=========================================================================
 
INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Fri, 27 Apr 90       Volume 90 : Issue  484
 
Today's Topics:
                     Advice to Spectre GCR owners
                      An Apology to Word Perfect
                            Application(s)
                            Btrieve clone
                         Clearing the screen
              Disassembling TOS and documentation issues
                          Hitchhikers Guide
                                rexexp
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 22:27:52 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!cs325ec@ucsd.edu
 (Gregory Lemperle-Kerr)
Subject: Advice to Spectre GCR owners
Message-ID: <1990Apr27.222752.26441@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
 
I've used shutdown for a year and never ever had any problems with anything...
Am I just lucky?  or does 6.04 do something different than the system stuff
when Dave wrote the manual?
 
-- Greg
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 16:40:39 GMT
From:
 sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!haven!apl
 cen!jhunix!rick@ucsd.edu  (Eric Ruck)
Subject: An Apology to Word Perfect
Message-ID: <5078@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
 
In article <5873.263811fd@uwovax.uwo.ca> 35002_3025@uwovax.uwo.ca writes:
>In article <879@ncs.dnd.ca>, balkwill@ncs.dnd.ca (R. J. Balkwill) writes:
>
>> Now if only the price were to come down a little...
>> ---
>> Bob
>
>       There should be a student price on Word Perfect at about $200...
>
>--
>Kevin-john Conway
 
I thought that the student price on WP is either $89 or $99.  Better to call
the company.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 20:54:37 GMT
From: agate!stew.ssl.berkeley.edu!ericco@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
Subject: Application(s)
Message-ID: <1990Apr27.205437.21807@agate.berkeley.edu>
 
I bought my 1040ST to hack with.  But I'm currently working on a
business application.  I simply don't have the time to write the code
from scratch.  I've HEARD (here) that the ST is capable of running
business applications.  If so, is there software available to do the
following:
 
        o  Form entry.  Typical in database applications.  Allows a
        novice user to enter/edit a record in the database using a
        full screen format.
 
        o  Computation.  Each entry in the database requires some
        computations.  The computations are simple, but require
        sqrt(), tan(), pow() type functions.
 
        o  Form letter.  Using entries in the database, generate a form
        letter.  This letter will contain numeric values based on the
        entries in the database.  The ideal software will allow graphics
        to be inserted in the form letter.
 
I don't think that there is the slightest chance in the world that
such a piece of software exists.  I would be pleased if I could find a
group of programs that handle this functionality.  I don't think that
this is an unreasonable business aplication.  If the ST and Atari are
serious about business users I think that this type of system should
be relevently simple to buy and install.
 
Thank in advance,
Eric
 
 
Eric
ericco@ssl.berkeley.edu
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 26 Apr 90 16:22:30 GMT
From:
 cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflo
 rida!haven!aplcen!wb3ffv!ka3ovk!irscscm!mlake@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Marshall
 Lake)
Subject: Btrieve clone
Message-ID: <1990Apr26.162230.7932@irscscm>
 
What is the closest thing on the Atari ST to Btrieve (an engine to
access indexed sequential files) on the IBM?
 
Marshall Lake
mlake@irscscm.UUCP
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 19:41:36 GMT
From: xanth!austin@mcnc.org  (Jason C Austin)
Subject: Clearing the screen
Message-ID: <12348@xanth.cs.odu.edu>
 
In article <9004270923.AA02427@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> CPIAZZA@UMES.UMD.EDU writes:
>I have a question that probably has been aswered before, but since I
>didn't see it before I'll ask anyway. My problem is this: I'm trying to
>write a GEM application using the AES and VDI routines. The AES manual
>states that after a dialog or alert box has been interacted with and closed,
>the appliction must respond to a WM_REDRAW message from the event handler.
>The AES manual goes on to say that this may be done by "...a series of
>VDI calls."
>
>Well, I can get the WM_REDRAW message from the event handler ok, but how
>in the world do you redraw the screen. From playing around I gather it
>has something to do with the rectangle list and some raster operations.
>I think I understand how to get the rectangle list...but what about the
>raster ops?? Anyone know?? I'd prefer if you sent mail (with examples
>if possible) directly to me at CPIAZZA@UMES.BITNET
>
>    Thanks much!
 
