The JES Interface
Click on the image below to learn about the different areas of the JES interface. |
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Command Area Use the command area to type commands that you'd like JES to carry out right away. You'll notice that there are three "greater than" symbols in the command area. This is called the primary prompt. It simply means that JES is ready for a new command. An example of a command: >>> print 5+7 You will also use the command area to call the programs that you write in JES. For example, if you have written a program called MyProgram() and loaded it, you might call it using the command line like this: >>> MyProgram() |
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Edit Menu The Options menu item opens a dialog box in which you can set the font size and the mode in which you would like to work. Changing modes simply changes the kind of error messages that JES displays when it finds a programming problem. The "normal" mode is the default mode. In this mode, error messages are very simple. In "advanced" mode, error messages are more detailed. Until you feel that you are ready to interpret detailed error messages, you should not change the mode. You also have the options to turn on/off the line numbers and block boxes. The Editor and Command menu items allow you to move between the Program Area and Command Area. The keyboard shortcuts are very useful. |
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File Menu Use the file menu to create New files, Open existing files, Save the file on which you are currently working, or Save As to specify a file name for your current file. You can also exit JES from this menu. |
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Help Menu Look here for information about carrying out basic tasks in JES and creating media computation programs in Jython. |
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Load Button Hint: Before you can load a program, you must save it! |
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Program Area As you probably know already, JES is used to write programs in the Jython programming language. For more information about writing programs, see Programming in Jython. |
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Status Bar You should also include line number/position information if you are sending a question about your code to TAs or classmates so they can quickly identify the segment to which you are referring. The right side of the status bar displays the identity of the current JES user. Its important to be sure that JES knows who you are so that your homework turnins are attributed to the right person! |
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Stop Button You can also use the Stop button to stop a program that has been called from the command area. This may be useful if the program you have opened, loaded, and called from the command window is taking a long time. You should try to keep media file sizes to a reasonable size, but sometimes it will take several minutes to run a program that you have written so the Stop button can be useful if you decide you'd rather run a long program at a later time. |
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Turnin Menu You will turn in your homework assignments using the Turnin menu. Before you can turn in your assignments, you must register yourself with JES. Select Register from the menu to open the Turnin Settings dialog box. To turn in an assignment, be sure that it is open and saved, then select Assignment from the menu. See the help section on Turning In Assignments for more information. |
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Debugger One of the hardest things to do when you're programming is debugging. To make this easier, JES includes a debugger for you to use. To turn it on, simply press the Show Debugger button, or choose Open Debugger from the Debug Menu. See the help section on The Debugger for more information. |
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MediaTools Menu This menu allows you to access the Sound Tool and Picture Tool. To open them, simply click the appropriate menu item, and JES will prompt you to select a sound or picture to open in the tools. See the help section on MediaTools for more information. |
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Running Indicator The running indicator is a bar that moves back and forth when JES is working on something. It will show when you are running a program, picking a file, or giving commands in the Command Area. |
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