Snapshots
- A snapshot stores the state of a SELF world.
- Background middle-button menu items:
Save snapshot - writes to default name
Save Snapshot as... -- dialog allows name, options to be changed,
Quit... -- allows you to quit, save then quit, or cancel.
- To restart the snapshot, just invoke the snapshot from the command line.
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More practical issues: saving, quitting, resuming
As you work in Self, you will create new objects and modify existing
objects. At any point, you can save the current state of all objects in the system in
a snapshot file. Use the `Save snapshot' or `Save snapshot as...' menu items on the
background middle-button (yellow) menu.`
`Save snapshot' writes to the default name, which is usually the same name used
at start-up. Saving a snapshot does not overwrite an existing snapshot; the old
snapshot is renamed to have a .backup suffix (which may lose a previous
backup).
`Save snapshot as...' engages the user in a dialog. The dialog allows the user to
change the default snapshot name, and set various snapshot-related options.
These are explained in the dialog; we will not cover them here.
You can quit the system using the `Quit...' menu item. This will give you the
options of saving a snapshot before quitting, quitting immediately, or continuing
in the system.
When you restart a snapshot, the Self system, including the user interface,
will be restored to its state at the time that the snapshot was made. (Exception:
Release 4.0 does not save the state of processes in snapshots. Thus, processes that
were running must be restarted when the snapshot is restarted. For system
processes (such as the user interface), this is done automatically. The state of
suspended processes, including those being debugged, is, unfortunately, lost.)
It is a good idea to make snapshots periodically as you work, especially before
introducing a risky change.
If you wish to keep multiple snapshots, but disk space is at a premium, you should
investigate the compression and code-saving options on the snapshot dialog.
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