INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (Moderators Dwayne Virnau... and Lance Nakata) (12/10/87)
INFO-MAC Digest Friday, 11 Dec 1987 Volume 5 : Issue 143
Today's Topics:
localtime routine in Lightspeed C *not* incorrect
Creating Pict files from FORTRAN
Clipboard strangeness under MultiFinder
Mac Turbo Pascal Questions
How do I check the printer?
Has anyone worked with key1trans?
Localizing System 4.1
Mac II minor questions
Annoying Finder 6.0 "feature" (I'd call it a bug!)
Some more Finder features wanted
ScrapSaver
Re: Macintosh Conferences on BITNET
Re: Navigator
Micah
Looking for BANK$ software
LOGO / SCHEME
Foreign Language Spelling Checkers
Backups
request for info on hardware simulators
Re: HyperCard/BundledSystemSoftware
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 87 16:11:14 EST
From: "Carl D. Howe" <cdh@bfly-vax.bbn.com>
Subject: localtime routine in Lightspeed C *not* incorrect
Hi all,
As has been pointed out to me by numerous people, the unix compatibility
routine localtime has the following definition:
tm *localtime (clock)
unsigned long *clock;
I claimed in a previous message that clock should be of type unsigned long
because that is what the lightspeed C documentation said it should be.
However, the bug in this case is that the documentation is wrong, not
the code. If you look in any 4.2BSD or 4.3BSD manual, localtime has
the above definition, and therefore the code supplied by Think Technologies
is correct.
Sorry for the confusion. I just didn't cross check the documentation.
To users of lightspeed C, please change that manual page or risk being
confused.
Carl
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 87 16:07 EDT
From: Peter Macdonald <PDMMAC%MCMASTER.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Creating Pict files from FORTRAN
Can anyone help me with this? I can easily create Picture data structures in
FORTRAN; all the toolbox routines are available, so the sequence
OpenPicture, drawing routines, ClosePicture, DrawPicture works nicely.
Now I would like to create a disk file of type Pict that I can open later
with MacDraw or SuperPaint. How can I create such a file from the FORTRAN
program, and how do I copy the Picture data structure into it?
The alternative is to use shift-control-3 to get a screen dump, but this
gives a MacPaint image. I need to have high-resolution printouts of the
graphics, and MacPaint is not good enough.
A reply to PDMMAC@MCMASTER.BITNET would be appreciated.
Peter Macdonald
Dept of Mathematics and Statistics
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1
------------------------------
Date: Tue 1 Dec 87 14:15:12-PST
From: Bill Lipa <P.PRIAPUS@HAMLET.STANFORD.EDU>
Subject: Clipboard strangeness under MultiFinder
Here is a small Lightspeed Pascal program which demonstrates the problems I
am having getting MultiFinder to recognize that I have changed the contents
of the clipboard:
program testClipboard;
var
thePicture : PicHandle;
bounds : Rect;
pictureSize : Size;
result : longint;
begin
SetRect(bounds, 0, 0, 100, 100);
ClipRect(bounds);
thePicture := OpenPicture(bounds);
MoveTo(0, 0);
LineTo(100, 100);
ClosePicture;
HLock(Handle(thePicture));
pictureSize := GetHandleSize(Handle(thePicture));
result := ZeroScrap;
if result = NoErr then
begin
result := PutScrap(pictureSize, 'PICT', Ptr(thePicture^));
if result = NoErr then
result := LoadScrap;
end;
HUnlock(Handle(thePicture));
KillPicture(thePicture);
end.
This is probably the simplest program possible which puts anything into the
clipboard, but it does not work with MultiFinder. It DOES work will all
other systems that I tried it on, including System 4.2 running without the
MultiFinder. Tracing through the program under MultiFinder with LSP (a
risky proposition, admittedly) revealed that the clipboard routines did not
report an error. In fact, the clipboard was updated inside LSP, but once I
quit back to the Finder, the clipboard reverted to its old state. Is this
my error or some devious bug?
Bill Lipa
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 87 19:26:33 EST
From: Atul Butte <ST602397%BROWNVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Mac Turbo Pascal Questions
Does any one have any tips and techniques on constructing FKEYs, CDEVs,
WDEFs, MDEFs, INITs, etc from Turbo Pascal for the Mac (1.0a)?