        The way you update each window is completely up to your
application.  You need to somehow store the data that is in each
window and be able to redraw the entirety of each window at any time.
Basically, GEM sends back a list of rectangles that need to be
redrawn, and you need to find which of your windows those rectangles
overlap and redraw the overlaped section.  One easy way to do this is
to find the overlap section for a window, set the clipping rectangle
to this area, and then redraw the entire window.  Do this for each
rectangle GEM sends you for each window you have open.  The window
bars and the background are redrawn automatically.
--
Jason C. Austin
austin@cs.odu.edu
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 21:14:50 GMT
From: portal!atari!apratt@apple.com  (Allan Pratt)
Subject: Disassembling TOS and documentation issues
Message-ID: <2179@atari.UUCP>
 
I wrote that you had to become a developer to get technical information
on the STe.  While that may or may not be true, some people have asked
why they have to shell out more money just to write programs that
take advantage of the new hardware.
 
What you get when you pay for the STe is the machine and the customer-
level support that Atari gives.  That's what the person who buys a car
gets.  He doesn't get the maintenance manual, the engineering drawings,
the designer's notes, or the tools for repairing or improving it.  That
price point is for users, not necessarily programmers.
 
What you get when you pay for the developer's kit is the MUCH HIGHER
level of support that Atari gives to people who are going to write
programs that (presumably) will help sell ST's -- this is known as
"enlightened self-interest."  I see what you want: an intermediate
step, at a lower cost, which would give you some technical information
about the machine.  In return for the lower cost you would give up the
support we offer (which is to say, the right to ask people like me hard
questions).  I don't know, but some subsidiaries might offer that:
documentation without support, at a lower cost.
 
Personally, I think that is dangerous, because it gives people
"a little knowledge, and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
You end up with people who ONLY know technical things, and the result
is programs which are impolite to the system and make upgrades and
compatibility the nightmare it is.
 
If you have a gripe about the level of support you get for your money,
that's legitimate.  You should complain to the president of the
subsidiary you're dealing with, or to Charles Cherry, who is the
Developer Coordinator for Atari headquarters.  You can even write Sam
Tramiel.  If you do, try to be brief and specific, but not technical,
about your problems, and name names.  If you just write and whine
you're wasting your time and his.
 
I don't make decisions, so those are just my personal beliefs.  Nobody
comes to my office, taking notes, asking, "What levels of support
should we offer, and how much should we charge?" They don't do that
here in the US, much less in other countries, where we have
independent, wholly-owned subsidiaries. We throw machines and
documentation at them, and they do what they like with them.  (There is
feedback the other way, of course, but that's the basic picture.)
 
============================================
Opinions expressed above do not necessarily     -- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp.
reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else.      ...ames!atari!apratt
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 20:32:48 GMT
From:
 zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!bunyip!moondance!uqcspe.c
 s.uq.oz.au!marshall@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu  (Marshall Harris)
Subject: Hitchhikers Guide
Message-ID: <3432@moondance.cs.uq.oz.au>
 
In article <7632@ists.ists.ca> os9paul@gkcl.UUCP (Paul Good) writes:
>
>I have been trying to locate a copy of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Bios for
>some time without success.  Would anyone who knows where I might obtain a
>copy please email details to me?  Thanks in advance.
>
>Paul Good   INTERNET: os9paul@gkcl.ists.ca   UUCP: ists!gkcl.ists.ca!os9paul
Maybe someone could post where to get it. Also, where can Pexec Cookbook be
obtained? Thanks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet/CSnet:     marshall@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au || Dept.of Computer Science
JANET:    marshall%uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au@uk.ac.ukc || University of Queensland
EAN:                marshall@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au || St Lucia, Queensland 4067
Bitnet:marshall%uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au@uunet.uu.net || Australia
UUCP: uunet!munnari!uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au!marshall || ph:+61 7 377 2909
JUNET:              marshall@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au || fax:+61 7 371 0783
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 27 Apr 90 02:17:00 GMT
From:
 sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!tmsoft!masnet!can
 remote!david.megginson@ucsd.edu  (DAVID MEGGINSON)
Subject: rexexp
Message-ID: <944fd8f9fff02637654c@canremote.uucp>
 
In a July issue of Dr Dobbs (1988? 1989?) there was an awk-like library
for C which included full regular expression parsing. Trust me, you do
not want regexp(S) from Unix -- it is UGLY! If you don't want to type in
the code from Dr. Dobbs, you may order a disk from them.
 
 
 
David Megginson
BITNET: meggin@vm.epas.utoronto.ca
---
 * Via ProDoor 3.1R
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #484
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