MARK@ISIS.MIT.EDU (Mark Kriegsman / MIT VAX Resource Center) (03/17/88)
I want to suggest something radical: Let new programs take advantage of the increaed abilities of the newer machines (e,c,gs, etc.) where appropriate, and have operating modes that allow the millions (literally) of people using older machines (unenhanced e, ][+, ][) to still run the program. If you're designing on a ][+, think of it as "Enhanced" modes, that go beyond the normal functionality of the program. If you're designing on a //gs, think of it as "Reduced" modes, that provides functionality without any frills. Yes, I mean even programs that "need" 128K, or "need" double hires, or super hires, or 2.5Mhz, or something special like that. Programmers should be aware that the ability to run the program on ALL the ][ machines is a BIGGER selling point than saying it runs only on the NEWEST machines. The program should USE the NEWER machines' features, if available, but be prepared to present themselves in a minimal-ProDOS environment (64K, Applesoft ROM, maybe only 40 columns, maybe no lowercase, maybe no APPLE keys.) Unauthorized suggestion for second opinion: The author of BLU. As I understand it, BLU gained mousetext and mouse support, and the MOST RECENT release also runs on machines without those features. This kind of thinking makes programming a more complex task, but if the features of the program are abstracted from the user interface, then the appropriate interface can be chosen, given the hardware available at runtime. Somehow, this seems more sensible than having a ][ version, and a //e version (or two: one with mousetext and mouse support, and one without) and a //gs version (with 8 voice background music :) ). All you un*x/C people: think about 'curses'. All you VMS programmers, think about the SMG routines. And think about many more people would use your program if 1) they COULD! and 2) it maximally utilized the features of their machine. Mark Kriegsman, Renaissace Project Mark%ISIS@Athena.mit.edu or- Mark@ISIS.MIT.EDU "Apple // Forever!" They made it first, we'll make it last.