MC27L Lab 0 Supplement: Getting Started on a
NeXT (Spring 1997)
February 11, 1997
Introduction
To work with Scheme on a NeXT, rather than an SGI, you'll need to use
the Schematik program rather than SchematiX. Luckily Schematik and
SchematiX are extremely similar; the main difference is simply which
computers they run on. Also, we are currently running different
underlying Scheme systems ``behind'' the Schematik and SchematiX
user interfaces: on the NeXTs we have MIT Scheme behind the Schematik
interface, while on the SGIs we have a Scheme called Gambit. This
difference should be largely invisible to you. This handout is
intended only to supplement the main Lab 0 handout
with the few differences you need to know in order to get started with
Schematik on a NeXT. You should refer to the main Lab 0 handout as
well.
Finding Schematik and adding it to your dock
Just like on the SGI's you need to initially find SchematiX and put it
on your desktop, so that from then on you can just double-click on it,
so too on the NeXTs you need to find Schematik and put it in the
``dock,'' which is the column of icons on the right hand side of the
screen. From then on out, every time you log in on a NeXT it will be
there, and you can just double-click on it to run Schematik.
First click once on ``LocalApps'' in the leftmost
column of the File Viewer window. You may need to scroll the File
Viewer to make the leftmost column visible; you want the leftmost
achievable with scrolling, not the leftmost that happens to be visible
without scrolling; you may also need to scroll the leftmost column to
see LocalApps in it. Next, scroll the second column (the one now
under the heading LocalApps) until ``Schematik.app'' is visible, and
then click once on it. Now there should be an icon (with the Greek
letter lambda on it) labeled ``Schematik.app'' above the third column.
Drag that icon over to an empty spot on your dock.
Your account is now set up. Whenever you login, all you need to do to
start Schematik is to double-click on its icon.
Using Schematik
Everything said in the main lab 0 handout about using
SchematiX is true for Schematik as well, except for one of the
alternate method of evaluating an expression. (Our main suggestion,
which was to use the Enter key that is in the numeric keypad, works
fine on both systems.) For SchematiX on the SGIs we said that you
could hold down the ctrl key like a shift key and with it
down, use the normal carriage-return key on the main part of the
keyboard (also marked Enter). On a NeXT, using Schematik, you'll need
to instead hold down the Command key and with it down press
the normal carriage-return key to evaluate. To re-emphasize: this is
just a touch-typable alternative to the numeric keypad Enter and the
Actions menu Evaluate option, both of which work on both the SGIs and
the NeXTs.
Logging out
To log out on a NeXT, double-click on the NeXT cube icon at the top of
the dock (top right corner of the screen). Then the menu at the top
left corner of the screen should include the option of logging out.
After you select that option, you'll need to confirm that yes, you
really want to log out. If you didn't already quit out of Schematik
(or other application programs) you may need to respond to other
questions as well, such as whether you want to save the interaction
window.
Course labs web site: http://www.gac.edu/~max/courses/S97/MC27L/
One lab instructor: Karl Knight <karl@gac.edu>
The other lab instructor: Max Hailperin <max@gac.edu>