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GEnieLamp A2Pro - Vol.4, Issue 25
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|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Computing
|| |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable
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|| |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE!
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~ WELCOME TO GENIELAMP A2Pro! ~
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ Reading Keyboard Modifiers ~
~ GS/OS & Resources ~ Balloon Help? ~
~ Control Manager Woes ~ Prizm Problems ~
~ And even a funny GEnie Qwik_Quote!! ~
~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET Publication ~ Vol.4, Issue 25
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Publisher................................................John F. Peters
Editor...................................................Tim Buchheim
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp PowerPC ~
~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~
~ GEnieLamp Windows ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~
~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~
GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.com
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
>>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE A2Pro ROUNDTABLE? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
~ April 1, 1995 ~
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY]
Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me?
A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF .. [DIR] DEVELOPERS CORNER ....... [DEV]
Directory of A2Pro Staff. News From Online Developers.
LIBRARY BIT BONANZA ..... [LIB] RTC WATCH ............... [RTC]
HOT Files You Can Download. Real Time Information.
LOG OFF ................. [PUB]
GEnieLamp information.
[IDX]"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing system
""""""""""""""""" to help make reading the magazine easier. To
utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or
text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
GEnie Fun & Games.
To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM].
If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will
take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the
index.
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages
"""""""""""" re-printed here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the
information you need immediately following the message. For example:
(SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M530)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page
530 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that
this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two
or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}.
ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95 which gives you up to four hours of
""""""""""" non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such as software
downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet mail gateway, and chat lines.
GEnie's non-prime time connect rate is $3.00. To sign up for GEnie service,
call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369 in the USA or 1-800-387-8330 in Canada. Upon
connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: JOINGENIE and hit
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Need more information? Call GEnie's customer service line (voice) at
1-800-638-9636.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR GEnieLamp READERS! If you sign onto GEnie using the method
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" outlined above you will receive $50.00
worth of credit. Want more? Your first month charge of $8.95 will be waived!
Now there are no excuses!
*** GET INTO THE LAMP! ***
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From My Desktop
"""""""""""""""""""""
by Tim Buchheim
[A2PRO.GELAMP]
o TOP OF THE PAGE
>>> TOP OF THE PAGE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""
APRIL FOOLS Wow, this issue was finished early.... NOT!
"""""""""""
On April 1, several of you out there eagerly booted your computers,
launched your favorite comm programs, and logged onto GEnie, only to find
the March issue of GEnieLamp still there. I know that if it had been me,
I would have thought it was just some silly April Fools Day joke (especially
since A2Pro didn't have one this year[*]) but unfortunately it was not. Due
to problems at my end, GEnieLamp did not get done until a week late.
(examples of "problems": SAT, grandfather's birthday, etc.)
Anyway, I'll see you next time, which will be on or before May 1, I hope.
Maybe I'll even have another GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE for you. :)
Tim Buchheim
GEnieLamp A2Pro
[*] In the past, A2Pro has had some cool (IMHO) April Fools jokes.
Usually they involve changing the front door banner.. like
switching ours with another RoundTable's or flipping the whole
thing horizontally or vertically.
[*][*][*]
[EOA]
[DIR]//////////////////////////////
A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF /
/////////////////////////////////
______________________________________________
APPLE II PROGRAMMERS & DEVELOPERS ROUNDTABLE
_____ ______ ______________________________________________
/_____|/______\
/__/|__| ___|__| Head Sysop: Hangtime (HANGTIME)
/__/_|__| /_____/ Your Sysops: Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG)
/________|/__/ __ __ __ Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW)
/__/ |__|__/______ /_//_// / Nathaniel Sloan (A2PRO.HELP)
/__/ |__|________// / \/_/ Tim Buchheim (A2PRO.GELAMP)
[*][*][*]
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ /
/ I remember reading the P16 book in Nov 1991, before I /
/ knew GS/OS ever existed, and thinking to myself, "Man, /
/ how cool--this is better than P8." Imagine calling /
/ P16 cool in 1991. :) /
/ /
////////////////////////////////////////////////// HEXMAN ////
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Tim Buchheim
[A2PRO.GELAMP]
o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS
o WHAT'S NEW
o PROGRAMMER'S TIPS
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
[*] CAT15, TOP14, MSG{172}..........Window Manager
[*] CAT15, TOP16, MSG{124}..........Control Manager
[*] CAT15, TOP21, MSG{27}...........Dialog Manager
>>> WHAT'S NEW <<<
""""""""""""""""""
CHANGES AT SOFTDISK About a week and a half ago, I resigned my position at
""""""""""""""""""" Softdisk, Inc. As such, I will no longer be in charge
of, or officially associated with, the Softdisk G-S product.
