Getting Started with REBOL/Command
REBOL/Command Version 2.5.6
Contents:
1. Overview
1.1 Where's the Documentation?
1.2 What's in this Distribution?
1.3 Need Help?
1.4 License Agreement
2. Locating REBOL
3. Standard Startup Files
4. Network Setup
5. Proxy Setup
6. Running REBOL
6.1 Running from Icons
6.2 Running from a Shell
6.3 Quitting REBOL
7. REBOL Scripts
8. Security
1. Overview
REBOL/Command is easy to setup and use. It does not require
installation. You can simply run the executable file and Command
will start. In order to use the network protocols you will need
to provide a few network details. See the Network Setup section
below.
1.1 Where's the Documentation?
The REBOL/Command distribution package includes all related
documentation. This includes documentation specific to Command
as well as more general REBOL documentation.
All documentation including the REBOL User's Guide are
available from the documentation page of our
web site.
1.2 What's in this Distribution?
The following files are included as part of this distribution:
| | rebcmd (.exe) | The REBOL/Command executable program.
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| | rebcmdview (.exe) | The REBOL/Command/View executable program.
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| | rebol (.exe) | REBOL/Core of same version as /Command.
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| | license.key | The REBOL/Command license file. This file needs to be
placed in the same directory as the REBOL program you are using. See
the section on Installation for more information.
|
| | docs/ | The docs directory contains the REBOL/Command
documentation files in HTML format.
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1.3 Need Help?
There are several sources of help about REBOL:
- Feedback - For bug reports, type: do %feedback.r at the REBOL
prompt. Alternately, you can send us email at feedback@rebol.com.
- Online Help - The built-in help function provides the
description, arguments, and refinements for all functions. Type
"help" at the REBOL prompt for more information. Several help
options are available.
- Script Library - The script library on the
REBOL web site provides many simple and useful examples to
help you better understand REBOL.
- Source Function - You can obtain the source to many REBOL
functions by using the "source" function from the console.
For example, "source join" would show you the source code
for the join function.
- Mailing lists - There are a few mailing lists that discuss a
variety of REBOL subjects. They are listed on the REBOL developers
page.
1.4 License Agreement
The license agreement can be viewed at any time from within
the product by typing:
at the REBOL prompt.
2. Locating REBOL
You can locate REBOL/Command in any directory on your system. You can
also copy or move it to any other directory on your disk because no
installation is required. You can have multiple versions of
REBOL/Command present without conflicts. If you move REBOL/Command to
a new directory, the license.key file in this distribution must also
be moved with it.
3. Standard Startup Files
When REBOL starts, it attempts to load:
| | rebol.r | A patch file (normally empty) that may be provided
by REBOL Technologies.
|
| | user.r | A file that holds user preferences. You can use it for
common code that will be loaded each time you run REBOL. On multi-user
systems, there can be a different user.r for every user. The user.r
file is not part of the distribution.
|
4. Network Setup
When you first run REBOL/Command/View, it will allow you to setup your
network configuration. These setting can be changed at any time
directly from the REBOL desktop.
REBOL/Command does not have a graphical configuration. In order
to setup your network configuration, type:
from the REBOL prompt. The set-net.r script will ask all the
required questions to get your network services running.
The first question will request your email address. Type it as
you would normally; for example, name@domain.com.
The second question asks the name of your email server. If you
don't know it, check the settings or options menu of your
current email program. Hint: if your email address is
bob@example.com, your email server may be mail.example.com.
Otherwise, contact the network service provider for the name of
the email SMTP server.
The third question asks if you use a proxy server. If you are
directly connected to the Internet with a modem or ethernet,
then the answer is N for no. Otherwise, read the following
section on proxy setup.
If you make a mistake or later decide to change any of these
network settings, run the set-net.r file again or manually edit
your user.r file.
You can also terminate the dialog at any time by pressing the
escape key.
All network settings are stored in the %user.r file, and can be
modified with any text editor. The network setting appear in
a line the begins with set-net. For example:
set-net [luke@rebol.com mail none none]
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The line can be modify to provide your startup network configuration.
See the REBOL/Command
User's Guide for more information.
5. Proxy Setup
Some organizations use a firewall system or proxy server to
access the Internet. To operate with these systems, you will
need to provide additional network information.
