glippert@trwrb.UUCP (George A. Lippert) (07/28/87)
I know of two libraries or generic applications that are advertized to help the LightspeedC programmer in developing Mac applications: ALSoft's MacExpress and Invention Software's Programmer's Extender. Would those kind souls that have used either of these products, or other similar products that I have missed, please send their comments to me so that I can make an intelligent buying decision. I will certainly summarize the responses and post them to this newsgroup. Thank you.
chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/31/87)
>the LightspeedC programmer in developing Mac applications: ALSoft's MacExpress
I use MacExpress on my disk about once a month right after I do a full
backup. It works fine, takes about an hour to clean everything up, and
definitely speeds up the disk by a noticeable amount. It's a quick and
relatively painless way to make sure your hard disk isn't getting munged
and to do things like keep your Desktop a reasonable size.
chuq
Chuq Von Rospach chuq@sun.COM Delphi: CHUQ
We live and learn, but not the wiser grow -- John Pomfret (1667-1703)mo@well.UUCP (Maurice Weitman) (08/01/87)
In article <24613@sun.uucp> chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: >I use MacExpress on my disk about once a month right after I do a full >backup. It works fine, takes about an hour to clean everything up, and > [...] I'm afraid Chuq is confusing DiskExpress, which "de-fragments" disks, with MacExpress, which is a programming tool for use in a variety of environments as MacApp is in MPW. While I have no real experience with it, I did spend an hour watching over someone's shoulder while he was using it, and it did look slick. I'm quite certain it was used with Lightspeed C to develop a rather powerful commercial application. -- Maurice Weitman ..!{dual,hplabs,lll-crg,ptsfa,glacier}!well!mo | <- this is not a pipe POBox 10019 Berkeley, CA 94709 (415)549-0280 Quote: "What a revoltin' development this is." Maurizio T. Butthead, 1986 Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact or fact are transmission errors.
sterritt@ge-mc3i.UUCP (Chris Sterritt) (08/02/87)
Hello,
Having tried MacExpress VERY briefly (the Pascal version), I quickly
went back to doing it all by hand. It seemed at the time (although I have
to admit that I didn't learn it all) that it was just as much trouble, but in
a different way, than doing it all myself.
I *have* used the public-domain TransSkel stuff, however--and it's
great! It gives you a *great* reduction in programming time, thanks to taking
care of the main loop, da's, menus, etc. I've taken a program that was working
with no Mac-type interface at all (perhaps this is a silly way to develop on
the mac, but at the time...) and added a FULL, true mac-style interface in no
time (e.g., two hours! and that was after not touching TransSkel for two
months!)
Inconclusion, get TransSkel, give it a try (it has lots of good
example programs), and then compare what you've got to what the for-pay ones
offer. I'll bet you stay with TransSkel!
Plus, you get the source! I did find a bug in the Pascal version, and
corrected it, sent the fix to Owen Hartnett (see below).
Unfortunate caveat: don't write to me when you can't find transskel.
I only have the Pascal version! I think you wanted a C version.
Chris Sterritt
PS -- the guy who developed TransSkel (in C) is Paul DuBois, and he is at:
Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center
1220 Capitol Court, Madison WI 53706 USA.
he can be emailed at:
UUCP: {allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!dubois
ARPA: dubois@unix.macc.wisc.edu
dubois@rhesus.primate.wisc.edu
and the guy who ported it to Pascal is:
Owen Hartnett
Ohm Software Company
163 Richard Drive
Tiverton, RI 02878 USA
and email:
omh@cs.brown.edu.CSNET
omh%cs.brown.edu@relay.cs.net-relay.ARPA
{ihnp4,allegra}!brunix!omh
I've talked to Owen H. by email, and he's a great guy. If you can't get the
source otherwise, you can contact him, I bet (sorry owen!)chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (08/02/87)
>I'm afraid Chuq is confusing DiskExpress, which "de-fragments"
Um, oops, blush, and mutter. So I was.
sorry about that, chief.
chuq
Chuq Von Rospach chuq@sun.COM Delphi: CHUQ
We live and learn, but not the wiser grow -- John Pomfret (1667-1703)khayo@CS.UCLA.EDU (08/03/87)
In article <331@ge-mc3i.UUCP> sterritt@ge-mc3i.UUCP (Chris Sterritt) writes:
=Hello,
(...)
= I *have* used the public-domain TransSkel stuff, however--and it's
=great! It gives you a *great* reduction in programming time, thanks to taking
=care of the main loop, da's, menus, etc. I've taken a program that was working
=with no Mac-type interface at all (perhaps this is a silly way to develop on
=the mac, but at the time...) and added a FULL, true mac-style interface in no
=time (e.g., two hours! and that was after not touching TransSkel for two
=months!)
(...)
= Plus, you get the source! I did find a bug in the Pascal version, and
=corrected it, sent the fix to Owen Hartnett (see below).
(...)
