Browser documentation

Kurt A. VanLehn
Last revised: January 1, 1982

<LISPUSERS>BROWSER modifies the SHOW PATHS command of Masterscope so that the command’s output is displayed as an undirected graph. It loads <LISPUSERS>GRAPHER. The Browser calls LAYOUTFOREST to generate a graph showing the calling hierarchy. The format is controled by the two variables BROWSERFORMAT and BROWSERBOXING (which are set intially to display horizontally and to box functions that occur more than once in the graph). The graph is then displayed using SHOWGRAPH. In general, the Browser creates a new window for each SHOW PATHS command, but will reuse a window if that window has an earlier instance of the same SHOW PATHS command displayed in it. The windows can be reshaped and scrolled with the normal window menu commands.

The windows are "active" in that nodes in the graph (i.e., functions) can be selected for printing or editting using the mouse. The letting up on the red button causes the nearest function to be pretty printed in the Browser’s printout window. Selecting the same function again will describe the function, using the Masterscope DESCRIBE command, in the Browser’s describe window. Selecting a function with the yellow button will call the display editor on it. The graph is not updated automatically when one returns from the editor; the user must give the SHOW PATHS command over if desired.

The Browser modification to Masterscope can be undone by calling (BROWSER NIL). This restores the teletype-oriented output of SHOW PATHS. (BROWSER T) turns the Browser back on.