Use your own text editor and run from shell?

Integration and Hardware

karono

Use your own text editor and run from shell?

in Integration and Hardware • 9 months ago

Hi, I'm really new to Processing and love it so far.

Im a software engineering student on a Mac and I love to code in the vim text editor.

That's why I was wondering: Can I compile and run a Processing text file from the Terminal somehow?

Like you would compile and start a java program:

javac Abc.java
java Abc

Cheers,

Kai

Replies(9)

PhiLho

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

There is a processing-java executable that can compile and run sketches. It replaces the external editor facility. Search the forum, there is a whole thread about this.

karono

Re: Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

And where would that thread be? Couldn't find it searching for: "java executable"

PhiLho

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

Search for external editor instead.

karono

Re: Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

Ok that finds me a lot of threads talking about that issue where people fiddle around with some java-processing.exe file. Maybe I didn't get the correct thread yet. Could you link me to the correct thread (if you know it anyway)? Or even better: explain where I can find that executable (for Mac / Linux) and give an example how to use it? Is there any manual for that?

monkstone

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

https://forum.processing.org/topic/processing-java-shortcut-in-vimrc
with just a search for vim what are on/or not on (karono not philho)!!!!

PhiLho

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

The name is processing-java, not java-processing.
I have only Windows, so I cannot tell for other platforms, but processing-java.exe is just next to processing.exe, at the top-level of the Processing install folder.
If you run the executable without parameters, it will just list them.

When I look at http://processing.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/processing/build/shared/revisions.txt I see:

+ Command line support is now available for Java mode. On Windows and Linux, 
  use the processing-java program. On Mac OS X, there's an option in the 
  Tools menu to install the command line tool. 
  http://code.google.com/p/processing/issues/detail?id=142

karono

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

Thanks everyone. I got processing-java installed now. Is there a good documentation for the command line tool somewhere?

Particularly I wonder: Why do I need to specify an output folder, what goes there and why does it have to be different than the input-folder?

PhiLho

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

" what goes there"
Just try it?

If you run it without parameters, it gives a short summary of its options. I don't think there is much more so far (beside the threads I pointed to).

When Processing runs a sketch, it generates a .java file from the .pde one, and compile it. Usually, it does that in a temp folder.
The output folder is used to do that. It must be distinct from the sketch folder, because otherwise you would mix your hand-written file with generated file, which is a bad practice in programming. And it increases risks of loosing a file.

karono

Re: Use your own text editor and run from shell?

9 months ago

Thanks for the explanation :)

I assumed first, that just like any other compiler tool, processing-java would simply take a file and compile it. When that didn't work I got confused. Got it working now. But you have to admit it's not entirely intuitive - contrary to the Processing language itself, which I find very optimized for intuition.

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