jay@icsi.berkeley.edu (Jay Weber) (11/13/89)
Seems I'm always asking questions, but salespeople never know the answers and you can't get good technical documentation before buying a product. Right now I'm considering developing some custom applications programs to run under Microsoft Windows, but I need to know the answers to the following questions: 1) Can programs start other Windows applications? It it just using DOS EXEC? 2) Can Windows display directories as a group of icons? Can a program cause such a directory to be displayed? 3) Can arbitrary programs be invoked by dragging a file and dropping it into the application (like the "trashcan" idiom)? 4) What does the Windows Developer's Kit give you? 5) In what way, if any, does Windows support multi-tasking? Thanks, Jay Weber jay@icsi.berkeley.edu
paul@cscnj.csc.COM (Paul Moody) (11/16/89)
In article <32506@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, jay@icsi.berkeley.edu (Jay Weber) writes: > 1) Can programs start other Windows applications? It it just using DOS > EXEC? Yes, you can start other winapps, but it is not a dos exec. There is some windows setup to do first. > 2) Can Windows display directories as a group of icons? Can a program > cause such a directory to be displayed? No, but you can buy utilities to display directories this way. I dont know if any of these talk to other apps. > 3) Can arbitrary programs be invoked by dragging a file and dropping > it into the application (like the "trashcan" idiom)? No, but once again you can buy utilities to do this. > 4) What does the Windows Developer's Kit give you? The ability to write winapps. Without it you cannot. There are libraries that must be included in a windows application exe that aren't part of the MSC distribution. You also need a special linker that only comes with the developers kit. > 5) In what way, if any, does Windows support multi-tasking? Windows 2.x performs non-preemptive multi-tasking on windows applications. That is all the 286 version does. The 386 version does preemptive multitasking between virtual machines. All of windows runs in one virtual machine putting winapps back in the same boat as 286 windows. It sounds like you want windows to look like the MAC, and it most certainly is not. -- Paul Moody UUCP: rutgers!cscnj!paul Computer Sciences Corporation # the opinions expressed are entirely imaginary #