How about posting it in .binaries? (source and/or object) I, for one,
would be interested in getting the Pascal vsn. & I haven't seen it
anywhere. Of course, if I'm the only one who needs it - I'll just get in
touch with Owen. Thanks...
-----------------------------------------------------------
I'm sick & tired of editing my incorrect address in the header.
The *correct* one is khayo@MATH.UCLA.EDU; I have no connection
with the CS Department, except that we breathe the svaSAChalilpalmer@tybalt.caltech.edu (David Palmer) (08/03/87)
I wrote a crude, badly documented modal dialog handler in Lightspeed C which allows you to use dialog boxes for data entry (check boxes, radio buttons, textedit boxes for entering numbers and text, etc.) and program control (you can have a certain routine executed when a certain button is pushed, etc.) The nice thing about it is that you set up the dialog box with your favorite resource creation tool (which is, of course, resedit) and in your C code, you have a data structure which contains the types of each item, pointers to where the data should go, and pointers to the function to be executed (optional). The handler is included in the source for the Orbit program archived on sumex. David Palmer palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu ...seismo!cit-vax!tybalt! T Path
i91@nikhefh.UUCP (Fons Rademakers) (08/03/87)
I haven't seen the Pascal version of TranSkel either, so
Owen, maybe you could post it in one of the mac source groups.
Thanks in advance.
Fons Rademakers.
--
Org: NIKHEF-H, National Institute for Nuclear and High-Energy Physics.
Mail: Kruislaan 409, P.O. Box 41882, 1009 DB Amsterdam, the Netherlands
UUCP: {decvax,cernvax,uck,unido,vmucnam,seismo}!mcvax!nikhefh!i91
BITNET: nikhefh!i91@mcvax.bitnet Telex: 10262 (hef nl)aez@j.cc.purdue.edu (Ken Oakeson) (08/03/87)
In article <2240@trwrb.UUCP> glippert@trwrb.UUCP (George A. Lippert) writes: > >I know of two libraries or generic applications that are advertized to help >the LightspeedC programmer in developing Mac applications: ALSoft's MacExpress >and Invention Software's Programmer's Extender. > >Would those kind souls that have used either of these products, or other >... I've had some experience with Invention Software's Programmer's Extender. I can't really say that I've used all of its routines, because I don't have them all! When I first ordered three of the Extender packages, I received a backorder notice, only to find later that none of them had even been completely written! The Programmer's Extender seems to include many useful time-saving routines. I highly recommend it for someone who wants to begin programming on the Mac in the not-so-near future! Ken Oakeson
khayo@CS.UCLA.EDU (08/05/87)
Thanks to the information buried deep in one of the summaries
(about the on-line services used by the readers) I managed to
connect with SUMEX archives & found TransSkel there. In case you
missed the relevant article or (like myself) are still discovering
all the important Unix tools, here's how (stuff in brackets is what
you type, braces - my comments):
[ftp sumex.stanford.edu]
{after a while you'll see: blah blah...} connected
{or, of course, "login timed out" :-(}
{now ftp will ask you for the login name, displaying your standard
name as the default; don't hit return; instead, say [ANONYMOUS]}
{hopefully, you'll be prompted for password, being you "real id";
I used my login name (khayo) at this point, but I guess it can be
anything; after that you should be happily hooked up to the remote
host}
ftp> [ls] {to see the full directory, if you aren't only interested
in Mac stuff, or...}
[cd INFO-MAC] {and don't worry about the some nonsense about
password being needed here, just ignore it}
ftp> {now you can see the directory of all the goodies by typing}
[ls] {or, for printing etc., transfer the directory to your
machine by typing}
[ls * <local file name>] {* has the usual wildcard meaning,
so you can restrict the listing, eg. *REDRYDER*}
ftp> {to download the files you want, say...}
[get <remote file name> <local file name - optional>]
{the TransSkel files have names:
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-MULTISKEL-PAS.HQX
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-PART1.HQX
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-PART2.HQX
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-PART3.HQX
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-PASCAL-DEMOS.HQX
UTILITY-TRANSSKEL-PASCAL-DOC.HQX
It is certainly worthwhile to try a wildcard in "get" to download
all of them, but I don't know if it will work.
I assume they are in BinHex format, but I haven't downloaded
them yet. Moreover, I see that there are also two similar
sets of files, as above but TRANSSKEL is replaced by TRANSEDIT
in one case and by TRANSDISPLAY in the other (except the
"MULTISKEL" file has no counterparts in either of those sets);
I suspect they are somehow related, but - as I said - give me
time.}
ftp> [bye] {after you're through}
I hope it helps. Eric
-----------------------------------------------------------
I'm sick & tired of editing my incorrect address in the header.
