[comp.sys.mac.programmer] MPW and system

tomc@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Tom Cunningham) (05/16/91)

Are there any plans to activate the MPW C library system() routine
such that a string passed to it will be executed as a tool under the
MPW shell?  Does something like this already exist, e.g. is there
a way to run an MPW tool from inside another one?
-- 
Tom Cunningham  Motorola Inc.  Austin TX
tomc@bouwsma.sps.mot.com
cs.utexas.edu!oakhill!bouwsma!tomc

anders@verity.com (Anders Wallgren) (05/17/91)

In article <1991May16.152340.7368@oakhill.sps.mot.com>, tomc@oakhill (Tom Cunningham) writes:
>
>Are there any plans to activate the MPW C library system() routine
>such that a string passed to it will be executed as a tool under the
>MPW shell?  Does something like this already exist, e.g. is there
>a way to run an MPW tool from inside another one?


I haven't heard anything either way from Apple, but there are ways to
get around this limitation if your requirements are limited.  Instead
of calling system(), echo to stdout, pipe it to a file, and then
execute that file.  This is how Make works, for example.  Of course,
this doesn't work if the original tool needs the output of system()
before continuing, but that what I mean by 'limited'.

It would be nice if MPW could run tools within tools, but right now
I'm just happy enough to be able to pull down the Apple and
application menus while tools are running...

anders

keith@Apple.COM (Keith Rollin) (05/17/91)

In article <1991May16.203946.3969@verity.com> anders@verity.com (Anders Wallgren) writes:
>
>It would be nice if MPW could run tools within tools, but right now
>I'm just happy enough to be able to pull down the Apple and
>application menus while tools are running...

Have you seen the other things you can in MPW now when tools are
running? I really like being able to play around with the windows
(move, resize, scroll them). I'm always looking for something to do
when compiling, so I look over my source code and think about what I'm
going to do when the &%$# compile finishes.

Unfortunately, you can't open or close windows when a tool is running.
I expect it has something to do with MPW's file system hooks.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Rollin  ---  Apple Computer, Inc. 
INTERNET: keith@apple.com
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"But where the senses fail us, reason must step in."  - Galileo

time@ice.com (Tim Endres) (05/18/91)

In article <52987@apple.Apple.COM>, keith@Apple.COM (Keith Rollin) writes:
> In article <1991May16.203946.3969@verity.com> anders@verity.com (Anders Wallgren) writes:
> >It would be nice if MPW could run tools within tools, but right now
> >I'm just happy enough to be able to pull down the Apple and
> >application menus while tools are running...
> 
> Have you seen the other things you can in MPW now when tools are
> running? I really like being able to play around with the windows
> (move, resize, scroll them). I'm always looking for something to do
> when compiling, so I look over my source code and think about what I'm
> going to do when the &%$# compile finishes.
> 
> Unfortunately, you can't open or close windows when a tool is running.
> I expect it has something to do with MPW's file system hooks.

What version does this!?!?!?!
MPW 3.1 seems to let me do nothing while compiles occur.

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anders@verity.com (Anders Wallgren) (05/18/91)

In article <52987@apple.Apple.COM>, keith@Apple (Keith Rollin) writes:
>Have you seen the other things you can in MPW now when tools are
>running? I really like being able to play around with the windows
>(move, resize, scroll them). I'm always looking for something to do
>when compiling, so I look over my source code and think about what I'm
>going to do when the &%$# compile finishes.
>

I have now.  This is great - no more cursing MPW while I try to switch
out or read source.  Now if I only had the time to fiddle with MABuild
to make it ToolServer-aware...

anders

nicky@apple.apple.com (Nick Pilch) (05/24/91)

MPW can't execute a script or a tool from a tool. It would be a VERY big
technical challenge to do so. As far as being able to mouse around in MPW
while a tool is running, that feature is in MPW 3.2b6 (on E.T.O. #3) and
later.

Nick Pilch
Development Systems Group
Apple Computer
nicky@cup.portal.com
nicky@apple.apple.com
AppleLink: NICK.PILCH