Another question: Is there any chance that Borland will distribute an upgrade
program for 1.0 to 1.1 on BITNET or any other network, like THINK does with
Lightspeed Pascal and C?
Atul Butte
Brown University /-------------\ /---------------\
OK CANCEL
ST602397@BROWNVM.BITNET \-------------/ \---------------/
CS021071@BROWNCS.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 04 Dec 87 10:47:06 EST
From: "William E. Williams"
From: <BSQUARE%YALEVM.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: How do I check the printer?
I have a program that runs some lab equipment, and I'd like to let it run for
several days. Sometimes, I set it up so that it prints periodically. Can
anyone tell me how I can check the printer before I try to print, so that if
it is out of paper, jammed, etc., it won't hang up the program? If this
program were to hang up, the lab equipment would essentially be running out of
control until someone happened by, and that could be very bad!
B2
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 87 15:12:37 -0800
From: davef@jessica.Stanford.EDU
Subject: Has anyone worked with key1trans?
We're working on a foreign language vocabulary drill using Hypercard.
For the duration of the drill, we'd like have the keyboard behave like
a German keyboard. Supposedly there is an assembly language trap
called key1trans (29E) which can do what we desire. Unfortunately, we
can't find any documentation on its use. Has anyone used it? Does
anyone know how it's used? Any and all information, including
pointers to MacTutor articles or Tech Notes would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Dave Finkelstein
davef@jessica.stanford.edu
davef%jessica@stanford.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: 02 Dec 87 10:48 -0330
From: <dgraham@mun.bitnet>
Subject: Localizing System 4.1
I have a Mac+ with a French-Canadian keyboard and have recently been trying
to localize the System/Finder which came with my copy of Suitcase to
French- Canadian. The Localizer tells me it's installing the resources,
and spits out the disk, which then invariably bombs when I try to boot
(ID=02). The un- localized disk works fine. What's going on? Is my copy
of Localizer corrupted? Is there a new version of Localizer which I need.
Can System 4.1 not be localized? Is there a different way to do it? Until
I find out, I'm stuck with 3.2/5.3. All suggestions gratefully received.
David Graham dgraham@mun.bitnet
Department of French and Spanish dgraham@munucs.mun.cdn
Memorial University of Newfoundland dgraham@kean.mun.cdn
St. John's, NF dgraham@munucs.uucp
CANADA A1B 3X9 $...dalcs!garfield!munucs!dgraham
(709) 737-7636
------------------------------
Date: 3 Dec 87 19:40:00 EST
From: <hamm@biovax.rutgers.edu>
Subject: Mac II minor questions
Hi all,
Just got my Mac II, and I love it apart from a few minor hiccups (mostly
my fault). I do have a couple of small questions for those who've been
here before me:
1) After I got it set up (with Apple's color monitor and video card),
and set the monitor part of the control panel to color, the apple on
the menu bar turned on its colors. The next time I booted up, I noticed
that the little Mac drawing on the "Welcome to Macintosh" startup
screen was also in color - like the T-shirt. After futzing around
with moving hard disk data (including trashing my DataFrame once, clearing
PRAM, etc.), I seem to have lost that: the apple is still in color, but
the startup drawing is not. What have I done? Will it hurt anything else?
2) Of more consequence, many of the less important things I ran on
my Mac Plus won't run (or worse) on the Mac II. Does anyone know of
a recent list of which software runs, which needs updating, and which
is gone forever?
Thanks,
Greg
Gregory H. Hamm || Phone: (201)932-4864
Director, Molecular Biology Computing Lab ||
Waksman Institute/CABM || BITNET: hamm@biovax
P.O. Box 759, Rutgers University || ARPA: hamm@biovax.rutgers.edu
Piscataway, NJ 08854 * USA ||
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 87 15:15 EST
From: Paul Christensen <PCHRISTENSEN%rca.com@RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: Annoying Finder 6.0 "feature" (I'd call it a bug!)
Ever since Finder 5.1, Apple stopped tracing folder hierarchies to
report their storage. Remember Finder 4.1 (MFS) and Finder 5.0 (HFS)?
