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Getting Started with IDL: The IDL Interface |
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IDL's multiple-document interface is called the IDL Development Environment (IDLDE) and includes built-in editing and debugging tools. The IDL Development Environment is available for use on the Windows, Macintosh, and Motif (UNIX) platforms.
| Note All figures shown in this chapter are Windows environment figures but the IDLDE is similar on each of the other platforms. Simply open the IDLDE in your environment and follow along with the descriptions of IDLDE features. |
| Note A command line interface is also available on UNIX and Macintosh platforms. For more information, see the Using IDL manual. |
When you start IDL, the IDL Development Environment appears:
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The menu bar, located at the top of the main IDLDE window, allows you to control various IDLDE features. When you select an option from a menu item in the IDLDE, the Status Bar displays a brief description.
You can display menu commands for each menu using the following methods:
You can select or execute a menu command using the following methods:
Open, press Alt+F+O.
| Note Many items (on each platform) have keyboard shortcuts displayed to the right of the corresponding menu option. |
There are three toolbars in the IDLDE: Standard, Run & Debug, and Macros. In addition, when you open an IDL GUIBuilder window (Windows only), its associated toolbar is displayed. When you position the mouse pointer over a toolbar button, the Status Bar displays a brief description. If you click on a toolbar button which represents an IDL command, the IDL command issued is displayed in the Output Log. Display or hide toolbars by making selections among the Windows Toolbars items.
The Project Window displays information about the current Project you have open in the IDLDE. IDL Projects allow you to easily develop applications in IDL. Through a Project, you can compile, run, and create distributions of your IDL application. The IDL Project Window allows you to access and manage all of the files required for your application. This makes it easier to create a distribution for other developers, colleagues, or users.
The section of the main IDL window where IDL Editor windows and GUIBuilder windows are displayed is known as the multiple document panel. Any number of files may be open at a single time. You can access different files from the Windows menu by clicking on the appropriate file.
IDL Editor windows allow you to write and edit IDL programs (and other text files) from within IDL. Any number of Editor windows can exist simultaneously. No Editor windows are open when IDL is first started. Editor windows can be created by selecting File New or File Open. See Maximizing the Editor's Capabilities for more information on the IDL Editor.
To see the Multiple Document Panel at work, open the file examples.pro by typing .COMPILE examples.pro at the IDL command line. (See Command Line for details.)
The following figure shows the IDL program file opened in the Windows IDLDE.
Under Microsoft Windows, IDL GUIBuilder windows allow you to interactively create user interfaces. Then, you can generate the IDL code that defines the interface and the code to contain the event-handling routines. You can modify the code, compile, and run the application in the IDLDE. To open a GUIBuilder window, you can select File New GUI or you can select File Open. See Using the IDL GUIBuilder. for more information on the GUIBuilder.
IDL Graphics windows are not displayed in the Multiple Document Panel, but do appear when you use IDL to plot or display data. You can copy the contents of a Graphics window—iTool, Object or Direct—directly to the operating system clipboard in a bitmap format using Ctrl+C.
When an IDL Graphics window is minimized (iconized), the icon displays the name of the IDL window. This icon appears on the desktop, not in the Multiple Document Panel, as with an iconized Editor window.
| Warning If the backing store is not set when a window is iconized, it will not be refreshed upon return. For more information about setting the backing store for graphics windows, see Graphics Preferences. |
The Command Line is an IDL prompt where you can enter IDL commands. The text output by IDL commands is displayed in the Output Log window. IDL is an interpreted language and commands entered at the Command Line are executed immediately. To see the IDL Command Line in action, enter the following in the Command Line at the IDL prompt and press Enter:
print, 'Hello World!'
If you click the right mouse button while positioned over the Command Input Line, a popup menu appears displaying the last 20 entries in the command history. Select an entry to reissue the command. See Recalling Commands for additional information about the command recall buffer.
Output from IDL is displayed in the Output Log window, which appears by default when the IDLDE is first started. Notice the result of our print command in the Output Log in the following figure.
If you click the right mouse button while positioned over the Output Log, a context menu appears allowing you to move to a specified error or clear the contents of the Output Log. An additional Windows-only context menu option allows you to copy selected contents.
The Variable Watch window appears by default when you start the IDLDE. It keeps track of variables as they appear and change during program execution (tabs exist for viewing variables by type; Locals, Params, Common and System). For more information about the Variable Watch window, see The Variable Watch Window.
When you position the mouse pointer over a Control Panel or Toolbar button, or select an option from a menu in IDLDE, the Status Bar displays a brief description.
IDL Online Help (March 06, 2007)
