Once you've compiled it:
cd programs/client
./sparkle_client
wallet_create name password
wallet_unlock 99999999 password
wallet_account_create name
wallet_enable_mining name true
"help" gives you a list of commands, getinfo gives you info including current difficulty and time since last block, wallet_account_balance shows how much you've mined, and blockchain_list_blocks lists the recent blocks.
If all the recent blocks are signed by the same key, you're very likely on your own private fork. To resolve that, "quit", delete "~/.Sparkle-Test65/chain", and restart the client and start mining again.