When you opened a window, it told you the number of items, #K in folder
or trash, and #K on disk. Finder 5.1 and later removed the #K in window
item because of the performance issues associated with searching complex
directories on large HFS volumes. However, by selecting either a folder
or the trash can and choosing GET INFO from the File menu, the user could
force the Finder to search the tree and report the total storage in bytes.
And on MFS volumes, you could still choose VIEW by SIZE, NAME, DATE, or
TYPE to see the folder sizes.
Well folks, with Finder 6.0, Apple's thrown in a curve...you can still
GET INFO on a folder to see its contents, but you can no longer select
the trash can and see how many bytes within folders you are going to delete!
Here's the situation: if you throw away one or more files and then choose
GET INFO on the trash can, it will tell you how many bytes are to be deleted.
However, if you throw one or more folders into the trash, the Finder will
refuse to search the folder contents to add their storage to the number of
bytes to be deleted. If only folders are sitting in the trash can, Finder
reports "0 bytes to be deleted", even if the folders are not empty! Manually,
you can select each folder in the trash can and GET INFO on it, or you can
open every folder and then GET INFO on the trash can. Either way is a PAIN!
What happened? I am more than aware of the performance issues of
searching large directory trees, but making the user force the search
through a GET INFO was supposed to take care of that. Why did Apple
remove this feature for the Trash Can??? Can anyone at Apple answer?
Are you still watching the nets, Larry?
Thanks in advance...
Paul Christensen
(A somewhat annoyed software librarian who constantly "eyes the trash")
CSNET: PCHRISTENSEN%HENRY.DECNET@CRD.GE.COM (preferrable)
PCHRISTENSEN@RCA.COM (until end of December)
------------------------------
Date: 2 DEC 87 22:57-N
From: CZYCHI%CSGHSG52.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: Some more Finder features wanted
Having used the new system software for quite a while now, I would really like
to see some features implemented into the Finder (MultiFinder). What do you
think?
1) The use of the SFGetFile box is very inconsistent. The best solution would
be: To show the folder of the desktop which window was open before the DA or
application has been opened or chosen. The only way to change this kind of
"default setting" should be to save or to open a document. And then,
only the setting of the actual application or DA should be changed.
2) If you choose open from the file menu and nothing is selected, present a
SFGetFile box. Otherwise you are messing up the desktop if you just wanted
to open a file on a deep level of your harddisk. (As I usually do)
2) Implement the following: If you open a window with the option key, the
last open window should be closed.
3) Please allow the Finder to open more than 12 windows!
4) The definition of startup DAs should be possible for DAs which have been
installed with the option key pressed. There are some DAs which are
absolutely useless in the DA Handler layer (for example the Windows DA from
David Oster).
5) Everytime I open large folders, for example my system folder, I have to wait
25 sec (!) until I see the contents. In these days, when more and more
people are using harddisks with a lot of megs, something should be done
about this.
Someone on the net mentioned it before: The Finder was superb in the older
days, when there were no harddisks, 128 k memory, etc. But nowadays we do
need something more.
Gary
Gary T. Czychi University of St.Gallen
EARN%"CZYCHI@CSGHSG52"
EARN%"CZYCHI@CSGHSG53"
==: (CZYCHI@CSGHSG52.bitnet)
Tel.: --41 / 71 / 27 52 68
--49 / 211 / 46 01 23
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 87 10:10:19 PST
From: PUGH@NMFECC.ARPA
Subject: ScrapSaver
Well, the USENET people inform me that version 1.5 of ScrapSaver has no
troubles under MultiFinder, but the version in SUMEX's archives is 1.2, which
DOES have problems. How about someone cross posting a newer version?
Jon
[Okay, Info-Mac readers. Anyone want to send it over? - Lance]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 87 12:28 N
From: <FRUIN%HLERUL5.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu> (Thomas Fruin)
Subject: Re: Macintosh Conferences on BITNET
> It was recently agreed upon during a frenzied impromptu meeting on the
> RELAY that we would like to gather for a weekly Macintosh conference
> on BITNET. It was "moved" and "seconded" that this occur on
> Saturdays, 10PM EDT, Channel 512. We'll try to post a topic labelled
> "Macintosh" on that channel to let others know when they check in to the
> RELAY.
