Language/OS - Multiplatform Resource Library/LANGUAGE OS.iso/littlest/littl-st.lha/manual.ms

Text File | 1993-08-10 | 31KB | 836 lines

.TL
Little Smalltalk Users Manual - Version Three
.AU
Tim Budd
.AI
Department of Computer Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
97331 USA
.AB
.PP
Version three of Little Smalltalk was designed specifically to
be easy to port
to new machines and operating systems.
This document provides the basic information needed to use Version Three of
Little Smalltalk, plus information needed by those wishing to undertake the
job of porting the system to a new operating environment.
.AE
.PP
The first version of Little Smalltalk, although simple, small and fast, was in
a number of very critical ways very Unix specific.  Soon after the
publication of the book \fIA Little Smalltalk\fP, requests started flooding
in asking if there existed a port to an amazingly large number of different
machines, such as the IBM PC, the Macintosh, the Acorn, the Atari, and even
such systems as DEC VMS.  Clearly it was beyond our capabilities to
satisfy all these requests, however in an attempt to meet them partway in
the summer of 1988 I designed a second version of Little Smalltalk, which
was specifically designed to be less Unix specific and more amenable to
implementation of different systems.
.PP
This document describes is divided into two parts.  In part one I describe
the basic features of the user interface.  This is essential information
for anybody wishing to use the system.  In part two we give the basic
information needed by anybody wishing to undertake the task of porting
version three Little Smalltalk to a new machine.
.NH
Getting Started
.PP
How you get started depends upon what kind of system you are working on.
Currently there are two styles of interface supported.  A line-oriented,
tty style stdin interface is available, which runs under Unix and other systems.
There is also a window based system which runs under X-windows and on the
Mac.
.NH 2
The stdin/stdout interface
.PP
Using the stdin/stdout interface, there is a prompt (the ``>'' caracter)
typed to indicate the system is waiting for input.
Expressions are read at the keyboard and
evaluated following each carrage return.  The result of the expression
is then printed.
.DS I
>    5 + 7
12
.DE
Global variables can be created simply by assigning to a name.
The value of an assignment statement is the value of the right hand side.
.DS I
    x <- 3
3
.DE
Multiple expressions can appear on the same line separated by periods.
Only the last expression is printed.
.DS I
    y <- 17.  3 + 4
7
.DE
.NH 2
The windowing interface
.PP
The windowing interface is built on top of guido van rossums standard
window package, and runs on top of systems that support standard windows.
These include X-11 and the Macintosh.
.PP
When you start up the system, there will be a single window titled
``workspace''.  You can enter expressions in the workspace, then select either
the menu items ``do it'' or ``print it''.
Both will evaluate the expression; the latter, in addition, will print the
result.
.PP
A number of other memu commands are also available.  These permit you to
save the current image, exit the system, or start the browser.
.PP
The browser is an interface permiting you to easily view system code.
Selecting a class in the first pane of the browser brings up a second pane
in which you can select methods, selecting a method brings up a third pane
in which you can view and edit text.  Selecting ``compile'' following the
editing of text will attempt to compile the method.  If no errors are
reported, the method is then available for execution.
.NH
Exploring and Creating
.PP
This section describes how to discover information about existing objects
and create new objects using the Little Smalltalk
system (version three).
In Smalltalk one communicates with objects by passing messages to them.
Even the addition message + is treated as a message passed to the
first object 5, with an argument represented by the second object.
Other messages can be used to discover
information about various objects.
The most basic fact you can discover about an object is its class.
This is given by the message \fBclass\fP, as in the following examples:
.DS I
>    7 class
Integer
>    nil class
UndefinedObject
.DE
.PP
Occasionally, especially when programming, one would like to ask whether
the class of an object matches some known class.  One way to do this would
be to use the message \fB= =\fP, which tells whether two expressions
represent the same object:
.DS I
>    ( 7 class = = Integer)
True
>    nil class = = Object
False
.DE
.PP
An easier way is to use the message \fBisMemberOf:\fP;
.DS I
>    7 isMemberOf: Integer
True
>    nil isMemberOf: Integer
False
.DE
.PP
Sometimes you want to know if an object is an instance of a particular
class or one if its subclasses; in this case the appropriate message is
\fBisKindOf:\fP.