Unofficially, I will continue to work with Softdisk in supporting the GSLib
programmers library and in submitting programs for publication on Softdisk.
Mail for Softdisk should now be routed to SOFTDISK.INC and not to me.
-Greg Templeman
(BARNABAS, CAT1, TOP4, MSG:66/M530)
>>> PROGRAMMER'S TIPS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
MODIFIERS NEEDED Even though it is documented in TB 3, the Control Manager
"""""""""""""""" does NOT send mouse events with it's eventCtl message to
target controls.
Now I can get mouseDown events (with limitations) during the testCtl
message, but I don't get an event record there. However I am in need of
some modifier flags (Command, Option, Shift). Is there any way I can get at
the modifier flags from within my DefProc?
Alex
(A.CORRIERI, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:147/M530)
>>>>> GetNextEvent (0, &yourEventRec);
"""""
This will fill out the modifiers field of yourEventRec without taking any
events from the event queue.
Michael
(ANIMASIA, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:148/M530)
<<<<< thanks Michael, this did the trick, cool!
"""""
(A.CORRIERI, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:149/M530)
CONTROL MANAGER WOES It would seem that this should be in the Control
"""""""""""""""""""" Manager topic, but... as it is covered in the
Dialog Manager docs (TBRV1) I've put it here...
General description:
A modal dialog window (_GetNewModalDialog) that contains a vertically
oriented scroll bar (amongst other things) A custom ScrollBar action
procedure is being used.
Object:
The scrollbar in question has a range of 0 thru 8. I want to display the
current value of the scrollbar inside the thumb of the scrollbar.
What I'm doing:
In my custom scrollbar action procedure I test the command being passed
after handling all the normal stuff (ie: just prior to exiting). If it's 4,
5, 6, 7 or 8 then I obtain the handle to the control, deref it, poke thru
the control record to obtain the ThumbRect, base a _MoveTo on the Left /
Bottom values, and display value with _DrawString.
This works =almost= right. If I drag the thumb itself, the number is
displayed properly. If I use the arrows, and the thumb is at one end (ie:
thumb doesn't actually move) my number gets drawn. If I use the arrows and
cause the thumb to move, while it's in motion my numbers flicker in it (but
do not remain displayed except at the ends of the range of movement)
My problem is, I think, that the scrollbar procedure in the system (item
type $060000) is erasing and redrawing the scrollbar thumb =after= my
Scrollbar action procedure has already been called. (and when it's redrawn,
it's lacking my number of course)
Any ideas? (besides a nasty heartbeat routine that would put my number up
outside of the control of the dialog manager)
I am somewhat limited in how I can handle this, as I want the NDA this is
occuring in to remain compatable with System 5.04 (possibly even earlier
stuff, but that would be incidental)
-Harold
(HAROLD.H, CAT15, TOP21, MSG:27/M530)
>>>>> If it happened to work, then great. But because you're trying to do
""""" something that the control wasn't designed to handle, then you're
out of luck. Does the number _have_ to be in the thumb? It sounds like
you're working too hard.
Michael
(ANIMASIA, CAT15, TOP21, MSG:28/M530)
>>>>> How about using "inheritance" where one (custom) control contains
""""" another. This was recently discussed here, and it works due to the
Control Manager being reentrant. Your custom control would usually just
pass on all messages to its contained scroll bar, but when drawing, first
draw the scroll bar then draw your number.
>Any ideas? (besides a nasty heartbeat routine that would put my number up
>outside of the control of the dialog manager)
Harold, this is the second time recently you've brought up heartbeat
routines. It is my understanding that in general you should use run queue
tasks instead of heartbeat routines for interface stuff. The run queue has
the known advantages of 1) no need to worry about the busy flag and use the
scheduler and 2) no mouse problems (or am I thinking of ReadMouse vs.
GetMouse?).
- Jay
(JAY.KRELL, CAT15, TOP21, MSG:32/M530)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
MAKING THE MAC MORE LIKE THE GS Just so we can laugh for a while... I'm
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" currently writing a library implementation
of TaskMaster for the Macintosh. Works nice. Makes me wonder why the heck
Apple hasn't done one yet. :)
Eric Shepherd (Sheppy)
[Team PPCPro]
(POWERPC.PRO, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:172/M530)
>>>>> Add AlertWindow. Michael O'Keefe did for HyperStudio, and it's one
""""" of the most useful non-toolbox subroutines I use on the Mac. :)
I'd like to see your TaskMaster, too. I'd love to use it.
