Tour of Walnut Creek Ada CDROM, March 1997 Edition
Richard Conn
**** DRAFT 4 ****
This tour is designed to introduce the user to the Ada CDROM, giving a
quick overview of how to find assets on the CDROM. This tour makes the
following assumptions:
1. The user is running a PC under Microsoft Windows 95. That PC has
a CDROM drive as Disk D: (if yours is different, you have to
substitute the appropriate letter for D: when the CDROM is
referenced below). Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.1 and Info-ZIP
unzip 5.20 are installed on the PC (you can find unzip 5.20 in
the toolkit directory of the Ada CDROM if you don't already have
it, and unzip is not absolutely required in order to really learn
from the tour).
2. The user has a copy of the March 1997 Edition of the Walnut Creek
Ada CDROM (hereafter referred to as the "Ada CDROM") and knows how
to run Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.1 and Info-ZIP unzip 5.20. The
user knows how to use Windows 95.
Views of the Ada CDROM
======================
There are three basic ways to look at the Ada CDROM:
1. Through the Windows browser, which autoloads under Windows 95
when you place the CDROM in the CDROM drive
2. Through the PAL Card Catalog and user interface provided by using
Netscape Navigator
3. By moving through the CDROM as though it was just another disk
Load the Ada CDROM
==================
Place the Disc 1 of the Ada CDROM in the CDROM drive and wait.
Windows 95 will autoload the Windows browser if you have the autoload
feature of Windows 95 enabled. If autoload is not enabled, you can run
the Windows browser manually by bringing up an MSDOS window, logging
onto the Ada CDROM drive (D: in this case), and running the browser
manually by issuing the command
utils\w32view
For your information, there is also an MSDOS viewer that reads and uses
the same data files as the Windows browser. It is called view.exe and
is available at the top-level of the Ada CDROM and is a standard viewer
on all Walnut Creek MSDOS disks.
Top-Level Readme
================
Now that you are in the Windows browser, you will note that the file
readme.txt is highlighted. You will also see the file removed.txt
(which tells you what files in the PAL were removed from the CDROM when
the CDROM was made) and the directories docs, ada, and vhdl.
Descriptions of what are in these files and directories are displayed
next to the file names.
To read the readme.txt file, point to it with the mouse and
double-click. Try this now. When you do, you will find yourself in a
text browser window. Use the arrows on the right side to move up and
down through the file. Look this file over now.
When you are done reading the readme.txt file, move the mouse to the
PREV button (just under "File" in the upper left hand corner of the
viewer window) and click. You will be back to the opening window of the
Windows browser.
A Quick Move-About
==================
You are now at the top level of the Windows browser. Double-click on
the docs directory entry. Note the documentation files on the Powerview
Image Viewer, the QPEG Image Viewer, the Adobe Acrobat viewer and
facility, and, at the bottom, the Walnut Creek viewer. There are also
various versions of the Walnut Creek catalog here. Look at these files
as desired by clicking into them and then clicking PREV to get out.
When done looking at these files, click PREV to get back to the top
level.
Double-click on the ada directory entry. You are now in the Ada part
of the PAL; this covers all parts but the AJPO subtree (which is on Disc
2). You now see a set of ada/* directories (aseet, asr, benchmrk,
bindings, comm, compiler, crsware, db, etc.). Note that there is also
the how2use directory. Try moving through these directories by
double-clicking on their names and then clicking on PREV to move back
up. When done looking at these files, click PREV to get back to the top
level.
Double-click on the vhdl directory entry. You are now in the VHDL
part of the PAL; this is complete (nothing has been removed). Look
around (you might want to start with 00README), and, when done, click
PREV to get back to the top level.
Go Get the Component Provider's and Tool Developer's Handbook
=============================================================
Here's a quick exercise to get a copy of the Component Provider's and
Tool Developer's Handbook using the Windows browser. Start this
exercise at the top level of the Ada CDROM.
1. Double-click on ada/
2. Double-click on docs/
3. Double-click on comphdbk/
4. Check on the README file ... double-click on README and then click
PREV when done
5. [optional] Copy the ZIP file containing the handbook onto your hard
disk and unload it. To do this, follow these steps:
A. Double-click on the file name comphdbk.zip
B. Select a destination directory on your hard disk in the
resulting window by clicking around in the square box in the
lower left hand corner of the Destination Query window
(note: the drive letters are at the bottom of the list in
this square box)
C. When at the right directory, click OK (or click CANCEL if you
don't want to actually do the copy right now)
D. You will note that the files have been unpacked (unzipped)
onto your hard disk in the indicated directory, and directory
display of that directory is shown. This display contains
the subdirectory COMPHDBK\
E. Point to COMPHDBK\ in the window and double-click. You are
now in that directory on your hard disk. The files README and
HANDBOOK.PS are shown. HANDBOOK.PS is the handbook in
Postscript format (1MB in size).