.DS I
>    7 isMemberOf: Number
False
>    7 isKindOf: Number
True
.DE
.PP
All objects will respond to the message \fBdisplay\fP by telling a little
about themselves.  Many just give their class and their printable
representation:
.DS I
>    7 display
(Class Integer) 7
>    nil display
(Class UndefinedObject) nil
.DE
.LP
Others, such as classes, are a little more verbose:
.DS I
>    Integer display
Class Name: Integer
SuperClass: Number
Instance Variables:
no instance variables
Subclasses:
.DE
.LP
The display shows that the class \fBInteger\fP is a subclass of class
\fBNumber\fP (that is, class \fBNumber\fP is the superclass of
\fBInteger\fP).  There are no instance variables for this class, and it
currently has no subclasses.
All of this information could be obtained by means of other messages,
although the \fBdisplay\fP form is the easiest.
[ Note: at the moment printing subclasses takes a second or two.  I'm not
sure why.]
.DS I
>    List variables display
links
>    Integer superClass
Number
>    Collection subClasses display
IndexedCollection
Interval
List
.DE
About the only bit of information that is not provided when one passes the
message \fBdisplay\fP to a class
is a list of methods the class responds to.  There are two
reasons for this omission; the first is that this list can often be quite
long, and we don't want to scroll the other information off the screen
before the user has seen it.  The second reason is that there are really
two different questions the user could be asking.  The first is what
methods are actually implemented in a given class.  A list containing
the set of methods implemented in a class can be found by passing the
message \fBmethods\fP to a class.
As we saw with the message
\fBsubClasses\fP shown above, the command \fBdisplay\fP prints this
information out one method to a line:
.DS I
>    True methods display
#ifTrue:ifFalse:
#not
.DE
.PP
A second question that one could ask is what message selectors an instance of a
given class will respond to, whether they are inherited from superclasses
or are defined in the given class.  This set is given in response to the
message \fBrespondsTo\fP. [ NOTE: again form some reason I'm not sure of
this command seems to take a long time to execute ].
.DS I
>    True respondsTo display
#class
#==
#hash
#isNil
#display
#=
#basicSize
#isMemberOf:
#notNil
#print
#basicAt:put:
#isKindOf:
#basicAt:
#printString
#or:
#and:
#ifFalse:ifTrue:
#ifTrue:
#ifFalse:
#not
#ifTrue:ifFalse:
.DE
.PP
Alternatively, one can ask whether instances of a given class will respond
to a specific message by writing the message selector as a symbol:
.DS I
>    String respondsTo: #print
True
>    String respondsTo: #+
False
.DE
.PP
The inverse of this would be to ask what classes contain methods for a
given message selector.  Class \fBSymbol\fP defines a method to yield just
this information:
.DS I
>    #+ respondsTo display
Integer
Number
Float
.DE
.PP
The method that will be executed in response to a given message selector
can be displayed by means of the message \fBviewMethod:\fP
.DS I
>    Integer viewMethod: #gcd:
gcd: value
    (value = 0) ifTrue: [ \(ua self ].
    (self negative) ifTrue: [ \(ua self negated gcd: value ].
    (value negative) ifTrue: [ \(ua self gcd: value negated ].
    (value > self) ifTrue: [ \(ua value gcd: self ].
    \(ua value gcd: (self rem: value)
.DE
.PP
Some Smalltalk systems make it very difficult for you to discover the
bytecodes that a method gets translated into.  Since the primary goal of
Little Smalltalk is to help the student to discover how a modern very high
level language is implemented, it makes sense that the system should help
you as much as possible discover everything about its internal structure.
Thus a method, when presented with the message \fBdisplay\fP, will print
out its bytecode representation.
