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The Classes page of the Workbench displays all classes and methods in the workspace, grouped by hierarchy of classes. Here, you can organize, add, edit, create, and delete classes, methods, and fields.
Class Hierarchy Pane
The Class Hierarchy pane lists all classes in the workspace and shows their
inheritance hierarchy, in either a graph layout or a tree layout. Click the Graph
Layout button or the Tree Layout
button in the title bar
to change the layout. Each of the classes has a pop-up menu, which contains actions
you can perform on it. These options are also available from the Classes menu.
Classes that have been imported from bytecode (.class) files, or that are part of
the standard class libraries provided in the VisualAge for Java product, are indicated by
the bytecode symbol
.
Methods Pane
When you select a class in the Class Hierarchy pane, the Methods pane lists all
methods in the selected class. Each method has a pop-up menu, which contains actions
you can perform on it. These options are also available from the Methods menu.
Source Pane
When you select a class or method, the Source pane shows the source code, if
available. If a class has been imported from a Java bytecode file (.class), the
source is not shown; if it is in one of the standard class libraries provided in the
VisualAge for Java product, the source code is shown but is not editable. These
bytecode classes are indicated by the bytecode symbol .
In the Source pane, you can compose Java code normally. To save the code, select Save from the Edit menu, or from the Source pane's pop-up menu. Use code assist (type Ctrl+Spacebar) to get help with class, method, and field names. When you save, the source is automatically compiled. Compiler errors are brought to your attention.
Tool Bar Buttons
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Run | Runs an applet or application. If a method in a runnable class is selected, the class is run. |
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Open Debugger | Opens the Debugger browser. |
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Search | Launches the program element search. |
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Create a Class | Starts the Add Class SmartGuide, for creating new classes or adding existing ones from the repository. |
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Create an Applet | Starts the Add Applet SmartGuide, for creating new applets or applications. |
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Create a Method | Starts the Add Method SmartGuide, for creating new methods or adding existing ones from the repository. |
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Create a Field | Starts the Add Field SmartGuide, for creating new fields. |
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Show Edition Names | Click to the down position to show edition names beside program elements. |
Menus
The Classes page has the following menus:
Browsing the Workspace
Finding and Fixing Problems
Running an Applet from the IDE
Running an Application from the IDE
Creating a Class
Creating a Method
Creating a Field
Saving Changes to Code
Setting IDE Options
Writing and Formatting Source Code