When REBOL asks if you use a proxy, answer by typing a Y for
yes. You will then be prompted for the name of your proxy host.
This is the computer or firewall that operates as a proxy.
Next, you will be asked for the port number used by that system
for proxy requests. Typically, this is port 1080 for SOCKS proxy
servers, but it can vary depending on the setup. If you don't
know, look at the Web browser settings or ask your network
administrator.
REBOL defaults to using a SOCKS proxy protocol. You can specify
another other type of proxy by editing the user.r file and
supplying the set-net function with the appropriate
identification for the type of proxy being used. These settings
are supported:
socks - use the latest SOCKS version (5)
socks5 - use socks5 proxy
socks4 - use socks4 proxy
generic - use generic CERN proxy
none - use no proxy
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For example, to setup a proxy the set-net line in user.r would
look something like:
set-net [luke@rebol.com mail none our-proxy 1080 socks]
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See the REBOL/Command User's Guide for more
information.
6. Running REBOL
REBOL can be run from Icons or from a shell command line.
6.1 Running from Icons
REBOL can be started by clicking on the REBOL program icon, an
associated .r file icon, or a shortcut icon. REBOL/Command does not
automatically associate .r files to REBOL (however, that option
is available in REBOL/Link). See your specific operating system
for more information about icons.
6.2 Running from a Shell
REBOL can be started from the command line with a variety of
arguments. To view the options available for any REBOL version,
type
at the REBOL prompt.
The format of argument fields on the command line is:
REBOL options script args
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All of the arguments are optional and any combination is permitted.
Options -- one or more of the program options as listed below.
Script -- a script file to evaluate.
Args -- arguments passed to the script.
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Typically, you will provide REBOL with the name of the script
file that you want to evaluate. For instance:
To run this script with an option, such as with security turned off:
The dash (-) is used for a single-character option (shorthand).
A double dash is used for a full-word options. This is standard
practice on many operating systems.
For instance, to obtain usage information about REBOL, type:
To run the program without opening a separate window:
REBOL -w
REBOL --nowindow
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To use REBOL scripts with CGI, you can write a command line that
changes multiple options at the same time:
This will run in CGI mode with security turned off. This is
required for various web servers that restrict the number of
arguments allowed on the command line (such as the Apache
server on Linux).
You may use "--" to signal the end of command line switches.
All remaining items on the command line will be passed to REBOL
as an argument.
REBOL -- this is an argument
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In this case it is assumed that you have a default script
specified in your user.r file.
6.3 Quitting REBOL
You can quit REBOL at any time by typing:
This can be done within any part of a script:
if now/time > 12:00 [quit]
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7. REBOL Scripts
REBOL scripts are written as text files, allowing you to create
and modify them with any text editor. The normal suffix for
REBOL scripts is .r, but any suffix is permitted.
Every script begins with the word REBOL followed by a header
that provides information about the script. The header has many
uses, including identification, documentation, archiving,
revision tracking, and script requirements.
Here is an example script with a typical header:
REBOL [
Title: "Example Script"
Date: 24-mar-2001
File: %include.r
Version: 1.2.3
Author: "Luke Lakeswimmer"
Purpose: {
Just show the folks how it's done.
}
]
print read http://www.rebol.com
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See the REBOL/Command User's Guide for complete details.
8. Security
By default, security is set to prevent scripts from modifying or
deleting any files or directories on your disk. This is for your
own safety.
For scripts that you trust, you can run REBOL with a variety of
security settings that control file and network security,
including file and directory sandboxes.
| Security Warning | |
Only you, the user, can approve changes to security.
When running REBOL, if you receive a security warning, do
not approve a change of security or allow file
operations if you do not trust the script. Inspect the script
first before running it or obtain the script from a well trusted
source.
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To disable security for your own scripts, you can run REBOL with
security disabled. For instance, if you use an editor or development
environment to interactively develop scripts, run REBOL with a
command line such as:
When working this way, take caution to only run scripts that you
have written or scripts that you trust completely.
See the REBOL/Command User's Guide for complete details.
| | REBOL/MakeDoc 2.0 | REBOL is a registered trademark of REBOL Technologies Copyright 2003 REBOL Technologies | 6-Aug-2003 |
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