.DS I
>    Char methodNamed: #isAlphabetic ; display
Method #isAlphabetic
    isAlphabetic
        \(ua (self isLowercase) or: [ self isUppercase ]

literals
Array ( #isLowercase #isUppercase )
bytecodes
32 2 0
129 8 1
144 9 0
250 15 10
9 0 9
32 2 0
129 8 1
145 9 1
242 15 2
245 15 5
241 15 1
.DE
.PP
Bytecodes are represented by four bit opcodes and four bit operands, with
occasional bytes representing data (more detail can be found in the book).
The three numbers written on each line for the bytecodes represent the
byte value followed by the upper four bits and the lower four bits.
.PP
.PP
If you have written a new class and want to print the class methods on a
file you can use the message \fBfileOut:\fP, after first creating a file to
write to.  Both classes and individual methods can be filed out, and
several classes and/or methods can be placed in one file.
[ NOTE - file out doesn't work yet ].
.DS I
>    f \(<- File new
>    f name: 'foo.st'
>    f open: 'w'
>    Foo fileOut: f
>    Bar fileOut: f
>    Object fileOutMethod: #isFoo to: f
>    f close
.DE
.LP
The file ``newfile'' will now have a printable representation of the
methods for the class Foo.
These can subsequently be filed back into a different smalltalk image.
.DS I
>    f \(<- File new
>    f name: 'foo.st'
>    f open: 'r'
>    f fileIn
>    2 isFoo
False
.DE
.PP
Finally, once the user has added classes and variables and made whatever other
changes they want, the message \fBsaveImage\fP, passed to the pseudo
variable \fBsmalltalk\fP, can be used to save an entire object image on a file.
If the writing of the image is successful, a message will be displayed.
.DS I
>    smalltalk saveImage
Image name? newimage
image newimage created
>
.DE
.PP
Typing control-D causes the interpreter to exit.
.PP
When the smalltalk system is restarted, an alternative image, such as the
image just created, can be specified by giving its name on the argument
line:
.DS I
st newimage
.DE
.PP
Further information on Little Smalltalk can be found in the book.
.NH
New Methods, New Classes
.NH 2
Stdin/Stdout Interface
.PP
New functionality can be added using the message \fBaddMethod\fP.
When passed to an instance of \fBClass\fP, this message drops the user into
a standard Unix Editor.  A body for a new method can then be entered.
When the user exits the editor, the method body is compiled.  If it is
syntactically correct, it is added to the methods for the class.  If it is
incorrect, the user is given the option of re-editing the
method.  The user is first prompted for the name of the group to which the
method belongs.
.DS I
>    Integer addMethod
\& ... drop into editor and enter the following text
% x
    \(ua ( x + )
\& ... exit editor
compiler error: invalid expression start )
edit again (yn) ?
\& ...
.DE
.PP
In a similar manner, existing methods can be editing by passing their
selectors, as symbols to the message \fBeditMethod:\fP.
.DS I
>    Integer editMethod: #gcd:
\& ... drop into editor working on the body of gcd:
.DE
.PP
The name of the editor used by these methods is taken from a string
pointed to by the global variable \fIeditor\fP.  Different editors can be
selected merely by redefining this value:
.DS I
editor \(<- 'emacs'
.DE
.PP
Adding a new subclass is accomplished by sending the message
\fBaddSubClass:instanceVariableNames:\fP to the superclass object.
The the first argument is a symbol representing the name, the second is a
string containing the names of any instance variables.
.DS I
>    Object addSubClass: #Foo instanceVariableNames: 'x y'
Object
    Foo display
Class Name: Foo
SuperClass: Object
Instance Variables:
x
y
.DE
Once defined, \fBaddMethod\fP and \fBeditMethod:\fP can be used to provide
functionality for the new class.
.PP
New classes can also be added using the fileIn mechanism.
.NH 2
The Windowing Interface
.PP
Using the windowing interface, new classes are created by selecting the
menu item \fIadd class\fP in the first browser window.  New Methods are
selected by choosing \fInew method\fP in a subsequent window.
