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This chapter explains how to:
Start and exit from FUSE
Start and stop FUSE tools
Set up projects
Get help on FUSE and FUSE tools
Use a tool main window
Copy and use the FUSE example programs
Customize your FUSE environment
You can start the FUSE environment in several ways:
Use the command line.
If you have the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) installed, use the FUSE icons.
Use the FUSE Control Panel once FUSE is running.
If you are using a monochrome display, make sure you change
your
.Xdefaults
file, as described in Section
Section E.4, before starting FUSE.
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Your current working directory becomes the working directory for each tool that you invoke. You must have write access to the working directory. If not, you are prompted to enter a new working directory.
You do not have to start FUSE from the directory where your program files are located, because you can change the working directory for any project if the project has no tools running in it.
To start FUSE, use the following command line:
% fuse [-proj project_filename]
By default, if you have a single.proj
project
file in your working directory, FUSE automatically loads this file
when you start FUSE.
In the above command line, you can use the
-proj
option to specify a project file you may
have saved in another directory or with another name (Section
Section 9.5
has more information on project files).
If you don't specify a project filename, FUSE brings up a file
selection box to let you choose from among the list of project files
in the directory.
If there is no project file, FUSE starts using
the
unnamed
project.
You can start FUSE without loading an existing project file using the following command:
% fuse -noproj
When you start FUSE, the Control Panel appears. You can start all other FUSE tools from the Control Panel.
FUSE provides a FUSE application group icon and icons for the individual tools that make up the FUSE environment.
To invoke FUSE:
Click on the Application Manager icon in the CDE front panel to display the icons in the application group.
Double click on the FUSE icon to start FUSE. The FUSE Control Panel is started in iconized form. If there is a single project file in your home directory, FUSE will use that project. If there is more than one project file in your home directory, FUSE will prompt you for the project to open.
You can also start FUSE with a specific project by dragging the project icon and dropping it on the FUSE icon.
FUSE identifies each FUSE session according to system and login name; therefore, only one FUSE session can run on each system for each login name by default. If you attempt to start FUSE while you are running another FUSE session, you receive the following error message:
fuse: msg/c: fatal: FUSE already running.
If you see this message, make sure you do not have the windows of another FUSE session in icon form. If your current login name is available to other users, make sure another user is not using that login name to run FUSE. You cannot start another session with the login name until you exit from the first FUSE session.
You can run multiple FUSE sessions, however, if you set the
environment variable
FUSE_TMP
to a different
directory before you start each additional FUSE session.
By default,
FUSE sessions are set to the directory
/usr/tmp.
To exit from FUSE, choose Tools: Exit FUSE from the Control Panel.
You can start individual FUSE tools in several ways:
Use the command line.
If you have CDE installed, use the FUSE icons.
Use the FUSE Control Panel once FUSE is running.
Use the Tools menu from most FUSE tools.
You can start any of the FUSE tools (with the exception of the Message Monitor) from the command line using a command of the form:
% fusetool [args]
See Appendix D and the specific reference pages for the command syntax and options.
If the Control Panel is not running, it starts automatically as a minimized icon. If FUSE is already running, the tool starts in the current project, thereby inheriting the project data (that is, working directory, target, data directory, and so on). Tools invoked from the command line do not use the global environment as stored in the Control Panel.
For information, see the online Help topic Invoking FUSE Tools Using CDE.
To start a FUSE tool:
Select the tool from the Tools menu in the Control Panel.
FUSE adds the tool to the Control Panel display area under the current project. Then the tool main window appears. Some tools might require additional information not already specified as part of the project settings. For example, the Code Manager needs to have its library pathnames specified. You can use the Project Manager dialog box to do this after being prompted by an informational dialog box.
For tools that display the Project Manager dialog box, complete the dialog box and click on OK to begin using the tool.
Most FUSE tools have a Tools menu. To start a tool, select the appropriate tool from the Tools menu.
When you start a tool from the command line, the command lets you specify the same information that would otherwise be detailed in the Project Manager dialog box. (See Appendix D for command syntax.)
When you start a tool using the Control Panel, the tool inherits the project settings. To specify project settings, choose Projects: Show/Modify... from the Control Panel. When you save the project, you can later retrieve the settings to recover your working context quickly by opening the project and selecting it in the Control Panel.
