your first perl program in eclipse

Now that you have spent so much time getting Eclipse working, it is time to try your first program.

The Ambient plug-in allows one to browse code online by using a tool called Snarf. Basically, we will provide you with some code as a framework and possibly some data files for each homework assignment and Snarf will allow you to import these files into your local copy of Eclipse. To start your first program, follow the directions below.

1.) Open Eclipse after setting up everything as described in the first tutorial.

• Select Ambient > Snarf.
• This should open a new tab at the bottom called Snarf Browser. If it does not:
  • Select Window > Show View > Other...
  • Click Duke Tools then select Snarf Browser and hit ok.
• Right-click in the Snarf Browser window, and select New Site.
• In the window type http://www.cs.duke.edu/courses/cps160/spring05/snarf/.
• Click through the list until you find first, and double click on it.
• Click the Install Project... button, and in the window that pops up check the Use Default box, and click Next then Finish.
• You can then double-click first perl program in the Navigator window near the upper left head corner of the program and then double click first.pl.
• If you do not see a Navigator window, it could be that you are in the wrong perspective. If this is the case:
  • Select Window > Open Perspective > Other...
  • Select Perl then hit OK.

2.) Now we will try running the simple Perl program that you downloaded.

• Click the button in the bar at the top that looks like a green circle with a white arrowhead and a red suitcase in front of it.
• This should create a Console tab at the very bottom. If it does not:
  • Select Window > Show View > Other...
  • Click Basic then select Consle and hit ok.
• Click the Console tab.
• At the command prompt, type perl first.pl.
• You can see the program run printing out the minimum and maximum values of the array.
• Type exit to stop the console. Otherwise, it will continue running the command prompt, using up your machine's resources.

You can just repeat step 2.) every time you edit the program. For each assignment, we will provide a codebase for you to work from, which you will always be able to import by Snarfing.

Submitting projects for grading

You can submit your code from within Eclipse. This can be done by selecting the Ambient menu, and then clicking on Submit Project for Grading. This will bring up a submit window. The top box is for what class and assignment you wish to submit. Click on cps160 and select the problem folder. The bottom window is what you wish to submit. You will need to know the location of your project. Click the Browse... button and select your problem set directory. Hit OK, and the bottom window should then display all of the items in that directory. Check only the perl files (orfs.pl, p53.pl and plasmid.pl) and the readme.txt file. These are the files you will be submitting. Then hit submit. You will be asked to enter your Acpub ID and password. Now, you have submitted your project! You can submit as many time as you like, as everything is stored on the server. Thus, if you realize that you did something incorrectly at the last minute, you can resubmit and we will see you updated submission.

Submitting a sample project

Following the directions above, try submitting the TODO project to ensure that you are able to submit using snarf.