|||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| || || ||| || || || || ||| |||| |||||| || |||| Your || || || || ||| || || |||||| |||||| || || |||||| |||||| GEnieLamp Computing || |||||| || || |||||| RoundTable || || || ||| ||| || || || |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE! || || || || || || || ||||| || || || || || ~ WELCOME TO GENIELAMP A2Pro! ~ """"""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ A Busy Month ~ Spectrum 2.0 A2U Course ~ ~ BRUN for Help ~ A Visit from the Tandy RT ~ ~ Spectro Oil Contest ~ Custom Controls ~ ~ HOT NEWS, HOT FILES, HOT MESSAGES ~ /////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Vol.4, Issue 24 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Editor.....................................................Tim Buchheim Publisher.................................................John Peters \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// ~ GEnieLamp IBM ~ GEnieLamp ST ~ GEnieLamp PPC ~ GEnieLamp Windows ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2Pro ~ GEnieLamp Macintosh ~ GEnieLamp TX2 ~ ~ GEnieLamp A2 ~ LiveWire (ASCII) ~ GEnieLamp MacPRO ~ ~ Member Of The Digital Publishing Association ~ GE Mail: GENIELAMP Internet: genielamp@genie.geis.com FTP: sosi.com ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ >>> WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE APPLE A2Pro ROUNDTABLE? <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ~ March 1, 1995 ~ FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] Notes From The Editor. Is That A Letter For Me? A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF .. [DIR] DEVELOPERS CORNER ....... [DEV] Directory of A2Pro Staff. News From Online Developers. LIBRARY BIT BONANZA ..... [LIB] RTC WATCH ............... [RTC] HOT Files You Can Download. Real Time Information. LOG OFF ................. [PUB] GEnieLamp information. [IDX]""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" READING GEnieLamp GEnieLamp has incorporated a unique indexing """"""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier. To utilize this system, load GEnieLamp into any ASCII word processor or text editor. In the index you will find the following example: HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM] [*]GEnie Fun & Games. To read this article, set your find or search command to [HUM]. If you want to scan all of the articles, search for [EOA]. [EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back to the index. MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed """""""""""" here in GEnieLamp, you will find all the information you need immediately following the message. For example: (SMITH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M530) _____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________ |Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg. Page number| In this example, to respond to Smith's message, log on to page 530 enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1. A message number that is surrounded by brackets indicates that this message is a "target" message and is referring to a "chain" of two or more messages that are following the same topic. For example: {58}. ABOUT GEnie GEnie's monthly fee is $8.95 which gives you up to four hours """"""""""" of non-prime time access to most GEnie services, such as software downloads, bulletin boards, GE Mail, an Internet gateway, multi-player games and chat lines. GEnie's non-prime time connect rate is $3.00 an hour. To sign up for GEnie, just follow these simple steps. 1. Set your communications software to half duplex (local echo) 8 bits, no parity and 1 stop bit, at 300, 1200 or 2400 baud. 2. Call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH. 3. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: JOINGENIE and hit RETURN. When you get the prompt asking for the signup/offer code, type: DSD524 and hit RETURN. 4. Have a major credit card ready, as the system will prompt you for your information. If you need more information, call GEnie's Customer Service department at 1-800-638-9636. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" [EOA] [FRM]////////////////////////////// FROM MY DESKTOP / ///////////////////////////////// Notes From My Desktop """"""""""""""""""""" by Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] o TOP OF THE PAGE o LETTERS TO THE EDITOR >>> TOP OF THE PAGE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""" SUCH A BUSY MONTH FOR ONE SO SHORT! Wow, this month flew by. But that's """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" to be expected, with only 28 days in February. But what has really surprised me is how much has actually gone on in the past month! New programs like Animasia 3-D, Faxination, Wolfenstein-3D, and Spectrum 2.0 are available to entertain us and keep us busy. For us programmers, that last one is especially important. Not only does it now allow one to write XCMDs, like HyperCard or HyperStudio, but it has a very powerful scripting language which blows away all the others. And A2Pro is proud to announce an A2 University class to teach everyone how to use this wonderful scripting environment. And who could be a better professor than the man who has been involved with the Spectrum upgrade from day one, making sure that