Bruno Ruviaro added Getting Help.tex  almost 10 years ago

Commit id: 85f64bc18cf396fdbbb20bc5be08defb9d280ab8

deletions | additions      

         

\section{Getting Help}  You should learn how to make good use of the Help files, even though sometimes they may sound cryptic. Often you will find useful examples at the bottom of each Help page. If you don't initially understand the verbal description, scroll down to check out the examples. You can run the examples directly from the Help browser, or you can copy and paste the code onto a new window to play around with it.   Select any valid class or method in your SuperCollider code (double-clicking the word will select it), and hit [ctrl+D] to open the corresponding Help file. If you selected a class name (for example, \texttt{MouseX}), you will be directed to the class Help file. If you selected a method, you will be directed to a list of classes that understand that method (for example, ask for help on the method \texttt{scramble}).  Other ways to explore the Help files in the SuperCollider IDE are the ``Browse'' and ``Search'' links. Use Browse to look around by categories, and Search to look for words in any help file. Important note about the Help Browser in the SuperCollider IDE:  \begin{itemize}  \item Use the top-right (field where it says ``Find...'') to look for specific words \emph{within the currently open Help file} (like you would do a ``find'' on a website);  \item Use the ``Search'' link (to the right of ``Browse'') to search text \emph{across all Help files}.  \end{itemize}  When you first open parentheses to start adding arguments to a given method, SC displays a little ``tooltip help'' to show you what the expected arguments are. For example, in figure \ref{fig:tooltip} we see that the arguments to a \texttt{SinOsc.ar} are \texttt{freq}, \texttt{phase}, \texttt{mul}, and \texttt{add}. It also shows us what the default values are. If you would like explicitly name your arguments, you can hit the tab key right after opening the parentheses, and SC will autocomplete the right argument names for you, in order.  \begin{figure}[h]  \centerline{\framebox{  \includegraphics[scale=0.2]{fig-help-tooltip-crop.png}}}  \caption{Tooltip help}  \label{fig:tooltip}  \end{figure}  \bigskip  \todo[inline, color=green!40]{   TIP: Create a folder with your own ``personalized help files.'' Whenever you figure out some new trick or learn a new object, write a simple example with explanations in your own words, and save it for the future. A month or a year from now it may come in handy.   }  \bigskip  The exact same Help files can also be found online at \url{http://doc.sccode.org/}.