dan@lillie.mbl.edu (Daniel Johnston) (07/18/90)
This is the README for the 1.0-c version of Stuart. OK. Finally, I think I've got a solid 1.0- Stuart. Who knows? I don't, as everything I can think of testing works. The only solid bug which doesn't is when the Line default is set to 32, and the second window never comes up and the third crashes bug. Also, the reported but not followed up bug with WordPerfect on VMS, and a hard to repeat bug which pulls lines from other windows when a new window is created. All of which were in 1.0-. Anyhow, the main thing I added to 1.0-c was new documentation. If you don't trust it for anything else, grab it for the documentation. Since it is entirely new, I would recommend that even long-time users read the new docs. They aren't too long, and they are in roff -man format, which I found more concise than using NeXT-style documentation. It also looks really nice when ptroff'ed, and I have grown to intensly dislike WriteNow, anyway. I suppose I should give instructions for non-hackers. To view the manual pages, you would more than likely want to run the following on each: nroff -man Stuart.1 >Stuart.man replacing Stuart with the appropriate filename. This will give a straight ASCII version of the file. To print them, do: ptroff -man files Don't print the nroff version - the ptroff version looks a _lot_ nicer. Of course, the files could be placed in /usr/man, and reindexed . . . A problem was reported for 1.0-b where new windows wouldn't come up. That happened here once, too. The problem seems to manifest when you copy a new version of Stuart over the old, and some buffers somewhere don't get updated. Anyhow, it went away when the user logged out and back in. When installing Stuart, it may be best to power off and back on. This goes for any time you do it, with any version. Alternately, it may be enough to first delete the old version, and then copy the new version in. Also, make sure no executing copies are out there when you install it! A note to all users who are waiting for 1.0: You're waiting for a chimera. 1.0 is not going to be anything amazing for 1.0-c users. In fact, most users a probably will not be able to tell the difference between 1.0-c and 1.0. That is my aim for 1.0. I worry that some of you are getting your hopes up too high. 1.0-c is solid (sounds familiar), and I would be tempted to say it is 1.0 if I wasn't so picky about my code. It crashes on me less often than earlier versions did. I removed Shell from my Dock sometime during the day. I even forced one of my local users to switch to it (he'd been using a semi-fixed 1.0-), and he even said it looked solid. Anyway, I'm sick of 1.0-. Unless bugs come in which crash things, or are otherwise dangerous, 1.0- has met the end of the line. I've better things to work on. It it now out on cs.orst.edu, coming soon to a NeXT near you. scott hess scott@gacvax1.bitnet PS: Since I'm feeling exceptionally daring, could someone please post this to comp.sys.next for me. I want everyone to be watching when 1.0-c flops :-). Keywords: Terminal, Shell, vt100, Stuart. -- dan johnston (dan@lillie.mbl.edu) whitman 316 548-3705, ext 364 or 365
FAT48@cc.usu.edu (07/28/90)
Date: 27 July 1990
Two days ago I downloaded Stuart1.0-c, a program written by
Scott Hess, and have found that it provides very complete VT-100
terminal emulation, which is far better than NeXT's Terminal applica-
tion. Even the keypad works! Now I can complete my phaseout of the
Mac and can really enjoy using my NeXT. Congratulations to Scott for
this fine program; my shareware check for $40 is in the mail. Hope-
fully Scott Hess will support Stuart for the NeXT just as Scott Watson
developed Red Ryder for the Mac. Keep up the good work, Scott.
Signed: Ed Vendell, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Utah State University, Logan, Utah fat48@cc.usu.edu