Komodo User Guide

Getting Started

Getting started with Komodo is as easy as opening a file and beginning to edit. However, to ensure that you don't miss any of Komodo's features, take a look at the elements of the Komodo Workspace described below, or take a visual tour of the Komodo Workspace

Next, Get Started Fast with Komodo's Sample Project. Use the Sample Project to familiarize yourself with Komodo's project management, editing features and debugging functionality.

The Komodo Workspace

The Getting Started Page

Komodo's Getting Started page is displayed by default when Komodo is first opened, and whenever there are no files open in the Editor Pane. The Getting Started page provides quick access to recently-opened files and projects. The Getting Started page also has links for configuring languages, creating a new project, opening an existing project, and opening Komodo's Sample Project.

To configure the number of files and projects that display on the Getting Started page, or to clear the list of recently used files or projects, use Komodo's Preferences.

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Title Bar

The title bar displays the path and name of the active file. During debugging, the title bar indicates the state of the debugger. For more information about using the debugger, see Debugging Programs.

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Menus

The Komodo drop-down menus include File, Edit, View, Debug, Tools, and Help. The functions accessed from each menu are described in detail in the relevant section of the User Guide. For example, the items accessed from the Debug menu are described in the Debugging Programs section of the User Guide.

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Context Menus

Komodo displays different context menus when you right-click depending the location of the mouse pointer. Use the left mouse button to select items from context menus.

  • Menu bar area and Toolbar areas The context menu has options to view or hide individual toolbars and toolbars text.
  • Projects Pane - Project name The context menu has options to open, save, activate, and close the projects, and to add a file to the selected project. On Windows systems, you can add several files to a project by selecting a group of files in Windows Explorer and dragging them to the Projects Pane.
  • Projects Pane - File name The context menu has options to edit or remove the selected file from the project.
  • Editor Pane - File editing area The context menu has options to cut, copy, and paste text, to set a breakpoint, and to edit the file properties and settings.
  • Editor Pane - Tabs The context menu has options to close the selected file and to view the file's properties and settings.
  • Help - Contents pane The context menu has options to go back, forward, home, to print, to select all the text, and to copy the selected text.
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Toolbars

The Standard Toolbar below the Menu bar provides quick access to common editing functions. Also, the Rx Toolkit and the User Guide are accessible from the Standard Toolbar. To launch or close the Rx Toolkit, click the Rx Toolkit button, which has a mortar and pestle icon. For more information about Rx Toolkit, see Using Rx Toolkit. To launch the Komodo User Guide, click the Help button with the question mark icon.

The Debug Toolbar below the Standard Toolbar provides quick access to common debugging functions, such as Step Into and Step Over. For more information about debugging programs, see Debugging Programs.

To hide or show toolbars, or to hide or show button text, do one of the following:

  • From the View menu, select Toolbars.
  • Right-click on a menu bar or toolbar, and toggle the check mark beside the pertinent option.
  • From the Edit menu, select Preferences. Click the Appearance option and check or uncheck the desired options.
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Projects Pane

The top left pane of the Komodo workspace is labeled "Projects", and displays projects that are currently open. Hide or display the list of files associated with the project by clicking the symbol to the left of the project name. When the symbol is displayed as plus sign, the file display is collapsed. When the symbol is displayed as a minus sign, the file display is expanded.

Related Topics:

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Editor Pane

The large pane in the middle of the Komodo workspace is the Editor Pane. The Editor Pane is used for editing and debugging. Each open file has a corresponding tab at the top of the Editor Pane. You can open numerous files at the same time. Change the order of the tabs by clicking and dragging tabs to their desired position. The name of the active file (that is, the file that is currently displayed in the Editor Pane) is displayed in bold text. Use the left and right arrow buttons on the right side of the tabs to scroll though open files. Use the close button "X" on the right side of the tab display to close the active file. An asterisk beside the file name indicates that the file has been changed since it was opened, and needs to be saved.

Related Topics:

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Toolbox Pane

The pane in the top right of the Komodo workspace contains the Toolbox, which is used to store a variety of items for easy access. For example, you can place frequently-used files, code snippets, commands, and URLs in the Toolbox. You can add items to the Toolbox, as well as to folders within the Toolbox. You can import items into the Toolbox and export items as Komodo project files. Items that can be added to the Toolbox are displayed with associated icons for easy identification.

Related Topics:

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Output Pane

The Output Pane spans the width of the Komodo workspace and displays at the bottom of the screen. The Output Pane has a tabbed view with the following elements:

  • Output Tab displays the output of the debug process.
  • Variables Tab displays the call stack, the active variables in the debug process, and has a pane to watch variables change. For nested variables, click the plus symbol to the left of a variable name to view the contents of the variable. For more information about the call stack and watching variables, see Debugging Programs.
  • Find Results Tab displays the results of the "Find All" function. See Finding Words or Expressions for information about the "Find All" function.
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Collapsing and Resizing Panes

All panes in the Komodo Workspace can be resized or minimized.

