helge@ucbvax.UUCP (06/15/83)
T/MAKER III -- first impressions T/MAKER III consists of a number of programs (overlays) and represents a sort of integrated business package, covering list processing, graphics, data transfer and file management in addition to word processing and electronic spreadsheet functions. It is reasonably well documented (see below) and relatively easy to use, partly thanks to the excellent 'Quick Refence Booklet' that is included. All parts of the system are integrated together and the editor is used for all data entry functions, even to the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet works somewhat different from most other similar programs in that respect, and no calculations are done until a COMPUTE command is given at the main command level. In my opinion it is not very useful for the typical "what if" application, but will probably do fine for accounting purposes etc. The editor and text formatter can handle most types of documents, and although some of the text formatter commands (for text justification in particular) are very different from the 'mainstream' text formatter, it works ok. And the text printing utility is very powerful, making it easy to handle most types of printers, special characters/types and limited (low resolution) graphics. However, the documentation leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to customization. Not only the printer interface section but also the section on how to set up and change the various editor keystrokes are too terse. I haven't spent enough time with the package yet to be able to give it a fair judgement, but here are my strongest points against it (some of these are actually bugs): - The default tab settings can't be permanently changed (they are 8, 30, 40, 50, ...) - I do not get a warning if I try to exit the program without saving my changes - Tabs are always expanded. - Files containing tabs cannot be edited (the line is discarded from the first tab) - I strongly resent the way the destructive backspace works (it deletes the character under the cursor and moves the cursor one position to the left) - Files larger than the available memory buffer cannot be edited. On this system with 61K TPA, this limit is ~26.5Kbytes. While this probably is sufficient for many word processing applications, it is useless for programming (the BIOS source for this system is 28.5k with embedded tabs). - Insert mode (in the editor) does not apply to newlines (carriage returns). This means that if I want to insert more text into the middle of my document I will have to push the "insert Line" key to open up a sufficient window in the text to hold the additions. It is hard to believe that this limitation was imposed intentionally.... - when the program is started, it can optionally take a number of commands from the command line. This means that I cannot give the command "tmaker myfile", instead I must write "tmaker get myfile". I strongly resent this. Documentation -> T/MAKER III Reference Manual, 300 pages (plastic) spiral bound. This manual is huge, not only because it contains a lot of information, but also because it have been printed on an Epson MX80 printer. In addition to describing the various tasks T/MAKER can take care of, it starts off with a tutorial which is quite useful. It also contains a section on how to customize the software to run in a particular hardware environment. The index (in the front of the manual) is useful but too brief. -> T/MAKER III Quick Reference Guide, 30 pages spiral bound. A nice booklet full of very useful information. It is nicely typeset and printed in full color on real thick paper, so it should last for a while even with extensive use. Conclusion: T/MAKER III is a well documented, relatively bug-free, easy to use and well integrated "business package", useful for limited text processing, accounting and list processing as well as (very) limited low resolution business graphics. The fact that data is easily passed between the various parts of the package makes it even easier to use. Mailing lists are easily handled as are "generalized letters" with macro fields to be filled in from a data file a printing time. I will use T/MAKER for document editing and formatting and possibly the spreadsheet for checkbook balancing. I will certainly stick to VEDIT for program editing.