all sorts of nifty commands have been added? That's right, Mr. Spectrum Scripting himself, Ken Lucke is teaching this course! So if you have ever had an urge to learn to script Spectrum, now is your chance! But hurry, class has already started. Sign up in Category 22, Topic 31 of the A2Pro Bulletin Board. Classes meet Sunday night at 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. Lessons and RTC transcripts are available in the library. But that's not all! A2Pro is a part of the Golden Spectro Programming Contest! You can win cool prizes by writing a simple program and uploading it to A2Pro library 53. The complete rules are located in the library, and for your convenience they're reprinted right here in GEnieLamp. Because this is a cross-platform contest, I urge everyone to write a program, to show everyone just how alive the Apple II really is! Wow, I know I'm forgetting something. But don't worry, if I did, I'll cover it in next month's issue. Until then, be sure to keep up with the A2Pro Bulletin Board so you don't miss anything! Tim Buchheim GEnieLamp A2Pro >>> LETTERS TO THE EDITOR <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Tim, Loved the February 1995 Lamp. And I'm not just saying that because I appeared more times than anyone else... Well... Maybe it did have a little effect on my reaction, but I love it all the same! Regards, Richard (RICHARD.B CAT1, TOP15, MSG:87/M530) [*][*][*] Do you have something to say about GEnieLamp A2Pro? Please post any questions or comments you may have in Category 1, Topic 15 in A2Pro's BB (m530;1). Or, feel free to talk to me (A2PRO.GELAMP) anytime you see me in a Real Time Conference. [*][*][*] [EOA] [DIR]////////////////////////////// A2PRO ROUNDTABLE STAFF / ///////////////////////////////// ______________________________________________ APPLE II PROGRAMMERS & DEVELOPERS ROUNDTABLE _____ ______ ______________________________________________ /_____|/______\ /__/|__| ___|__| Head Sysop: Hangtime (HANGTIME) /__/_|__| /_____/ Your Sysops: Greg Da Costa (A2PRO.GREG) /________|/__/ __ __ __ Todd P. Whitesel (A2PRO.TODDPW) /__/ |__|__/______ /_//_// / Nathaniel Sloan (A2PRO.HELP) /__/ |__|________// / \/_/ Tim Buchheim (A2PRO.GELAMP) [*][*][*] [EOA] [HEY]////////////////////////////// HEY MISTER POSTMAN / ///////////////////////////////// Is That A Letter For Me? """""""""""""""""""""""" By Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] o BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS o WHAT'S NEW o PROGRAMMER'S TIPS o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT >>> BULLETIN BOARD HOT SPOTS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" [*] CAT1, TOP24, MSG{1}...........Golden Spectro Programming Challenge [*] CAT2, TOP8, MSG{26}..........Assembly language and AppleSoft BASIC [*] CAT9, TOP7, MSG{196}.........Applesoft BASIC help please! [*] CAT11, TOP14, MSG{1}...........Gif Files [*] CAT15, TOP16, MSG{141}.........Control Manager >>> WHAT'S NEW <<< """""""""""""""""" CONTEST """"""" The Golden Spectro Programming Challenge GEnie and the Motorcycling RoundTable are the official online service of Spectro Oils of America, a division of Intercontinental Lubricants Corp. Spectro Oil is America's #1 high performance motorcycle lubricant. Spectro also manufactures a complete line of lubricants for snowmobiles, ATV's and other recreational vehicles. Spectro supports a worldwide distribution network from their U.S. headquarters, located in Brookfield, CT. One of the most frequently asked questions of Spectro is "what is the ratio of fuel to oil that I should use in my two-stroke motor?" Answer that question by designing a program that will calculate oil mixture ratios by solving for the unknown variable and you can win one of these great prizes! Grand Prize: Spectro Pro Racing Jacket ($100 retail value), a case of Spectro oil of the winner's choice ($100 retail value) and $100 in GEnie online time. Best in Class Winners: Spectro 1994 US Superbike Championship T-shirt, ball cap and a 4-pack of Spectro oil of the winner's choice ($50 retail value) and $50 in GEnie online time. Entry classifications are: Amiga, Apple, Commodore, DOS/IBM- Compatible, Macintosh, OS/2, Windows, Other. The program must include the following elements in addition to the calculation portion of the program: 1. A statement that the program is freely distributable; modifications are not allowed. 2. The GEnie mail address of the programmer. 3. The GEnie mail address of Spectro Oils. (SPECTRO.OILS) and the Spectro Customer Service number (800-2-GET-OIL). 4. The Spectro logo (not required for text-only programs) and the program name: GOLDEN SPECTRO....THE COMPETITION CONCENTRATE FUEL TO OIL RATIO CALCULATOR 5. Complete documentation, either incorporated into the program or as a separate text file. 6. A standard disclaimer. Program Example: If you have 5 gallons of gas and want a 60:1 ratio how many ounces of oil should be added to the gas? The program should also convert U.S. to metric measurements. To help our European motorcycle riders, they like to refer to a 50:1 ratio as a 2% ratio so be sure to include percentage equivalents. Required Elements: Oil Ratio ie. 50:1 (User will enter ratio) Oil Percentage Fuel in Liters Fuel in Gallons Oil in Liters Oil in Ounces Optional: Fuel in Imperial Gallons Important Statistics: 32 Ounces = 1 quart 128 Ounces = 1 gallon 1 U.S. Quart = .946 Liters 1 Liter = 1.056 US Quarts 1 Imperial Gallon = 1.201 U.S. Gallons 1 Imperial Gallon = 4.564 Liters Upload all files in your submission in ONE file to any one of the participating RoundTables. Please upload to the library specified for entries by the RoundTable you choose. NAME PAGE KEYWORD *Starship*, the Amiga RoundTable 555 AMIGA Apple II Programmers RoundTable 530 A2PRO Apple II RoundTable 645 A2 BBS & Telecommunications RoundTable 610 BBS Commodore 64/128 RoundTable 625 COMMODORE IBM PC RoundTable 615 IBMPC Macintosh Programmers RoundTable 480 MACPRO Macintosh RoundTable 605 MAC Microsoft RoundTable 505 MICROSOFT Motorcycling RoundTable 1155 MOTO OS/2 RoundTable 1400 OS/2 PowerPC Programmers and Developers RT 1440 PPCPRO PowerPC RoundTable 1435 PPC Programming & Languages RoundTable 1445 PROGRAMMING Tandy/TRS-80 RoundTable 635 TANDY Windows RoundTable 1335 WINDOWS 1. Only original entries with no undocumented software calls or features will be accepted. Entries for different categories may be based upon similar source code. 2. All entries must include an executable version of the program, a text copy of the original, documented source code, and any supporting files. 3. Entries may only be submitted by uploading the program and all required accompanying materials, along with Name, Address, daytime telephone, evening telephone, GE Mail address, and classification to any participating GEnie RoundTable library. Entries must be submitted not later than 11:59 PM EDT on Monday, May 15, 1995, as time stamped by the completion of the upload process. 4. Winning entries will be selected on the basis of program suitability to the described tasks, usability, and creativity of design. In the event of a tie, cross-platform source code portability will be used to determine the winner. 5. The decision of the judges is final. 6. Prizes are non-transferable. Online time prizes cannot be redeemed for cash and expire if not used within 6 months from the date of award announcement. Usage credits will be applied only to the entrant account and only if that account is in good standing at the time of the prize award. 7. Entries will not be returned. 8. All entries will be made available for public download in the Library of the participating RoundTable where the entry is uploaded. 9. Winning entries, including compiled binaries, program source and documentation become the property of Spectro Oils of America, a division of Intercontinental Lubricants Corp. Winning entries may be distributed by whatever means deemed appropriate by Spectro Oils of America. Spectro Oils of America reserves the right to modify the source code and compiled binaries of winning entries. 10. By submitting an entry you agree to all of the contest rules. 11. This contest is open to GEnie members. Staff members of the sponsoring RoundTables are not eligible for prizes. (JUST.DAVE, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:1/M530) >>>>> The Entry Form for the Spectro contest is in file #4578 in the A2Pro """"" Library. The Spectro Logo is available in GIF format in file #4579 in the A2Pro Library. All submissions in the Apple II category are to be uploaded to Library 53. (JUST.DAVE, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:2/M530) <<<<< I don't have both time nor resources to do this, but for anybody """"" that does: A little pep would be an additional calculation: Instead of calculating how much oil is needed for a given amount of fuel, I found that I need to calculate with fixed sizes as well. That is I have a 20l canister and want to add fuel and oil into it. The formula for this is: o = V/(x+1) where o ... amount of oil x ... ratio (for 1:50 --> x = 50) V ... volume of tank (canister) ratios here in German speaking Europe are among (in case you are using pop-ups): 1:20 very old 1:25 standard low cost engines 1:30 \ 1:40 - no idea where they are used, but my manual lists it 1:50 standard for modern engines 1:1000 to mix lead like additives (oldtimers) hope this is any help Alex (A.CORRIERI, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:4/M530) <<<<< I was thinking about some kind of "trick" user interface for """"" this... It would be neat if there was a popup for setting the desired ratio, and then dragable thermometers for the quantities required.... These would be custom controls, and would look almost like a standard thermometer, except that when the "top" of the bar was clicked & dragged the "marker column" would move with it. [Anyone here who's seen the Kensington TurboMouse software for the Mac (the Custom settings area) has seen =exactly= the type of control I'm refering to] Lets say the user drags the fuel control to xx gallons (Oh, yeah, have to have a popup for measurement systems... Gallons, Imperial Gallons, CC's, Ounces, etc) The oil control would automatically position itself to the correct quantity of oil for the fuel specified. If the oil control was dragged, then the fuel control would auto position itself instead. (This should be driven by a heartbeat routine so that as one control is moved by the user the other tracks at seemingly the same time) Besides having a calibrated scale next to each of these custom