F. Click PREV twice to get out. Note that a window pops up
asking if you want to delete the destination directory.
Click NO. You are now in the ada\docs\comphdbk directory
of the Ada CDROM.
G. Click PREV three more times to return to the top level of
the Ada CDROM.
H. To clean up this demo, open up an MSDOS window and remove
the created directory and its contents. Note that the PS file
is Read/Only and must be made Read/Write to remove it. Also
remove the file 00_INDEX._WC from the destination directory.
I. Exit the MSDOS window.
Exit the Windows Browser
========================
Click and hold down on "File" in the upper left hand corner of the
window and select "Exit." Let up on the mouse button and the Windows
browser disappears.
The HTML-based User Interface
=============================
Now let's try out the HTML-based user interface. There are two
choices as starting points, so let's look at both.
Choice 1: Enter at 00_CD_A.HTM.
00_CD_A.HTM and 00_CD.HTML contain the same information, but the
00_CD_A.HTM file is for those systems with short (8-dot-3) file names
and 00_CD.HTML is for those that support longer file names. Use the
A file with Windows 95.
Run Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.1.
Click on "File"
Click on "Open File in Browser..."
In the "Look in:" window, select your CDROM drive (don't forget
to double-click on it). You will now see the files and
directories in the top level of the Ada CDROM.
Double-click on 00_cd_a. You now see the top-level window and
may need to scroll down to see all of it. There are three main
buttons: ABOUT, CONTENTS, and INDEX.
Click on ABOUT. You now will see the PAL's Web interface, but it
is running directly from the Ada CDROM instead of on the Web.
Click Netscape Navigator's BACK button (just under the "File" menu
pulldown). You are now back to the top-level of 00_cd_a.
Click on CONTENTS. You are now in the PAL Card Catalog at the
top-level table of contents. Note the top-level topics of
ADA COMPILERS, BENCHMARKS, BINDINGS, COMMUNICATIONS, COPIES
AND MIRRORS, etc.
Click Netscape Navigator's BACK button. You are now back to the
top-level of 00_cd_a.htm.
Click on INDEX. You are now in the PAL Card Catalog at the top
of the Segmented Index. The PAL Card Catalog has two indexes:
Segmented and Unsegmented. The Segmented, which breaks up each
major letter of the index into a separate HTML file (the A file,
the B file, etc.), is intended for use on the Web. The
Unsegmented, which presents the entire index as one large HTML
file, is intended for use from the Ada CDROM.
Click on "Go to Unsegmented Index." You have now loaded the entire
unsegmented index of the PAL Card Catalog. You can use the
Netscape Navigator FIND button (usually under the Window or Help
pulldown menu at the top of the Netscape window) to search this
index for information.
Click the Netscape Navigator FIND button, type in "Colbert" in the
input box, and hit the RETURN key on your keyboard. You may have
to now move the FIND box out of the way to see, but you will note
that COLBERT of COLBERT, ED is highlighted. You will also see
COLBERT, EDWARD on the next line (sorry, Ed, I'll fix that on the
next Ada CDROM). Note that adafair8 is underlined on the
COLBERT, ED line and advocacy is underlined on the COLBERT, EDWARD
line.
Click on advocacy. You are now looking at the PAL Card Catalog
entry for the Ada Advocacy Package. Use the arrow keys on the
right to scroll backwards and forwards through this entry. You
may also want to grab the scroll bar to move quickly.
Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back at COLBERT
in the Unsegmented Index.
Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back to the top
level of the Segmented Index.
Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back to
00_cd_a.htm.
Choice 2: Enter at 00_INDEX.HTM.
Click on "File"
Click on "Open File in Browser..."
In the directory window, double-click on 00_index. You are now
in an HTML-based browsing mode similar to the Windows browser
you used above.
Click on ada. You are back to the top-level directories.
Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are now back
to 00_cd_a.htm.
Click on "File"
Click on "Exit." You are now out of Netscape Navigator.
PAL Web/CDROM Interface
=======================
Run Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.1.
Click on "File"
Click on "Open File in Browser..."
