INFO-MAC@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU.UUCP (02/11/87)
INFO-MAC Digest Wednesday, 11 Feb 1987 Volume 5 : Issue 50
Today's Topics:
Driver for Toshiba
ms fortran v2.2
MacPaint to Sun rasterfile converter??
Re: ImageWriter II print scrunching
Inside Scoop on Experlisp
Inside Scoop on Experlisp
Re: Another Mac Interface Comment
complaints about SFPutFile dialogs
SFPutFile
re: EXCEL Macros
HFS corvus
DA-LASERKEY.HQX
GAME-SHANGHAI-DEMO.HQX
Usenet Mac Digest V3 #9
Usenet Mac Digest V3 #10
Delphi Mac Digest V3 #9
Delphi Mac Digest V3 #10
Looking for Music Tutor
Backing up a DataFrame 20
Help for a friend...
Nevins microsystems???
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 87 08:43:58 PST
From: soibelman@Vortex.Caltech.Edu (Israel Soibelman)
Subject: Driver for Toshiba
Is anyone aware of a driver for the Macintosh to
a Toshiba Printer? In general, what other graphic printers
can be used with the Mac besides the Imagewriters and the
Laserwriters?
-Thank you in advance
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 87 12:06:42 EST
From: Thomas Coradeschi (FSA-E) <tcora@ARDEC.ARPA>
Subject: ms fortran v2.2
Help
Does anyone know of a bug in MS Fortran v2.2 which causes a bomb (ID=-03)
when it is compiled or (ID=-10) when it is compiled and executed
on my 512k mac? (System 3.2, Finder 5.3) It didn't do
that when I used the mac+, but that moved to Texas, so i'm stuck with the
512 until my plus arrives. The problem only occurs when the compiler is
installed on the hard disk. Of course, I could just use the floppy disk,
but then why have a HD? Any suggestions anyone? The hard disk is a hyperdrive
and so is the one on the mac+, so I don't really see that as a problem.
Regards,
tom c
arpanet: tcora@ardec.arpa
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 87 12:11:44 PST
From: Robert E Strout <strout@lll-lcc.ARPA>
Subject: MacPaint to Sun rasterfile converter??
I am trying to locate a converter to change the format of a MacPaint file
into a Sun raterfile. The converter can run on either the Mac or the Sun.
Do you know of anything that exists?
Is there anything in the archive that might do the job? How do I get to the
archive?
Thanks in advance,
Robert E Strout II
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
strout@lll-lcc.arpa
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 87 19:11:05 pst
From: well!mofo@lll-lcc.ARPA (MOFO)
Subject: Re: ImageWriter II print scrunching
Reply-to: well!mofo@lll-lcc.ARPA (MOFO)
I was quoted as saying that my dealer had replaced the system board in my
ImageWRiter II. In fact, the dealer ordered the wrong board and has not
yet gotten the right board from Apple. They are still promising that the
board replacement will fix the ImageWroter text scrunching. It appears to
them that the board has a feature that backs up the paper just slightly
(to correct for paper path length, longer in the Im-II than the Im-I), and
some software some of the time toggles that back-up.
so I still do not know if replacing the printer system board fixes the
problem, and am still looking for a fix.
------------------------------
Date: Thu 5 Feb 87 00:35:16-EST
From: Richard A. Cowan <COWAN@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Inside Scoop on Experlisp
Since I have some inside information on ExperLisp, I want to respond
to a couple of Bill Coderre's comments.
I worked at Expertelligence for a summer. Since it was in 1985, well
over a year ago, I only worked on the beginnings of the most recent
stuff; yet I did see how the product became what it is now. As I have
no financial interest in the company, and own no stock, these are
strictly my own opinions, untainted by "ExperDoctrine."
When I worked at ET, the version we had was 1.03. Needless to say, a
lot of things have improved since them. Error handling has been
completely redone. The garbage collector was completely replaced, as
the original was optimal for 256K of memory. The compiler has been
significantly redone, in order to allow standalone applications to be
produced and to provide some nice Class System features. The Reader
and the printer were completely rewritten in Lisp. 600 entirely new
pages of documentation were written. 600 or so Toolbox functions have
been added. Copy protection has gone. Configurability has been
added. All development is now done on a Macintosh. There is actually
little in the new system that is the way it was before.
