VISUALWORKS env variable and multiple vw versions on Mac

Mac OS X 10.9.2
I want to have more than one version of vw installed at the same time and I currently have VISUALWORKS environmental variable set in OS X globally to the path for the vw7.9.1 install. I’ve noticed lots of settings that use $VISUALWORKS and I am thinking it might be good to have more than one env variable e.g. VISUALWORKS791 and VISUALWORKS710, and using the appropriate one in whichever version I am working.

Googling finds some trick stuff for Windows
<http://forum.world.st/VISUALWORKS-for-multiple-versions-in-Windows-td4700989.html>

When you do File / Set Visualworks Home, does it override all cases where VISUALWORKS environmental variable would be used or or does File / Set Visualworks Home even do anything to the VISUALWORKS value that would be used for example in System / Settings / System / Parcel Path?
After doing File / Set Visualworks Home in vw, in Terminal, echo $VISUALWORKS gives the old value.

What’s the best way to handle multiple vw versions and images on Mac?

Thx for any insight,
Ken G. Brown


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Hi Ken,

If you're talking about the release versions of VisualWorks, there already is a version specific
location that contains environment variables for VisualWorks on OS X.  Following generally
accepted practices on OS X, the VM creates a .plist file for the specific release version of
VisualWorks, and uses that also to hold any environment variable you set from within a VisualWorks
image, including setting VisualWorks home.  Environment variable values set from the image are
therefore only accessible from images of the same VisualWorks release.  They are not as transient
as something set in a terminal, but they are not global to the platform either.

Although many of us use the shell script technique discussed elsewhere in this thread for starting
VisualWorks,  I typically drag-drop my image onto a copy of the VM (visual.app) in my work
directory.  It is the contents of the .plist file that enables this behavior, as well as providing
the VisualWorks Projects applet with the correct installed location for your VisualWorks project
images. With this approach, the value of $VISUALWORKS is unique to the specific release version,
and comes from the .plist file.

The .plist files are located under your home directory, in $HOME/Library/Preferences, with file
names that include the VisualWorks version, like this:

     com.cincom.vw7.9.plist
     com.cincom.vw7.9.1.plist
     com.cincom.vw7.10.plist

The Library/Preferences directory is normally hidden, but you can use Go > Go to folder... in the
Finder to navigate there and look at these files.

HTH,
Sherry


On 3/20/14 7:18 PM, Ken G. Brown wrote:
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