There has been a weekly Macintosh conference going on for at least a year
on RELAY now. It happens every Tuesday, same channel, at 11 PM GMT.
I don't mind if a new conference is started on Saturdays, or if both
conferences are merged into one, but *please* take into account that
Europeans would like to attend too. 10 PM EDT is 4 AM GMT, so that
effectively rules out any European participance. I would very much like
to see another time. A couple of hours earlier would help a lot.
Let's discuss this further (Tuesdays on RELAY ;) or send me mail ...
Thomas Fruin
fruin@hlerul5.BITNET
thomas@uvabick.UUCP
2:500/15 on FidoNet
Leiden University, Netherlands
------------------------------
Date: 30 Nov 87 08:07 PST
From: Newman.pasa@Xerox.COM
Subject: Re: Navigator
I tried the Navigator for a little while. It is obviously the correct way
to use Compuserve: it is easy to use and it speeds up your interactions
with CIS a lot. The unfortunate thing is that it makes using CIS *too*
easy. When I tried it, my CIS bills leapt to about 2 times what they were
previously because of increased on-line time. As a result, I went back to
Red Ryder and tried to cut down.
The Navigator is in the process of becoming a product rather than
shareware, and I imagine that you could order it by mail from the author,
whose address I imagine you could get from CIS. I don't have my copy
anymore - it was too dangerous.
>>Dave
Disclaimer: Ain't nobody here but us chickens!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 87 10:36:28 EST
From: uunet!eplrx7!eplrx7!lad@mimsy.umd.edu (Lawrence Dziegielewski)
Subject: Micah
I have a Micah internal hard disk and have had NO problems with it.
The Micah allows me to keep both floppies in my SE and does not get
in the way of other expansion cards and cables like the Microtek does.
Micah's AT40 for the SE actually formats out to 45.2 MB, and at $899.
is a bargain (2 year warranty too!).
Try Micah at 1 800 782 0097.
Standard disclaimers apply.
/lad
------------------------------
Date: 1 Dec 87 08:19:00 MST
From: <darieb@sandia-2.arpa>
Subject: Looking for BANK$ software
I am searching for a shareware accounting package called BANK$. It was
reviewed in Computer Languages magazine. It was written in Turbo Pascal
by D.G. Gilbert. I'd like to get the source code, in order to port it to
the Macintosh, if permissible/possible. Is BANK$ already available in
net-land? Or can anybody steer me to e-mail address of Gilbert or dogStar
Software in Indiana?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Declan A. Rieb (505) 844-6338
Sandia National Laboratories
Division 2614
Albuquerque NM 87185
DARIEB@SANDIA-2.ARPA
------------------------------
Date: 2 December 1987, 18:44:41 CET
From: HAHN_K at DMRHRZ11
Subject: LOGO / SCHEME
Could anybody point me to the source for a decent LOGO and/or
SCHEME for MACs? Every hint is deeply appreciated.
Klaus
Klaus Hahn
Marburg, West-Germany
Bitnet: HAHN_K@DMRHRZ11
Bix: K_HAHN
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 87 18:39 EST
From: <ZSQY%CRNLVAX5.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: Foreign Language Spelling Checkers
At the Humanities Computing center here we get many Romance Studies, German
Lit, Russian lit, Linguistics, etc. grad students who take advantage of the
many convenient Mac fonts. However, we have yet to see *any* foreign
language spelling checkers, aside from the British Dictionary in MS Word 3.0
:-). Any leads, experience, caveats, irrelevant but amusing anecdotes, etc
should be sent to one of us directly, and we'll summarize to the net.
Thanks in advance,
Phil Gross ZSQY@CRNLVAX5.Bitnet
Linda Iroff ELFJ@CRNLVAX5.Bitnet
Cornell Humanities Computing
"The life of a Repo Man is always intese"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 87 12:19 EDT
From: ELIOT%cs.umass.edu@RELAY.CS.NET
Subject: Backups
The idea of backing up a 20 Meg+ disk onto 400-800K floppies is
basically anachronistic. Unfortunately backup tape drives for the Mac
seem to be much too expensive. (And won't work on my 512K anyhow.)
Has anyone tried to sell an interface between small computers
and VCRs? Presumably a VCR can handle at least 100K per second
using a very conservative data encoding. That would back up a 20Meg
disk in 3 1/2 minutes. Since a tape holds 2-6 hours of recording
the potential data storage on a VCR tape is incredible. A VCR
is in a different class than the cheap audio cassette tape recorders
that many people used to use as their *primary* mass storage device.
Furthermore, most of them have a PAUSE feature that can be operated by
microwave remote control. This could be used for data flow control.
Several companies manufacture generic remote controls, so this has
to be possible.
Clearly a VCR was not designed for this use, but the incentive to make
it work is great. There are probably more VCRs than Macintoshes, Apple IIs
and IBM pcs put together.
Has annyone done this?
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 87 13:16 CST
From: <KUSALIK%SASK.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu>
Subject: request for info on hardware simulators
We are looking for machine-language simulator software
runnable on MACs ... something that will let one (assemble
and) execute assembly language code without actually having
the machine. Interrupt emulation and some mechanism to
single step, examine memory, etc. is desirable.
A nice MAC-style interface would be nice too.
'simul8' which is available in conjunction with
Introduction to Computer Systems (by N. A. B. Gray,
Prentice-Hall, 1987) is representative of the flavor of software
we are after (unfortunately, we do not find the PDP-8 machine
architecture particularly useful for our application).
Please send your responses directly to me (I can summarize and
post a followup article, if people are interested).
Tony Kusalik
kusalik%sask.bitnet@relay.cs.net
kusalik@sask.bitnet
..!{alberta,ihnp4}!sask!kusalik
------------------------------
Date: 30 Nov 87 09:21 PST
From: Newman.pasa@Xerox.COM
Subject: Re: HyperCard/BundledSystemSoftware
In response to Mark Richer:
I agree that there may be better ways for Apple to handle this kind of
situation (though I don't know what they are), but I am saying that it is
not the disaster that others have painted it.
In more direct response to your points, perhaps the learning curve was so
steep for programming the Macintosh that it had an effect on the speed with
which we saw new applications? Also, while it is possible that MacWrite
and MacPaint have (and Hypercard will) stifle development, I think it is
possible that we would have waited longer for *good* software if these
programs were not intruduced by Apple, since there would have been no
standard to overcome. The fact that Apple did not upgrade MacPaint is a
point for my argument: if they had upgraded it, that would have really put
a crimp in the third-party developer's plans. Now, why the paint-tool
market is so different from the text-tool market is a good question. It
looks like Apple upgraded MacWrite because there were no products in the
works, and they did not upgrade MacPaint because there were; however, one
could argue differently, and only Apple has the real answer. Lastly, I
read somewhere that HyperCard's release as System Software is just a
convenient way to satisfy Atkinson's contract (which required that
HyperCard be free) without burdening Claris with a non-revenue producing
product.
Guide won't get the publicity that "Hype-Card" got, but it will get some as
a result of its competition with HyperCard (it has already gotten quite a
bit of free publicity as a result of this). Depending on how good the next
version is, it may or may not be a successful competitor. It seems to be
getting lots more attention in Europe than it is here, including the IBM PC
version. As for your scenario, I think that most products that are
"version 2.0" of something are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and
with or without HyperCard, a revolutionary product is what it would take
for Guide to become as popular as HyperCard is (note that "revolutionary"
is as much the public's perception as the technical reality, so lots of
advertising saying 'This is a revolutionary product' are a big part of
this). Guide may have been better off without HyperCard (and similarly for
the other software products that claim Hypermedia features: Design,
Calliope, etc.), but the hypermedia product marketplace will develop more
rapidly because of HyperCard, and OWL will have a head-start on the other
competitors in that market. I think that Apple's strategy is the best for
the market and for the consumers.
>>Dave
P.S. Is there someone out there with more business experience or education
than I have who is willing to join the discussion? (My apology Mark, if
you are such a person!)
The thoughts above are my own, and I claim sole responsibility for them ...
unless you want to share the blame.
------------------------------
End of INFO-MAC Digest
**********************