Only a few of the nonstandard features of the language are still
there; the reason they remain is that they are deeply ingrained
in the system because they involve major compiler changes. I
personally advised against the Common Lisp direction because I
felt the necessary changes would not be made.
Now a product called ExperCommonLisp is out, and as Bill points out,
the changes to produce a "true" common lisp haven't been made.
Whether this is important to you depends on your application. If you
are doing something that requires portability, relies on the language
features of Common Lisp, and does little Macintosh-specific
processing, it will matter. But if you are doing Macintosh
programming (that uses graphical routines), the changes needed to
convert to or from another approximation of Common Lisp will be small
in comparison to the changes needed in Mac-dependent I/O or graphics
code.
The first class procedures in Experlisp are actually more convenient
than actual Common Lisp, because they make it easy to pass procedures
as arguments to other procedures. However, the lack of packages or
of the ability to write internal procedures means that everything goes
into the global environment, and thus it is easy to trash a procedure
you need.
I agree with Bill that the most serious problem is the inability to
use lambdas within procedures that are file compiled. The reason is
that the compiler section of Experlisp is unavailable in a standalone
application. This doesn't mean you can't define procedures in a file
to be compiled; it just means that you can't define higher order
procedures.
Nor does it mean that you can't use objects in a file-compiled
program. The reason is that you can use the class system, which is
actually much nicer because you make the fact that you are using
objects explicit. Class definitions can be file-compiled (I haven't
actually tried this, so correct me if I'm wrong). But you can't
create a new class at runtime in a file-compiled application.
Another flaw is that the debugger interface could be considerably
improved. It wastes screen space, and brings up a window no matter
what, when it would be nicer to allow full debugging to be cancelled
by the user with the keyboard, instead of bringing up a window all the
time.
The positive side of Experlisp is the ease of Toolbox development and
experimentation. A lot of this has to do with the class system, which
was designed more carefully than the rest of the system, so that it
would be easy to use, have little overhead, enforce encapsulation, and
provide major shortcuts in dealing with the toolbox.
It is extremely simple, for example, to add a method "New" to the
built-in class window to automatically create a particular type of
window, and add the messages "Move," "Hide," "Show," etc. An Update
function that uses message passing to automatically refresh objects on
the screen affected by moving a window and the window's contents are
natural.
If people wish, I could type in a section of ExperLisp code to handle
scroll bars that illustrates how the class system, using class
variables, provides some basic information that automatically sets up
properly Pascal records for Toolbox functions. Plus, these things are
automatically type-checked and garbage collected, so you can use the
toolbox without crashing very often and without doing any memory
management. 20 months ago, Larry Tesler wrote a psuedo- translation
program to convert MacApp, in Smalltalk, to Lisp. The Lisp code was
far shorter.
I should point out that the toolbox interface is low-level; it
is not an object-oriented window system. But you can make it
into an object oriented window system after a few day's work.
Unfortunately, the toolbox stuff isn't organized and explained
too well; the most useful things are buried in Volume 3, Chapter
26-27, and the memory access functions STOW, FETCH, STOWBYTE,
STOWWORD, FETCHBYTE, FETCHWORD, DEREF, ADDRESS, COERCETYPE,
LISPNEWHANDLE are blended in with the standard Common Lisp
primitives. If you figure out how to use these, then you
can do Toolbox programming.
MacApp was never finished; to do it I think you'd need a 2 Meg
macintosh, which we didn't have at the time. Experlisp with
MacApp would be fantastic, and I'd bet the company might be
even be interested in paying someone to finish the translation.
(Though there are rumours that a few companies are using
Experlisp to do something similar.)
Now, I haven't beaten on the current ExperCommonLisp version
yet, but I will tell you if that changes my impression. If
anyone has really tested it out fully, I am interested in
hearing their comments.
-rich
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 87 08:41:08 EST
From: bill coderre <bc@MEDIA-LAB.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Inside Scoop on Experlisp
Perhaps I was too hasty and too down on ECL. I shockingly
neglected to praise the extensive toolbox support. This was
unintentional.
What Mr Cowan says is correct. ECL is mostly pretty good, but
is most definitely NOT "true" Common Lisp (as defined by Steele's
book).
It depends on the programmer whether this is important. Try
before you buy. Caveat Emptor. Your mileage may differ.
