Beginners November 2006

beginners@lists.squeakfoundation.org

70 participants
57 discussions

08 Nov '06

Hello group!I'm hoping that this beginners list is a good place for a beginner to get answers to... well, beginner's questions. And so, with that in mind, I'll ask a few questions. But first, experience has taught me that I should be a little more clear in what I'm looking for as an answer. Imagine a total newbie to computers asked a group of experts the question "How do I run a program under windows?". One member of the group decided to respond by handing him a 400 page technical manual on windows and telling him that everything he wants to know is in there. Upon seeing that the rest of the group decides that his question has been answered and sees no need to offer additional assistance. This newbie's question wasn't actually answered by the group, ultimately what they did was say "ask the manual". The manual naturally can't hear him so it can't directly respond to his question, he has to start searching it. After skimming a bunch of pages and not seeing what he's looking for, (or anything he understands), he looks in the index. It isn't there. He looks in the table of contents to see a chapter called "Getting started with windows". Thinking that looks like what he needs, he flips to it and it starts out by telling him that the first thing he needs to do is install windows. Ok, so he looks for this Windows disk. That's strange, his computer didn't come with any windows disk. So next he goes out and spends $800 on the latest version of windows. He brings it home and spends 5 hours trying to follow the instructions for installing it, but it isn't working. He wonders if he bought the wrong version of windows or if maybe the disk is corrupted, (he read that somewhere in the manual). Or maybe his computer is bad. In any case, he finally decides never to touch a computer again out of frustration.The problem here was that the newbie didn't have enough computer proficiency to understand the manual that was being handed to him. The steps he took were logical, and he put a lot of effort and money into trying to solve his question, which was how to run programs under windows. What would have helped him better would be if someone in the group had just told him to "double click it". He would have saved his money, known a little more about computers than he ever learned through the manual, and enjoyed PC ownership like the rest of us. So I guess what I'm saying is I'm hoping to get answers like "double-click it". Sorry if that sounds fussy, but I've gone through enough experiences similar to that fictional newbie above that I felt I had to say something. So if you're still reading, here are the questions. Actually, this is pretty long, so I'll just ask one question for now. 1. In a workspace, I've typed the following...wonder := Wonderland new.copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'Objects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'.copter turn:'left'.So far, everything works fine. The wonderland and helicopter are created, and I am able to send it messages to make it turn, move, etc. Now I'd like to make it move by using the arrow keys. How do I do that?What I've tried so far = My first plan to try to do this was by using tile scripts. I've done the race car tutorial, and I figured out how to drive that around with the arrow keys once I looked in the world's viewer and selected the input pane, which gave me access to the "world's lastKeystroke" tiles. So, I made a tile script that used the 'test... yes... no' box and put the world's lastKeystroke = <left> as the test condition. Then I toggled the script to 'textual' and filled in the following.script1�� World1 getLastKeystroke = '<left>' "" false�� ifTrue: [ copter turn: 'left']and it tells me it doesn't know what copter is. Come to think of it neither do I. Is it a variable, a method, or something else? I've played around with this a lot, and the only time I got the helicopter to turn was when I scripted the whole...script97�� | wonder copter |�� wonder := Wonderland new.�� copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'Objects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'.�� copter turn:'left'.but that doesn't really do what I'm trying to do.Thanks in advance and happy squeaking!Jeff _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

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Re: Making a wonderland actor respond to keystrokes, not mouseclicks? (was: Beginners questions)
by Jeff 08 Nov '06