.NH
Incompatibilities with the Book
.PP
It is unfortunately the case that during the transition from version 1 (the
version described in the book) and version 3, certain changes to the user
interface were required.  I will describe these here.
.PP
The first incompatibility comes at the very beginning.  In version 1 there
were a great number of command line options.  These have all been
eliminated in version three.  In version three the only command line option is
the file name of an image file.
.PP
The interface to the editor has been changed.  In version one this was
handled by the system, and not by Smalltalk code.  This required a command
format that was clearly not a Smalltalk command, so that they could be
distinguished.  The convention adopted was to use an APL style system
command:
.DS I
)e filename
.DE
In version three we have moved these functions into Smalltalk code.  Now
the problem is just the reverse, we need a command that is a Smalltalk
command.  In addition, in version one entire classes were edited at once,
whereas in version three only individual methods are edited.  As we have
already noted, the new commands to add or edit methods are as follows:
.DS I
\fIclassname\fP addMethod
\fIclassname\fP editMethod: \fImethodname\fP
.DE
.PP
The only other significant syntactic change is the way primitive methods
are invoked.  In version one these were either named or numbered,
something like the following:
.DS I
<primitive 37 a b>
<IntegerAdd a b>
.DE
In version three we have simply eliminated the keyword \fBprimitive\fP, so
primitives now look like:
.DS I
<37 a b>
.DE
.PP
There are far fewer primitives in version three, and much more of the system
is now performed using Smalltalk code.
.PP
In addition to these syntactic changes, there are various small changes in
the class structure.  I hope to have a document describing these changes at
some point, but as of right now the code itself is the best description.
.NH
Implementors Information
.PP
The remainder of this document contains information necessary for those
wishing to examine or change the source code for the Little Smalltalk
system.
.NH 2
Finding Your Way Around
.de Mc
.IP \\\\fB\\$1\\\\fP
.br
..
.PP
In this section we describe the files that constitute version three of
the Little Smalltalk system.
.Mc memory.c
This is the memory manager, the heart of the Little Smalltalk system.
Although it uses a straightforward reference counting scheme, a fair amount
of design effort has gone into making it as fast as possible.  By modifying
it's associated description file (memory.h) a number of operations can be
specified either as macros or as function calls.  The function calls
generally perform more error checking, and should be used during initial
development.  Using macros, on the other hand, can improve performance
dramatically.  At some future date we hope to make available both reference
counting and garbage collection versions of the memory manager.
.Mc names.c
The only data structures used internally in the Little Smalltalk system are
arrays and name tables.  A name table is simply an instance of class
\fBDictionary\fP in which keys are symbols.  Name tables are used to
implement the dictionary of globally accessible values, \fBsymbols\fP,
and to implement method tables.  This module provides support for reading
from name tables.
.Mc news.c
This module contains several small utility routines which create new
instances of various standard classes.
.Mc interp.c
This module implements the actual bytecode interpreter.
It is the heart of the system, where most execution time is spent.
.Mc primitive.c
This module contains the code that is executed to perform primitive
operations.  Only the standard primitives (see the section on primitives)
are implemented in this module.  File primitives and system specific
primitives are implemented in another module, such as unixio.c for the Unix
system and macio.c for the Macintosh version.
.Mc unixio.c,filein.c
These two modules contains I/O routines.
.Mc lex.c,parser.c
The files lex.c and parser.c are the lexical analyzer and parser,
respectively, for compiling the textual representation of methods into
bytecodes.  In the current version parsing is done using a simple (although
large) recursive descent parser.
.Mc st.c
The file st.c is the front end for the Unix version of Little Smalltalk.
On the Macintosh version it is replaced by the pair of files macmain.c and
macevent.c.
.Mc initial.c
This module contains code that reads the module form of Smalltalk code,
creating an object image.
This is not part of the Smalltalk bytecode interpreter, but is used in
building the initial object image (see next section).
