File contents

README.ETDOC
************
Release Notes for ET++ Reference Documentation, ET++ Version 2.2
October 1991 - Thomas Kofler

The ET++ reference documentation describes most of the classes of ET++
which are relevant for developing applications with ET++.  The
reference documentation consists of a set standard UNIX manual pages.


The documentation was produced by CSE, Linz, Austria in collaboration with
UBS/UBILAB.

Send comments to:

        Andre Weinand
        Union Bank of Switzerland
        UBILAB (Union Bank Informatics Laboratory)
        Bahnhofstrasse 45
        P.O.Box
        CH-8021 Zurich
        Switzerland

        phone: +41-1-236-40-53
        fax:   +41-1-236-46-71
        e-mail: weinand@ifi.unizh.ch
 

1.      Installation
--------------------
    
It is assumed that ET++ 2.2 is installed, and its base directory is denoted
here by $ET_DIR. 
(see the files INSTALL and CSHRC files in the ET++ distribution).


1. Go the directory $ET_DIR  where ET++ 2.2 is installed, for instance
'/local/et2.2':
    % cd /local/et2.2
    
The path names in the tape tar file are relative, so extract the
distribution files from the tar file on the tape, for instance, using:
    % tar -xvf /dev/rst0

2. The location for the manual page files is:  
    ./man/mann
    
3. The required disk space for installing the manual pages
   is 1.4 MB

4. Set the environment variable MANPATH either manually or
in your .cshrc file (or .profile file) to:
    :$ET_DIR/man$MANPATH
    
    
If MANPATH does not contain the path to the ET++ manual page files, then the
man option -M can be used to specify the directory. For instance:
    % man -M $ET_DIR/man Object


2.      How to use it
---------------------
       
There is a set of manual pages for each documented class:
-   The class description describes the class as a whole.
-   For each method of a class, there is a method description.

Further, there are manual pages for C++ typedefs, enumerations, ET++
macros, global variables and normal functions.

    Command                 accesses description of
    -----------------------------------------------
    % man Class             # class and all its methods
    % man Class.short       # class only
    % man Class::Method     # a method      
    % man Class::Class      # all constructors (like normal overloaded methods)
    % man Class::~Class     # destructor

    % man function.Function # a function (there are currently none)
        
    % man enum              # all enumeration types
    % man enum.EnumType     # an enumeration type
    % man const             # all (global) constants    
    % man var               # all (global) variables
    % man macro             # all macros 
   
Specifying the name of an overloaded method or
function retrieves the description of all methods with that name.


3.      Problems
----------------
      
1. The directory for the manual page files must be man/mann.

2. The following commands do not work properly

    Command                 should access description of
    ----------------------------------------------------
    % man const.Constant    # a (global) constant 
    % man var.Variable      # a (global) variable
    % man macro.Macro       # a macro
         
Since there is not much material in these categories, print them as a whole
by:

    % man -t const
    % man -t var
    % man -t macro

3. The manual page files were generated from a special format called CDF
(Class Description Format). The generator is currently not very clever
and it creates too many individual manual page files.
If you want to print all material, you will get about 1000 pages...

4. An ET++ concepts manual is still missing