08 Nov '06

I sent Matthias an email already thanking him for his assistance but I wanted to email the list too, so that people reading here wouldn't think that telling me how to make the copter turn when I click on it actually answered my question. What I'm really trying to do is make it reply to the arrow keys, and without needing to have the focus to do so, (and without the camera or any other wonderland piece requiring the focus either).Also, I'm wondering why when I run the following in a workspace...wonder := Wonderland new.copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'Objects\Vehicles\helicopter.mdl'.I can make the copter turn from that workspace using...copter turn: #left.But if I open a different workspace and enter the same thing, it tells me that copter is an undefined object. Along the same lines, if I type...jump := wonder doInOrder: {copter move: #up. copter move: #down.}.the helicopter moves up and then down as expected. However, what exactly is "jump" now? I try executing just...jump.and nothing happens. I try...World jump.and get a PasteUpMorph doesNotUnderstand jump error. I tryjump new.and get SequentialAnimation(Object) does not understand new. Ok, so it's a sequential animation object, but how do I use it? It sounds like an object that actually is a method, but what object to send it to?Thanks again to Matthias and anyone else who tries to help me solve this. :)Jeff --- On Tue 11/07, Matthias Berth < matthias.berth(a)googlemail.com > wrote:From: Matthias Berth [mailto: matthias.berth(a)googlemail.com]To: hombreviii(a)myway.com, beginners(a)lists.squeakfoundation.orgDate: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 19:20:18 +0100Subject: Re: [Newbies] Making a Wonderland Actor react to mouse clicks (was: Beginners questions)Hello Jeff :-)interesting question, and I know the situation you're describing with respect to getting the help you want.OK, to the point of your problem: you want to turn a Wonderland actor (your helicopter) in response to a mouse click. Here is a quick, concrete recipe, tested in Squeak 3.8:1) As you did, evaluate ("do it" ) this:| wonder copter |wonder := Wonderland new.copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'WonderlandObjects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'.2) Now _within_ the wonderland script window, evaluate this:helicopter addResponse: [:event | helicopter turn: #left] to: #leftMouseUp3) click on your helicopter and see what happensDoes that do what you want?------------Now, how did I find out about this? (I'm not saying you should be able to find this out for yourself, mind you. I'm just trying to help.)1) Notice the Quick reference tab in the wonderland window2) Somewhere down in that text you findAdding Reactions--------------------Useful constants: event types: keyPress, leftMouseDown, leftMouseUp, leftMouseClick, rightMouseDown, rightMouseUp, rightMouseClickaddResponse: to: removeResponse: to: respondWith: to: 3) So it has to be something with addResponse. I still don't know how to use the addResponse, however. So I open the method finder and type in addResponse4) I find the method addResponse:to: in WonderlandActor5) looking at the method source code in the browser, I don't get a idea of how to use it. In most cases it's better to look at examples of the method in use, so I click on "senders"6) bummer: there are no senders of addResponse:to: !7) in that same method category "event handling" there is another method that looks similar: respondWith:to:, and that's also listed in the wonderland quick reference8) I find 3 senders of respondWith:to:, among them initializeDefaultReactions "Set up our default reactions" myReactions := Dictionary new. self respondWith: [:event | self onLeftMouseDown: event] to: leftMouseDown. self respondWith: [:event | self onLeftMouseUp: event] to: leftMouseUp.9) So I interpret the method as this: There is a dictionary myReactions that tells the actor what to do in response to an event. Event types are the keys, blocks are the value of this dictionary. They initialize the reactions to left mouse down and left mouse up with blocks that specify what to do on these events. Now it makes sense: the block takes the event as an argument, so you can ask the event object e.g. for the mouse coordinates10) Now I have the basic format for the block, and an example on how to use it11) The last obstacle was to be able to "name" the helicopter inside the wonderland, because it takes on its own name ("helicopter" instead of the "copter" you used in the script). I fully realize that this discovery process needs a lot of assumptions and background knowledge about Squeak. I think this knowledge can be gradually accumulated by playing with the system and trying to get small things done. When you're stuck, you can always ask the mailing list. --------I hope this helps, have fun.MatthiasOn 11/7/06, Jeff <hombreviii(a)myway.com> wrote: Hello group!I'm hoping that this beginners list is a good place for a beginner to get answers to... well, beginner's questions. And so, with that in mind, I'll ask a few questions. But first, experience has taught me that I should be a little more clear in what I'm looking for as an answer. [...]1. In a workspace, I've typed the following...wonder := Wonderland new.copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'Objects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'.copter turn:'left'.So far, everything works fine. The wonderland and helicopter are created, and I am able to send it messages to make it turn, move, etc. Now I'd like to make it move by using the arrow keys. How do I do that? [...] _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

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AW: [Newbies] Plotting x-y data within Squeak
by Andy Watson 08 Nov '06

08 Nov '06

PlotMorph and PlotMorph2 look like exactly what I was hoping for! Thanks everyone, Andy --

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AW: [Newbies] Plotting x-y data within Squeak
by Frank Urbach 07 Nov '06

07 Nov '06

Perhaps the package Plotmorph2 would fit what you need. You will find this package on SqueakMap. I've never tried it but I think it's the right for you. Cheers, Frank

