August 2002 - Oberon - mailman3.inf.ethz.ch

Major feature undocumented ?!
by cglur＠onwe.co.za 16 Aug '02

16 Aug '02

Re. n-o alpha 2001:- We've hear about Intel (and others) releasing products with undocumented facilities. Were they not confident to mention it ? Did the typist miss a section ? Peviously my comments about the "menu frame collapsed into a dropdown menu for SystemFrame usage", got no response. Let me now be more direct: HELLO!! Is anybody aware of this facility ? This facility (after long usage, when I finally found how to 'activate' it) served as a workaround for the 'TRAP on grow' of frames with hyperlinks. Again this 'TRAP on grow' was never acknowledged, until I specifically requested an admission/denial. Interestingly, my 'TRAP on grow' problem, is because the Store button is not accessable for Desktops.OpenDoc viewers under VGA (default) mode. Apparently other users don't use VGA mode, and were'nt aware of any problem ? With the dropdown menu, the store button is accessable; and I found that I could save frames with hyperlinks by: * Desktops.OpenDoc a viewer in the SystemTrack. * copy by cutNpaste the original viewer to the SystemTrack viewer. * suitably (re)name the SystemTrack viewer and Store. An additional quirk (or did I just forget it) has arisen: I want to save (as Devlp:Asm4no.html) http://www.cs.sun.ac.za/courses/pregrad/rw252/op2_asm.html which I can't do directly, because the store button is 'off track', and growing to full screen will trap. I find: 1. Desktops.OpenDoc Devlp:Asm4no.html 'to' SystemTrack does NOT open a dropdown menu type. 2. Desktops.OpenDoc <non-html-name> DOES open a dropdown menu type. 3. After Devlp:Asm4no.html was stored (by renaming the name-plate) Desktops.OpenDoc Devlp:Asm4no.html opens with dropdown menu type, also without F1 pre-locate. Ie. opens to it's (somehow rememnbered?!) "birthplace" ! Is the 'position on screen from where stored', saved with the file !? There seem to be a number a spooky symptoms, which if not understood will cause greater problems later. -- Chris Glur. PS. I've documented subtle symptoms re. modem and ppp which might relate to the mention of 'latency problems' (was it about blue-bottle ?)

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Project Voyager ?
by cglur＠onwe.co.za 16 Aug '02

16 Aug '02

Having been directed here, from this mailing list: http://www.statlab.uni-heidelberg.de/projects/voyager/ > Voyager is a project to explore the feasibility of a portable and > extensible system for simulation and data analysis systems. I still don't see how this differs from S3, which is also a portable, extensible system for simulation and data analysis ? Perhaps some project to which this is specifically aimed could be listed to justify further investigation ? I have long maintained that persons who have been long and deeply involved in developing new 'systems' are unqualified to write an introduction to their project. For obvious reasons they can't have an outsider's view. -- Chris Glur.

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Re: Oberon digest, Vol 1 #44 - 7 msgs
by Charles Angelich 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

>Message: 3 >Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:40:10 -0400 >From: "Douglas G. Danforth" <danforth(a)greenwoodfarm.com> >Organization: Greenwood Farm Technologies >To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch >Subject: Re: [Oberon] reserved three letter prefix >Reply-To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch Hello Doug - >The use of a module name prefix is used extensively by >BlackBox where directories are used to organize files >by prefix (I know this is the ETH Native mailing list >but thought this discussion might be of interest to others). > >For example > EegConvexFilters.Mod >is placed in the directory > Eeg >which is under the root directory where BlackBox is installed. >I initially found this a little strange but having worked with >it find that it makes organization very natural and easy. > >The prefix is defined as the first transition from lowercase >(or digit) to uppercase. > >>..requiring an online database to be certain no one has reserved >> your first three letters. > >That is correct. I have reserved Gft (at least I hope this is still >resereved!) for any code that my company produces. I realize this has probably already become an entanglement of existing installs but this methodology could lead to thousands of directory names with no way for a person like myself to have even a vague idea what "Gft" refers to. I would suggest that four letter prefix relevant only to the OS and it's applications would be more useful and user-friendly than arbitrary initials that mean nothing to me or any other computer user. Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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Re: assembler docs
by Charles Angelich 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