controls, there should also be a LineEdit control next to each bar, which would display (probably in decimal format, but fractions should be do-able) the exact quanties of each item. If anyone decides to try doing this, feel free to borrow any ideas from here... I won't be entering the contest. Oh, one other thing... If someone does write up a custom control such as I describe here, a fitting name would be a "Drawbar" control. (and please write up the control such that it could be easily used by others, and make the source avail to us all... thanks :) -Harold (HAROLD.H, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:5/M530) <<<<< Harold, I don't have a Kensington TurboMouse on the Mac. :) How's """"" this for a description of your control, though: A thermometer that you can adjust using scroll-bar style arrows or by dragging the top of the "mercury". Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:10/M530) <<<<< Darned close!!! :) :) """"" I don't know about the scroll-bar style arrows (maybe these could be included / skipped based on a flag in the passed extended control template? :) but the idea of adjusting the setting via "dragging the top of the mercury" is =exactly= the kind of thing I was thinking of. [Gee, how'd you manage to say it so simply when I've taken ??? messages to say this? :)] To elaborate a bit further on the general idea... 1) A flag to indicate horizontal or vertical orientation 2) Passed minimum and maximum values so the control proc could automatically display a properly graduated scale next to the control. 3) A flag to indicate if the scale should be drawn 4) A flag to indicate which side of the control the scale should be drawn on. (left/right for vert, top/bottom for horz) 5) Info for displaying the absolute value of the control (dec, fraction, etc) and the placement of this information. I'm just sorta musing about what could be a neat and usefull new control here, I'm not posting a plea for someone to write such a beast up or anything. Just tossing out an idea for general chewing on by the resident "Herd of Nerds" :-) -Harold (HAROLD.H, CAT1, TOP24, MSG:11/M530) >>> PROGRAMMER'S TIPS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" MORE ABOUT CUSTOM CONTROLS I have written a custom control and want to """""""""""""""""""""""""" turn it into a multi-part control (I want to add a scroll bar). Well judging from TB3, I set the multi part flag in moreFlags, but where do I register that scroll bar to the control manager. There is no control message from control manager, that would suggest to define more than one part of the control. Or is the Control manager recursive, that is am I allowed to issue a NewControl2 within my control definition procedure (while processing the InitCtl message)? Alex (A.CORRIERI, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:141/M530) <<<<< I've been told by someone that has disassembled the Control Manager """"" that it is reentrant. (POWERPC.PRO, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:142/M530) <<<<< Control Mgr. is one of the few reentrant toolsets. """"" -Greg Templeman, GS Software Engineer Softdisk Publishing (and author of II Scroll, a large patch to the Control Mgr. that gives two arrows at both ends of scroll bars... also somebody that Sheppy knows who has disassembled the Control Manager... :) (BARNABAS, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:143/M530) <<<<< I've never heard of adding an existing control to be part of another control. IMO, controls seem to have a single purpose. For example, if you were to call the standard SetCtlValue (val, ctlHndl), how would you differentiate the use of "val" between the scroll part to your custom part? Does the scroll bar *have* to be part of your control, or, for all intents and purposes, can it be a separate control? Have you looked at the way TextEdit handles this situation? Michael (ANIMASIA, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:155/M530) <<<<< Michael, I did the same thing. It works great. In QCCalc, the """"" split screen controls are a single control made up of a _variable_ number of controls (one split screen control and either one or two scroll bars). All you need is a mechanism for keeping things separate at the top level. If you get desperate, you have a longword you could use as a pointer to more complex control values. Mike Westerfield (BYTEWORKS, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:145/M530) >>>>> Yes, a NewControl2 within the initCtl message did the trick. I """"" would not have assumed this easy way otherwise :) thanks! Alex (A.CORRIERI, CAT15, TOP16, MSG:146/M530) RBUN FOR HELP Gurus... """"""""""""" What is the difference between BRUN'ing an object file and BLOAD'ng it and CALL'ing it's start address? Been playing with Merlin, and doing the lessons that A2.Jay uploaded years ago. When I BRUN the object file, the programs execute and when they are done, I can still issue DOS (ProDOS actually) related commands like CAT, Delete, Save etc... But if I BLOAD and CALL, I get ?SYNTAX ERROR messages after the DOS commands. Is this normal? (C.OREM, CAT2, TOP8, MSG:26/M530) <<<<< Sounds like you're disconnecting KSW/CSW ($36-$39) in your program. """"" BRUN and BLOAD are BASIC.SYSTEM commands. When you BRUN something, upon return, BASIC.SYTSTEM