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Plotting x-y data within Squeak
by Andy Watson 07 Nov '06

07 Nov '06

My son wants to learn some programming and we would like to write some code for his science project for school. Squeak looks like a great environment in which to learn how to program, but it would be nice if he could display some of his results from his experiments within Squeak too. Can anyone recommend a class/module/package (or whatever you call a collection of code in Squeak) that can be used for plotting graphs from a simple set of x, y values? If not, then since I am very experienced systems programmer from the C/Lisp/Unix world I guess I'd better get my sleeves rolled up ;-) Thanks! Andy --

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Re: [Newbies] Making a Wonderland Actor react to mouse clicks (was: Beginners questions)
by Matthias Berth 07 Nov '06

07 Nov '06

Hello Jeff :-) interesting question, and I know the situation you're describing with respect to getting the help you want. OK, to the point of your problem: you want to turn a Wonderland actor (your helicopter) in response to a mouse click. Here is a quick, concrete recipe, tested in Squeak 3.8: 1) As you did, evaluate ("do it" ) this: | wonder copter | wonder := Wonderland new. copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'WonderlandObjects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'. 2) Now _within_ the wonderland script window, evaluate this: helicopter addResponse: [:event | helicopter turn: #left] to: #leftMouseUp 3) click on your helicopter and see what happens Does that do what you want? ------------ Now, how did I find out about this? (I'm not saying you should be able to find this out for yourself, mind you. I'm just trying to help.) 1) Notice the Quick reference tab in the wonderland window 2) Somewhere down in that text you find Adding Reactions -------------------- Useful constants: event types: keyPress, leftMouseDown, leftMouseUp, leftMouseClick, rightMouseDown, rightMouseUp, rightMouseClick addResponse: <block> to: <eventType> removeResponse: <response> to: <eventType> respondWith: <block> to: <eventType> 3) So it has to be something with addResponse. I still don't know how to use the addResponse, however. So I open the method finder and type in addResponse 4) I find the method addResponse:to: in WonderlandActor 5) looking at the method source code in the browser, I don't get a idea of how to use it. In most cases it's better to look at examples of the method in use, so I click on "senders" 6) bummer: there are no senders of addResponse:to: ! 7) in that same method category "event handling" there is another method that looks similar: respondWith:to:, and that's also listed in the wonderland quick reference 8) I find 3 senders of respondWith:to:, among them initializeDefaultReactions "Set up our default reactions" myReactions := Dictionary new. self respondWith: [:event | self onLeftMouseDown: event] to: leftMouseDown. self respondWith: [:event | self onLeftMouseUp: event] to: leftMouseUp. 9) So I interpret the method as this: There is a dictionary myReactions that tells the actor what to do in response to an event. Event types are the keys, blocks are the value of this dictionary. They initialize the reactions to left mouse down and left mouse up with blocks that specify what to do on these events. Now it makes sense: the block takes the event as an argument, so you can ask the event object e.g. for the mouse coordinates 10) Now I have the basic format for the block, and an example on how to use it 11) The last obstacle was to be able to "name" the helicopter inside the wonderland, because it takes on its own name ("helicopter" instead of the "copter" you used in the script). I fully realize that this discovery process needs a lot of assumptions and background knowledge about Squeak. I think this knowledge can be gradually accumulated by playing with the system and trying to get small things done. When you're stuck, you can always ask the mailing list. -------- I hope this helps, have fun. Matthias On 11/7/06, Jeff <hombreviii(a)myway.com> wrote: > > Hello group! > > I'm hoping that this beginners list is a good place for a beginner to get > answers to... well, beginner's questions. And so, with that in mind, I'll > ask a few questions. But first, experience has taught me that I should be a > little more clear in what I'm looking for as an answer. [...] > 1. In a workspace, I've typed the following... > > wonder := Wonderland new. > copter := wonder makeActorFrom: 'Objects\Vehicles\Helicopter.mdl'. > copter turn:'left'. > > So far, everything works fine. The wonderland and helicopter are created, > and I am able to send it messages to make it turn, move, etc. Now I'd like > to make it move by using the arrow keys. How do I do that? [...] > >

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The Path From eToys To Squeak To SmallTalk - Or The Other Way
by Greg Smith 06 Nov '06

