Server Guide

Step 5: Producing the packaged single image

To produce the packaged image, select Browse Packaged Images from the Tools menu of the XD Transcript window:

  1. The first time you package an application in this passive image, the XD Packager Control Panel window will open with the Create New Instructions tab in the foreground. Subsequent packaging commands will open the XD Packager Control Panel with the Instructions In Memory tab in the foreground.

    If you are packaging a previously packaged application image again, choose one of the previously packaged application's instructions. To package an application as a single image for the first time, select Create New Instructions and then select a Single Image radio button. You can change the name of the packaged instruction by entering a new name in the input area to the right. In the example provided below, the single image will be packaged as Sample Single Image.
    XD Packager Control Panel window

  2. Select the Modify Instructions tab from the procedure bar at the bottom of the screen. The active procedure step will have a white background.
  3. In the XD Packager Control Panel window, select the Applications and ICs tab at the top of the window. There are three panes displayed in this window. The left pane contains applications that are available in this passive image but which are not currently included in the packaged image. The center pane contains applications which are to be included in the packaged image.

    To move applications from the left pane to the center pane, select the application in the left pane and press the >> key. If you want to specifically exclude applications from the packaged image before reducing the non-referenced methods, select the applications you do not want in the packaged image in the center pane and move them to the left pane. Ensure that the application you are packaging and its prerequisite applications are in the center pane.
    Press arrow key(s) to move applications

  4. Select the Startup Code tab from the top of the window. To specify a startup class, select one from the Image Startup Class drop-down list. To specify the launch code for the application, type it into the Application Entry Point input area. To specify the file name for the packaged image, type it into the Output File input area. You can also select Choose to open a file selection window. Note that when you complete the Modify Instructions step, the yellow flag is removed from the upper right corner of the procedure step at the bottom of the window.
    Specifying launch code
  5. Select the Reduce procedure step at the bottom of the window. This will minimize the components in the packaged image. Note that when you complete the Reduce step, the yellow flag is removed from the upper right corner of the procedure step at the bottom of the window.
  6. Select the Examine & Fix Problems procedure step at the bottom of the window. From this window you can browse any errors that the packager has found. Also from this window you can choose Image Contents from the Browse menu to display the applications, classes, and methods that have been included in the packaged image. You can modify the included objects from the image content browser.
  7. Once the problems have been fixed, you should save the packaging instructions. This needs to be done before you output the image. You do not need to save the instructions, but once the XD Packager Control Panel window is closed, any packaged image instructions that were not saved are unrecoverable. To save the packaged image's instructions, select the Save Instructions procedure step at the bottom of the window:
    1. Select the Save these instructions radio button.
    2. Select the Keep these instructions in memory radio button.
    3. In the Save Instructions box, supply a class name in the as class input area and an application name in the in application input area. The example below displays SampleSinglePackagerClass as the class name and SampleSinglePackagerApp as the application name. You can also choose an application from the available list of applications by selecting Choose Application.
      Save Instructions
    4. Press the Save Now button. Once the packaging instructions have been saved, you can re-package the same application when you open the packaged images browser by selecting Instructions In Memory from the Choose Instructions procedure step at the bottom of the window.
    Tip icon
    For cross-platform debugging in XD, use options available from the Snapshot menu to store a snapshot of your image and packaging instructions. You can store the snapshot to a file (.snp file) or to the library.
  8. Select the Output Image procedure step at the bottom of the window. The applications will be packaged into the file name you supplied on the Startup Code panel under Modify Instructions.
  9. If you are packaging with the interactive debugger, you are prompted to specify the destination identifier that is associated with the development workstation to be notified if a Smalltalk error occurs. See Using the interactive debugger for more information. The specification you supply is saved globally throughout the images. If you do not make this specification, a Smalltalk error in your application will produce a stack dump. To change the workstation address at any time, select Set Workstation Address from the XD menu of the XD Transcript window.
    Note:All packaging specifications that reside in memory will be reset to Reduce again.

When closing the XD Packager Control Panel, the options on the Save Instructions window determine the action taken for each packaging instruction, if the instructions were not saved during the packaging process. If you saved the packaging instructions during the packaging process, you can close the Packager Control Panel without concerning yourself about whether the instructions will or will not be saved. The Save or Don't Save radio buttons options are as follows:

The Keep or Don't keep in memory radio buttons options are as follows:

The default setting for a single image is to save the instructions and to keep the instructions in memory.

References

Running a packaged image

To test your packaged image, create an .ini file having the same base name as the packaged image and then use the appropriate command:

Windows NT and OS/2
esvio -i<image name>
UNIX
abtnx -i<image name>
OS/390
esvio -i<image name>

Running an OS/400 packaged image

To run a packaged image you must have installed OS/400 option 33: Private Address Environment and the VisualAge Smalltalk Server for AS/400e PRPQ on your AS/400e system.

To test your packaged image, upload the image into the AS/400 IFS Root File System and run it using the following command:

runst '-i<image name>'
 

The RUNST command takes only a one string parameter that can be retrieved from your application using System commandLine.


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