re-installs it's KSW/CSW hooks. CALL is an Applesoft command, so when you return, it doesn't touch KSW/CSW. If you're not directly touching $36-$39, see if you're making an F8 calls involving PR#/IN# etc. I can't remember which ones directly, because I'm not at home at the moment. Regards, Richard (RICHARD.B, CAT2, TOP8, MSG:27/M530) HOLD IT RIGHT THERE Hi, """"""""""""""""""" I am NOT swift at programing at all, and I am down here at the U of FL, with my books up in Missouri. I have forgotten how to pause a program, I am writing a short and simple program for my wife to practice for her new job, I want a random number to move down the screen, pause in the middle, and then continue on to the next. I am sure my solution is not very compact, but it all works fine except for a pause in the middle of the screen. It needs to have an adjustable speed (no sweat), and some way to time the pause too, ANY help is appriciated, the simpler the better! Thanks, Robert (R.MARSH10, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:196/M530) <<<<< I normally use a "FOR X = 1 to 1000 : NEXT X" loop. to adjust the """"" pause, change the value in place of 1000. 2000 makes it longer and 500 makes it shorter. You could add in a IF PEEK (-16384) > 127 THEN POKE -16386,0: X = 1000 This would check the keyboard strobe to see if the user had pressed a key and if they have it aborts the timing loop and continues. The POKE simply prepares the keyboard for another keystroke. Remember to put the NEXT X on the next line in the program so the IF statment doesn't skip right over it... ;) SCOTT (S.JOHNSON89, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:197/M530) >>>>> The FOR X = 1 TO 1000 (actually 1600 gave me the timing I needed) """"" worked like a charm. Thanks, Robert (R.MARSH10, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:198/M530) <<<<< Robert, """"" I once setup a demo will the single purpose of wasting some time till a Profile hard drive was ready to be accessed. The user could turn on the entire system at once and either walk away and make some coffee or watch the demo run till the HD was ready to go. It was sorta cute. ;) The thing I hate most is having to watch the computer do it's thing when I could be off doing other stuff. That was the MAIN reason I purchased a tape drive a couple years ago. I HATE FLOPPY BACKUPS! (and it's much harder to lose 800K out of the middle of a tape than just losing one floppy out of a set of 50 or so. Hehehe) SCOTT (S.JOHNSON89, CAT9, TOP7, MSG:199/M530) >>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""" ORPHANS HELPING ORPHANS Well ... here is a nice un-used topic :). """"""""""""""""""""""" I wandered from over at the Tandy RT. I've searched all over trying to find information on the LZW compression used in GIF files. No luck AT ALL in getting this info anywhere on GEnie...until I dropped by here. (Come to think of it, this is also the place that had some fax info I wanted a year ago... Way to go, fellow orphans!) Anyway, there are some files I need but I do not know what the bxy file format is. I am specifically interested in files 3067,3068, and 4015. These all relate to the GIF format and/or the LZW compression used therein. (There is also a nifty text file about it, but I'll have to spend more time trying to understand what it is telling me.) Could anyone grab these files and change them over to ASCII for me? I'd really appreciate it. OR, if someone can show me the specs for BXY then I'll just write my own decompressor :). Any help will be appreaciated. Thanks! Allen @ Tandy RT (COCO-SYSOP, CAT11, TOP14, MSG:1/M530) <<<<< ok, I just grabbed these files and am about to go decompress them """"" for you.. a *.BXY file is a Shrinkit (*.SHK) file inside a Binary II wrapper. (uncompressed file within Binary II would be *.BNY) Shrinkit is the standard compression method used on the Apple II (interesting coincidence: it uses LZW, too!:) and Binary II is a short header put on files to retain filename, filetype, creation date/time, modification date/time, etc. Tim Buchheim (A2PRO.GELAMP, CAT11, TOP14, MSG:2/M530) <<<<< oh, and BTW, there should be specs for ShrinkIt and Binary II in """"" the library somewhere :) (A2PRO.GELAMP, CAT11, TOP14, MSG:3/M530) <<<<< Yeah, they're probably in .BXY format. """"" Ken Lucke (K.LUCKE, CAT11, TOP14, MSG:5/M530) >>>>> Thanks Nate! (er, Tim!) """"" [For a while, my email address was labeled "Nate Trost" --Ed.] Ken ... that would figure. Like under OS-9, we finally got an LZH compressor. When the upgraded version was released, it was in .LZH format meaning if you didn't have the earlier version, you had to download it just to use the newer one . Is there anyone out there with experience in coding the LZW routines in C? Allen who used to help A2 BBS owners program voting booths for their Net-Works systems back in Houston in 1982-84, back when A2s ruled the BBS scene and no one had ever heard of an IBM PC. :( (COCO-SYSOP, CAT11, TOP14, MSG:6/M530) [*][*][*] While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files? If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area. If you are serious about your Apple II, the GEnieLamp staff strongly urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the world. [EOA] [DEV]////////////////////////////// DEVELOPER'S