06 Nov '06

I've been a would be programmer for many years. I'm one of those people who just "does not get it". I understand things like eToys and other visual "programming" environments but have much difficulty making the transition to true programming languages, since they are not visual and usually not very natural, (intuitive), to a visual thinker. I know that learning SmallTalk would be the next step for me, but there does not seem to be any documentation for the absolute beginner who knows nothing about programming and programming terminology, (classes, methods, functions, etc.). Since SmallTalk makes its claim of being a _/truly/_ object oriented language, and it is at the heart of Squeak, it makes sense for me to move in that direction. Where does the complete beginner begin with SmallTalk? Too bad that eToys doesn't take the exercise a step further and also take the user from visual programmatic thinking into visual programmatic programming, with learning SmallTalk as its goal. Thank you, Greg Smith

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Re: [Newbies] The Path From eToys To Squeak To SmallTalk - Or The Other Way
by Gene Venable 06 Nov '06

06 Nov '06

I'm enjoying "Squeak: Learn Programming with Robots," by Stephane Ducasse. It certainly seems to be a decent place to start. ----- Original Message ---- From: Greg Smith <brucegregory(a)learnblender.com> To: beginners(a)lists.squeakfoundation.org Sent: Sunday, November 5, 2006 2:44:37 PM Subject: [Newbies] The Path From eToys To Squeak To SmallTalk - Or The Other Way I've been a would be programmer for many years. I'm one of those people who just "does not get it". I understand things like eToys and other visual "programming" environments but have much difficulty making the transition to true programming languages, since they are not visual and usually not very natural, (intuitive), to a visual thinker. I know that learning SmallTalk would be the next step for me, but there does not seem to be any documentation for the absolute beginner who knows nothing about programming and programming terminology, (classes, methods, functions, etc.). Since SmallTalk makes its claim of being a _/truly/_ object oriented language, and it is at the heart of Squeak, it makes sense for me to move in that direction. Where does the complete beginner begin with SmallTalk? Too bad that eToys doesn't take the exercise a step further and also take the user from visual programmatic thinking into visual programmatic programming, with learning SmallTalk as its goal. Thank you, Greg Smith _______________________________________________ Beginners mailing list Beginners(a)lists.squeakfoundation.org http://lists.squeakfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/beginners

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ASIO sound support.
by Greg Trasuk 06 Nov '06

06 Nov '06

Hi all: Has there been any recent work on ASIO sound card support under Squeak? On Google I found a few comments (from 2001-ish) saying things like "I think we need ASIO" but no indications of anyone actually doing it. I've downloaded the Steinberg ASIO SDK and thought I might play with creating a plugin, but if there's existing work I'd rather use or build on it. Cheers, Greg.

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The Weekly Squeak Summary No. 5: Oct 29 - Nov 4, 2006
by Michael Haupt 06 Nov '06

06 Nov '06

Dear Squeakers, welcome to the The Weekly Squeak Summary, a weekly report on what's going on in the world of Squeak based on the Weekly Squeak blog. It's been a quiet week in terms of Squeak news items, but here are the week's highlights: Other than the traffic on Smalltalk-related mailing lists may suggest, Squeakers meet in the physical world as well. This week brought a report from the Smalltalk party in Bern [4], where numerous prominent Smalltalk/Squeak projects have been presented. Moreover, November's Squackers meeting was held on November 1st [3]. Two interviews with the creators of two outstanding Seaside applications - QTone and DabbleDB - give insights on their ideas and opinions [5]. Finally, more news from the VM corner of the world... the idea of providing the Strongtalk VM as a foundation for dynamic languages other than Smalltalk has been formulated. Quite naturally, the language of choice has been Ruby [6]. Last week's news items: [1] Wiki: migrations… http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/11/03/wiki-migrations/ [2] Etoys documentation for teachers http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/etoys-documentation-for-teache… [3] Squackers meeting - November http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/11/01/squackers-meeting-november/ [4] Bern Smalltalk party writeup http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/11/01/bern-smalltalk-party-writeup/ [5] Ocean Waves: the applications built on Seaside http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/10/31/ocean-waves-the-applications-b… [6] Strongtalk VM for RUBY? http://weeklysqueak.wordpress.com/2006/10/30/strongtalk-vm-for-ruby/ You can find this and much more on The Weekly Squeak blog, the newsblog dedicated to the world of Squeak: http://news.squeak.org/ Subscribe to the Weekly Squeak RSS feed: http://news.squeak.org/feed/ Happy squeaking, Michael

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Beginners November 2006