Node:The console, Next:Windows limitations, Previous:Command line editing, Up:Release notes and installation guide for Windows

The Console Window

The console window used for the windowed executable is based on code written by Jan Wielemaker <jan@swi.psy.uva.nl>.

In SICStus 3.8 the console was enhanced with menu access to common Prolog flags and file operations. Most of these should be self explanatory. The Reconsult item in the File menu reconsults the last file consulted with use of the File menu. It will probably be replaced in the future with something more powerful.

Note that the menus work by simulating user input to the Prolog top level or debugger. For this reason, it is recommended that the menus are only used when SICStus is waiting for a goal at the top-level (or in a break level) or when the debugger is waiting for a command.

Console Preferences

The stream-based console window is a completely separate library, using its own configuration info. It will look at the environment variable CONSOLE which should contain a string of the form name:value{,name:value} where name is one of:

sl

The number of lines you can scroll back. There is no limit, but the more you specify the more memory will be used. Memory is allocated when data becomes available. The default is 200.

rows

The initial number of lines. The default is 24.

cols

The initial number of columns. The default is 80.

x

The X coordinate of the top-left corner. The default is determined by the system.

y

The Y coordinate of the top-left corner. The default is determined by the system.

On Windows 95 or 98, you will normally specify this in your autoexec.bat file. Here is an example:

% set CONSOLE=sl:600,x:400,y:400

On Windows NT and Windows 2000 or newer, you would use the System Control Panel.

Many of these settings are also accessible from the menu Settings of the console.