Getting Started
Preface
Notices
Trademarks
About this book
Who this book is for
What's new?
VAST Platform 2022 (version 110.0.0)
Conventions used in this book
Tell us what you think
Overview
What is VAST Platform?
Expressive written code
Powerful visual programming cabability
Starting up
Environments
Creating a Development Environment
Launching a Development Environment
Development image ownership and Security
Connecting to the development manager library
In the image
Saving your work
A guided tour: Creating your first Smalltalk application
Creating the application STCalculatorApp
Creating the class STCalculator
Defining the class
Adding the method open
Testing STCalculator
Finishing the open method
Finishing the user interface
Fixing errors
Browsing CwRowColumn
Adding functions
The Classes Browser
Adding the remaining methods
Debugging the calculator
Introducing the Debugger
Using the Debugger
Tidying up the Calculator application
Extending another class
Categorizing methods
Public and private methods
Checking prerequisites
One last change
Summing up
The Power of Smalltalk
Software components
Classes
Defined classes
Extended classes
Visible classes
Public classes and private classes
Methods
Viewing methods
Method categories
Applications
Applications group classes
Applications relate to other applications
Subapplications
Configuration maps
Team Concepts
Smalltalk Development Tools
Using a Transcript or Workspace window
Text editing
Evaluating Smalltalk expressions
The Application Manager
The Applications Browser
Method visibility
The Classes Browser
The Class Browser
The Application Browser
The Debugger
Constructing your first visual application
Creating a Visual Part
Creating an application using the Quick Start window
Using the full menu set
Editing the Visual Part
Building the To-do List User Interface
Changing the title bar text of a Window part
Adding Text and Label parts
Adding a List part
Adding Push Button parts
Sizing and aligning visual parts
Sizing, aligning, and distributing parts
Correcting mistakes
Working with nonvisual parts
Adding an Ordered Collection part
Connecting parts
Attribute-to-attribute connections
Making the attribute-to-attribute connection
Event-to-action connections
Making the event-to-action connections
Saving and testing the To-do List application
Saving your visual part and application image
Testing the application
Making the To-do List an executable application
Making your application executable
Versioning and releasing your application and its parts
Creating an executable application
Running the To-do List application
The Visual Programming Paradigm
Key concepts
Parts
Properties views
Connections
Scripts
Smalltalk Code
The Visual Development Tools
Organizer
Adding part classes to your application
Composition Editor: an Introduction
Parts palette
Tool bar
General tools
Size and position Tools
Connection tools
Basic toolbar
Free-form surface
Visual tool symbols
Status Bar
Working with Parts
Adding parts
Changing the labels of parts using direct editing
Changing the settings of parts
Using Properties or Settings windows
Properties windows
Settings windows
Tearing off an attribute from a part
Tearing off an attribute
Connecting parts
Making connections
Dragging parts
Selecting multiple parts
Displaying part pop-up menus
Script Editor
Public Interface Editor
Composition Editor: going deeper
VAST user interface parts
Buttons category
Data Entry category
Lists category
Menus category
Canvas category
Win32 Common Controls
Prompters category
Manipulating parts
Selecting parts
Selecting several parts
Deselecting parts
Moving parts
Copying parts
Copying parts using the clipboard
Deleting parts
Resizing, aligning, and positioning parts
Resizing parts
Aligning parts
Matching the width of another part
Distributing parts evenly
Positioning parts within a grid
Changing part properties
Open the Properties window for a part
Changing part colors and fonts
Change the color of a part
Change the font of a part
Portability of colors and fonts
Connecting parts
Attribute-to-attribute connections
Event-to-action connections
Event-to-script connections
Attribute-from-script connections
Parameter-from-attribute
Parameter-from-action
Parameter-from-script
Changing the Properties of connections
Connection parameters
Attributes as parameters
Constants as parameters
Manipulating connections
Selecting and deselecting connections
Deleting connections
Reordering connections
Showing, hiding and browsing connections
Arranging connections
Changing connection end-points
Constructing your second visual application
Creating the Investment application using the Organizer
Creating the Investment application visual parts
Creating the Investment application main window
Changing part properties
Validating and formatting data
Using the Formatted Text part's Social Security data type
Using the Formatted Text part's Monetary data type
Add items to the Drop-Down List part
Making a text part read-only
Checking a Toggle Button by default
Specifying a default Push Button part
Setting a Push Button part to disabled
Sizing parts automatically
Changing part names
Making the connections
Making the attribute-to-attribute connections
Making the event-to-action connection
Saving and testing
Adding Window and Form parts
Creating a reusable part
Creating a reusable Form part
Create the user interface for the reusable part
Creating application secondary windows
Creating the BuySecurityView window
Making a copy of the BuySecurityView window
Creating the SellSecurityView window
Adding a reusable part and connecting to it
Adding a reusable part
Making the event-to-action connections
Working with View Wrapper parts
Adding windows as View wrappers
Connecting to a View Wrapper
Saving and testing your work
Setting tab order
Main window
SecurityFormView
Secondary windows
Adding menus
Adding menu parts
Menu Bars
Pop-up Menu parts
Cascade Menus
Creating a menu bar
Adding menu choices
Add a menu choice
Adding a cascade menu
Menu part distinctions
Review your work
Creating the application executable
Results of packaging the application
Running the application
Looking ahead
What's next?
Start with the Smalltalk User Guide
Start with the Visual Programming User Guide
Consult the Visual Parts Reference
Learn about the development environment
Explore the help facilities
Index
Getting Started
Index