Mike Westerfield
(BYTEWORKS, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:173/M530)
<<<<< SheppyLib/Mac goes up every time I finish a version in PPCPro. As
""""" soon as TaskMaster is to a point where it covers a reasonable set of
cases as far as what people want to do with standard windows on the Mac,
I'll upload version 1.1. That probably won't yet include automatic
tracking of controls within the window, I'm not sure yet (ie, it might :).
Ooooh... yeah. AlertWindow. Nice idea! I can't stand those dialogs on
the Mac. :)
Sheppy
(POWERPC.PRO, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:174/M530)
>>>>> Sheppy,
"""""
I know Bryan Pietrzak wrote a Macintosh TaskMaster at some stage. Don't know
if he ever released it though. It may give you a few extra ideas if you can
track it or him down.
Regards,
Richard
(RICHARD.B, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:175/M530)
<<<<< From what I've heard, it was never finished.
"""""
I'm going to start writing code to create window lists that contain window
pointers and zoom rectangles and update proc pointers, so that my
TaskMaster can really do all the work.
Sheppy
(POWERPC.PRO, CAT15, TOP14, MSG:176/M530)
MAKING THE GS MORE LIKE THE MAC Yet Another warped & wacky idea from my
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" cobweb filled cranium.... :)
On the Mac (under System 7.x) there is a feature called "Ballon Help"
Basicly when this is on, placing the cursor on a control, menu title, menu
item, etc. and waiting a very short time, a small "help balloon" (like the
balloons used in comic strips for speech) is displayed. It's kinda neat.
I think that something like this could be added to the GS fairly easily,
most likely by doing some patches to _GetNextEvent and the control manager.
(simply see if the current cursor position is within the bounds of a
control in the foremost window, normally something that is being done
anyway... add some code and bingo :)
So... anyone like / hate / despise the idea?
-Harold
(HAROLD.H, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:150/M530)
>>>>> > Anyone ... hate / despise ... the idea?
"""""
Well, not as such, but I think that balloon help is about the most annoying
feature the Mac has to offer <g>. OTOH, it can be a great help to users
looking for a particular feature (when done correctly, including EVERYTHING,
which it rarely is), and it might be nice to see something like that on the
IIgs.
However, if you're going to port something from the Mac, may I suggest...
Zipple? If you haven't heard of it, it's a little ditty that replaces
certain menu bar icons with other icons which can be animated. Truly awesome.
:)
(A2PRO.HELP, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:151/M530)
>>>>> >> Well, not as such, but I think that balloon help is about the
""""" >> most annoying feature the Mac has to offer <g>
Ditto. Fortunately, it can be shut off :).
Ken Lucke
(K.LUCKE, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:152/M530)
>>>>> Balloon help bites; why do you think it's being replaced/
""""" supplemented by Apple Guide? :)
Eric Shepherd (Sheppy)
[Team PPCPro]
(POWERPC.PRO, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:153/M530)
<<<<< Sloanie,
"""""
>>...I think that balloon help is about the most annoying feature the Mac
>> has to offer <g>. OTOH, it can be a great help to users looking for a
>> particular feature [...]
(above is slightly out of context)
That's why I was asking if anyone liked / hated / despised the idea :)
I find it useful, but annoying when left on after I've figured out what's
what. (so I go turn it off and all is well again :)
How about some info about Zipple??? I've seen some (quite a few really)
"zipples" in the Mac libs, but have no idea what the heck they are. (well I
have a slight idea thanks to your message, but just enough for me to be
dangerous ;)
Animated menubar icons would be cool, but... egads what about CPU overhead?
(especially with something like Spectrum that runs in a desktop enviroment)
-Harold
(HAROLD.H, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:154/M530)
>>>>> >Balloon help bites; why do you think it's being replaced/
""""" >supplemented by Apple Guide? :)
Now something like Apple Guide would be nice.
Jawaid
(PROCYON, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:155/M530)
>>>>> How about RTFM?
"""""
Michael
(ANIMASIA, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:156/M530)
>>>>> Balloon help seems worthless for menus and controls. What it is
""""" good for (at least on a Windows machine) is all those obscure little
icons on button bars. Since every program seems to use its own style of
button bar icon, I have trouble remembering what they all do. I have taken
to using a Windows resource editor on them.
On the GS, I only use one button bar (from Sixpack). I can normally
remember what each of them does. Therefore, I see little need for balloon
help on my IIgs.
David W.