Collapsing and Resizing the Projects Pane

To hide the Projects Pane, click the Show/Hide the Projects Pane button to the right of the pane (the button will turn blue when the mouse pointer hovers over it). Alternatively, select View|Projects Pane (Ctrl+Shift+P). To restore the Project Pane when it is hidden, click the Show/Hide the Projects Pane, or use the menu or shortcut keys.

To change the width of the Projects Pane, click and drag the right frame to the desired position.

To change the height of the Projects Pane, click and drag the center frame to the desired position.

Resizing the Editor Pane

When you want to get some coding done, you may want to maximize the Editor Pane. To resize the Editor Pane, click the Show/Hide the Projects Pane button immediately left of the pane. This hides the Projects Pane. Click the "show/hide" buttons for the Output Pane and Toolbox Pane to further expand the Editor Pane.

Resizing the Toolbox Pane

To hide the Toolbox Pane, click the Show/Hide the Toolbox Pane button to the left of the pane. (the button will turn blue when the mouse pointer hovers over it). Alternatively, select View|Toolbox Pane (Ctrl+Shift+T). To restore the Toolbox Pane when it is hidden, click the Show/Hide the Toolbox Pane button.

To change the width of the Toolbox Pane, click and drag the left frame to the desired position.

To change the height of the Toolbox Pane, click and drag the center frame to the desired position.

Collapsing and Resizing the Output Pane

To hide the Output Pane, click the Show/Hide the Output Pane button at the top of the pane. Alternatively, select View|Output Pane (Ctrl+Shift+O).To restore the Output Pane, click the "show/hide" button, or use the menu or shortcut keys. To resize the Output Pane, click the top frame and drag up or down.

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Getting Started with the Sample Project

Komodo's sample project includes a number of programs in different languages. Use these sample programs to familiarize yourself with Komodo's functionality.

Open the Sample Project and File

On Komodo's Getting Started page, click Open Sample Project. The Sample Project and its associated files will display in the Projects Pane.

To open a sample program, double-click the file name in the Projects Pane. The contents of the file will display in the Editor Pane.

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Edit a Sample Program

Komodo includes sample programs written in Perl, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Tcl, and XSLT. Each program is extensively annotated with comments and exercises that describe the Komodo's language-specific features. Open the sample programs for languages that interest you, and read the comments to explore Komodo's editing functionality. For a complete description of Komodo's editor functions, see Editing Files.

As an example, a brief description of the Python sample program (python_sample.py) follows. (For other languages, open the applicable sample file and review the comments.) Below, a brief description of each function in the sample Python file is annotated by line number; to display line numbers in the sample program, select Edit | Current File Settings, then check Show line numbers in the General section of the dialog.

  • Line 7 describes Code Folding (the ability to collapse and expand blocks of code)
  • Line 18 describes Background Syntax Checking (the indication of syntax errors with a red line)
  • Line 27 describes Syntax Coloring (the colorization of language elements)
  • Line 32 describes AutoCompletion and CallTips (hints for quick entry of methods, properties and parameters)
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Debug a Sample Program

Komodo provides debugging support for Perl, Python, PHP and XSLT. Komodo works with the core language distribution for Perl, Python and PHP to provide interpreter support. XSLT, on the other hand, is entirely self-contained. To debug the sample files for Perl, Python and PHP, you must configure the location of the language interpreter. See Configuring the Perl Debugger, Configuring the Python Debugger, or Configuring the PHP Debugger for instructions. Then open the sample file for the desired language, and view the comments in the "Debugging" section. Below, we will discuss general debugging functionality.

  1. Breakpoints In the sample program, click on the grey margin to the immediate left of the Editor Pane. A green circle will appear that indicates that a breakpoint has been set. When you run the debugger, program processing will stop at lines where breakpoints have been set.
  2. Run / Step Over / Step Into To start debugging, click the Go button on the debug toolbar. When debugging begins, the Output Pane will be displayed the in the bottom area of the Komodo workspace. The program will run until a breakpoint is encountered; when program execution pauses at a breakpoint, click "Step Into" to move through the program in single line increments, or "Step Over" to execute the entire function (as applicable), or "Step Out" to to execute the remainder of a function (as applicable).
  3. Output Tab Ensure that the tab labelled "Output" is at the front of the Output Pane. The program output will appear on this tab.
  4. Variables Tab Click the Variables tab on the Output Pane. On this tab, you can view the Call Stack, variables, and variable values, modify variable values, and add variables to the Watched Variablespane
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