
Installation instructions
=========================

Copy the file "m_tads.fte" in the directory which contains the FTE
configuration files (on most Unix systems this should be "/etc/fte/").
Insert the following line in FTE's main configuration file (in
"main.fte"):

    include 'm_tads.fte';

Recompile the configuration file (either by using the "cfte" utility or
from inside FTE; read the FTE documentation for details). From now on,
all files with an extension of ".t", ".tad", ".tads" or ".twc"
(WorldClass), will be opened in TADS mode. Files which lack a standard
extension will be recognized as TADS source files if they contain any
of the following strings in the first 80 characters of the first line:

    (not case sensitive)

    TADS
    adv.t
    ts_std.t
    pianosa.t
    world.t

Although it works, you should not rely on it. Always use the ".t"
extension for your TADS sources!

You can change most options in "m_tads.fte" if you don't like the
defaults. For example, if you don't like the TAB size of 4, you can set
it to whatever value you like by changing the "TabSize" option. The FTE
documentation is your friend here.


A few words about the TADS colorizer
====================================

Following elements use special colors when in TADS-mode:

    * Keywords (if, switch, pass, inherited, etc.)

    * Strings, both single- and double-quoted.

    * Embedded expressions (e.g. "You can see <<adesc>> here. ").
      Only inside double-quoted strings.

    * Comments, both "/* */" and "//".

    * Numbers.

    * Punctuation (".", "{", ":", etc.)

    * Preprocessor-statements (introduced with a "#" as the first
      character of a line).

    * HTML-code in both single- and double-quoted strings.

Since the TADS compiler has an option for case-insensitivity, keywords
in TADS-mode are not case sensitive. For example, "return" and "Return"
are treated as the same keyword.

Build-in functions (like "input" and "cvtstr") are not highlighted. If
you want them highlighted, edit "m_tads.fte" and uncomment them.

Note that FTE can't check if your code is correct. If you write code
that doesn't make sense, the colorizer will most probably display wrong
colors. For example, the following will result in wrong colors:

    say('<');

The above code is wrong (although it compiles without warnings or
errors!) What you probably mean is:

    say('\<');

and the colorizer works fine. Another example:

    readdesc = "<<self.ldesc> "

This doesn't even compile. When you see color errors, check your code.


Contact information
===================

The author of "m_tads.fte" is Nikos Chantziaras. For suggestions and
bug-reports, send email to:

    realnc@hotmail.com

or:

    realnc@lycos.com