(Just one person's opinion)
(D.WALLIS2, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:160/M530)
>>>>> Seems Balloon gets a lot of beating here, but I still think it is
""""" quite usefull, if and when it is implemented right. For instance the
HIG says (p316) "Design Online Help as an Interactive Coach" Balloon is a
part of this.
on p 317 it says: "Use help balloons to explain elements of your
application's interface that might confuse a new user or elements that
could help a user become an expert user.
I have never seen the last part implemented in any application I have come
accross, probably mainly because balloon on the Mac has no way to switch
into expert mode?
There is a tendence to get anoying, especially in applications that don't
support it. I.e. I get tired of those "This is an inactive window, to
activate it ...." or " This is the title of a window ..." etc.
It would be extra cool, Harold, if you could design a way (control panel)
where the user could set it's preferences like:
- everything : all the anoying stuff mentioned above
- application only: only ask the application to pass ballon text, stop
the anoying system mesages.
- expert mode : the application passes more or less or a completely
different balloon text.
I use balloon mainly if I browse through a new application or I am much to
tired to get up and search for the manual. In big applications with a rich
user interface (like Mathematica) this really pays off in several cases,
like refreshing the usage of some seldom used interface elements.
I know there are a lot that think its cool to not need any help and they
don't read any manuals as a principle. They won't need balloon. But the
concept of an interactive help system ALWAYS available to the user, no
matter where s/he needs help is way cool.
If it really becomes a truly useful item is completly in the hands of the
application.
Online help is good, very good, and I hope we will get a chance to see it
on the GS too.
Alex
(A.CORRIERI, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:164/M530)
<<<<< Alex,
"""""
Hmmmm.... some good points there!!! :)
What I'm thinking (now :) is something along the lines of two additional
files for an application... one would be the "beginer" balloon help stuff,
the other would be the "expert" stuff.
Just remember folks, I am =NOT= saying that I'm going to implement balloons
(I don't really have the time to do it =right=) but I am trying to stir up
some discussion, debate, suggestions, etc. This seems to be happening :)
[Ok, so the more I think about it, the more I do want to start banging
code, but where the h*ll do I find the time... aurgh!!! :) ]
-Harold
(HAROLD.H, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:165/M530)
If Harold develops balloons, I promise I'll develop pins. :)
(RICHARD, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:166/M530)
If Richard develops pins, I'll have to send him a pin cushion (related to a
Comfy Chair cushion :-)
(HAROLD.H, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:167/M530)
[*][*][*]
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the world.
[*][*][*]
[EOA]
[DEV]//////////////////////////////
DEVELOPER'S CORNER /
/////////////////////////////////
News From The A2Pro Online Developers
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Tim Buchheim
[A2PRO.GELAMP]
o ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO
o INSTALLING GNO/ME
o ORCA/FORTRAN?
o PRIZM PROBLEMS
>>> ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CAT TOP COMPANY
=== === =======
29 INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS ONLINE
2 DYA/DigiSoft Innovations Online
8 Simplexity Software Online
14 Quality Computers Q-LABS Online
20 DreamWorld Software Online
26 METAL/FV Software Online
32 Kitchen Sink Software Online
38 EdIt-16 (Bill Tudor)
30 PROCYON, INC.
31 SOFTDISK PUBLISHING
33 GS+ MAGAZINE
34 JEM SOFTWARE
35 PRODEV, INC.
36 THE BYTE WORKS
Each month this column feature highlights and news from various
developers who provide support via A2Pro.
>>> INSTALLING GNO/ME <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Have just finished installing GNO/ME on my hard drive. I have a couple
questions to ask:
1) during installation, I was asked five or six times whether an ORCA
library should be "overwritten". I always replied in the affirmative because
the GNO/ME installation instructions had informed me that GNO/ME 2.0 came
with a modified version of the ORCA C ORCA LIB standard library which
provided support for GNO.
Afterwards, I began to wonder what effect my choices would have when I
used one of my ORCA languages without involving GNO/ME. Please advise.
2) I did not install the Multi-User package because the instructions
advised new users to wait. However, when I had finished the installation and
checked the files, I found a "Root" file that appears to pertain to the Multi-
User package.
3) for your info, the file :gno:lib: (an empty file, granted) had not
been created by the installation program. The instructions say it should have
been.
Can you enlighten me on these points? I will greatly appreciate it.
Paladin
(PALADIN, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:91/M530)
>>>>> The two libraries (stock ORCALIB, and slightly-modified ORCALIB that
""""" comes with GNO) should be functionally identical. There were a few
bugs in my changes that have since been fixed - if you run into trouble I
can send you the newest library (which will come with the next release of
GNO).