.PP
There are description files ( .h files, in standard C convention) which
describe many of the modules described above.  In addition, there is a very
important file called env.h (for ``environment'').  This file describes the
characteristics of the operating system/machine you are running on.
The general structure of this file is that the user provides one definition
for their system, for example
.DS I
\&# define LIGHTC
.DE
to indicate using the Lightspeed C compiler on the macintosh, for example.
Following this are block of code which, based on this one definition,
define other terms representing the specific attributes of this system.
Where ever possible new code should be surrounded by \fIifdef\fP directives
based on words defined in this manner.
The next section describes this in more detail.
.NH 2
Defining System Characteristics
.PP
There are many ways in which compilers and operating systems differ
from each other.
A fair amount of work has been expanded in making sure the software will
operate on most machines, which requires that different code fragments be
used on different systems.  In large part these are controlled by a single
``meta-define'' in the file env.h.  Setting this one value then causes the
expansion of another code segment, which then defines many more options.
.PP
In the event that you are attempting to port the software to a system that
has not previously been defined, you will need to decide which set of
options to enable.  The next two sections contain information you may need
in making this determination.
.SH
Define Options
.PP
Many options are specified merely by giving or not giving a DEFINE
statement in the file env.h.  The following table presents the meaning for
each of these values:
.Mc ALLOC
Defined If there is an include file called alloc.h which defines calloc,
malloc, and the like.
.Mc BINREADWRITE
Defined if the fopen specification for binary files must include the "b"
modifier.  This is true on many MS-DOS inspired systems.
.Mc NOENUMS
Defined if enumerated datatypes are not supported.  If defined, these will
be replaced by #define constants.
.Mc NOTYPEDEF
Defined if the typedef construct is not supported.  If defined, these will
be replaced by #define constructs.
.Mc NOVOID
Defined if the void keyword is not recognized.
If defined, expect \fIlint\fP to complain a lot about functions returning
values which are sometimes (or always) ignored.
.Mc SIGNALS
Used if \fIboth\fP the <signals.h> package and the <longjmp.h> package are
available, and if the routine used to set signals is signal.
Incompatible with \fBSSIGNALS\fP.
.Mc SSIGNALS
Used if \fIboth\fP the <signals.h> package and the <longjmp.h> package are
available, and if the routine used to set signals is ssignal.
Incompatible with \fBSIGNALS\fP.
.Mc STRING
Used if the string functions (strcpy, strcat and the like) are found in
<string.h>.  This switch is incompatible with \fBSTRINGS\fP.
.Mc STRINGS
Used if the string functions (strcpy, strcat and the like) are found in
<strings.h>.  This switch is incompatible with \fBSTRING\fP.
.LP
In addition, several routines can optionally be replaced by macros for
greater efficiency.  See the file memory.h for more information.
.NH 2
Building an Initial Object Image
.PP
There are two programs used in the Little Smalltalk system.  The first is
the actual bytecode interpreter.  The use of this program is described in
detail in other documents (see ``Exploring and Creating'').
The Little Smalltalk system requires, to start, a snapshot representation of
memory.  This snapshot is called an object image, and the purpose of the
second program, the initial object image maker, is to construct an
initial object image.
In theory, the this program need only be run once, by the system administrator,
and thereafter all users can access the same standard object image.
.PP
The object image format is binary.  However, since the format for binary
files will undoubtedly differ from system to system, the methods which
will go into the initial image are distributed in textual form, called
module form.  Several modules are combined to create an object image.
The following describes the modules distributed on the standard tape,
in the order they should be processed, and their purposes.
.Mc basic.st
This module contains the basic classes and methods which should be common
to all implementations of Little Smalltalk.
.Mc mag.st
This module contains methods for those objects having magnitude, which are
the basic subclasses of Magnitude.
.Mc collect.st
This module contains methods for the collection subclasses.
.Mc file.st
This module contains the classes and methods used for file operations.
Although all implementations should try to support these operations, it may
not always be possible on all systems.
.Mc unix.st
This module contains unix - specific commands, which may differ from those
used under other operating systems.
