Starting DX

Where can DX be found?

Currently copies of DX have been purchased by the following departments : Physics, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Fire Protection Engineering and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments.

There are also five additional licenses available for use on any CCC machines

What machines does DX run on?

Currently at WPI DX is only run on machines that use the Digital Equipment Corporation Alpha chip. For example, the machine named Reno.WPI.EDU, and the machine named Raven.WPI.EDU (the latter for CS Dept. use only). DX will not run on the monochrome X-Terms in labs like the "Garden Lab" however it will run on the Color Xterminals in the CCC.

How can DX be started?

Once you have logged on to a machine that has a copy of DX installed and correctly set your display to the machine you are working on you should type the following at your prompt: dx&
This will load the VPE (Visual Program Editor) which is where DX networks are created.

You should encounter a screen similar to:

The parts of the screen are as follows, the top left box labeled Categories allows you to select a subset of the modules that are available to DX, or All of them. The selection in this window affects the one below it labeled, in this case Annotation Tools (it changes according to your selection) if you click with the right most mouse buttonon one of the module names in this box, and drag it to the right hand pane the module will be dropped where you release the mouse. That is how you create programs. To run them, use the Execute menu on top.

How can I learn about DX?

There are four ways to learn about DX. The first is the built in Tutorial, this is located under the help menu, and is relatively exstensive. Another option are the DX videos, any department which ordered DX has a copy of the videos that present you with a tutorial. There are also the instruction books which are available where the videos are, and finally this web site demonstrates some of the available modules.