The *correct* one is khayo@MATH.UCLA.EDU; I have no connection
with the CS Department, except that we breathe the same smog.omh@nancy (Owen M. Hartnett) (08/05/87)
In article <7574@shemp.UCLA.EDU> khayo@CS.UCLA.EDU (Erazm J. Behr) writes: >In article <331@ge-mc3i.UUCP> sterritt@ge-mc3i.UUCP (Chris Sterritt) writes: >=Hello, >(...) >= I *have* used the public-domain TransSkel stuff, however--and it's >=great! It gives you a *great* reduction in programming time, thanks to taking >=care of the main loop, da's, menus, etc. I've taken a program that was working >=with no Mac-type interface at all (perhaps this is a silly way to develop on >=the mac, but at the time...) and added a FULL, true mac-style interface in no >=time (e.g., two hours! and that was after not touching TransSkel for two >=months!) >(...) >= Plus, you get the source! I did find a bug in the Pascal version, and >=corrected it, sent the fix to Owen Hartnett (see below). >(...) > How about posting it in .binaries? (source and/or object) I, for one, >would be interested in getting the Pascal vsn. & I haven't seen it >anywhere. Of course, if I'm the only one who needs it - I'll just get in >touch with Owen. Thanks... >----------------------------------------------------------- >I'm sick & tired of editing my incorrect address in the header. >The *correct* one is khayo@MATH.UCLA.EDU; I have no connection >with the CS Department, except that we breathe the same smog. I've been trying to get the Pascal version posted since November!!! Apparently the path between my node and the moderators is non-existant. I even enlisted the aid of Paul DuBois, the original author of the C version, to act as a relay station between the moderator and myself, but nothing has come of it. This is kind of a guest account, so sending out many individual mailings is not in the cards, and, besides, it defeats the purpose of the net. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. -Owen Hartnett Owen Hartnett Brown University Computer Science omh@cs.brown.edu.CSNET omh%cs.brown.edu@relay.cs.net-relay.ARPA {ihnp4,allegra}!brunix!omh
maiden@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (VLSI Layout Project) (08/05/87)
In article <7609@shemp.UCLA.EDU> khayo@CS.UCLA.EDU (Erazm J. Behr) writes: ... information about ftp to sumex-aim.stanford.edu ... >ftp> {now you can see the directory of all the goodies by typing} > [ls] {or, for printing etc., transfer the directory to your > machine by typing} > [ls * <local file name>] {* has the usual wildcard meaning, > so you can restrict the listing, eg. *REDRYDER*} >ftp> {to download the files you want, say...} > [get <remote file name> <local file name - optional>] ... information about getting TransSkel ... > It is certainly worthwhile to try a wildcard in "get" to download > all of them, but I don't know if it will work. > I assume they are in BinHex format, but I haven't downloaded > them yet. ... more stuff ... >ftp> [bye] {after you're through} > >I hope it helps. Eric >----------------------------------------------------------- >I'm sick & tired of editing my incorrect address in the header. >The *correct* one is khayo@MATH.UCLA.EDU; I have no connection >with the CS Department, except that we breathe the same smog. Generally to use wildcards such as '*' in ftp, use 'mget' instead of 'get'. 'mget' (multiple get) will prompt you for confirmation before each get it performs. I'm not certain if 'mget' is available on every version of ftp. Nearly everything except some strict text files are in BinHex 4.0 format; some stuff is in Packit format as well. ed. {seismo|decwrl}!sdcsvax!maiden maiden@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu
drc@dbase.UUCP (Dennis Cohen) (08/05/87)
In case anyone is interested, I have also ported TransSkel, TransDisplay, and TransEdit to TML Modula-2 and SemperSoft Modula-2. The TDI Modula-2 version is waiting on a fix to the compiler so that it won't crash when compiling a large module. I've also moved both TransSkel and the Blob Manager to TML Pascal. Most of these are available on Compu$serve and GEnie. I would be more than willing to provide them to someone who wants to post them (since the only way I can get anything out around here is as a followup to a message). Dennis Cohen Ashton-Tate Glendale Development Center dBASE Mac Development Team
palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu (David Palmer) (08/05/87)
In article <3590@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> maiden@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (VLSI Layout Project) writes: > >Generally to use wildcards such as '*' in ftp, use 'mget' instead >of 'get'. 'mget' (multiple get) will prompt you for confirmation >before each get it performs. I'm not certain if 'mget' is available >on every version of ftp. Also, if you don't want to confirm each file individually, some ftp's have the command line option '-i' (for interactive) which prevents prompting on each file. David Palmer palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu ...rutgers!cit-vax!tybalt.caltech.edu!palmer
drc@dbase.UUCP (Dennis Cohen) (08/10/87)
A number of you have sent me replies that you would be glad to forward the M2 and Pascal TransSkels on; however, only one of you sent an address that I can reach (USnail) since, as I posted previously, the only way I can get anything out of this site is as a "Followup" to someone else's posting. I am mailing the disks down to Joel West and he will get them to SUMEX and hopefully to the moderator for posting. There is a lot of source involved. The TML Modula-2 versions of TransSkel, TransDisplay, and TransEdit with their examples comprise over 400K of source alone. What documentation exists is the original C documentation by Paul DuBois (which is every bit as good as his implementation). Dennis Cohen Ashton-Tate Glendale Development Center dBASE Mac Development Team