Re: A86: Please read this!!! New shell!!! I need help!
[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: A86: Please read this!!! New shell!!! I need help!
On Wed, 3 Sep 1997, KewlAid wrote:
> You have probably noticed the lack of a good shell for the 86. Yeah,
You have probably NOT noticed the lack of extensive programming
information on the 86. Hasty action would be wasteful.
> ASM programs are listed. This interface is minimal and non-graphical,
> and most likely does not support libraries. Currently, no shell can do
An interface should have absolutely nothing to do with libraries, other
than using them.
> programs cant run on Supernova, etc. We must elimiate this. There has to
> be ONE standard by which to program by. ONE type of library. ONE syntax.
> ONE STANDARD. Notice that I did not say one shell. There could be 256
This was proposed a month ago. Check out
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~eble/ti86/libform.html
for the current status.
> We have to eliminate this problem all the while adding features to
> enhance the shell. However, such a magnificent piece of work could not
With the A86 proposal, you could add as many features to the shell as you
want, without sacrificing program compatibility with other shells.
See http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~eble/ti86/libform.html
Notice in particular that a shell could itself be a program of identical
format to the other programs. This is a Good Thing.
> MODULES PENDING CREATION (Explained in detail in reply mail)
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> -ICONS, 4-6 LETTER CAPTION
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's a good idea. I will add it to
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~eble/ti86/libform.html
> -APD
This might not be necessary once we get the rest of the official
programming information.
> -SPECIFIC-PROGRAMS ENHANCED
What do you mean by this?
> -BUILT-IN ICON EDITOR
It would make much more sense to make this a program of its own.
> **THE FOLLOWING MODULES ARE EXPERIMENTAL**
> -TASKS TRAY (works with multitasking)
> -MULTITASKING
I don't want to get into an argument over this. (Well, maybe I do.)
Multitasking on the TI-86 is not that useful. How often do you need
to FTP a file, spool a print job, and read your email concurrently on
your calculator?
> -MULTI-FILE TYPE DRIVE FILES (i recommend you ask me about this!)
This sounds like a cool idea.
> -TI-82, 83, AND 85 ASM SUPPORT
No way. Set your sights on making grade-a 86 software rather than kluging
the rest into submission. Besides, how would you cope with programs that
expect the screen size to be 96x64?
> -DYNAMIC LIBRARIES, APPENDS TO SHELL
Dynamic libraries are good. Append to shell is bad. There are ways to
keep the variable lists uncluttered that don't involve messy concatenation
of libraries.
> -TI-OS COMMAND LINE
That's a cute idea. I have a better idea, though. How about making the
shell so easy to activate that you can bounce out and back in with just
one or two key strokes? That would be more efficient and elegant.
> -ACCELERATED BASIC
You obviously don't know what goes on behind-the-scenes when you run a
BASIC program on your calc. I don't either, but I've seen enough of the
ROM to know that you won't be able to interpret BASIC any more efficiently
than the programmers at TI.
> -BUILT-IN LINKPORT SOFTWARE
>
This is gratuitous.
> This data is recent as of September 3, 1997. All ideas are private and
> pending copyight.
>
You don't copyright ideas, you patent them. Aside from that, which of
those ideas was original? Was it APD? password protection? Maybe it was
a SYSTEM TRAY.
I'm glad you posted, though. You did remind us of some very interesting
ideas that we should consider for our A86 standard, which you can view at
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~eble/ti86/libform.html
Please study the proposal carefully and offer comments and suggestions.
If you have questions on why a particular feature is (or is not) included,
please send mail to the list.
--------
Dan Eble (mailto:eble@cis.ohio-state.edu)
(http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~eble)
Follow-Ups:
References: