SiMPLE's "Drag & Drop" Capability



SiMPLE has a "Drag & Drop" capability which, for most users, virtually eliminates the need for a command-line window. Anyone can easily run a SiMPLE program by merely dropping its source listing text file onto an icon. (In fact, you could probably even train a monkey to do it!)

To illustrate, consider the example source listing shown below:

Source Listing

To run the above example program (even if you don't know how to read the listing), merely perform the following three steps:

  1. Copy the source listing into the Windows Clipboard (by right-clicking anywhere on the source listing, then choosing "Select All", and then "Copy")

  2. Use any text editor (such as Windows Notepad) to paste the Clipboard into a new text document

  3. Drop that text document onto the "Drop SiMPLE Listing Here" icon

A black window will open, and the words: "translating....", "compiling....", and "linking...." will briefly appear. Then the program will begin executing.

Now, wasn't that fun and easy? In fact, SiMPLE's "Drag & Drop" capability makes running a program as easy as "one-two-three":

1-Copy ... 2-Paste ... 3-Drop!

(But the real fun comes when you start creating your own source listings!)

Have fun with SiMPLE, The Programming Language For Kids!Everyone!

With SiMPLE's "Drag & Drop" capability, most of the original command-line functionality (OPEN, RUN, GO, etc.) can now be performed as "point & click" operations directly from your Windows desktop with you as the manager! (For example, to "GO" to a new project, you would now simply create a new folder anywhere you like. To "OPEN" a program's source listing, you would merely double-click its text document. To "ZAP" a program, you would just drag its text document into the Windows Recycle Bin. Etc.)

Since you are now the manager of your "SiMPLE environment", you might want to consider creating your own separate "project" folders to more conveniently manage your source listings. (Tell me more.) Also, since the "Drop SiMPLE Listing Here" icon can be located anywhere you choose, you might want to place a copy of that icon into each of those folders for your convenience.

Whenever a "Drag & Drop" program successfully compiles and runs, a copy of its executable file is stored in the same location (or folder) as where the source listing is located. This allows you to easily rerun the program without having to drag and drop its source listing every time. If the name of the source listing file is eight characters or less in length, the executable file will have the same name as the source listing, but with a ".EXE" extension. If the name of the source listing file is more than eight characters in length, the executable file will have the name "SiMPLE.EXE". (If the executable file fails to appear, it can be retrieved from SiMPLE's "PROJECT" folder as a file named "SIMPLE.EXE".)

The "Drag & Drop" capability works in both the Pro-SiMPLE and Ultra-SiMPLE "universes". The universe that is used depends on the mode that was most recently set by the "PRO" and "ULTRA" command-line commands. A way of automatically selecting a desired universe is to include either a "Pro" or "Ultra" compiler directive at the beginning of your listing. This will override the current command-line setting. (You may also use "Pro-SiMPLE" or "Ultra-SiMPLE" as the compiler directives.)

On some systems, the "Drag & Drop window" that opens may have a flickering scrollbar on the right-hand side:

This flicker does not impair the operation of the window in any way. But it is easy to eliminate. Show me how.



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