ruslan@uncecs.edu (Robin C. LaPasha) (04/10/91)
I caught a quick mention of an AmigaVision book, so I dug deeper. Here's notes from a new owner (Jeffrey Schweiger) and the author (Lou Wallace, tech editor at AmigaWorld.) My own comments will be in brackets []. ------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Mar 91 22:56:31 PST From: schweige@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (Jeffrey M. Schweiger) Subject: AmigaVision Book The book is the Amiga World Official AmigaVision Handbook, by Louis R. Wallace. Publisher is listed as IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. in San Mateo, CA. ISBN 1-878058-15-0. List price is $24.95 U.S. It can be ordered by phone at 1-800-28BOOKS (1-800-282-6657). Here's the quick summary (from the back cover): "Section One gets you started with the basics: o What Multimedia is o All the Basic Menus o Program Editing Information o The Art of Authoring o Common Requesters Section Two is a thorough command reference of Control Commands: o Interrupts o Wait Icons o Module Icons o Database Icons o Audio Visual Icons Section Three goes in-depth, with Editors, Tools, & Programming: o Object Editor o Expression Editor o Complex Program Structures o Video Disk Controller o Database Editor Plus a Special Guide to Version 1.7" I'll try to compose a more detailed summary for comp.sys.amiga.multimedia sometime in the next couple of days. ******************************************************************************* Jeff Schweiger Standard Disclaimer CompuServe: 74236,1645 Internet (Milnet): schweige@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil ******************************************************************************* Date: 27 Mar 91 09:17:50 EST From: Lou Wallace <76376.2136@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: AmigaVision Handbook, etc. [ to my initial digression per the AmigaWorld "win a 3000" contest; ] [ Lou helped spread the word that it was open to subscribers after all... ] You're welcome (as per the contest.) Glad I was able to help, but I do hope that those hate letters are directed to those who pulled the stunt (i.e. not the editorial group). We are merely innocent bystanders! :D [ I asked him some questions about his book; specifically, how it differs ] [ from the AV manual. ] Lets see...section two... Thats a more complete (hopefully better organized) coverage of the AV icon commands. There is material that is not in the manual, as well as corrections from what is in the manual. Coverage of the language is 1.53g, not 1.31 as in the manual... However, differences between the two are noted. Section three... Detailed (more then the manual) coverage of the editors and tools. Object editor, database editor, etc. Plus it has a chapter on basic programming techniques (labelled complex programming structures by the publishers). This is for those people who ARE NOT programmers. One of the problems with the AV manual is the insistance that it is a presentation package, it is an authoring package...etc etc etc. In reality it is a programming language and I thought beginners would need more guidance and basic instructions... Arexx... no. It goes into no more detail then the manual. I wanted to add a couple of chapters...but I had reached my deadline and they didn't want to wait any longer. (actually I had exceeded the deadline already.) However, I am pushing internally for us to publish a book on arexx....which will be a great companion book for every one. [ I wonder if that's the book Eric Giguere (sp?) mentioned he's working ] [ on? ] examples.... I have somewhere between 150-200 screen shots in the book, detailing what is discussed in the text. V1.7 covers the new features in that version. (Chaining, Calling disk based flows, etc. ) It is in the form of an appendix added just before press time. [ Before anybody gets carried away - Version 1.7 is still betaware right ] [ now (at least, it was two weeks ago when I asked the CATS folks.) It's ] [ not at your dealers' yet, you can't order it, etc., and I don't know ] [ anybody outside of CATS who has it (nor do I think they'd tell about it ] [ if they did.) Okay? Just sit tight 'til they let it out. ] I plan on a disk [i.e. a companion disk to the book], but there isn't one ready yet. Yes, send it on to usenet. Hope this helps. Lou -- Robin LaPasha |Keeper of the Amiga ruslan@ecsvax.uncecs.edu |Hypermedia Mailing List