When an Eiffel file is found for the specified class, finder prints the full path name on standard output.
The exit status is set to GENERAL.exit_success_code only when an existing file is found (thus allowing usage of command finder in shell scripts).
To see the loading path used by SmallEiffel, you can type the finder command using a bad (nonexistent) class name. The default loading path may be updated (see the READ_ME file of the sys directory).
With no argument, finder prints a help message.
An Eiffel class file is always supposed to have the same name as the
class whose definition it contains.
The file rename.se allows the user to put in file foo the class bar for example. This renaming facility has been added especially for DOS (where file names are limited to 8.3 characters), but can be used in any implementation.
Each line of a rename.se file is a directive containing two names, first the full name of the class and then the short filename to use. A renaming directive is only effective in the directory where the rename.se file is located.
The file /usr/lib/SmallEiffel/misc/rename.se is an example of a rename.se file which would need to be put in lib_std/ for use with DOS.
In view of the algorithm that SmallEiffel uses to find a class file, it is
better not to use the renaming facilities if you wish to speed up class loading.
Please note that the overhead to find an upper case file name is not negligible and that a lower case file name may mask one with an upper case name.
All the directories named in loadpath.se are prepended to the default
load path.