>Message: 1 >From: Jacques Eloff <eloff(a)cs.sun.ac.za> >Organization: University of Stellenbosch >To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch >Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 17:41:32 +0200 >Subject: [Oberon] Assembler Documentation >Reply-To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch Hello Jacques - >I've just updated the built-in assembler documentation at >http://www.cs.sun.ac.za/courses/pregrad/rw252/op2_asm.html Looks great! Will I need to use WGET to snatch this for offline reading within Oberon or is the an archive of these HTML pages I can download from somewhere? Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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Re: Oberon digest, Vol 1 #45 - 6 msgs
by Charles Angelich 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

>Message: 1 >From: Stefan Salewski <Salewski(a)PHYSnet.Uni-Hamburg.de> >Organization: Uni Hamburg >To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch >Subject: Re: [Oberon] suggested code change >Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 19:36:01 +0200 >Reply-To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch > >On 13.08.2002 11:08 Charles Angelich wrote: >> I have a suggestion for a minor code modification in >> System.Mod. >>Sytem.Directory *.Tool\D should look like >> >> ASCIITab.Tool >> 10.08.2002 06:33:25 455 >> Applications.Tool >> 10.08.2002 06:30:36 5477 >> >> From System.Mod source code: >> >> (* --- Toolbox of file system *) >> >> PROCEDURE *List(name: ARRAY OF CHAR; time, date, size: >> LONGINT; VAR cont: BOOLEAN); >> BEGIN >> INC(count); >> Texts.WriteString(W, name); >> IF size # MIN(LONGINT) THEN >> NL-> Texts.WriteString(W, 0DX); >> NL-> Texts.WriteString(W, 9X); Texts.WriteDate(W, time, >> date); NL-> Texts.WriteString(W, 9X); Texts.WriteInt(W, size, >> 5); INC(total, size) END; >> Texts.WriteLn(W) >> END List; >> >> Charles Angelich >> >Hello! > >Dividing the output of "System.Directory * \D" is a good idea if >the width os System.Log is too small. I didn't do it because the space was too small. It displays all over the screen and is difficult to read IMO. >But if the width is big >enough, then the output should not be divided in two lines. >So we have to determine the width of System.Log first, then >we have to test if one of the output-lines of System.Directory >is to long. Only in this case lines should be devided. > >(I dont know were the width of System.Log is defined, sorry.) As it displays now the dates don't line up and the sizes don't line. You didn't say WHY the lines should not be broken? Any particular reason you need just one line? Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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Re: Oberon digest, Vol 1 #45 - 6 msgs
by Charles Angelich 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

>Message: 6 >From: Jacques Eloff <eloff(a)cs.sun.ac.za> >Organization: University of Stellenbosch >To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch >Subject: Re: [Oberon] Re: assembler docs >Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 14:50:39 +0200 >Reply-To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch > >> >I've just updated the built-in assembler documentation at >> >http://www.cs.sun.ac.za/courses/pregrad/rw252/op2_asm.html >> >> Looks great! Will I need to use WGET to snatch this for offline >> reading within Oberon or is the an archive of these HTML pages >> I can download from somewhere? >Hello Charles > >Thus far the documentation is only available at the aforementioned URL. >There's also a link from ETH to the URL, but maybe an Oberon text/html version >might be a good idea to include with the documentation archive for future >distributions. OK, no problem. I'll use WGET on it. :-) Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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Re: Configuration.Mod and font sizes
by Charles Angelich 15 Aug '02