>2)I did not install the Multi-User package because the instructions
>advised new users to wait. However, when I had finished the installation
>and checked the files, I found a "Root" file that appears to pertain to
>the Multi-User package.
'root' is a directory, probably, containing your "home directory". Without
the multi-user package installed, you're automatically "logged-in" as a
user named root.
Since there was nothing to put in the :gno:lib directory, and nothing uses
it (in lieu of the ORCA 'Libraries' directory) I guess it never got put in
the installer. :) Its presence or lack thereof will have no effect on any
of the programs distributed with GNO.
Jawaid
(PROCYON, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:92/M530)
ANOTHER PROBLEM I just received the latest GNO/ME from GSP. I'm having
""""""""""""""" problems running it after installation.
During the installation, I received a $0050 File is Already Open Error
opening data fork on file: Kern.
When asked for installing libs, I answered no as I have ORCA/C 1.3.
Actually, I answered NO for all the optional installs.
The trouble starts when I attempt to launch Kern a second time. I get
error $1104 - Restart or Return.
My setup is a ||GS ROM 1, 8MB RAM, 270MB SyQuest, RamFAST w/1MB, ZIP 7/8,
GSOS 6.0.1.
Any suggestions?
-Ken Wong-
(K.WONG1, CAT30, TOP2, MSG:160/M530)
<<<<< Oops! Never mind. I found my mistake. I had initially created a
""""" folder named GNO and then copied the contents of GNO.Disk1 to it.
Since the scripts were trying to create a folder named GNO, that caused the
file open error. After that, things went downhill from there.
I guess I need to REALLY read the install notes instead of just skimming
them. Sorry for any confusion. Now to start playing with GNO/ME...
-Ken Wong-
(K.WONG1, CAT30, TOP2, MSG:161/M530)
>>>>> I was going to say that you'd probably put the GNO.Disk1 in the
""""" wrong folder.. but you discovered that yourself. :-)
Jawaid
(PROCYON, CAT30, TOP2, MSG:162/M530)
>>> ORCA/FORTRAN? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Hi!
I've been an occasional user of Byteworks C and a continual user of my IIGS
for a long time now. I don't consider myself a IIGS programmer ... instead,
I've been involved as a programmer and algorithmist with parallel machines,
and my main personal project is the porting of a special message passing
interface to a transputer system.
I writing because while browissing on A2PRO I noticed that there is a beta
be version of Orca Fortran. I don't know just how far along that project
may be, but felt I had to add my few cents. First, I'm very glad that Mike
Westerfield and the others at ByteWorks have decided (or are considering) to
implement a Fortran at all. Fortran is still used a great deal by anyone
doing heavy numerical programming. And Fortran has grown and changed, unlike
other languages, ever since its first version. By making a Fortran available,
Byteworks basically says that the Apple IIGS is a computer capable of heavy
work, not just game playing (I'm paraphrasing here what many people, though
not I, believe about the Apple series).
One hope I have, which may simply be a hope (unfortunately) is that the
version of Fortran which they implement is Fortran 90. This is the very
latest agreed version, and should have features runnable on an Apple IIGS.
Fortran people are now working on a still later version which may not be of
use for Apple users, since it's main claim to be an advance over Fortran 90
is the inclusion of lots of constructs for parallel computing. To
To compare Fortran with other languages such as C, and use only older
versions of Fortran for the comparison, would not be fair. The current
version is Fortran 90. If you guys contact me I'll tell you where to look for
the specs for Fortran 90.
Best Wishes,
Thomas Donaldson
(T.DONALDSON2, CAT36, TOP3, MSG:271/M530)
T.Donaldson,
I believe the Fortran to C translator for the IIGS is lost due to hard drive
problems, though I believe there is publically available source that anyone
is free to port. A stock IIGS stinks for heavy floating point stuff, and it
isn't even great with integers/fixed point, compared to most computers today.
- Jay
(JAY.KRELL, CAT36, TOP3, MSG:272/M530)
>>> PRIZM PROBLEMS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""
All,
I just got Orca/C and I find the Orca editor totally
unusable!!
1) The cursor wipes out characters. I can only see
the characters only if I page up and down. This makes
correcting any mistakes impossible!!
2) It translate quotes (") into "R" and "S" from other
text editors. So when it compiles it has "hissy fits" at
all the unknown variables!!
I hope someone out there can help because right now
all Orca/C is doing is occupying space.
Ron
(R.CHESLEY1, CAT36, TOP19, MSG:83/M530)
>>>>> Ron, R and S are the curly quote characters. You need to convert
""""" those into real quotes.
