dce@Solbourne.COM (David Elliott) (08/23/89)
In article <490@sunfs3.camex.uucp> kent@sunfs3.UUCP (Kent Borg) writes: >Related note: Apple said at the devl. conf. that standard file dialogs >will eventually go away. Not with 7.0, but some point later. Intriguing. What exactly does this mean? I assume that SF dialogs will be replaced with something that is as standard and useful. I can't believe that they would actually get rid of one of the few things that is really useful. -- David Elliott dce@Solbourne.COM ...!{uunet,boulder,nbires,sun}!stan!dce "I had a dream that my kids had been reparented." - Tom LaStrange
peirce@claris.com (Michael Peirce) (08/23/89)
In article <2051@marvin.Solbourne.COM> dce@Solbourne.com (David Elliott) writes: >In article <490@sunfs3.camex.uucp> kent@sunfs3.UUCP (Kent Borg) writes: > >>Related note: Apple said at the devl. conf. that standard file dialogs >>will eventually go away. Not with 7.0, but some point later. > >Intriguing. What exactly does this mean? > I place this in the same category as the old rumor that DA's will go away. Std file may someday be changed alot or an alternative interface allowed (like using the Finder to select files), but I'd be willing to bet that my old scruffy program that calls SFPutFile will work for a long long time... Claris Corp. | Michael R. Peirce -------------+-------------------------------------- | 5201 Patrick Henry Drive MS-C4 | Box 58168 | Santa Clara, CA 95051-8168 | (408) 987-7319 | AppleLink: peirce1 | Internet: peirce@claris.com | uucp: {ames,decwrl,apple,sun}!claris!peirce
earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) (08/23/89)
In article <2051@marvin.Solbourne.COM> dce@Solbourne.com (David Elliott) writes: >In article <490@sunfs3.camex.uucp> kent@sunfs3.UUCP (Kent Borg) writes: > >>Related note: Apple said at the devl. conf. that standard file dialogs >>will eventually go away. Not with 7.0, but some point later. > >Intriguing. What exactly does this mean? > >I assume that SF dialogs will be replaced with something that is as >standard and useful. I can't believe that they would actually >get rid of one of the few things that is really useful. > The plan is to replace the present awkward, List-Manager-like interface and all its hard to remember up-arrow, down-arrow, option-command arcane command set with something which is faster and more easy to use. In place of the confusing multi-object dialog box, there will be a simple one-line command window. Volume names will be done away with also, and in their place the user will be able to type in easy-to-remember hard-coded single-character drive names. In place of the "Drive" button, users will have a simple, two-character command that they can use to switch volumes and folders. The programmer interface will remain essentially the same for compatibility with older programs, but programs will have to be recoded and recompiled to take full advantage of new features of the expanded "SFCommand.Com" object-oriented file fetch and stash routines. From the user interface end of things, one long-awaited feature of the new file access protocol is that Apple plans to do away with the Disk Initialization Package in favor of a new advanced "Abort, retry, ignore?" disk error detection and correction scheme. Preliminary user interface tests show that for a highly skilled typist who knows the exact location and name of every single file on her hard disk, file access times using the new "SFCommand.Com" routine are 500% to 800% faster than with the old SF{Get,Put}File suite. Apple plans to seed developers with beta versions of the entire SFCommand package in late 1990, providing they can work out licensing details with another company which claims proprietary rights to certain key parts of the user interface. If these delicate negotiations should somehow go awry, look for another "Look and Feel" suit sometime the following year. The developer seed package is scheduled to include the new stripped-down high-performance version of the Communications Toolbox, tentatively named "Ansi.Sys." We now return you to your regularly scheduled questions. Earle R. Horton