CORNER / ///////////////////////////////// News From The A2Pro Online Developers """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] o ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO o GNO/ME SERIAL PORT DRIVERS >>> ONLINE SUPPORT IN A2PRO <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CAT TOP COMPANY === === ======= 29 INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS ONLINE 2 DYA/DigiSoft Innovations Online 8 Simplexity Software Online 14 Quality Computers Q-LABS Online 20 DreamWorld Software Online 26 METAL/FV Software Online 32 Kitchen Sink Software Online 38 EdIt-16 (Bill Tudor) 30 PROCYON, INC. 31 SOFTDISK PUBLISHING 33 GS+ MAGAZINE 34 JEM SOFTWARE 35 PRODEV, INC. 36 THE BYTE WORKS Each month this column feature highlights and news from various developers who provide support via A2Pro. >>> GNO/ME SERIAL PORT DRIVERS <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" OBTAINING SOURCE CODE This topic has been fairly quiet for awhile so I """"""""""""""""""""" thought I'd ask something maybe controversial... What parts of the GNO/ME system code are private, copyrighted and not available? The reason for my question is I'd like to experiment with the serial port driver code to try and put something together that would work with a real Super Serial Card. I've tried to disassemble the driver but since I have no idea as to its layout I wasn't very successful. My main question would be 'If the serial port driver code is part of the source which is available, would it be possible to get it uploaded somewhere?'. Thanks, Doug M. (D.MITTON, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:87/M530) <<<<< The serial port drivers are available. """"" They needed some kernel modifications, though, which is why I've been holding off. I'll go ahead and send the beta 2.0.5 kernel and SSC driver to anyone who has a SSC who wants it. Go ahead and email me, and I'll get the copies out next week. Jawaid (PROCYON, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:88/M530) >>>>> See your EMail as I am definitely interested. """"" As I mentioned in that EMail, wouldn't it be just as easy to place it in the A2Pro Library #41 which is only available to GNO/ME registered users? Another 'by-the-way'; thanks for a very nice environment!!! Doug M. (D.MITTON, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:89/M530) <<<<< Now that you mention it, yes, that might be a good idea. :-) """"" (PROCYON, CAT30, TOP1, MSG:90/M530) [*][*][*] [LIB]////////////////////////////// LIBRARY BIT BONANZA / ///////////////////////////////// HOT Files You Can Download """""""""""""""""""""""""" By Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] >>> SPECTRO OIL PROGRAMMING CONTEST <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" File # 4577 S.C.RULES.TXT (ALL) Uploaded on 2/11/95 by JUST.DAVE About 5K (d/l time approx. 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) Spectro Oil is having a programming contest with some really cool prizes! All you have to do is write a simple program for them. Download or ist this file for the complete rules and descriptions of the prizes. The entry form for the contest can be found in file #4578, S.C.ENTRY.TXT Spectro's logo is in GIF format in file #4579, SPECTROLOGO.GIF File # 4578 S.C.ENTRY.TXT (ALL) Uploaded on 2/11/95 by JUST.DAVE About 3K (d/l time approx. 20 seconds @ 2400 baud) Spectro Oil is having a programming contest with some really cool prizes! This file contains the entry form for enterring the contest. You can download it, or ist it online. The complete contest rules can be found in the file S.C.RULES.TXT, which is file #4577. Your completed entry should be uploaded to Library 53 in the A2Pro Library. File # 4579 SPECTROLOGO.GIF (ALL) Uploaded on 2/11/95 by JUST.DAVE About 6K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) This is the logo of Spectro Oil. This is a must-have if you're entering their programming contest. :) See file #4577 for complete rules. >>> A2U COURSE - SPECTRUM 2.0 SCRIPTING <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" File # 4591 SP.A2U.INTR.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/18/95 by K.LUCKE About 5K (d/l time approx. 30 seconds @ 2400 baud) This is the introduction to the A2U course in Spectrum v2.0 Scripting. It contains a syllabus of the course and course requirements/goals. File # 4593 SP.INTR.RTC.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/19/95 by K.LUCKE About 10K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) This is the RTC from the introduction week to the Spectrum Scripting A2U course. It has been edited to remove the comings and goings and extraneous stuff but all contectual items have been left intact. Some spelling errors have been corrected to protect the guilty :) File # 4594 SP.A2U.WK1.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/19/95 by K.LUCKE About 9K (d/l time approx. 1 minute @ 2400 baud) This is lesson #1 for week 1 of the Spectrum scripting A2U course. File # 4603 SP.A2U.WK1A.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/26/95 by K.LUCKE About 2K (d/l time approx. 15 seconds @ 2400 baud) The answers to the quiz at the end of Week 1's lesson in the Spectrum Scripting A2U course. File # 4604 SP.A2U.WK2.