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6.7: Finding Methods

  • Page ID
    38003
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    There are two tools in Squeak to help you find messages; both can be dragged out of the Tools flap. They differ in both interface and functionality.

    The method finder was described at some length in Section 1.9; you can use it to find methods by name or by functionality. However, to look at the body of a method, the method finder opens a new browser. This can quickly become overwhelming.

    The message names browser has more limited search functionality: you type a fragment of a message selector in the search box, and the browser lists all methods that contain that fragment in their names, as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). However, it is a full-fledged browser: if you select one of the names in the left pane, all of the methods with that name are listed in the right pane, and can be browsed in the bottom pane. As with the class browser, the message names browser has a button bar that can be used to open other browsers on the selected method or its class.

    The method names browser.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The method names browser showing all methods containing the substring random in their selectors.

    This page titled 6.7: Finding Methods is shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Andrew P. Black, Stéphane Ducasse, Oscar Nierstrasz, Damien Pollet via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.