Apex: Getting Started (Windows)

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	Getting Started with Apex in Windows

	Version 2.3 These instructions assume basic knowledge of how to use Windows. They provide a guide for installation and startup of Apex and its graphical user interface Sherpa, along with information about getting Gnu Emacs text editor and programming environment. Note: Apex has been tested only in Windows 2000. It will probably work in similar versions of Windows. Please contact us on how this goes. Installation Installing the Java JRE Installing Emacs Installing Apex Usage Starting Apex Quitting Apex Caveats Extra Steps Installing the Java JRE Before running Apex's Sherpa, check that Sun's Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.3.1 or later is installed. You may also download the JRE 1.3.1 here. Installing Emacs Gnu Emacs, a product of the Free Software Foundation is the recommended text editor to use with Apex. Emacs is preferred because it is the easiest editor for Common Lisp, the programming language of Apex. It also provides the convenience of running the Apex Listener inside the Emacs window. In addition, Gnu Emacs is also a general work environment offering a multitude of useful features. A version of Emacs that has been tested with Apex is available here. After unpacking the distribution, it is ready to execute. You may want to create a Windows shortcut for it on your desktop. If you are new to Emacs, you can try its excellent tutorial, available in its Help menu. There is a variant of Gnu Emacs you can get called Xemacs. Apex will probably not work with Xemacs, but if there is interest, support for Xemacs may be added at a later date. Installing Apex Assuming you have unpacked your Apex distribution, Apex is essentially installed. You may place it anywhere on your computer. Note: In order for the Emacs interface to work correctly, there must not be spaces in the names of any of the folders containing the Apex installation. Starting Apex Apex and Sherpa must be started separately. They can be started in either order. To start Apex, double click on the Apex icon in the distribution folder. To start Sherpa, double click on the Sherpa icon in the distribution folder. Apex may also be started within Emacs. Also, see the file apex.el in the eli subfolder of your distribution folder. Quitting Apex Apex and Sherpa must be quit separately. To quit Sherpa, select Quit from its File menu, or close its window. However, it is not necessary to quit and restart Sherpa while using Apex. This is true even if Apex is quit (or dies) and restarted. In these cases, simply reset Sherpa by selecting Reset from its File menu. To quit Apex, type (exit) at the Apex Listener prompt. Documentation The documentation for Apex is found in the Apex Reference Manual. Note the manual revision date and check for updates. Caveats These are the known problems specific to this release and platform. Additional known problems in all platforms are found in the release notes. Due to bugs in the Common Lisp system, starting Apex from Emacs does not work smoothly. You will need to perform two extra steps: Typing (emacs) at the Listener prompt when Apex starts, and answering yes to the waiting prompt in Emacs (if there is one). You will then have two Listeners in separate windows. One is for Emacs and the original Listener window used to launch Emacs. You may use either or both without any difference in performance. Although, communication with Sherpa takes place only with the original Listener. The fact that the original Listener window persists is the result of a bug. Only the Emacs Listener is desired. Franz, Inc., our Common Lisp provider, is working on these bugs.

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