2 # SUMMARY: Summary of the OO-Browser features
7 # LAST-MOD: 3-Jan-02 at 17:54:35 by Bob Weiner
9 # This file is part of the OO-Browser.
12 Bob Weiner designed and implemented the OO-Browser.
15 Copyright (C) 1989-2002 Bob Weiner, BeOpen.com and the Free Software
17 Distributed under terms described in the BR-COPY file within the
18 OO-Browser distribution.
20 With thanks to Motorola, Inc. for helping fund initial development, to
21 Torgeir Veimo, Mark Stern, Steve Baur and Martin Buchholz for helping
22 with the X OO-Browser core, to Jeff Sparkes for help with Java language
23 support, to Harri Pasanen for contributing the initial Python
24 language support (derived from the C++ support code) and to Kirill
25 Katsnelson for adapting the graphical OO-Browser for use with Windows.
32 * The OO-Browser is a multi-windowed, interactive object-oriented class
33 browser similar in use to the well-known Smalltalk browsers. It is unique
34 in a number of respects foremost of which is that it works well with a
35 multiplicity of object-oriented languages. It provides both textual views
36 within an editor and graphical views under the X window system and Windows.
39 * Support for all popular OO Languages on UNIX
40 ----------------------------------------------
42 ** Support for C, C++, Common Lisp and its Object System (CLOS), Eiffel,
43 Java, Objective-C, Python and Smalltalk class browsing is included.
44 Additionally, support for browsing large amounts of material in Info
45 format by node name (a popular online documentation format with cross
46 references and hierarchical structure) is included. All languages
47 provide class browsing via either a textual or a graphical interface.
49 ** Method and typically attribute browsing is supported for all languages
50 except Smalltalk. CLOS supports browsing all elements defined with
51 (def* constructs. In-source feature browsing is also supported for all
52 of these languages. One simply selects a feature name to jump to its
53 corresponding source. Method name overloading in C++ and inherited
54 feature renaming in Eiffel are fully supported.
56 ** Under C++, one can click on a method call, function call or attribute
57 reference to jump to its associated definition. If multiple definitions
58 are possible, a structured dynamic list of possible method signatures
59 are shown and can be clicked upon to jump to any selected definition.
61 ** Under C++, friend classes and functions may be browsed easily.
63 ** C code browsing is supported for C++, Objective-C and C source code.
65 ** Objective-C category and formal protocol browsing is supported.
67 ** C++ parameterized template classes and methods are supported.
69 ** Java abstract and native (externally defined) method browsing is
72 ** All classes that implement a particular feature name, protocol (or
73 interface) name, or class category name may be listed and then browsed.
75 ** Immediate switching among languages is allowed. One can switch
76 from Eiffel browsing to C++ browsing in an instant, if so desired.
77 Or simply run two OO-Browsers side by side.
79 ** Multiple inheritance support is built-in, where applicable.
81 ** Statistics on classes and Environments may be displayed.
83 ** Language-specific class information may be shown. Presently this
84 feature is supported under Python and Eiffel, where a listing of class
85 parents, attributes, routines and best guess (highly accurate) list of
86 routine calls may be displayed. Outputs from the Eiffel `short' and
87 `flat' commands may also be shown.
91 ----------------------
93 ** Library (stable) and System (in development) classes may be
94 maintained and listed separately or together. Any number of
95 Libraries and Systems may be combined for listing in a single
96 Environment. There are no fixed limits on the number of classes per
97 Environment nor on the number of Environments that may be browsed.
99 ** All source code is included and is heavily documented.
105 ** Machine-independent mouse support is included along with an extremely
106 intuitive point and click interface that uses just two mouse keys. The
107 OO-Browser is pre-configured for use unser the X window system or
108 Windows when using InfoDock, GNU Emacs or XEmacs. Online mouse
109 usage help is always one key away.
111 ** Popup and pulldown command menus are available under InfoDock, Emacs V19
112 (or higher) and XEmacs.
114 ** The OO-Browser help display gives short descriptions of all of
115 the commands and key bindings available in the browser. By clicking
116 on any such selection, the corresponding command is executed.
118 ** One may also click on class names to see ancestors, descendants
119 or the class itself. Just select a class name and the OO-Browser
120 immediately will display or edit the class source. Once a class
121 file has been loaded, one can quickly switch to it by selection
122 from a menu of such files.
124 ** For a number of languages, one may also select a feature
125 (method) name or declaration and move directly to the definition
126 of the feature. The browser accounts for the complexities of member name
127 overloading in C++ and unlimited feature renaming in Eiffel so that you
128 need not. Just click on a declaration and watch the browser display jump
129 to the proper definition.
131 ** In C++, one can jump to the declaration of a listing entry or be
132 prompted within any buffer for a class and feature name whose
133 declaration one wants to browse. One can jump back and forth between
134 declarations and their associated definitions (between header and code
135 files) with a single command.
137 ** Jump back to a previously visited class or feature by selecting from a
138 list of recently visited buffers.
140 ** OO-Browser commands may also be invoked from the keyboard, allowing
141 unrestricted use via standard terminal interfaces.
146 ** Building Environments is fast compared to many other tools and browser
147 startup, once an Environment has been built, is very fast. Response
148 times on workstations are excellent; for example, in one test case, less
149 than two real seconds were required to display a set of complex
150 inheritance graphs involving over 400 classes.
156 ** An X-specific or Windows-specific hierarchy display browser is included.
157 It provides views of class inheritance structure and lexically included
158 elements, which allows for quick random access to entire Environments.
159 A click on a class or element name immediately jumps to it in the
160 editor, providing rapid, visual browsing. One can pop up several
161 graphical browsers to gain different views of classes in the same or in
162 multiple environments. All graphical browser sessions can communicate
163 with a single textual browser, so one can quickly display and edit
164 classes from different environments (even different languages).
165 Multiple inheritance is handled through repetition of nodes throughout
166 the tree; repeated nodes are followed by ellipses to indicate multiple
169 ** The OO-Browser uses class source code only, hence no compiler is
170 necessary for proper browser operation. This allows one to explore
171 class libraries without the need for additional tools.
173 ** Class inheritance networks may be displayed. Either a single
174 inheritance level (parents or children) or the entire inheritance
175 network (ancestors or descendants) for a set of classes may be shown.
177 ** Class files may be added as a group by specifying a root directory below
178 which all class files are found, including those in subdirectories.
180 ** A menu of class files can be displayed for random access to specific
183 ** On startup, the OO-Browser lists all currently known classes within a
184 particular Environment. Any desired classes may be found by searching
185 or by matching a regular expression or string to the set of class names.
186 This may be done repeatedly to achieve an "and"-type relational query
189 ** The number of listing windows is limited only by the screen width and
190 the width setting used for listing windows.
192 ** The OO-Browser is adaptable to any class-based object-oriented language.
198 ** The OO-Browser works with the powerful, freely distributable, GNU
199 Emacs editor; it works on any UNIX system display supported by Emacs.
200 It is included as part of the InfoDock integrated development
201 environment and is also compatible with XEmacs.
203 ** All OO-Browser outputs are text which may be edited as desired or
206 ** OO-Browser functions may be used standalone within the editor
207 without using the multi-windowed browser interface. One useful
208 example is to point to a class name such as a parent class in the
209 text of another class and have the parent's source appear in an
212 ** The user need not know the location of class source; the browser will
213 display or edit a class based solely upon its class name.
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