWAVE must know about the accessible routines.
A.1 Routine Definitions Where IDL Routines are defined. A.2 Routine Information Sources So how does IDLWAVE know about... A.3 Library Catalog Scanning the Libraries for Routine Info A.4 Load-Path Shadows Routines defined in several places A.5 Documentation Scan Scanning the IDL Manuals
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Routines which can be used in an IDL program can be defined in several places:
CALL_EXTERNAL, linked into IDL via LINKIMAGE,
or included as dynamically loaded modules (DLMs). Currently IDLWAVE
cannot provide routine info and completion for external
routines.
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In oder to know about as many routines as possible, IDLWAVE will do the following to collect information:
idlwave-update-routine-info)
can be used at any time to rescan all buffers.
idlwave-update-routine-info) can be used to ask
the shell again at any time.
t)
nil means, scan all buffers for IDL programs when updating
info.
t)
nil means query the shell for info about compiled routines.
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IDLWAVE can extract routine information from library modules and store
that information in a file. To do this, the variable
idlwave-libinfo-file needs to contain the path to a file in an
existing directory (the default is "~/.idlcat.el"). Since the
file will contain lisp code, its name should end in `.el'. Under
Windows and MacOS, you also need to specify the search path for IDL
library files in the variable idlwave-library-path, and the
location of the IDL directory (the value of the !DIR system
variable) in the variable idlwave-system-directory. Under Unix and GNU,
these values will be automatically inferred from an IDLWAVE
shell.
The command M-x idlwave-create-libinfo-file can then be used to scan library files. It brings up a widget in which you can select some or all directories on the search path. If you only want to have routine and completion info of some libraries, it is sufficient to scan those directories. However, if you want IDLWAVE to detect possible name conflicts with routines defined in other libraries, the whole pass should be scanned.
After selecting directories, click on the `[Scan & Save]'
button in the widget to scan all files in the selected directories and
write the resulting routine information into the file
idlwave-libinfo-file. In order to update the library information
from the same directories, call the command
idlwave-update-routine-info with a double prefix argument:
C-u C-u C-c C-i. This will rescan files in the previously
selected directories, write an updated version of the libinfo file and
rebuild IDLWAVEs internal lists.
A note of caution: Depending on your local installation, the IDL library can be very large. Parsing it for routine information will take time and loading this information into Emacs can require a significant amount of memory. However, having this information available will be a great help.
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IDLWAVE can compile a list of routines which are defined in several different files. Since one definition will hide (shadow) the others depending on which file is compiled first, such multiple definitions are called "load-path shadows". IDLWAVE has several routines to scan for load path shadows. The output is placed into the special buffer `*Shadows*'. The format of the output is identical to the source section of the routine info buffer (see section 4.2 Routine Info). The different definitions of a routine are listed in the sequence of likelyhood of use. So the first entry will be most likely the one you'll get if an unsuspecting command uses that routine. Before listing shadows, you should make sure that routine info is up-to-date by pressing C-c C-i. Here are the different routines:
RESOLVE_ALL to compile any routines used by
your code, update the routine info inside IDLWAVE with C-c C-i and
then check for shadowing.
For these commands to work properly you should have scanned the entire load path, not just selected directories. Also, IDLWAVE should be able to distinguish between the system library files (normally installed in `/usr/local/rsi/idl/lib') and any site specific or user specific files. Therefore, such local files should not be installed inside the `lib' directory of the IDL directory. This is of course also advisable for many other reasons.
Users of Windows and MacOS also must set the variable
idlwave-system-directory to the value of the !DIR system
variable in IDL. IDLWAVE appends `lib' to the value of this
variable and assumes that all files found on that path are system
routines.
Another way to find out if a specific routine has multiple definitions on the load path is routine info display (see section 4.2 Routine Info).
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IDLWAVE derives it knowledge about system routines from the IDL manuals. The file `idlw-rinfo.el' contains the routine information for the IDL system routines. The Online Help feature of IDLWAVE requires ASCII versions of some IDL manuals to be available in a specific format (`idlw-help.txt'), along with an Emacs-Lisp file `idlw-help.el' with supporting code and pointers to the ASCII file.
All 3 files can be derived from the IDL documentation. If you are lucky, the maintainer of IDLWAVE will always have access to the newest version of IDL and provide updates. The IDLWAVE distribution also contains the Perl program `get_rinfo' which constructs these files by scanning selected files from the IDL documentation. Instructions on how to use `get_rinfo' are in the program itself.
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Question: So now you have all these complicated configuration options in your package, but which ones do you as the maintainer actually set in your own configuration?
Answer: Hardly any. As the maintainer, I set the default of most options to what I think is best. However, the default settings do not turn on features which
To see what I mean, here is the entire configuration I have in my `.emacs':
(setq idlwave-shell-debug-modifiers '(control shift)
idlwave-store-inquired-class t
idlwave-shell-automatic-start t
idlwave-main-block-indent 2
idlwave-help-dir "~/lib/emacs/idlwave"
idlwave-special-lib-alist '(("/idl-astro/" . "AstroLib")
("/jhuapl/" . "JHUAPL-Lib")
("/dominik/lib/idl/" . "MyLib")))
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However, if you are an Emacs power-user and want IDLWAVE to work completely differently, the options allow you to change almost every aspect of it. Here is an example of a much more extensive configuration of IDLWAVE. To say it again - this is not what I recommend, but the user is King!
