2.14: Chapter Summary

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This chapter has introduced you to the Pharo environment and shown you how to use some of the major tools, such as the System Browser, Spotter, the Finder, the Debugger, and the Test Runner. You have also seen a little of Pharo’s syntax, even though you may not understand it all yet.

A running Pharo system consists of a virtual machine, a .sources file, and .image and .changes files. Only these last two change, as they record a snapshot of the running system.
When you open a Pharo image, you will find yourself in exactly the same state (i.e., with exactly the same running objects) that you had when you last saved that image.
You can click on the Pharo background to bring up the World Menu and launch various tools.
A Playground is a tool for writing and evaluating snippets of code. You can also use it to store arbitrary text.
You can use keyboard shortcuts on text in the playground, or any other tool, to evaluate code. The most important of these are Do it (CMD-d), Print it (CMD-p), Inspect it (CMD-i), and Browse it (CMD-b).
The System Browser is the main tool for browsing Pharo code and for developing new code.
The Test runner is a tool for running unit tests, and aids in Test Driven Development.
The Debugger allows you to examine errors and exceptions (such as errors or failures encountered when running tests). You can even create new methods right in the debugger.