[Newbies] Some general questions

[Göran Krampe]

Hi!

> On Tuesday 22 May 2007 8:28 pm, Darren White wrote:
>> Hello
>>
>> Is there a way to use a string as the name for a object? For example if
>> I
>> have the input string 'fred' from a user input field how do I create a
>> object named userFred or even just fred?
> Use asSymbol to convert string to symbol and use it in subclass: method:
>
> BigBoss subclass: 'SmallBoss' asSymbol instanceVariableNames .....

Ehm... I am not sure Darren wanted to know how to programmatically create
a new *class*. Darren - when you write "an object named userFred" what do
you mean?

Do you mean an object with an attribute (instance variable) holding a name?

Normally you would create a class called say... "User" by editing the
class template in the browser to look like this and then press alt-s:

Object subclass: #User
	instanceVariableNames: 'name age'
	classVariableNames: ''
	poolDictionaries: ''
	category: 'MyClasses'

Here you see that we defined two instance variables - name and age. The
above would roughly translate to a table called "User" with two fields
(columns), one called name and one called age - if you happen to be a
database guy that might get you to understand this.

Then if you add setter and getter methods to the class that look like:
------------
name: aString
   name := aString
-------------
name
   ^name
----------
..and same for age - then you can do this:


| freddie | "<- this is declaring a local variable, can be called whatever"
freddie := User new.
freddie name: 'Fred'.
freddie age: 12.
freddie

If you now select the above in a workspace and do "inspect it", the code
will be run, a new User object is created, we set its two instance
variables and then the last line is just a reference to the object so that
the inspector knows which object to inspect.

Did this clear things up?


>> What is the difference between the source file and the image? Does the
>> image use the code from the source file? If I create code dose it live
>> in
>> the image or source file?

A shorter answer here is that the sources file is never modified. We all
have the same, it holds "old" source code and you need not worry about it
- but you need it somewhere. :)

The image file and the changes file is a pair that should never be
separated. The changes file is an incremental log of all your source code
modifications. Keep them together at all times. So your code "lives" in
both the image (in compiled form) and in the changes file (in ascii form).

regards, Göran