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Geode 0.2.4 README

Table of Contents:
* Release notes
* Very important notice (warning!)
* Installation instructions/notes
* Running Geode / Getting Started
* Dependencies

--- RELEASE NOTES ---------------------------------------------------------

Hello! This is the second public release of GEODE (the Gnome ESI Objects Development Environment).

This is a fairly stable version which I once used for 99.9% of my daily work as an ESI Objects software developer. It fixes numerous problems with the original public release (0.2), most notably a major memory leak caused by debugging functionality which should have been disabled in the public release. Other significant bugs were also fixed.

There is no help file or FAQ at this point, but anyone familiar with the official ESI Technology-developed IDE for Windows ("the official IDE") should find Geode easy to use. The icons used in the interface are copied (with permission) from the official IDE, and a similar layout is used in the interface.

Features needed for almost all manner of ESI Objects software development are supported, including:

• Class library browser
• Source code editor (with search, undo, and version control support)
• Compilation (release and debug) and code execution.
• Import and export for everything from individual variables to complete libraries (using the same format as the official ESI Objects IDE).
• Display area for all console, build and debug output (screenshot is available at http://geode.sourceforge.net).
• MUMPS command window with object inspector.
• Many other minor features you would expect.

Notably missing features:

• Cannot create new libraries (but you can import them via Generic Import)
• Cannot manage detailed settings of variables.
• Debugger
• Support for simultaneous connection to more than one server (see VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE, below!).

With this version of Geode, your debugging adventures will require running your code from the IDE and observing console output. There is also no support for connecting to more than one server at a time Geode is also only known to work on linux at this time--there are apparently compilation problems with some flavor of BSD Unix, which shouldn't be too hard to fix if I had more information (and/or motivation--see below).

This entire project was developed in less than two months of part-time work. I am currently employed as a full-time Java developer, and at this point I have no plans to add new features, fix bugs, or release new versions of Geode. If you do find a bug, please report it via Sourceforge, and I may fix it. If anyone would like to take over development or management of the Geode project, please contact me (Eric Lambart) via Sourceforge or email at geode (at) nomeaning.net

If you are especially interested in encouraging the development of Geode, please note that I might be talked into resuming work on the project, if you flash some cash. I have a LOT of ideas for improving Geode (see the TODO file for a start), and obviously it needs some UI polish--nothing I can't do, but I won't do anything else without some motivation, as I no longer need it for my own use. I would be thrilled to see Geode undergo further development--either by someone else working on the code, or someome paying me to do so.

Also, feel free to use the discussion forums and/or bug database at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/geode/

Please see the TODO file for a list of features and improvements already on my list. You will also find there a short list of known minor bugs.

Thank you for trying Geode, and please remember that I welcome any and all feedback.

Sincerely,
Eric Lambart
02 January 2005

------------------------ VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: ---------------------------- There is one very real BUG that prevents Geode from doing two simple things:

1. Connecting to two servers simultaneously.
2. Reconnecting to a server after disconnecting.

If you attempt either one of these things, Geode WILL CRASH. If you are already connected to one server and have unsaved changes to any source code, attempting to connect to a second server WILL RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR WORK.

You have been warned!

I'm sure this will be a pretty simple bug to fix, but I have not yet even tried. Multiple server support is simply unfinished at this point. Getting other more fundamental features to work was my top priority while I was actively developing Geode.

You MAY safely run two copies of geode simultaneously, and use them to connect to different servers. But if you disconnect from a server, and wish to re-connect, or connect to a different server, you MUST exit Geode and restart!

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Another significant deficiency of Geode is that it does not yet have working support for "events"--in the sense that when something changes on the server, it will not be reflected in the Geode library browser until you close the program and reconnect. This means, for instance, that importing new libraries will not cause them to appear in Geode until you quit the program and reconnect. If someone is making changes on the server via another client, those changes will also not appear until you quit and reconnect. However, any changes you make yourself on a "smaller scale"--adding, deleting or renaming Variables, Methods, Properties, Events, etc.--WILL appear in the interface immediately. Similarly, any changes you make to a specific Property or Method (adding or deleting versions, modifying source code, etc.) will also have immediate results.

YES, this means that the "Event Poll Interval" in the Server Settings page is completely ineffectual at the moment. Much of the code for implementing event support already exists, and you're welcome to try to convince me to finish it up. =)

In any case, Geode comes with no warranty. Please read the file COPYING for warranty notices and licensing and copying conditions and restrictions.

If you are using Geode, you are on the cutting edge, but I honestly do not expect you to get cut! However, you may occasionally be frustrated by missing features or something that doesn't work the way you expect it to.

---- HOW TO INSTALL GEODE: ------------------------------------------------

INSTALLING FROM AN RPM:
To install Geode from an RPM, I suggest using the command "rpm -Uvh <filename>" (you must have root access!). To uninstall, simply type "rpm -e geode". The executable should be installed in /usr/bin.

BUILDING FROM SOURCE:
To build Geode from source, you can read the INSTALL file provided with the, package; but that makes it sound more complicated than it really is. For most systems, you only need to run these commands:

$ tar xzvf geode-0.2.4.tar.gz
$ cd geode-0.2.4
$ ./configure
(you should see a lot of messages here, but hopefully it will finish with no errors)
$ make

If you see no errors during the compilation, you can run Geode like this: $ ./geode

Or, install Geode (probably in /usr/local/bin, depending on your system and how you run configure), by typing (AS ROOT!) # make install

If you have problems seeing program icons, please contact me for help. I know the RPM installs them correctly.

---- RUNNING GEODE / GETTING STARTED -------------------------------------- Geode does not currently install itself into your system menu. You may add it to the menu yourself (if you can figure out how), add a launcher to your panel (easier to do), run it from the system menu's "Run Program" option, or simply run it from a command shell. Geode should have been installed in your path, so you should be able to just type "geode" from anywhere on your system.

If you run Geode from the shell, you will see many diagnostic messages as the program runs. You may safely ignore these unless you encounter a problem (then please tell me what the last few messages said!).

Before connecting to an ESI Objects server, you must set one up. Choose File->Servers->Manage from the main menu, and create a New server. Once you have set up one or more server connection, you may easily connect to them in the future; they will be listed in Geode's File->Servers submenu. You could also choose the "Autoconnect" option for a particular server, and Geode will immediately connect to that server on startup. DO NOT, do not, DO NOT SELECT "Autoconnect" FOR MORE THAN ONE SERVER WITH THIS VERSION OF GEODE!

FYI, Geode stores your personalized settings in the .geode subdirectory of your home directory.

---- DEPENDENCIES (this list may be incomplete!) ---------------------- When I mention package names and exact version numbers, they refer to RedHat 9 packages, because that is the operating system I currently use.

TO RUN GEODE:

1. GNOME 2.0 or higher (package name: libgnomeui). I have v.2.2.0.1-8
2. GLIB2 (package name: glib2). I have v.2.2.1-1
3. LIBXML2 (package name: libxml2). I have v.2.5.11-1

TO COMPILE GEODE FROM SOURCE:

1. libgnomeui-devel. I have version 2.2.0.1-5.
2. glib2-devel. I have version 2.2.1-1.
3. libxml2-devel. I have version 2.5.11-1.

If you succeed OR fail to build and run Geode, PLEASE let me know (geode (at) nomeaning.net) what operating system (ie. Red Hat, SUSE, *BSD, etc.) and version you are running, and whether my instructions were flawed in any way.

FINAL NOTE:
Rumors that Geode stands for "Geode, Eric's Own Development Environment" are completely unfounded!