The Project Manager dialog box has entry fields for a working directory and a target as well as other project settings that are optional for many tools. A working directory is the directory where the tool will write output files or look for input files. A target is a file that serves as the object of the tool's operations. For tools to interoperate, they must have the same target and be in the same project. See Section Section 9.4 for more information on creating and using projects.
Figure Figure 2-1 shows the Project Manager dialog box.
At tool startup, you must complete all required entries in the Project Manager dialog box before you can work with the tool's main window. If you cancel the Project Manager dialog box at tool startup, you will exit from the tool. In many cases, the Project Manager dialog box does not appear because project settings are already available for the tool.
Additional information on configuring tools is provided in the chapters in the FUSE Tools part of this book.
Table Table 2-1 summarizes the methods for exiting from a tool.
| When you want to exit from... | Use this method... |
| The tool you are currently working with | Choose Exit Tool from the tool's Tools menu. |
| A tool whose window is currently hidden or in icon form, several tools at the same time, all tools in a project. | Select one or more entries displayed in the current project tools list and choose Stop Tools from the Actions menu (or press MB3 in the Control Panel to use the pop-up menu). You can also close the current project including its tools by choosing Projects: Close. |
| All tools and terminate your FUSE session | Choose Exit FUSE from the Control Panel's Projects menu. |
FUSE provides an extensive online Help library, which is accessible from the Help menu in all tools. In addition, the FUSE software kit includes online Training, which is accessible from the Training menu in the Control Panel and from the Help menu in other tools. Table Table 2-2 summarizes the Training and Help available on-line and how to access it.
| Description | Access from |
| Detailed information on specific objects or areas of a main window or dialog box | Help: On Context (main window); Help button (dialog box) |
| Instructions for performing programming tasks using a specific tool | Help: On "Tool" |
| Information on how to use menu items | Help: On Menus |
| Top-level table of contents for Help library | Help: On FUSE |
| Software version information | Help: On Version |
| Help on diagnostic messages in Builder | Buffer: Help on Diagnostic |
| Instructions for using the Help viewer | Help: How to Use Help (in the Viewer window) |
| An interactive demonstration of fundamental FUSE features | Help: Getting Started with FUSE; Training: FUSE Tutorials (Control Panel only) |
| Hands-on exercises for obtaining skills to make productive use of FUSE tools | Help: FUSE Tutorials; Training: FUSE Tutorials (Control Panel only) |
| Corrective action for error messages displayed in a message box | Help button in the message box |
After you start a tool, use the tool's online Help and tutorials to learn about using the tool's main window, its menus, and its dialog boxes. If you are a first-time user, use the Getting Started With FUSE topic in the Help menu to get an introduction to FUSE and using FUSE tools.
Choose On Context from the Help menu to display item-specific information. When you choose On Context, the pointer changes to a question mark. You can move the question mark to a screen object (such as a button on a dialog box or a menu on a main window) and press MB1 to display help information.
The object on which you click can be in any FUSE window or dialog box, except in modal dialog boxes, which prevent interaction with other parts of the application until you address them.
From a tool's main window, choose On Tool from the Help menu, where Tool is the name of the tool you are currently using. The Help viewer presents a list of task-oriented topics and provides access to information on the tool's main window and menus.
You can choose On Menus from the Help menu to go directly to information on a tool's menus and menu items.
From a tool's main window, choose FUSE Tutorials from the Help menu. These online exercises allow you to practice fundamental FUSE skills in the context of solving a case study programming project.
In each dialog and error box, click on the Help button to get information about using that dialog or error box.
For error boxes, help information provides a description of how the error may have occurred and actions you can take to correct the error.
This section contains information that is specific to the windows of FUSE tools.
Figure Figure 2-2 shows the components that the main window of a FUSE tool can include. None of the FUSE tool windows looks exactly like the figure; for example, a tool might have multiple display areas and one or more sashes, or one display area with a toggle button.