All I wanted to do was prevent people from having a big,
unpleasant surprise..........happy hacking.......................bc
------------------------------
From: "Steve Munson" <sbm@purdue.edu>
Subject: Re: Another Mac Interface Comment
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 87 10:44:12 EST
> In my specific case, multitaksing would be nice, admittedly, but I find
> I don't miss it. I tend to use few Desk Accessories, simply because few
> of them are useful for me (Acta being a notable exception).
In fact, I tend to use desk accessories very seldom myself,
because, as you said, not many of them are useful. However, it is hard
for me to believe that you don't miss multitasking. I use the Mac
mainly for developing a huge program I am working on in Aztec C, and
when I am stuck twiddling my thumbs for a half hour waiting for "make"
to finish, you can't tell me multitasking is unnecessary. The person
ideally should NEVER have to wait for the machine; person time is much
more valuable than machine time. Could it be that you don't care about
multitasking on the Mac because you have gotten used to waiting for it?
Does it never bother you that you can't do anything until the print job
is finished?
I am not sure I want the Mac to have UNIX; I think a multitasking
OS could be written that would be more appropriate for the Mac than
UNIX (in fact, it already has been written). As I said before, though,
a good multitasking OS for the Mac wouldn't be able to run current Mac
programs, because current Mac programs assume that they can take over
the machine. Maybe when the Mac gets an MMU these programs could be run
in a multitasking environment. But I digress; the point is that I don't
care much about UNIX, but I think a computer's usefulness is impaired if
it can't do multitasking.
I imagine the views of this group can easily look biased, since
this group will more readily ask for multitasking than your average
businessman (who doesn't know what multitasking is anyway), but I think
that is mostly because this group knows more about how a computer can be
used than a businessman does. I remember complaining to a computer
salesman about MacWrite only allowing me to open one window at a time
(an issue which is isometric with multitasking). His reply was, "I find
that I only need one window at a time anyway." Well, the truth is that
he didn't need a computer. If Apple were just trying to satisfy
society's needs, they wouldn't be selling computers; they would be
giving away canned food. The Macintosh was created by people that had a
vision of what home computing should be, and multitasking can only make
that environment easier.
Steve Munson
sbm@Purdue.EDU
sbm@Purdue.CSNET
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 87 21:18:57 PST
From: <ARAJ@crnlvax5.bitnet>
Reply-to: ARAJ%CRNLVAX5.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu
Subject: complaints about SFPutFile dialogs
Two things that I dislike about the SFPutFile dialogs are that when you
switch to a locked disk, an alert stating "Disk is Locked" is put up, when
it is fairly obvious from the dimmed Save button that the disk is locked.
Another complaint is that when you replace a file, the Cancel button is the
default in the "Replace existing """ alert, rather than the OK button, which
is more logical.
Does anyone have a fix for these? I know that the first one is difficult,
but can the second one be set by a flag in the resource file, or is it
implemented in the SFPutFile code?
--Mark J. Steiglitz
BITNET: ARAJ@CRNLVAX5
ARPA: araj%crnlvax5.bitnet@cu-arpa.cs.cornell.edu
steig@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 87 16:00 EDT
From: ELIOT%cs.umass.edu@RELAY.CS.NET
Subject: SFPutFile
I have been out of touch for a while, so I don't know everything that
has been discussed. However, if people are proposing changes to SFPutFile
I would like to propose that it should allow you to create a folder.
I find it frustrating to be forced to save a file somewhere, exit
an application and create the new folder, instead of being able
to create a folder at the point when I logically first need it, when
I am saving a file.
Chris Eliot
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 87 17:46:07 EST
From: Mark Nodine <mnodine@labs-b.bbn.com>
Subject: re: EXCEL Macros
> Given an EXCEL spreedsheet as follows:
>
> A B C D
> 1 5 =f(a1) 10 =f(c1)
>
> where =f() is a user function; why does EXCEL recaluclate both
> B1 and D1 when only A1 is changed?
You know, I never noticed this behavior before you mentioned it. What you
have said is quite true; D1 is recalculated and I'm not sure why. However,
I have found out that what happens is (typically) more complicated than it
appears. If calculation is in manual mode, then Excel recalculates all
references to user functions in the entire spreadsheet when you do a Calculate
Now. If calculation is in automatic mode and an element is changed, then Excel
assumes that everything in that row which is also referred to elsewhere in that
row has changed(!). From there, the calculation proceeds normally.