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/26/95 by K.LUCKE About 11K (d/l time approx. 1 minutes @ 2400 baud) Lesson #2 - Week 2 for the Spectrum Scripting A2U Course >>> MISCELLANEOUS <<< """"""""""""""""""""""" File # 4599 IPC.SPY.BXY V1.3.2 (GS) Uploaded on 2/24/95 by RICHARD.B About 22K (d/l time approx. 2 minutes @ 2400 baud) This is my FINAL version of IPC Spy, the CDA which tracks IPC traffic. Enjoy. File # 4557 RJB.EXE.BXY (GS) Uploaded on 2/2/95 by RICHARD.B About 57K (d/l time approx. 6 minutes @ 2400 baud) Number: 4557 Name: RJB.EXE.BXY Address: RICHARD.B Date: 950202 Approximate # of bytes: 58368 Number of Accesses: 10 Library: 19 Description: Updates to many of my Merlin EXEs, and a couple of new ones. Includes: INSTALL, SHUTDOWN, RATALOG, RCOMPACT, SETOPENMSG, SETPFX, CREATE, SHOWRVERSION, SETRVERSION, HEXDUMP, WAITFILE, NOTE, COPYFORK, MAKERES (rewritten), ADDRECT and DELRES. [*][*][*] [EOA] [RTC]////////////////////////// RTC WATCH / ///////////////////////////// Bits and Pieces from A2Pro Real Time Conferences """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" By Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] o A2Pro WEEKLY RTC SCHEDULE o HYPERCARD TRICKS FROM THE MASTER >>> A2Pro WEEKLY RTC SCHEDULE <<< """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" _______ __________ _________ /_______| /_________/ /________/ SEVEN days a week!! /__/__/__/ /__/ /__/ /________/ EAL /__/ IME /__/ ONFERENCES in A2Pro!! /__/ /__| /__/ /__/_____ /__/ /__/ /__/ |________/ WEEKLY SCHEDULE Stop in and say "Hi!" at one of these conferences. We've been giving away quite a few GEnie usage credits (free time) at these conferences, and you may just win the next one! :) Day Time Event Host --- --------------- ----------------------------------- ----------- Sun 8:30pm-11:00pm Weekly Programmers' RTC Sloanie Mon 9:30pm-11:00pm GS/OS and Toolbox Calls Dave Miller Tue 9:30pm-11:00pm 8-bit Programming Russ Nielson Wed 9:30pm-11:00pm HangTime's HyperBar & Grill HangTime Thu 9:30pm-??:?? Informal - Q&A, chat, whatever A2Pro Staff Fri 9:30pm-11:00pm Getting Started with Programming Tim Buchheim Sat 8:30pm-10:00pm Assembly Language Programming Brian Wells NOTE: All times are in Eastern Standard Time. >>> HYPERCARD TRICKS FROM THE MASTER <<< """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I have a small question.. I've been setting up a background to be used with several cards. So far I've got a title field and two buttons that move to the next or previous card. All that works. What I'm trying to do now is have a script intercept 'openCard' messages and hide the next or previous button as appropriate. But I've been unable to find where to put the script. I'd like to have only one copy of it in memory, rather than on each card. But the script doesn't work in the stack or background. If you did want to do it your way, then putting an OpenCard handler in the BG would work, but the cleaner/faster/more typical HC way would be place an opaque button on the card layer of each card where you want to cover something up. Set its color to the same as the BG and it will look like the buttons are not there. Brian did you understand that? Hang -- So you'd do that opposed to changing the Visible property of the button? Yes, it is faster Locking the screen, hiding the button and then unlocking the screen takes time Brian: this way, nothing would get changed. You'd simply have the next and previous buttons covered up on the first/last cards Right. Also remember EVERY card you opened (any inbetween cards) would have to run through the script. No need to this way. So I wouldn't have to run an 'openCard' script. Great! Sounds like a kludge, but it's actually the most elegant solution [*][*][*] Join HangTime for help with HyperCard every Wednesday night, between 8:30 and 11:00 PM EST in A2Pro's Real Time Conference (m530;2 from most GEnie prompts) [*][*][*] [EOA] [LOG]////////////////////////////// LOG OFF / ///////////////////////////////// GEnieLamp Information """"""""""""""""""""" o COMMENTS: Contacting GEnieLamp o GEnieLamp STAFF: Who Are We? GEnieLamp Information GEnieLamp is published on the 1st of every month """"""""""""""""""""" on GEnie page 515. You can also find GEnieLamp on the main menus in the following computing RoundTables. RoundTable Keyword GEnie Page RoundTable Keyword GEnie Page """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" DigiPub DIGIPUB 1395 Atari ST ST 475 Macintosh MAC 605 IBM PC IBMPC 615 Apple II A2 645 Apple II Dev. A2PRO 530 Macintosh Dev. MACPRO 480 Geoworks GEOWORKS 1050 BBS BBS 610 CE Software CESOFTWARE 1005 Mini/Mainframe MAINFRAME 1145 Programming PROGRAMMING 1445 Data Comm. DATACOMM 1450 Windows WINDOWS 1335 GEnieLamp is also distributed on CrossNet and many public and commercial BBS systems worldwide. o To reach GEnieLamp on Internet send mail to genielamp@genie.geis.com o Current issues of all versions of GEnieLamp are File Requestable (FREQable) via FidoNet (Zones 1 through 6) from 1:128/51 and via OURNet (Zone 65) from 65:8130/3. SysOps should use the following "magic names" to request the current issue of the indicated GEnieLamp platform (FREQ FILES for names of back issues of GEnieLamp IBM): Platform Magic Name To Use """""""" """"""""""""""""" GEnieLamp IBM .................. GLIBM GEnieLamp ST ................... GLST GEnieLamp A2Pro ................ GLA2PRO GEnieLamp Macintosh ............ GLMAC GEnieLamp TX2 .................. GLTX2 GEnieLamp A2 ................... GLA2 GEnieLamp Windows .............. GLWIN o Back issues of GEnieLamp are available in the DigiPub RoundTable Library #2 on page 1395 (M1395;3). o GEnieLamp pays for articles submitted and published with online GEnie credit time. Upload submissions in ASCII format to library #42 in the DigiPub RoundTable on page 1395 (M1395;3) or Email it to GENIELAMP. On Internet send it to: genielamp@genie.geis.com o We welcome and respond to all E-Mail. To leave comments, suggestions or just to say hi, you can contact us in the DigiPub RoundTable (M1395) or send GE Mail to John Peters at [GENIELAMP] on page 200. o If you would like to meet the GEnieLamp staff "live" we meet every Wednesday night in the Digi*Pub Real-Time Conference at 9:00 EST (M1395;2). o The Digital Publishing RoundTable is for people who are interested in pursuing publication of their work electronically on GEnie or via disk-based media. For those looking for online publications, the DigiPub Software Libraries offer online magazines, newsletters, short-stories, poetry and other various text oriented articles for downloading to your computer. Also available are writers' tools and 'Hyper-utilties' for text presentation on most computer systems. In the DigiPub Bulletin Board you can converse with people in the digital publishing industry, meet editors from some of the top electronic publications and get hints and tips on how to go about publishing your own digital book. The DigiPub RoundTable is the official online service for the Digital Publishing Association. To get there type DIGIPUB or M1395 at any GEnie prompt. >>> GEnieLamp STAFF <<< """"""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp o John Peters [GENIELAMP] Publisher/Editor """"""""" IBM o Bob Connors [DR.BOB] IBM EDITOR """ o Nancy Thomas [N.NOWINSON] MultiMedia Editor/Writer o Brad Biondo [B.BIONDO] IBM Staff Writer o Tika Carr [T.CARR4] IBM Staff Writer o Dave Nienow [D.NIENOW] IBM Staff Writer o Don Lokke [D.LOKKE] Cartoonist o Sandy Wolf [S.WOLF4] Contributing Columnist WINDOWS o Tippy Martinez [WIN.LAMP] WINDOWS EDITOR """"""" o John Osarczuk [J.OSARCZUK] Asst Editor/Columnist o Rick Ruhl [RICKER] Windows Sysop/Columnist o Brad Biondo [B.BIONDO] Windows Staff Writer o Rick Pitonyak [R.PITONYAK] Windows Staff Writer o Ed Williams [E.WILLIAMS24] Windows Staff Writer o Dave Nienow [D.NIENOW] Windows Staff Writer MACINTOSH o Richard Vega [GELAMP.MAC] MACINTOSH EDITOR """"""""" o Tom Trinko [T.TRINKO] Mac Staff Writer o Bret Fledderjohn [FLEDDERJOHN] Mac Staff Writer o Ricky J. Vega [GELAMP.MAC] Mac Staff Writer ATARI ST o John Gniewkowski [GENIELAMP.ST] ATARI ST EDITOR """""""" o Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] ST Staff Writer o Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] ST Staff Writer o Terry Quinn [TQUINN] ST Staff Writer o Richard Brown [R.BROWN30] ST Staff Writer o Al Fasoldt [A.FASOLDT] ST Staff Writer o Fred Koch [F.KOCH] ST Staff Writer ATARI ST/TX2 o Cliff Allen [C.ALLEN17] EDITOR/TX2 """""""""""" APPLE II o Doug Cuff [EDITOR.A2] EDITOR """""""" o Gina E. Saikin [A2.GENA] A2 Staff Writer o Charlie Hartley [C.HARTLEY3] A2 Staff Writer A2PRO o Tim Buchheim [A2PRO.GELAMP] EDITOR """"" POWERPC o Ben Soulon [BEN.GELAMP] EDITOR """"""" ETC. o Jim Lubin [J.LUBIN] Add Aladdin Scripts """" o Scott Garrigus [S.GARRIGUS] Search-ME! o Mike White [MWHITE] (oo) / DigiPub SysOp o Susie Oviatt [SUSIE] ASCII Artist o Al Fasoldt [A.FASOLDT] Contributing Columnist o Phil Shapiro [P.SHAPIRO1] Contributing Columnist o Sandy Wolf [S.WOLF4] Contributing Columnist \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// Bulletin board messages are reprinted verbatim, and are included in this publication with permission from GEnie and the source RoundTable. GEnie, GEnieLamp Online Magazines, and T/TalkNet Online Publishing do not guarantee the accuracy or suitability of any information included herein. Opinions expressed are those of the individual, and do not represent opinions of GEnie, GEnielamp Online Magazines, or T/TalkNet Online Publishing. Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the follow- ing terms only. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to registered computer user groups and not for profit publications. All articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Opinions present herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or staff of GEnieLamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy. Please include the following at the end or the beginning of all reprints: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////// (c) Copyright 1995 T/TalkNET Online Publishing and GEnie. To join GEnie, set your modem to 2400 baud (or less) and half duplex (local echo). Have the modem dial 1-800-638-8369. When you get a CONNECT message, type HHH. At the U#= prompt, type: JOINGENIE and hit the [return] key. When you get the prompt asking for the signup code, type DSD524 and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your sign-up information. Call (voice) 1-800-638-9636 for more information. ////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ [EOF]