Re: XPL early programming decision - whether to RC loop or custom .kbd

[Jay McNally jmcnally@xxxxxxxx]

The program you are describing is over my head. I have not done much in the way of xpl in probably
6-7 yrs and have forgotten a lot of it.

I think the old help screens are the kind of thing you might be describing, or which would help.
With those screens, you enter a new level of tier within the program that does not accept any
keystrokes except those which are being prompted for... as in a numerical menu, 1-10, or a list.

That kind of thing is easy to write ... you create an array and tell the computer to go to another
loop if a key outside the array is pressed.

There are, as I recall it, as many as 7 or 9 separate kinds of help screens. Some are very, very
clever. And each is tailored for a specific kind of presentation of data.
And naturally, you can adapt them to any kind of project in Xy.

I tinkered with them back in about '91 or 92 and found them full of opportunity, but never took it
beyond minor tinkering.

I have never used U2, so it is possible that that program has replaced all the other Xy stuff.

I think the experts are Carl D. and R. Holmgren. They coudl probably recognize what you planning
and have pretty good options for it.

One thing that amazes me here -- I've been on this list for only about 2 months -- is that just
about every problem I've encountered, the others on the list have solved.


>
> From: "Young For Life Products, Ltd" 
> Date: 2001/11/07 Wed PM 04:41:30 EST
> To: 
> Subject: Re: XPL early programming decision - whether to RC loop or custom .kbd
>
> I am starting to write this XPL overview program, for organizing ideas and
> pieces in a writing project, and I have a key decision to make:
>
> for a screen which the user will use frequently, entering and exiting it
> automatically as they dip in and out of various parts of the whole project,
> I need to control the keyboard. Probably about twenty different actions,
> including cursor control to specific places on the screen, and menu actions.
> In addition there will be allowed input of alphanumeric characters for
> placing names in various parts of the screen.
>
> I can either write a series of RC loops that leaves the default keyboard
> alone, just temporarily captures input while the user is at that screen, or
> I can temporarily load a special keyboard for during the time the user is at
> that screen, and when that screen is exited, the user's default keyboard is
> reloaded.
>
> When the user is actually writing in a part of the project, not overviewing
> the whole project, they are in a file and are not actually in the overview
> program any more. All xywrite functions are available. When they go to save
> the file, they invoke the program again through a hotkey or command line
> command, and the program stores the file properly within the framework of
> the overview program.
>
> I incline toward the RC loop while at the overview screen, but am curious
> how expert programmers would handle this. If I went with the .kbd idea, I
> have to figure out how to capture the info of what .kbd file is presently in
> use (I assume there's a function call for that) before invoking the overview
> screen and temporary overview keyboard. I guess I could just assume it would
> be called xy4.kbd, write it just for xy4 and let xy3'ers rewrite that part
> of the program, but that still seems risky, considering the sophistication
> of many of the people likely to use this program.
>
> Charles
>
>