Therefore, there are three considerations for the macro developer.
1. Don't have lots of intra-row references if you can avoid it. Arrange
things in a columnar form as much as possible. Obviously this is not always
possible for database information.
2. Running with automatic calculation should recalculate only the row you
have changed and things which depend on them.
3. To force the recalculation of the entire spreadsheet (for example, if you
change a macro), put it is manual mode and do a Recalculate Now.
Good luck.
--Mark
Disclaimer: The information above is not the official position of Microsoft
Corporation. It was gleaned from some experiments I did in response to the
reported problem and could be so much hot air (but it worked that way, really!)
------------------------------
From: Paul Skuce
From: <ames!uwvax!seismo!mcvax!hatfield.ac.uk!comt-ps@cad.Berkeley.EDU
From: >
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 87 13:46:07 GMT
Subject: HFS corvus
I have managed to get an appletalk Corvus volume to format as a HFS volume.
1: Make a volume the size you want (Note that it is HFS)
2: Run Disk First Aid and select erase disk on the volume to be made HFS
3: Quit and see your HFS volume.
The above seems to work ok on a 512 with 800k drives and new ROMs
Regards
Paul Skuce
Hatfield Polytechnic, School Information Science, P.O. box109
College Lane, Hatfield, England, AL10 9AB
comt-ps%hatfield.ac.uk%mcvax%seismo%.. from States
comt-ps%hatfield.ac.uk%mcvax%.. From Eur
comt-ps@hatfield.ac.uk JANET
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 87 08:05 EST
From: Tom Dowdy <CML5A9@IRISHMVS>
Subject: DA-LASERKEY.HQX
Follows is a DA I wrote to help eliminate some of the abuses of
our public access LaserWriter, which included editing of documents
and printing of multiple copies. Our solution was to remove
the keyboard from the machine, but we then needed a way to
allow users to selectivly print a range of pages. This DA
allows that, while preventing printing of multiple copies.
(We check out special disks w/ LW drivers to those who wish to
print, so everyone who prints has access to this DA.)
Copy it as you like, let me know if there are any bug/improvments,
or enhancments to MacWrite along the same lines of thinking as
this DA.
Documentation is included.
-Tom Dowdy
CML5A9@IRISHMVS.BITNET
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>DA-LASERKEY.HQX
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: Sat 7 Feb 87 12:43:39-PST
From: Brodie Lockard <I.ISIMO@LEAR.STANFORD.EDU>
Subject: GAME-SHANGHAI-DEMO.HQX
This is a reposting of the Shanghai demo that was put on the net a few weeks
ago. The old posting reboots your Mac upon quitting. This one will not.
My apologies to those who were inconvenienced by the reboot. Moderators--
please feel free to delete the old version. Thanks.
-Brodie Lockard
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>GAME-SHANGHAI-DEMO.HQX
(the previous version has been deleted)
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: 7 Feb 87 09:23:42 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Usenet Mac Digest V3 #9
Usenet Mac Digest Saturday, 7 February 1987 Volume 3 : Issue 9
Today's Topics:
Re: AppleShare Support (was: 5.4 Finder & 3.3 Sys are out!)
LoTR fonts for the Mac
Re: Mobile or Taliesin?
Re: INITs, help...
Mac Fax info needed
Typing Tutors
Re: LaserWriter II fonts
Re: mac parallel output?
Accountant's Choice anyone?
MacInHebrew
Re: TML vs LSP
Help: Mac+ can't display numbers!
Re: TML vs LSP
Memory Expansion ??
TeX Question
Mac projectors
Re: Help: Mac+ can't display numbers!
MacDraw to Imagen program
Scuzzy info needed
Re: Animated watch cursor.
Re: Apple Announcements
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>USENETV3-9.ARC
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: 7 Feb 87 09:24:13 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Usenet Mac Digest V3 #10
Usenet Mac Digest Saturday, 7 February 1987 Volume 3 : Issue 10
Today's Topics:
MPW on 512KE Mac - How useful?
Wanted: Mac (PostScript) -> HP LaserJet
Feb 87 MacUser -- 1987 Mac Product Family?