(SHEPPY, CAT36, TOP19, MSG:84/M530)
>>>>> Don't feel too bad though. You can always spot the novice &
""""" intermediate Mac users because all the quotes and apostrophes in
their posts are capital letters because of the typical way they get mashed
into normal text format.
BTW use of curly quotes in C source code is _NOT_ sanctioned by ANSI so
ORCA/C has no obligation to support it except as a convenience.
Todd Whitesel
(A2PRO.TODDPW, CAT36, TOP19, MSG:85/M530)
>>>>> if you are having problems with the cursor erasing characters, then
""""" deactivate CloseView.. that program is guaranteed to mess up Prizm.
The "R" and "S" characters are, as others have mentioned, the GS/Mac "curly
quotes" with the high bit cleared..
solution: use regular quotes, not curly quotes:) (So if you are using
something like WordWorks Pro to write programs, be sure to UNcheck the "use
curly quotes" option)
(A2PRO.GELAMP, CAT36, TOP19, MSG:86/M530)
[*][*][*]
[EOA]
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
LIBRARY BIT BONANZA /
/////////////////////////////////
HOT Files You Can Download
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Tim Buchheim
[T.BUCHHEIM]
o CALCULATING 16- AND 32-BIT CRCs
o A2U COURSE - SPECTRUM 2.0 SCRIPTING
o MISCELLANEOUS FILES
>>> CALCULATING 16- AND 32-BIT CRCs <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
File # 4663 CCC.C (ALL)
Uploaded on 4/5/95 by A2PRO.TODDPW
About 1K (d/l time approx. 5 seconds @ 2400 baud)
This is a short ORCA/C program demonstrating how to compute the ZMODEM
32-bit CRC, both by bit-mashing and by table. The table is computed at
startup by using the bit-mashing algorithm, so no huge copyrighted table
is included to make it hard for you to use this code elsewhere.
This is a public domain source file which may be downloaded or <L>isted.
File # 4662 CRC.C (ALL)
Uploaded on 4/5/95 by A2PRO.TODDPW
About 1K (d/l time approx. 5 seconds @ 2400 baud)
This is a short ORCA/C program demonstrating how to compute XMODEM (CCITT)
16 bit CRC's, both by bit-mashing and by table. The table is computed at
startup by using the bit-mashing algorithm, so no huge copyrighted table
is included to make it hard for you to use this code elsewhere.
This is a public domain source file which may be downloaded or <L>isted.
>>> A2U COURSE - SPECTRUM 2.0 SCRIPTING <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
File # 4657 SP.A2U.WK7.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 4/5/95 by K.LUCKE
About 7K (d/l time approx. 40 seconds @ 2400 baud)
:Lesson for week 7 of Spectrum A2U course in scripting
File # 4656 SP.WK6.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 4/3/95 by K.LUCKE
About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
Transcript of Spectrum A2U RTC, Week 6
File # 4642 SP.A2U.WK6.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/27/95 by K.LUCKE
About 13K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
Week 6's lesson for Spectrum A2U course in scripting
File # 4641 SP.WK5.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/27/95 by K.LUCKE
About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum Scripting A2U RTC transcript for week 5
File # 4640 SP.A2U.WK5A.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/27/95 by K.LUCKE
About 5K (d/l time approx. 30 seconds @ 2400 baud)
Answers to Spectrum A2U Week 5 homework assignment.
File # 4633 SP.A2U.WK5.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/20/95 by K.LUCKE
About 22K (d/l time approx. 2 minutes @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum Scripting A2U course lesson for Week 5
File # 4632 SP.A2U.WK4A.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/20/95 by K.LUCKE
About 2K (d/l time approx. 10 seconds @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum Scripting A2U course answers for Week 4
File # 4631 SP.WK4.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/20/59 by K.LUCKE
About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
RTC transcript for Spectrum Scripting A2U course week 4
File # 4622 SP.A2U.WK4.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/13/95 by K.LUCKE
About 8K (d/l time approx. 45 seconds @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum A2U course lesson for week 4
File # 4621 SP.A2U.WK3A.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/13/95 by K.LUCKE
About 3K (d/l time approx. 20 seconds @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum A2U course Week 3 Quiz answers
File # 4620 SP.WK3.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/13/95 by K.LUCKE
About 11K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum A2U Course RTC week 3
File # 4613 SP.WK2.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/5/95 by K.LUCKE
About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
RTC transcript for Spectrum A2U course week 2
File # 4612 SP.A2U.WK3.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/5/95 by K.LUCKE
About 17K (d/l time approx. 2 minutes @ 2400 baud)
Lesson for Week 3 of Spectrum Scripting A2U course.
