The Workbench Scripting Shell is primarily used for running Python or Lua scripts, or typing commands in these languages directly. However, you can also use it to access the Workbench Scripting Shell Scripting Library functions and global functions and objects. To see the available commands, type “?”. You can also cut and paste text to and from the shell window.

The Snippets tab is a scratch pad for saving code snippets. This makes it easy to reuse code and does away with the need to retype it at the command line.

If you have opened script files, each will have its own tab to the right of the Snippets tab. These tabs will be labeled with the names of the script files, or Unnamed for snippets without a name. As with the Snippets tab you can cut and paste to or from any of the tabs. This gives you the opportunity to test code from the command line. Right clicking on a snippet opens a dialog with options to Execute Snippet, Send to Script Editor, or Copy To Clipboard.

While individual commands can be entered into the shell, it is also possible to run a longer script, stored in an external file, using the main menu item Scripting, Run Workbench Script File. When scripts are run outside of the shell, to see the output use the main menu item View, Output.

It is also possible to run script files directly from the shell. For details on running script files, type ? run at the Workbench Scripting Shell prompt. The following message is displayed:

Help Topics
-----------
grt        General information about the Workbench runtime
scripting  Practical information when working on scripts and modules for Workbench
wbdata     Summary about Workbench model data organization
modules    Information about Workbench module usage
plugins    Information about writing Plugins and Modules for Workbench
Type '? [topic]' to get help on the topic.

Custom Python Modules
---------------------
   grt         Module to work with Workbench runtime (grt) objects
   grt.root    The root object in the internal Workbench object hierarchy
   grt.modules Location where Workbench modules are available
   grt.classes List of classes known to the GRT system
   mforms      A Module to access the cross-platform UI toolkit used in some Workbench features
   wb          Utility module for creating Workbench plugins

Type 'help(module/object/function)' to get information about a module, object or function.
Type 'dir(object)'                  to get a quick list of methods an object has.

For an introductory tutorial on the Python language,    visit http://docs.python.org/tutorial/
For general Python and library reference documentation, visit http://python.org/doc/

Within the Workbench Scripting Shell, there are four tabs on the top of the left side panel: Files, Globals, Classes, and Modules. Discussion of these additional tabs follows.