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Browser
Last updated at 4:41 am UTC on 8 October 2006
The Browser is the fundamental development tool in Squeak for reading ("browsing") and editing Smalltalk source code.

You can open a Browser in Squeak from the World menu by clicking on the "open..." submenu and then selecting "browser (b)".

Here is a good tutorial from Georgia Tech on how to use the Smalltalk browser to browse and edit source code.

The classic 5-paned Smalltalk "System Browser" looks like this in Squeak:

   Uploaded Image: Browser2.gif

(The browser in this picture also has the optionalButtons and annotationPanes Preferences turned on. These are the two horizontal panes cutting across the middle of the browser... they can be very useful.)

See also Basic Squeak Development Tools for information on related browsers such as the Hierarchy Browser.

Question Hrvoje Blazevic February 04, 2004: I guess I'm spoiled by Emacs Logo/Scheme/Lisp modes, therefore I do miss several things in Squeak editor. (By editor I assume browser – this is the place where the actual code gets written
1) No automatic indentation?

AnswerAvi Bryant Load the ParenBlinking package from SqueakMap. [This will give you auto-indenting (and paren-blinking, oddly enough.] (I think this finally made it into 3.7 somewhere).

You might also check out the SVI package - this is a complete rewrite of the Squeak editor panes to be a very full featured VIM-like editor. It's an amazing piece of work.

AnswerJason Rogers: The pretty print [option, which is available on the right most button of the browse] will format everything for you when you save/accept.

There are other powerful Alternative Browsers which have more recently been developed for Smalltalk and/or Squeak. Some of these are the Refactoring Browser, Whisker Browser and the Star Browser.