File # 4611 SP.A2U.WK2A.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/5/95 by K.LUCKE
About 3K (d/l time approx. 20 seconds @ 2400 baud)
The answers to the quiz at the end of Spectrum Scripting A2U Course week 2
File # 4607 SP.WK1.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 2/28/95 by K.LUCKE
About 8K (d/l time approx. 45 seconds @ 2400 baud)
Spectrum Scripting A2U Week 1 RTC transcript
File # 4604 SP.A2U.WK2.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 2/26/95 by K.LUCKE
About 12K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
Lesson #2 - Week 2 for the Spectrum Scripting A2U Course
File # 4603 SP.A2U.WK1A.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 2/26/95 by K.LUCKE
About 2K (d/l time approx. 15 seconds @ 2400 baud)
The answers to the quiz at the end of Week 1's lesson in the Spectrum
Scripting A2U course.
File # 4594 SP.A2U.WK1.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 2/19/95 by K.LUCKE
About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
This is lesson #1 for week 1 of the Spectrum scripting A2U course.
File # 4593 SP.INTR.RTC.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 2/19/95 by K.LUCKE
About 10K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud)
This is the RTC from the introduction week to the Spectrum Scripting A2U
course. It has been edited to remove the comings and goings and extraneous
stuff but all contectual items have been left intact. Some spelling errors
have been corrected to protect the guilty :)
>>> MISCELLANEOUS FILES <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
File # 4634 RESLIN.BXY V0.48 (GS)
Uploaded on 3/20/95 by RICHARD.B
About 70K (d/l time approx. 7 minutes @ 2400 baud)
A resource manipulation utility. This version includes an extra which sorts
rControlList resources so that rRectangle controls are positioned correctly
for _NewControl2.
File # 4617 TMTERM1.1.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/10/95 by S.REEVES2
About 29K (d/l time approx. 3 minutes @ 2400 baud)
Here is version 1.1 of TMTerm, a new desk accessory for GNO that runs the
gsh shell in a window with VT100 emulation. Requires an Apple IIgs and
Procyon's GNO/ME version 2.0.4 or higher. TMTerm was written by Ian Schmidt
and is freeware.
File # 4608 PROG.XCMDS.BXY (GS)
Uploaded on 3/3/95 by SEVENHILLS
About 17K (d/l time approx. 2 minutes @ 2400 baud)
Information on writing External Commands for Spectrum v2.0!
[*][*][*]
[EOA]
[RTC]//////////////////////////
RTC WATCH /
/////////////////////////////
Bits and Pieces from A2Pro Real Time Conferences
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Tim Buchheim
[A2PRO.GELAMP]
o A2Pro WEEKLY RTC SCHEDULE
o GS/OS AND RESOURCES
>>> A2Pro WEEKLY RTC SCHEDULE <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
_______ __________ _________
/_______| /_________/ /________/ SEVEN days a week!!
/__/__/__/ /__/ /__/
/________/ EAL /__/ IME /__/ ONFERENCES in A2Pro!!
/__/ /__| /__/ /__/_____
/__/ /__/ /__/ |________/ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Stop in and say "Hi!" at one of these conferences. We've been giving
away quite a few GEnie usage credits (free time) at these conferences,
and you may just win the next one! :)
Day Time Event Host
--- --------------- ----------------------------------- -----------
Sun 8:30pm-11:00pm Weekly Programmers' RTC Sloanie
Mon 9:30pm-11:00pm GS/OS and Toolbox Calls Dave Miller
Tue 9:30pm-11:00pm 8-bit Programming Russ Nielson
Wed 9:30pm-11:00pm HangTime's HyperBar & Grill HangTime
Thu 9:30pm-??:?? Informal - Q&A, chat, whatever A2Pro Staff
Fri 9:30pm-11:00pm Getting Started with Programming Tim Buchheim
Sat 8:30pm-10:00pm Assembly Language Programming Brian Wells
NOTE: All times are in Eastern Daylight Time.
>>> GS/OS AND RESOURCES <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
<Tony Morales> I was examining the GS resource manager today when I came
across something unusual. OK, the CreateResourceFile
call will add a res fork to an existing file if it exists.
Apparently, it passes Create a storage type of $8005 to do
this. I get the 005 part, (extended file), but does
setting bit 15 do something special for the call?
<Tim Buchheim> I think it tells GS/OS to add a resource fork to an
existing file.. but let me check..