;;; Settings for IDLWAVE mode
(setq idlwave-block-indent 3) ; Indentation settings
(setq idlwave-main-block-indent 3)
(setq idlwave-end-offset -3)
(setq idlwave-continuation-indent 1)
(setq idlwave-begin-line-comment "^;[^;]") ; Leave ";" but not ";;"
; anchored at start of line.
(setq idlwave-surround-by-blank t) ; Turn on padding ops =,<,>
(setq idlwave-pad-keyword nil) ; Remove spaces for keyword '='
(setq idlwave-expand-generic-end t) ; convert END to ENDIF etc...
(setq idlwave-reserved-word-upcase t) ; Make reserved words upper case
; (with abbrevs only)
(setq idlwave-abbrev-change-case nil) ; Don't force case of expansions
(setq idlwave-hang-indent-regexp ": ") ; Change from "- " for auto-fill
(setq idlwave-show-block nil) ; Turn off blinking to begin
(setq idlwave-abbrev-move t) ; Allow abbrevs to move point
;; Some setting can only be done from a mode hook. Here is an example:
(add-hook 'idlwave-mode-hook
(lambda ()
(setq abbrev-mode 1) ; Turn on abbrevs (-1 for off)
(setq case-fold-search nil) ; Make searches case sensitive
;; Run other functions here
(font-lock-mode 1) ; Turn on font-lock mode
(idlwave-auto-fill-mode 0) ; Turn off auto filling
;;
;; Pad with 1 space (if -n is used then make the
;; padding a minimum of n spaces.) The defaults use -1
;; instead of 1.
(idlwave-action-and-binding "=" '(idlwave-expand-equal 1 1))
(idlwave-action-and-binding "<" '(idlwave-surround 1 1))
(idlwave-action-and-binding ">" '(idlwave-surround 1 1 '(?-)))
(idlwave-action-and-binding "&" '(idlwave-surround 1 1))
;;
;; Only pad after comma and with exactly 1 space
(idlwave-action-and-binding "," '(idlwave-surround nil 1))
(idlwave-action-and-binding "&" '(idlwave-surround 1 1))
;;
;; Pad only after `->', remove any space before the arrow
(idlwave-action-and-binding "->" '(idlwave-surround 0 -1 nil 2))
;;;
;; Set some personal bindings
;; (In this case, makes `,' have the normal self-insert behavior.)
(local-set-key "," 'self-insert-command)
;; Create a newline, indenting the original and new line.
;; A similar function that does _not_ reindent the original
;; line is on "\C-j" (The default for emacs programming modes).
(local-set-key "\n" 'idlwave-newline)
;; (local-set-key "\C-j" 'idlwave-newline) ; My preference.
))
;;; Settings for IDLWAVE SHELL mode
(setq idlwave-shell-overlay-arrow "=>") ; default is ">"
(setq idlwave-shell-use-dedicated-frame t) ; Make a dedicated frame
(setq idlwave-shell-prompt-pattern "^WAVE> ") ; default is "^IDL> "
(setq idlwave-shell-explicit-file-name "wave")
(setq idlwave-shell-process-name "wave")
(setq idlwave-shell-use-toolbar nil) ; No toolbar
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A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U W X |
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A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U W X |
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This list was created by scanning the IDL manual and might contain (very few) errors. Please report any detected errors to the maintainer, so that they can be fixed.
Operators longer than one character can only be padded during line indentation.
Please inform the maintainer if you come up with a way to make the IDLWAVE shell work on these systems.
This is different from
normal Emacs/Comint behavior, but more like an xterm. If you prefer the
default comint functionality, check the variable
idlwave-shell-arrows-do-history.
Due to copyright reasons, the ASCII version of the IDL manual cannot be distributed under the GPL.
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| [Top] | [Contents] | [Index] | [ ? ] |
1. Introduction
2. IDLWAVE in a Nutshell
3. Getting Started (Tutorial)
4. The IDLWAVE Major Mode
5. The IDLWAVE Shell
6. Installation
7. Acknowledgement
A. Sources of Routine Info
B. Configuration Examples
Index
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| Button | Name | Go to | From 1.2.3 go to |
|---|---|---|---|
| [ < ] | Back | previous section in reading order | 1.2.2 |
| [ > ] | Forward | next section in reading order | 1.2.4 |
| [ << ] | FastBack | previous or up-and-previous section | 1.1 |
| [ Up ] | Up | up section | 1.2 |
| [ >> ] | FastForward | next or up-and-next section | 1.3 |
| [Top] | Top | cover (top) of document | |
| [Contents] | Contents | table of contents | |
| [Index] | Index | concept index | |
| [ ? ] | About | this page |