Preface

This guide explains how to use the Open Dylan IDE (Windows only) to develop and deliver Dylan applications.

For help getting started with the command-line tools, see the Getting Started with the Open Dylan Command Line Tools guide.

The Dylan Reference Manual

The Dylan Reference Manual (Shalit, 1996) is published by Addison Wesley Developers’ Press, ISBN 0-201-44211-6. In this guide, we refer to the Dylan Reference Manual as “the DRM”.

Chapters in this guide

The early chapters on the IDE give you a quick tour of the application development cycle under Open Dylan, using the Reversi example for illustration. In these early chapters we come across most of the Open Dylan development tools. Later chapters examine those tools more directly, and provide a broader view of the development process in Open Dylan.

Quick Start, shows how to build a standalone executable application in Open Dylan. It discusses the Open Dylan main window and the project window.

Fixing Bugs, shows how to make changes to your application sources and how to debug compile-time and run-time errors. It discusses the project window, the debugger, the editor, and the browser.

Programming in Open Dylan, gives an overview of the programming model in Open Dylan.

Creating and Using Projects, discusses the New Project wizard, and looks at the project window in more detail.

Learning More About an Application, shows how you can examine the sources of a project, and run-time values in an application, using the browser.

Debugging and Interactive Development, returns to the debugger and studies it in more detail.

Remote Debugging, describes how to debug a Dylan application running on another machine.

Dispatch Optimization Coloring in the Editor, describes the editor’s facility for coloring source code to show the degree to which it has been optimized.

Delivering Dylan Applications, shows how you can package an application with everything necessary to deliver it to customers as a stand-alone product.