For non-source code files, the main difference with a Standard Text View is the section information. For source code files, however, and along with the options for a Standard Text View, Scriptum includes several facilities to handle software projects, like SCCS/RCS compatibility, Definition Browsing facility, and Syntax decorations among others.
In this chapter we will review the features available for FTFs.
Most of the features available for FTFs are grouped under the standard Tools menu.
When the window is active, the user can edit the expression that is being browsed and click Apply, to search for it. When one expression is selected, the user can either single-click on it and then click Ok, or double click on it. Either action will move the cursor position to the selected ocurrence of the expression.
A tipical pattern browser dialog box could be as follows:
The Pattern Browser dialog box
Source Code Only Options
Definition Browser
The definition browser uses a database defined and maintained for each selected directory structure. These database contains references to C/C++ functions, class types, typedefs and macro definitions only. The release version of Scriptum will include a generic, easily extendable Definition Database generator along with a more powerful browser. Version Management
Scriptum supports four common version management commands: Check in, Check Out, Version Log and Open last version. Each command calls a shell script that will end up calling the actual version management tool (RCS or SCCS). Information on the version management system installation requirements can be found on the Manual Addenda in the Scriptum CD. Literate programming
Scriptum lets you take advantage what is known as literate programming. Styles
With Styles, Scriptum will understand a subset of the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) standard, including links and text highlightings such as boldface. It is important to note that this capability is not built-in Scriptum, but obtained through proper configuration, i.e., Scriptum is configured to understand a subset of HTML inside these special comments. In the same way, it could be considered to understand other markings, such as LaTeX's. Section Management
An important feature for literate programming is Section Management. Whenever a document has defined sections, a section handler appears at the left side of the section header. This section handler, through mouse bindings defined in the appropiate configuration file, can collapse and expand sections or filter an entire section through a Scriptum command or an OS command, among other things. Regions
A Region is a set of lines that can be grouped logically by their function. For example, a region could be the block of an if
statement, or a piece of Documentation.
Syntax decoration
Sets on/off the syntax decoration. Syntax decorations are defined in configuration files, along with the syntax definitions. Reveal Codes
Shows special characters for the normal ASCII non-printable characters.