Funny behaviour while using MS FOTRAN v2.2
Hard Disk Controllers?
Printing from Lightspeed Pascal
Info wanted on MathWriter
Theatre lighting programs
Re: Animated watch cursor.
MS Word 3.0
Re: Using MAC+ in the LAB - Help??
Jasmine Hard Disk
Info. wanted on MGM Station
Re: Theatre lighting programs
Printer port problems
Portfolio management software for the Macintosh
Re: 'trap patches'
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>USENETV3-10.ARC
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: 8 Feb 87 10:45:35 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Delphi Mac Digest V3 #9
Delphi Mac Digest Sunday, 8 February 1987 Volume 3 : Issue 9
Today's Topics:
RE: Scrapbook Problems
RE: SFGetFile, Putfile improvements
double-clicking (2 messages)
RE: MUSIC PUBLISHING
RE: 3.5 disks: what brand is best?
RE: Mobile or Taliesin?
FastPort SCSI adaptor
LIFE 3D
Perot buys into NeXt (3 messages)
a labeling program (2 messages)
Seybold Desktop Communications
CricketDraw -> other (5 messages)
COMPILER FOR OMNIS 3 PLUS (2 messages)
Hi Ho SCSI Away....
RE: ImageWriter II Print Problems
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>DELPHIV3-9.ARC
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: 8 Feb 87 10:46:10 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Delphi Mac Digest V3 #10
Delphi Mac Digest Sunday, 8 February 1987 Volume 3 : Issue 10
Today's Topics:
RE: color laserwriter cartridges
Using 400K drive as 3rd drive on Mac+
MaxMemory 2x4 RAM upgrade (4 messages)
Doors 1 and 2 in Dark Castle
Pascal and C interface (8 messages)
LaserSpeed -> WOW (2 messages)
RE: Another Mac Interface Comment
RE: LoTR fonts for the Mac
draw-grab
Re: Find an applicaton
Re: Scuzzy info needed
Re: Re: Animated watch cursor. (2 messages)
Re: Hard Disk Controllers?
[
archived as [SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU]<INFO-MAC>DELPHIV3-10.ARC
DoD
]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 87 08:08 PST
From: Wahl.ES@Xerox.COM
Subject: Looking for Music Tutor
I had a terrific music tutor for my Apple IIe and I'm looking for
something similar on the Mac. It drilled on rhythms and intervals (such
as playing two notes and asking the user what the interval was). Any
pointers to such Mac software would be appreciated, especially anything
free/shareware/cheap.
--Lisa
------------------------------
Date: 08 Feb 87 20:25:00 EST
From: Richard Zaccone <ZACCONE@BUCKNELL>
Subject: Backing up a DataFrame 20
I bought a DataFrame 20 last August from my local (60 miles away)
computer store. At the time, the back up software was not yet
available. I called them several times after, and they didn't even
know about the software. Finally, a few weeks ago, they acknowledged
that the software exists, but said that they would have to order it
from SuperMac. Well, I still don't have the software and I'm beginning
to get worried. I haven't backed up my hard disk yet. I've called
SuperMac, and they said to get the software through my dealer.
1. Does anyone know a better way to get this software? Has it been
distributed over the network?
2. Will something like HFS Backup by PCPC work?
Help!!
Rick Zaccone
Bucknell University
zaccone@bucknell.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Mon 09 Feb 1987 17:46 CST
From: Samir Kaleem <XSAK%ECNCDC.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu>
Subject: Help for a friend...
Hello Mac people...
A friend of mine is going to use MIND PROBER (remember it?) in a class,
but she wants to know how it works so she can tell about it. Does anyone
know about it's internal works? Please post to me directly if you know
about it. Thanks a lot.
-- Samir Kaleem <XSAK@ECNCDC.BITNET>
<XSAK%ECNCDC.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU>
------------------------------
Date: 8 Feb 87 22:12:00 EST
From: <bouldin@ceee-sed>
Subject: Nevins microsystems???
Reply-to: <bouldin@ceee-sed>
Is anyone ever able to get any response from Nevins microsystems, makers of
turbocharger, other than their answering machine??? They are not _ever_
answering the phone, except with the machine and they do not return messages
from me or other people who have left messages. Anyone else having better
luck??
------------------------------
End of INFO-MAC Digest
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