15 Aug '02

>Message: 4 >Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:46:41 -0400 >From: "Douglas G. Danforth" <danforth(a)greenwoodfarm.com> >Organization: Greenwood Farm Technologies >To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch >Subject: Re: [Oberon] default system font >Reply-To: oberon(a)inf.ethz.ch Hello Doug - >Take a look at Config.Mod (Configure.Tool) where you can place any >code you like that is executed at the startup of Oberon. Thanks for the suggestion. Configuration.Mod/Tool will certainly be convenient to use for automation of multiple commands sometime in the near future. I have two Oberon installs. One using 1024x768 and the other using 640x480 displays. The smaller display loses the right side command modules of the menu bar ("Edit.Search .Store" are not showing). The larger 1024 display at Oberon10.Scn.Fnt is almost unreadable (for me) when attempting to change .Mod file source code. I can't see the difference between the colon ":" and the semi-colon ";" for example. Not good. What I had hoped to do: Test for 1024 or greater display size and increment all text displayed in the user track if TRUE. Test for 640 display and decrement the text used for the menu bars in the system track. With no "header" files for variable declarations and mulitple variables being used in various Modules to represent Default.Font and/or CurFnt it has been quite a puzzle and I'm not winning. :-\ Since Oberon uses a pointer to the first char of the required font within the font library and a fixed number of chars exist in each font size in that library it should be possible to increment the pointer by some fixed integer to point either to the previous/smaller font or the next/larger font's first char as long as it doesn't increment into a totally different set of fonts. ;-) Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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recoding N-O Native/Beta default font(s)
by Charles Angelich 14 Aug '02

14 Aug '02

I found the setting of the default Oberon10.Scn.Fnt within the Oberon.Mod file and did manage to get both Ob8 and Ob10 fonts onto the screen at the same time and in the right places (system log, directory listings, and menu bars within the system track are all Ob8) with just one problem. The line spacing (lsp) within the system track System.Tool is now set for Ob8 but contains Ob10 fonts. Readable but with no whitespace between lines its a bit ugly. :-\ I would recommend that routines that create/control the system track be give special treatment re:font to allow as much information as possible to be put within the system track without necessarilly affecting the font for the user track? Packed displays of directories are OK but when typing a document or programming code we need to see the differences between a colon ":" and a semi-colon ";" and the number one "1" and lowercase L "l". :-) Charles Angelich The Ghost in the Machine! DOS and W31 Tech website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost Stories, poems, music, and photos website: http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/faf

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suggested code change
by Charles Angelich 14 Aug '02

14 Aug '02

I have a suggestion for a minor code modification in System.Mod. When using the "\d" option for "System.Directory *.Tool\d" this code spaces and wraps the long line to fit the System track viewer and is easier to read IMO. I wanted to TAB the data into columns but when I tried it became obvious that Oberon10.Scn.Fnt is a `kerned' font with uneven spacing for chars. This is actually better since it fits the available space where the tabbed lines would've hidden even more of the data than the existing method does. ASCIITab.Tool 10.08.2002 06:33:25 455 Applications.Tool 10.08.2002 06:30:36 5477 AsciiCoder.Tool 10.08.2002 06:30:22 1507 Backup.Tool 07.08.2002 05:55:42 825 Book.Tool 07.08.2002 04:05:27 2349

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Re: [Oberon] Voyager beta 1
by fischer＠inf.ethz.ch 13 Aug '02

13 Aug '02

Lieber Herr Friedrich, > I have just uploaded the recent version of Voyager (Beta 1) to the > ftp-incoming directory. G.Sawitzki (Heidelberg) has asked me to do so. > Would you please transport the file to the appropriate directory? Ich hatte bereits Zugang zum Unterverzeichnis /incoming verschafft und wollte vyb1.src.Arc nach /ftp://ftp.inf.ethz.ch/pub/ETHOberon/Contrib/vy/ verschieben. Leider habe ich keine Zugriffsrechte : Permission denied Pieter Muller ist dort Herr. Er ist diese Wo in den Ferien. Haben Sie bitte Geduld bis Montag / Dienstag. Kommt schon in Ordnung. Könnten Sie bitte bis dann bestimmen was in diesem Verzeichnis nun überflüssig ist? /pub/software/Oberon/System3/Contrib/vy/ Crypt0.Mod vy.html vyDef.Arc vyDoc.Arc vyRandom.Arc vyReadme vya5.src.S3.Arc vya5.src.common.Arc vys3reg.gif Z.B muss vy.html überarbeitet werden? und auch vyReadme ? Ich könnte dieser Text eventuell benützen: in http://www.oberon.ethz.ch/software/ ein Link darauf setzen. Mit bestem Dank und freundlichen Grüssen, André Fischer ETH Oberon: http://www.oberon.ethz.ch Bluebottle: http://bluebottle.ethz.ch ---- The speed increase of hardware is slower than the speed loss of software / Die Hardware wird langsamer schneller als die Software langsamer. - Martin Reiser

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