[comp.sys.mac.hypercard] What are XFCNs supposed to return to "?" and "!"?

ari@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ari Halberstadt) (09/11/90)

I know that when an XFCN is called with the parameter "?", as in:
	example_xfcn("?")
It should return a string giving the call syntax. For instance:
	example_xfcn(sourceFileName, destinationFileName)
When called with "!", as in
	example_xfcn("!")
then the XFCN should return a string giving the version
of the XFCN.

My questions are:

1. What are the precise recommended formats of data that an XFCN
   should return in response to "?" and "!"?

2. If an XFCN has different "modes", which depend on the
   parameters passed, what is the recommended string to return in
   response to "?"? This question is actually related to an XFCN
   I've been working on which has so many different ways to
   call it that it's impractical to return a string such as:

	example_xfcn(a|b|c, x|y|z[, 1|2|3])

   Please note that there are very good reasons for my complicated
   XFCN (the XFCN should soon be available from sumex-aim under
   the name "practical-xfcns").

   The XFCN currently returns the string "Please see the manual."
   Is this acceptable? Or is there something better that should
   be done?

I appreciate any suggestions.
-- 
-- Ari Halberstadt
ari@eleazar.dartmouth.edu