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RE: A radical idea: a new XyWrite



For practical purposes, yes. (Fyi: Macro 11 was an assembler/compiler for the DEC PDP-11 family of processors. At Atex I was a machine language programmer.)

 

The assembly code could be recompiled (more or less directly) and run on Windows. Remember, that the modern Intel and AMD ‘Pentiums’ still have that level of 8/16 bit machine code in them and that fundamentally everything a computers must be machine code. Despite all of the high-level languages in popular use today, they end up in machine language.

 

Being that it is in an Intel assembler, I am not completely certain how cross-platform compatible it would be if the target was using a different machine instruction set, but some of the new conversion functionality may have a way to do that.

 

Working in C would certainly be easier. At base, all forms of the C language family are alike. The primary reason for having C in the first place was for platform portability. The higher versions simply have more features; Compiler compilers…

 

The scope of project we wish to embark on may have a lot of bearing with whether we want to start with Assembler or a C language. – Either way, it would be nice to know if the C code was available and what it would cost, etc. C would certainly be a big step up. (There are several reasons, but are best not to get into this until later.)

 

As mentioned above, the scope of the project is very important. The pros and cons of positioning a new XyWrite/Signature for Windows 10 and what functionality it needs should be determined well before and programming is started. Now, to be  completely contradictory, a few program code conversion experiments may be useful beforehand, too.

 

One of the many powerful assets of Atex/XyWrite was that it was capable of being programmed. A new implementation should have hooks for running/using scripts written in modern program and scripting languages.

 

Conjectures can be infinite and still gets nothing done.

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea for the various participants to throw out a few ideas of what they would like to see in a new embodiment of XyWrite. We could discuss, see the potentials and perhaps come up with something that would make it useful for all of its traditional uses and find some that would make it even more relevant for today.

 

The distribution method and form are important, too. Depending on the source we use, and the cost, we could consider making this available as a modestly priced utility, or ‘app,’ making it available on line or even as a public domain project that could become self-perpetuating.

 

Ideas. We need ideas.


Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 


From: xywrite-bounce@xxxxxxxx on behalf of Harry Binswanger
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 3:19:32 PM
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: A radical idea: a new XyWrite
 
Phil,

Of course, I know what DOS is. I don't know the Macro 11 part. No matter.

On conversion of code: Xy3+ is written in Assembler. Are you saying that there's some automated conversion of that into a modern language?!

If Xy4, I just learn is written in some flavor of C, perhaps we could buy the rights to use the source code (not the binary) for the purpose of converting it.

This is hopeful!

Regards,
Harry


Harry,
 
Thank you for your very speedy reply’
 
First DOS is an operating system, a.k.a., an OS, and Macro 11 is the machine language platform used to write machine code for the Digital Equipment PDP 11 computer.  The PDP  11 is the machine that Atex used for the original Atex OS/editor/database that was used by newspapers and publishers all over the world. (And in some cases still is.)
 
Depending on the original programming code, it is now relatively easy to convert existing source code into a modern programming language, such as C or C+. The current Visual Studio dev platform has the ability to compile this into binaries (applications) that will run on Apple, Linux, and Windows operating systems simultaneously. ’ It can also create versions whichh will run on the various phones, which may not be that useful for production, but the ‘text’  files can be edited by the full-sized versions of the application running on bigger machines. This is usually accomplished by syncing the ‘data’ through a common cloud connection. (Aside: We should not underestimate the modern hand-held smart phones. By connecting them to a keyboard and monitor, they have the capabilities of full-fledged desktop machines.)
 
The bottom line is that by moving the XyWrite editing platform onto Windows, you can gain a lot more than merely overcoming the 64K memory boundary. Here are just a few potential ‘teasers’: There is voice recognition, group cloud sharing, modern output to printers, the ability to ‘publish’ directly into eBooks, PDF files, databases, large typographic machines, graphics, apps’ The list goes on and on.