.Mc mult.st
This module contains code for the multiprocessing scheduler.
.Mc init.st
This module contains code which is run to initialize the initial object
image.  These methods disappear after they have been executed.
(or should; they don't really yet).
.Mc test.st
This file contains various test cases.
.NH 2
Object Memory
.PP
There are several datatypes, not directly supported by C, that are used in
the Little Smalltalk system.  The first of these is the datatype byte.
A byte is an eight bit unsigned (hence positive) quantity.
On many systems the appropriate datatype is unsigned char, however on other
systems this declaration is not recognized and other forms may be required.
To aid in coverting to and from bytes the macro byteToInt() is used, which
converts a byte value into an integer.  In addition, the routines byteAt
and byteAtPut are used to get and put bytes from byte strings.
.PP
The other datatype is that used to represent object points.  On most
machines in which a short is 16 bits, the datatype short should suffice.
Much more information on the memory module can be found in the file
memory.h.
.NH 2
The Bottom End
.PP
The opposite extreme from the front end are those messages that originate
within the Smalltalk bytecode interpreter and must be communicated to the user.
We can divide these into two different classes of communications, editing
operations and input/output operations.  The following sections will treat
each of these individually.
.NH 3
Editing
.PP
We have already mentioned that commands entered by the user are converted
into methods, and passed to the same method compiler as all other methods.
Before the user can create a new method, however, there must be some
mechanism for allowing the user to enter the method.
.PP
One approach would be to read the method from the standard input, just
as commands are read.  While easy to implement, this approach would soon
prove unsatisfactory, since for every error the user would need to reenter
the entire method.  So some form of update, or editing, must be
provided.  Again, the Unix interface and the Macintosh interface solve
this problem in radically different ways.
.NH 4
Editing Under Unix
.PP
A request to edit or add a method is given by sending either the message
\fBaddMethod\fP or \fBeditMethod:\fP to a class.  The methods for these
messages in turn call upon a common routine to perform the actual editing
work.
.DS I
\fBaddMethod\fP
    self doEdit: ''

\fBeditMethod:\fP name
    self doEdit: ( methods at: name
        ifAbsent: [ 'no such method ' print. \(ua nil ] ) text

\fBdoEdit:\fP startingText        | text |
    text \(<- startingText.
    [ text \(<- text edit.
      (self addMethodText: text)
        ifTrue: [ false ]
        ifFalse: [ smalltalk inquire: 'edit again (yn) ? ' ]
            ] whileTrue
.DE
.PP
The Unix and MS-DOS versions of the system provide a method \fBedit\fP as
part of the functionality of class \fBString\fP.  When \fBedit\fP is passed
to a string, an editing environment is established.  The user performs
editing tasks in that environment, and then exits the editing environment.
Under Unix, this functionality is implemented using the file system.
.DS I
\fBedit\fP    | file text |
    file \(<- File new;
        scratchFile;
        open: 'w';
        print: self;
        close.
    (editor, ' ', file name) unixCommand.
    file open: 'r'.
    text \(<- file asString.
    file close; delete.
    \(ua text
.DE
.PP
A file is created, and the contents of the string written to it.
Then a standard Unix editor (given by the global variabled \fBeditor\fP)
is invoked to process the file.  After the user exits the editor, the
contents of the file are read back as a string, the file is closed and
deleted, and the string returned.  The command \fBunixCommand\fP is
implemented as a primitive, which invokes the system() system call:
.DS I
\fBunixCommand\fP
    \(ua <150 self>
.DE
.PP
Although the \fBedit\fP message is used by the system only for editing
methods, it is general enough for any editing application and there is no
reason why the user cannot use it for other purposes.
By the way, the \fBunixCommand\fP message is also used to implement file
deletes.
.DS I
\fBdelete\fP
    ('rm ', name) unixCommand
.DE
.PP
On MS-Dos systems this command should be changed to \fBDEL\fP.
