PLT Tools

PLT is short for The Programming Language Team at Rice University . One goal of the PLT is to produce high-quality development environments for high-level languages. The current embodiment of this goal is DrScheme, the PLT's development environment for Scheme.

DrScheme is a sophisticated environment that comprises many smaller components. Simple user interface documentation for DrScheme can be found in the main DrScheme manual, plus a few other manuals targeted at the most visible parts of DrScheme:

• DrScheme is an environment for developing and debugging Scheme applications. General user information is in PLT DrScheme: Development Environment Manual../drscheme/index.htm. This manual also provides information for developers who want to extend the environment.
• MrSpidey is the static debugger that is built into DrScheme. MrSpidey analyzes programs and highlights potential errors in the program source. Information about using the static debugger is in PLT MrSpidey: Static Debugger Manual../mrspidey/index.htm.

DrScheme's core language and graphical operating system are documented separately:

• The Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme../r4rs/index/htm is the definition of the basic Scheme language.
• MzScheme (pronounced ``Ms. Scheme'') is the core PLT Scheme implementation. It is documented in PLT MzScheme: Language Manual../mzscheme/index.htm. MzScheme is incorporated directly into MrEd and DrScheme.
• MrEd is a high-level graphical operating system based on MzScheme. MrEd is composed of two subparts:
  • MrEd Engine - an executeable. The engine incorporates the MzScheme runtime system and implements the primitive graphical operating system and graphical toolbox. The graphical toolbox's built-in names all begin with the wx: prefix.
  • MrEd System - Scheme code. The system is loaded by the engine at startup to extend the primitive toolbox with more powerful classes. System extension names are prefixed with mred:. The system also provides a basic development shell with access to the graphical operating system.
  MrEd is documented in PLT MrEd: Graphical Toolbox Manual../toolbox/index.htm. DrScheme is implemented as a MrEd application.
• MzLib is a library of Scheme utilities provided with MzScheme. MzLib is documented along with MzScheme.
• The match pattern-matching syntax is part of MzLib, but documented separately in Pattern Matching for Scheme../match/index.htm.

Low-level information can be useful to developers extending DrScheme, developers making C/C++-based extensions available in MzScheme, or developers embeddeding MzScheme into other applications:

• McMicMac is the parsing front-end for DrScheme. McMicMac perserves source location information for run-time errors, and supports user-level syntax extensions (``macros''). McMicMac is documented in PLT McMicMac: Parser Manual../m3/index.htm.
• MzScheme can be extended with new C/C++-based primitives or embedded into a C/C++ program. Information for extending and embedding MzScheme is in Inside PLT MzScheme../insidemz/index.htm.
• xctocc is a utility that helps produce ``glue'' code for extending MzScheme with new C++-based classes. The utility is described in PLT xcctocc: C++ Glue Generator Manual../xctocc/index.htm.

The low-level manuals are not indexed here.