- Open console and go to a directory that contains some source files.
You may want to copy the source files just to be safe.
To start Nebulous, type the following command:
java -Xmx256m Nebulous/nebulous
The -Xmx256m option gives Java a 256 MB heap. If you have a large project, increase the number appropriately.
- If you have problems starting Nebulous because of improper installation, refer here for installation instructions.
- Click on Files menu and select the Quick Start menu item. A
dialog box like below appears:
Quick Load creates a project by 1) getting a list of files and file patterns and then 2) recursively scan the all the directories in the current working directory, which should be the tutorial directory. These files are then displayed by Nebulous.
- Enter a file pattern, preferably file extensions such as *.c
or *.java, and hit enter. Wild-card matching patterns are
acceptable. Hit ADD after done entering each file pattern and
that file pattern is then added to the list. After entering all
of the file patterns, hit OK at the bottom. Nebulous should
create small small strips of windows, which are called file
panels. Nebulous should appear as something like below:
If you need to add files in a different directory that is not a subdirectory of the present working directory, you can append a full path to the prefix of the file pattern.
- If you want to generate your own directory panels or Atlas Tabs, refer to here. This feature allows you to modularize your source files in your own way besides of using the directory structure.
- On the far left-hand side of the tool bar, enter a regular expression pattern, or aspect pattern, in the Pattern text field box. Click on the ADD ASPECT button and the lines of code that have matching text will be highlighted in the file panels. The regular expression is added to the Aspect Index, a list of current aspect patterns.
- To add a workspace, type in the name of the workspace and click on the ADD WORKSPACE button. A new workspace should be generated in the Aspect Index. To add another aspect pattern to a different workspace, the workspace has to be highlighted before the aspect pattern is added.
- Click and highlight an aspect pattern in the Aspect Index that you want to manipulate. Then choose the appropriate action on the tool bar.
- Double click on the highlights and a text display will pop up. The text display will actually show the code with highlights. A red cursor appears on the file panel where you have recently double-clicked on.
- You can examine the text at each highlight in a linear order by using the traversal feature. On the far right-hand side of the tool bar, there are two arrow buttons. They move the red cursor to the next pattern or a next collision. The mode of traversing is chosen by opening the pulldown menu which resides next to the arrow buttons. The big red dot moves the view of the file panels.
- If you traverse again after reaching the last match, a dialog box appears asking a question how you would like to continue your traversing. If you have other directory in the project, you can select to scan those directories. You can also tell Nebulous to wrap around the present display of files and start searching from the other end. The last option is cancel which does nothing.
- If you have other subdirectories in your project, you might be able to view the code in those subdirectories by clicking on the appropriate Atlas Tab. The Atlas Tabs are the large button above the tool bar. The picture on an Atlas Tab is updated only after visiting that view.
- Under the Files menu, choose Save Session. A saved session can be loaded in the future with Load Session. A saved session remembers which files are in the project and the aspect patterns.
The rest of the tutorial quickly covers the other miscellaneous features of the Aspect Browser.
- Changing the Display and Layout of the File Panels
In the middle of the tool bar, the magnifying and minifying glass zooms in and zooms out, changing the scale of the view. The magnification scale is displayed as the number of pixels per lines of text in a neighboring text field to the right.The other two buttons, one with two buttons pointing outwards and the other pointing inwards, changes the thickness of the file panels without changing the scale. These two buttons are useful for expanding or contracting the file panels without changing the scale for viewing conveniences.
The order of the file panels and the layout of the file panels can also be modified. In the File Panels menu, you can change the order of the file panels in respect to alphabetical order or file size.
The layout of the directory panels can be changed too. A directory panel is a larger window that contains the file panels, usually representing the directory itself. The directory panels can be displayed one at time, display its immediate subdirectories too, or display all of its subdirectories recursively.
- Changing the Cache Size
Depending how large your directory panels are, you may want to change the number of cache entries. Each directory panel takes up one cache entry. We assumed that the combined sizes of the directory panels inside the cache will fit in the computer's memory comfortably. If performance is too slow because there are too many directory panels in memory or each directory panel in the cache is extremely large, you can try reducing the number of entries in the cache. This option can be found in the Options menu. - Changing the Hidden Aspect Folder Threshold
If several neighboring aspect patterns are hidden, they will condense into a Hidden Aspect Folder. This folder is suppose to reduce the clutter of hidden aspect patterns on the Aspect Index. The threshold or the number of neighboring and hidden aspect patterns before this folder is created can be modified with an option in the Options menu.