Table Table 2-3 describes the window elements.
| Window Element | Description |
| Title bar | Displays the name of the tool and its number. |
| Menu bar | Every FUSE tool provides a bar group of pull-down menus that you use to perform the operations that are available in the tool. In addition, you can press MB3 to pop up a menu of a subset of the items available from the menus on the menu bar. The items in the pop-up menu are the most frequently executed tasks in the tool. |
| Configuration area | Displays the project in which a tool is running and the tool's configuration. |
| Display and transcript areas | A large central area for editing files or working with a graph, command line, areas, or listing. Some tools let you work with two kinds of displays, typically a graph and a transcript. When tools have more than one display area, a sash on each area allows you to adjust the space for each display. |
| Push buttons | For many FUSE tools, a row of push buttons is provided so that you can execute a tool operation without having to use a menu. For example, in the Code Manager, you can click on push buttons to display and remove file information from the library graph; in the Debugger, you can click on push buttons to execute debugging commands. Choose Help: On Context and click on a push button to get information about that push button. |
| Information area | An area at the bottom where informational messages appear. These messages are not warnings or errors and therefore do not require a dialog box for your acknowledgment. The information area can also display quick-reference information for menu items. To display descriptions of a menu item or graph object in the information area, press and hold MB1while the pointer is over the item or graph object. For the Builder and the Call Graph Browser (and the optional C++ Class Browser), summary information is also displayed for nodes or lines that you highlight on a graph. |
Examples in the FUSE documentation and online training refer to example programs provided with the FUSE software:
sayings: A C program that retrieves a saying from a database (created from a text file of famous sayings) and displays the saying.
count: A C program that counts letters in a file and reports the ten most frequently used letters.
animal_sayings: A C++ program that lists the names of animals and displays how each moves and speaks.
words: A C program that retrieves a saying from a database (created from a text file of famous sayings) and displays the saying.
You can copy these example programs into the directory
~/fuse-examples,
which is a fixed directory name assigned by FUSE for this purpose.
You can overwrite the contents of
~/fuse-examples
at any time to start with a fresh copy of the example programs.
Table Table 2-4 shows how to copy the example programs.
| Step | Action |
| 1 | Start FUSE.
In the Control Panel, choose Examples
from the Training menu.
A message box is displayed saying that the
FUSE examples will be copied into
~/fuse-examples. |
| 2 | Click on OK in the message box. |
| 3 | If
~/fuse-examples
already
exists, FUSE displays a message saying that
~/fuse-examples
and its subdirectories will be deleted.
If you want to proceed with
the operation, click on OK.
To cancel the operation and retain the
current files in
~/fuse-examples.
click on Cancel. |
| 4 | After the files have been copied into
~/fuse-examples,
FUSE displays a message asking whether you want the projects to
be added to your current FUSE session.
Click on OK if you want
the projects to be added to your current session.
Otherwise, click
on Cancel. |
You can start a future FUSE session with the new example project
count.proj
by entering the following command:
% fuse -proj ~/fuse-examples/count/count.proj
In the case of the C++ Class Browser, use the following command:
% fuse -proj ~/fuse-examples/animal_sayings/animal_sayings.proj
The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) provides a variety of features that you can use to advantage when running FUSE. These include the following capabilities:
Restoring your day-to-day work context
Customizing colors and fonts
Invoking actions on datatypes, typically represented as files
Refer to your operating system documentation on CDE for more information on how to use specific CDE features.
CDE provides two features to help you organize your work context:
The Front Panel is a window with controls for launching applications and for creating and switching workspaces. Workspaces provide a way for controlling which applications are displayed together. Applications can appear in more than one workspace. You must redefine an environment variable to run more than one FUSE session (see Section Section 2.1.3).
CDE allows you to put tool icons on the Front Panel or backdrop. Tool icons can be dragged and dropped to initiate operations. For example, dragging a project icon for FUSE and dropping it on the FUSE icon or any FUSE tool icon starts FUSE or the tool in that project.
The CDE Style Manager lets you customize the appearance of FUSE, specifically the choice of color palette and fonts. Changes made using the Style Manager affect all FUSE tools dynamically; that is, you do not need to exit and restart the tool. You can use the Options menu in the FUSE Control Panel or individual tools to override CDE settings and to restore the CDE default color or font settings.
CDE actions provide ways for you to execute commands on datatypes (typically by acting on files). FUSE provides several actions that complement the default set of actions provided by CDE.
To invoke FUSE actions, you need to display files in the File Manager, as shown in Table Table 2-5.
| Step | Action |
| 1 | Click on the File Manager icon in the CDE Front Panel to start the File Manager. |
| 2 | Click on a directory to display its files. |
There are two ways to invoke FUSE actions at this point:
Double click on a file, which executes the first action listed in the Selected menu in the File Manager.
Select a file and then choose an action from the Selected menu in the File Manager or datatype pop-up menu.
Table Table 2-6 describes the actions that exist for the files that correspond to specific datatypes.