.PP
.NH 4
Editing on the Macintosh
.PP
The Macintosh version takes an entirely different approach to the editing
of methods.
As in the Unix version, the user requests editing using the commands
\fBeditMethod:\fP and \fBaddNewMethod\fP.  And, as in the Unix version,
these in turn invoke a common method.
.DS I
\fBaddMethod\fP
    self doEdit: ( self printString, ': new method') text: ''


\fBeditMethod:\fP name
    self doEdit: (self printString, ': ', name)
        text: (methods at: name
                ifAbsent: ['no such method' print. \(ua nil ]) text
.DE
.PP
Here, however, when the user asks to edit a method, a new \fIediting
window\fP is created.
.DS I
\fBdoEdit\fP: title \fBtext\fP: text    | w |
    w \(<- EditWindow new;
        acceptTask: [ self addMethodText: w getString ] ;
        title: title; create; print: text; showWindow
.DE
.PP
The edit window is initialized with the current text of the method.
Thereafter, the user can edit this using the standard Macintosh cut and
paste conventions.  The user signifies they are satisfied with the result
by entering the command \fBaccept\fP, which causes the \fIacceptTask:\fP
block to be executed.  This block gets the text of the window (given by the
message \fBgetString\fP) and passes it to \fBaddMethodText:\fP, which
compiles the method, entering it in the method table if there are no
errors.
.NH 3
Input/Output commands
.PP
Under the Unix system all input/output operations are performed using the
file system and the global variables stdin, stdout and stderr.
Thus the message \fBerror:\fP, in class \fBSmalltalk\fP, merely prints a
message to the standard error output and exits.
.PP
The macintosh version, although using the same file routines, does not have
any notion of standard input or standard output.  Thus error messages
(such as from \fBerror:\fP) result in alert boxes being displayed.
.PP
There are also error messages that come from inside the Smalltalk
interpreter itself.  These are of two types, as follows:
.IP 1.
System errors.  These are all funnelled through the routine sysError().
System errors are caused by dramatically wrong conditions,
and should generally cause the system to abort after printing the message
passed as argument to sysError().
.IP 2.
Compiler errors.  As we noted earlier, the method compiler is used to
parse expressions typed directly at the keyboard, so these message can
also arise in that manner.  These are all funnelled through the routines
compilError() and compilWarn(). These should print their arguments
(two strings), in an appropriate location on the users screen.
Execution continues normally after call.
.NH  2
Primitives
.PP
Primitives are the means whereby actions that cannot be described directed
in Smalltalk are performed.  In version three of the Little Smalltalk system,
primitives are divided into three broad categories.
.IP 1.
Primitives numbered less than 119 are all standard, and both the meaning
and the implementation of these should be the same
in all implementations of Little Smalltalk.  These are largely just simple
actions, such as mathematical operations.
.IP 2.
Primitives numbered 120-139 are reserved for file operations.  Although the
meaning of these primitives should remain constant across all
implementations, their implementation may differ.
.IP 3.
Primitives number 150-255 are entirely implementation specific, and thus in
porting to a new system the implementor is free to give these any meaning
desired.  For example under the Unix version there is, at present, only one
such primitive, used to perform the system() call.  On the other hand,
the Macintosh version has dozens of primitives used to implement graphics
functions, windowing function, editing and the like.
.NH
Distribution of New Implementations
.PP
The Little Smalltalk system is entirely public domain, and any user is free
to redistribute it in any fashion they wish.  As a service to the Smalltalk
community, I would appreciate it if new implementors could send me a
listing of changes they make, so that they can be incorporated into one
standard distribution.  Correspondence should be addressed to:
.DS I
Tim Budd
Department of Computer Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
97331 USA
.DE
.PP
Copies of the most recent distribution can also be obtained by writing to
this address.  In mailing out distributions, there is a small charge for
media and mailing costs.
.NH
New Features
.PP
If you type ``smalltalk echo'' all input will be echoed (tty interface
only).  Typing smalltalk echo again undoes this.  This is useful for
reading from scripts.