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DolphinDB GUI

DolphinDB GUI is a full-fledged graphical interface based on Java for programming and data-browsing. It can be used on any operating system that supports Java, such as Windows, Linux, and Mac. The GUI is fast and user-friendly. You can use it to manage and develop DolphinDB scripts and modules, interact with databases, and check the execution results of these scripts.

Features

  • Text search and replacement
  • Line number display
  • Code highlighting
  • Code completion for built-in functions
  • Documentation hints, parameter hints for built-in functions
  • Server connection management
  • Variables browser
  • Database browser

1. Getting Started

1.1 Prerequisites

  • Install 64-bit Java version

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8 or above is required to run the GUI. Download JRE 8 at https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/ and install 64-bit Java version.

Use command java -version to check the version. Below is an example of a compatible version:

java -version
​
java version "1.8.0_121"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_121-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.121-b13, mixed mode)

The GUI cannot start properly if the following information is shown:

Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM
  • Add Java to your system path

1.2 Download and Launch the GUI

(1) Download the DolphinDB GUI from http://www.dolphindb.com/downloads/.

(2) Unzip to a local folder.

(3) Start a DolphinDB server first, then launch the GUI under the local folder.

  • Windows: Double click gui.bat;

  • Linux: Execute the following command:

  $ chmod +x gui.sh
  $ ./gui.sh
  • Mac: Execute the following command:
  $ chmod +x gui.sh
  $ ./gui.sh

2. Work With GUI

2.1 Create Workspace and Project

When initializing the GUI, you will be asked to specify the workspace directory for project management.

There can be multiple projects under a single workspace. Note that a user can only use one workspace at a time. After specifying the workspace directory, right-click your new workspace in the Project Explorer panel. You can either create a new project by clicking New Project, or import an existing project by clicking Import Folder.

After creating a project, click the node before your new project in the Project Explorer panel, and you will see 2 folders: modules and scripts. Right-click the scripts folder, and add sub-folders and scripts by clicking New Folder and New File. After a script is created, you can write, modify, or execute DolphinDB scripts in GUI's editor.

2.2 Connect to Servers

The Server in GUI menu refers to DolphinDB server.

  • Click Server and then select Add Server to add a server in the pop-up dialog. A default server already exists at port 8848 on localhost.


Once a server is added, it appears in the drop-down menu in the toolbar.

  • To manage (edit or delete) servers, click Server and then select Edit Server. Double-click the field to modify, or click the checkbox to delete certain server. To connect to a specific server, select it in the drop-down menu.

The GUI provides 3 ways to login:

  • Specify the username and password when adding server connection, and you will be automatically logged in every time you use this connection.
  • Click on in tool bar to specify username and password after you choose a connection.
  • Run login() function in Editor after you choose a connection.

2.3 Execute Scripts

In the GUI's editor, you can select part of the code, then use keyboard shortcut Ctrl + E to send the code to the DolphinDB server for execution. If no code is selected, the GUI offers 2 execution modes:

  • The line where the current cursor is on will be sent to DolphinDB server for execution
  • The whole script will be sent to DolphinDB server for execution

Click File and then select Preferences to switch the execution mode in the pop-up dialog.

After code is executed, the output or error message is displayed in the Log tab, along with execution start time, end time, and running time.

If the final statement executed returns a vector, matrix or table, the result will be displayed in the form of a table in the Data Browser tab.

2.4 View Variables and Databases

You can view all variables in tree view of Variable Explorer.

If a variable is a vector, matrix or table, double-click it to check the complete data in the data browser.

View schemata of all DFS databases and their partition tables under Database Explorer.

See Also

For detailed instructions on DolphinDB's client tools, see Client User Guide.