In the "Look in:" window, select your CDROM drive (don't forget
to double-click on it). You will now see the files and
directories in the top level of the Ada CDROM.
Double-click on 00_cd_a. You now see the top-level window and
may need to scroll down to see all of it. There are three main
buttons: ABOUT, CONTENTS, and INDEX.
Click on ABOUT. You now will see the PAL's Web interface, but it
is running directly from the Ada CDROM instead of on the Web.
This interface is divided into three parts: Welcome (5 buttons
at the top), Hot Spots (7 buttons), and Questions and Credits.
Click the button labeled "About the Public Ada Library." Scan
over this introduction using the up and down arrow buttons at
the right. When done, click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on the button labeled "Frequently Asked Questions." You
can scan through this file using the up and down arrow buttons
or by clicking the entries in the table of contents. When done,
click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on the button labeled "PAL User Toolkit." This jumps
directly into the PAL Card Catalog at the entry for the toolkit.
These tools may be useful for you in order to extract and work
with files you find in the PAL. Scan this information.
When done, click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on the button labeled "Contents of the Public Ada Library."
We are now ready to look over the Ada CDROM from the top-down.
You are now looking at the top-level categories of the assets
in the PAL. These categories include ADA COMPILERS, BENCHMARKS,
BINDINGS, COMMUNICATIONS, COPIES AND MIRRORS, COURSEWARE,
DATABASE MANAGEMENT TOOLS, DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING, DOCUMENTATION
DEVELOPMENT TOOLS, DOCUMENTS, MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS, PROJECT
MANAGEMENT TOOLS, SOFTWARE COMPONENTS, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOLS,
TESTING, USER TOOLKIT, and VHDL.
Click on "ADA COMPILERS." The categories under ADA COMPILERS are
presented: Ada83, Ada95 and Ada83, and Ada95.
Click on "EZ-2-LOAD" under Ada95 and Ada83. This is Mike Feldman's
port of GNAT to MSDOS along with his collection of tools for
Ada95 code development. Scan through the writeup.
Find that part of the writeup with the major heading of FILE LISTING.
Click on the directory name under the "Click here to transfer"
selection. You now see a listing of the files you can transfer
off the Ada CDROM to your hard disk. To do this, just click on
the file name. For example, click on ACAPS22.ZIP. To copy this
file to your hard disk, just press the "Save File" button in the
resulting dialog box. For now, press the "Cancel" button.
Click the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back to the
description of EZ-2-LOAD.
Click the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back to the
taxonomy entries for the Ada compilers.
Click the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are back to the
top-level of the taxonomy of the PAL Card Catalog.
Click on COURSEWARE. This topic area covers courseware available
on the Ada CDROM. Scan through it (note that you can use the
Netscape Navigator FIND button if you are looking for something
specific). When done, click the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on DOCUMENTS. This topic area covers the document collection
available on the Ada CDROM. Scan through it. When done, click the
Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on SOFTWARE COMPONENTS. This topic area covers collections
of reusable software components on the Ada CDROM. Scan through it.
When done, click the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click the Netscape Navigator BACK button. You are now back to the
top-level of the PAL Web/CDROM Interface.
The buttons under the Hot Spots section of this interface are a mix
of short cuts into the PAL Card Catalog and items that directly display
or execute. For example:
Click on "EZ2LOAD Compilers." This is the PAL Card Catalog entry
for EZ-2-LOAD, which you saw earlier. Click on the Netscape Navigator
BACK button.
Click on "Run 'Why Ada?' Ada Advocacy Pkg." This is a display
of Chuck Engle's writeup on Why Ada? in HTML. Click on the
Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Click on "Run the Lovelace Ada95 Tutorial." This is an
interactive tutorial on Ada95. Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK
button.
Click on "Lovelace Ada95 Tutorial." This is the PAL Card Catalog
entry for the tutorial, allowing you to copy it to your hard
disk. Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button.
Finally, if you want to contact me, information can be found under
"Questions and Answers" at the bottom.
Click on "Richard Conn" under "Questions and Answers." This
is my bio and information on how to reach me. If your Windows 95
PC is connected to the Internet and Netscape Navigator is set up
to send email, you can send me an email message by clicking on my
email address. Click on the Netscape Navigator BACK button when
you are done looking over my biography.
Click on "File"
Click on "Exit." You are now out of Netscape Navigator.
--
Richard Conn, PAL Manager | [log in to unmask]
Opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of anyone else.
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