<Tony Morales> That'd be my guess, too, but I don't ever recall reading
this.
<Tim Buchheim> yep, that's what it's documented to do..
<Tony Morales> Where is that documented?
<Tim Buchheim> under "Create" in the GS/OS ref, page 104
if the passed storageType is $8005, GS/OS will "convert an
existing standard file to contain a resouce fork"
<Tony Morales> Anyway, it's actually a good thing I stumbled over this
little finding. I'm gonna have to be doing some work with
Mac res forks some point in the very near future, and all
this will come in handy.
<Tim Buchheim> hmm... what GS/OS does is quite simple, actually.. it just
allocates a new block for the file, moves the storage type
and pointer to index block for the data fork into the new
block, change the storage type in the directory entry to
"extended file" ($05), and make it point to the new block.
well, that's what it does on ProDOS disks, at least :)
<Tony Morales> Oh, did I ever tell you why the Mac is limited to 2727
resources in a fork? I know you knew this number, but I
found out why it is what it is.
<Tim Buchheim> oh? why is it that number? I never understood the
significance of 2727
<Tony Morales> OK, here we go. The Mac uses a positive short int as an
offset into the res map. So, max. value here can be
+32767. The map has a 38 byte header, each res type entry
has 12 bytes. So, (32767-38)/12 is 2727.xxxx, rounded to
2727.
Anyway, I got this crazy idea of making a library or user
tool that would basically "clone" all the Mac res mgr's
calls, reading, writing, all of them.
All but 6 of the res mgr's calls are very similar to GS
calls, and with the Mac asm reading code I currently have,
shouldn't be all that hard to implement.
Hehehe, I might even keep the parm values you pass to the
routines the same as the Mac's. For example, ya pass C
strings instead of GS strings, which I actually prefer.
Also, from C, this is way easier.
I could even go so far as to make the errors retuurned the
same as the Mac's. <welp, maybe not that far--I don't
know, whatcha think...>
<Tim Buchheim> wait, C strings for filenames? hmm.. in GS/OS, the null
character is valid in filenames (it's not in HFS) and
doesn't that mark the end of a C string?
<Tony Morales> Hmmm, I didn't know NULL was valid in GS/OS.
<Tim Buchheim> it is
<Tony Morales> But for what filesystem?
<Tim Buchheim> any character but a colon is legal; that's why there are
warnings in ORCA/Pascal and not to use any of the built-in
string handling commands on pathnames
<Tony Morales> Well, what about existing code that converts C strings to
GS/OS strings to pass to GS/OS.
<Tim Buchheim> they will choke if the path has a null..
not common, though..what file systems support nulls?
I think DOS 3.3 does, but that's it
<Tony Morales> In HFS, NULL is valid, and NULLs mark the end of C
strings, so how would the OS know the end of a string?
<Tim Buchheim> NULL is NOT valid in HFS
<Tony Morales> It's not?
<Tim Buchheim> GS/OS allows any character but a colon (page 17 of GS/OS
ref) but I don't think HFS does
hmm.. prog ref to 6.0 says "all characters but colon" but
I don't think that's right..
<Tony Morales> Hmmm
<Tim Buchheim> There, I just tried to create a file with a null, and
JudgeName rejected it.. :)
OTOH, I was able to save a file on the disk with the name
"control-A control-B control-C" it just didn't like
control-shift-two
but the ultimate GS/OS disk format would allow it :)
<Tony Morales> You can't even type a NULL, can you? I mean a direct key
stroke.
<Tim Buchheim> yes, type control-@.. every ascii chart I've ever seen
says so, and my GS seems to think so, so I assume so :)
<Tim Buchheim> I'd just stick with GS/OS strings.. a program would be
using them for all of its other pathnames, like in GS/OS
calls, SFO calls, etc.
if your thing uses GS/OS strings, a program wouldn't have
to convert between GS/OS and C strings.
[*][*][*]
When you're stuck on a programming problem and can't find an
answer in the reference books, but you need an answer fast,
come to the A2Pro Real Time Conference! The A2Pro staff as
well as other cool people who hang out in A2Pro will be happy
to find a solution for your problem! Just type "Move 530;2"
at just about any GEnie prompt!
[*][*][*]
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnieLamp Information
"""""""""""""""""""""
o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp
o GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We?
GEnieLamp Information GEnieLamp is published on the 1st of every month
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>>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<<
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o Bret Fledderjohn [FLEDDERJOHN] Mac Staff Writer
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POWER PC o Ben Soulon [BEN.GELAMP] POWER PC EDITOR
""""""""
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[*][*][*]
