Tutorial

To work with these tutorial sessions you need to download and start the Glee interpreter. If you use the .exe form it will automatically self extract into the C:\GLEE\ directory. The executable is c:\glee\glee.exe. Just run it and you will see the test stand form that I use to test my work. The upper large pane is the code pane. You can copy examples from the tutorial sessions and paste them into this pane. Then press the G button (for GO) and it will run the example delivering results to the lower large pane. I recommend you then experiment by changing code in the upper pane, running it, and observing the behavior in the lower pane.

Note: If an operator is not documented, it cannot be assumed to work even if it appears in the cheatsheet. In these cases, these are planned features not yet implemented. All tutorials work because the documentation is produced by running the examples.

Click on the links in the table above to navigate the tutorial. You can always get back to here by clicking Tutorial in the left frame. I suggest you do the tutorial in columns beginning on the left. Proceed top to bottom, left to right.

Throughout this tutorial I use a style of example and exposition. The tutorial items are of the form:

	Code	Result
	1+2	3

You can click on the commentary buttons  (note: clicking this particular one does nothing) to see my comments in the bottom frame (or sometimes in a separate window). You should do this if the example isn't obvious to you. This one is pretty clear.

There is a sizing bar between the frames which you can move to suit your taste.

I recommend that you download and install the Glee interpreter before doing the tutorial. Before starting the tutorial, familiarize yourself with the Glee form and controls. Reach it through the Form Map bullet in the left pane.The tutorials are designed to teach by example. The learning is reinforced by actually doing it. Concepts are further reinforced by your trying other things similar to the examples. This gives a feel for the more general behavior of the concepts presented. Don't be timid ... you can't hurt anything.

You can cut the examples from the code column and paste them into the Glee interpreter source code pane or if they are on a single line, into the parse pane. Then just press the "G" or "Parse" button (respectively) and the result is displayed in the output pane.

This tutorial, like Glee itself, is a work in process. As I receive questions and note confusing concepts, I will add to the tutorial to cover them. Additionally, the state of Glee is way ahead of this tutorial. Right now, I am spending all my time bringing the documentation of Glee up to date and presentable through this site. When that is accomplished, I will return to the interpreter. From thereon I will do implementing and documenting in lock-step.

Until I get Glee code written that contrasts the versions of Glee and its documentation, I won't be strictly enumerating changes ... I will just make them. I will be adding things at a fast rate. You may want to browse the tutorial occasionally to see if there are new concepts presented that you didn't know about.

I am serializing both the Website and the interpreter code so you can know how up to date you are. Make note of the version numbers of this documentation (just under the logo in the left frame) and version of the interpreter (in its title bar).

I sometimes elaborate on simple concepts to reveal ancillary Glee features and techniques. It's a good idea the first time through to click for commentary on each item, just in case I was using something simple to present or allude to something deeper.

Finally note that this entire website is downloadable. It's relatively small so you can download it often and be freed from the web to pursue the tutorials. The website installs in C:\GLEE\Website..

Be patient. Glee is very simple and forgiving. But it's going to take a little while before you'll be able to use Glee to build an accounting system or a web page server for your company. (but that is where we're going with this). For the moment, view it as a very powerful desk calculator and get comfortable with its style. (I actually keep a shortcut to it on my desktop and use it frequently.)