Tutorials -- Half Day/Monday AM

One of the strong points of a Smalltalk environment is the extensibility of the IDE. ENVY is the premier version control and configuration management tool for Smalltalk, and while its tool set is extensive, many useful extensions are possible. This code-intense course provides an in-depth look at the ENVY system API and internals, and provides numerous examples of tools and scripts which can immediately be used to increase the productivity of an ENVY site. Students will gain an understanding of ENVY mechanisms and API, useful in day-to-day use, but primarily focused on tool-building. Topics covered include an overview of the ENVY API, a packaging assistant which can intercept and interpret packaging-related errors, creating "library specifications" to manipulate software components, scripting facilities, integrating refactoring facilities into ENVY, and a standard mechanism for third-party applications to extend the system menus. This tutorial covers both VisualAge and VisualWorks.

Attendee Background: Attendees should have a good understanding of Smalltalk, and be familiar with ENVY.

Alan Knight has been involved with objects and Smalltalk for over a decade. He has been a regular columnist for The Smalltalk Report, and has spoken extensively on Smalltalk and ENVY. He currently works at The Object People as architect for the TOPLink family of persistence products., and is co-author, together with Joseph Pelrine and Jan Steinman of the forthcoming book "Mastering ENVY/Developer" from SIGS Books/Cambridge University Press.

Joseph Pelrine is an expert Smalltalk programmer with over ten years extensive OT experience. A former columnist for The Smalltalk Report, and noted international speaker, he is currently a senior consultant with Daedalos Consulting in Switzerland. He is the author of various ENVY-related tools, including a Refactoring Browser integration.