[mail.framers] Clarification

tfabian@falcon.lerc.nasa.gov (Teddy Fabian) (07/17/90)

In article   writes:
>atd.com!trantor!chuck
>Newsgroups: comp.text.desktop,mail.framers
>Subject: Re: Any good WYSIWIG desktop publishing software on UNIX Workstations?
>Message-ID: <1990Jul11.001331.2820@Matrix.COM>
>Date: 10 Jul 90 12:57:02 GMT
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in a prior article, I wrote (using my other account):

>
>In article <1990Jul9.032311.6040@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>, tpf4434@DOMAIN_2.lerc.nasa.gov (Teddy Fabian) writes:
>> [InterLeaf] files are portable between platforms with some conditions..
>> (ie. how it was stored.. and what software you're using..)


and then Chuck Musciano wrote:


>
>     That doesn't sound too portable to me...
>     


so, I'd like to take the opportunity to provide some of the technical insights
into my comment...


we've use Interleaf extensively on Apollo, SUN, and IBM 386 platform and
have exchanged files between them.. but under the following conditions..

1)  the exchanges between Apollo and Sun platforms was done using IDU..
    IDU is the Interleaf Desktop Utility.. it allows the concatenation
    of all Interleaf document (book, cabinet, etc.) files into one large
    file for transfer, then requires expansion on the other platform..

    simple enough.. but with some problems...

    eg. file naming constraints on the different platforms can cause
    problems.. the Sun cannot handle special characters such as the _ or
    the / in file names.. since the Apollo can, transferring a document
    with such a character in it's name using IDU results in failure...
    to cure problem, rename the file...

2)   files save as Interleaf Ascii are directly portable between platforms..
     files saved as Interleaf Fast (binary) are only usable on the platform
     on which they are saved..  

     problem with this is it's not easy to move a BOOK with 500 documents
     in it one file at a time... (since each document is represented by four
     files, that wouuld be 2000 files to move...)  I suppose you could
     FTP them.. but the version of FTP we've got doesn't maintain directory
     structures... thus the need for IDU..  or some tape utility that can
     write on one system and read on the other... and still maintain
     tree structure (TAR maybe??)

3)    386 Interleaf to/from Apollo Interleaf..  this one is tricky...
      since we're running 4.0 TPS Interleaf on Apollo and SUN, and 3.5 Interleaf
      publisher on 386s, we don't have a really good way of getting files
      and documents back and forth..  at least not until we found Filtrix
      from Blueberry Software...


      Filtrix converts Interleaf formats from one version format to another..
      we've done some tests, and have found a few bugs, but for the most
      part it works well... (I can elaborate on the tests if there is 
      interest...)

      however, the caveats are that Filtrix only runs at this time on
      either the 386 or the SUN... file from Apollo need to be moved to 
      one or the otehr... our tests took the files to the 386..

      we moved the files to the DOS world through the Apollo DPCC DOS
      co-processor network option.. that involved configuring a "network
      offer" for the Apollo side of the machine to the DOS side.. given
      this tool for moving files, we were constrained to use only
      DOS acceptable file names.. anything else did not copy..

      next, we ran Filtrix on the files and then had to move the 
      resulting files to the 386... simple if you've got a network..
      compllex if not...

      also, for Filtrix to work, the source files need to be saved 
      as Interleaf Ascii.. the Interleaf Fast (binary) saved files bomb...

      and again, here each file needs to be converted separately... so 
      it can get quite long for a big book...



I hope that clarifies my remarks...


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*  Thanks,                                                    *
*      Ted Fabian            NASA Lewis Research Center       *
*                               Cleveland, Ohio               *
*                                                             *
*      phone:     216-433-6307  FTS 297-6307   |  disclaimer: *
*      email:     tpfabian@nasamail.nasa.gov   |  my opinions *
*                 tfabian@earth.lerc.nasa.gov  |  are my own  *
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                  tfabian@falcon.lerc.nasa.gov
--
----------------------------------------------------
Thanks,    Ted Fabian   NASA Lewis Research Center
           tpfabian@nasamail.nasa.gov      *my opinions 
           tfabian@mars.lerc.nasa.gov      *are my own..