"RexXPL" (public release)

[Carl Distefano CLDistefano@xxxxxxxx]

Attention XyWrite-OS/2 Shell Users!
-----------------------------------

A revised and expanded edition of "RexXPL", an extension to Robert
Holmgren's XyWrite-OS/2 Shell, is now available for downloading.

REXXPL.ZIP can be found (temporarily) at URL:
^^^^^^^^^^
  ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/new

and, in due course, will take up permanent residence at URL:
  ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/editors.

I have also sent a copy to Nathan for posting to this list:
  ftp://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/pub/eaan.

The RexXPL base routines "Rexx-enable" XyWrite 4 and XyWrite for
Windows by allowing full-fledged Rexx procedures to be embedded
within XPL programs.  If having the facility to, e.g. ...

;*; Generate all XyWrite functions in a snap!
{IF{VA$WS}<>1}{PRNo file}{EX}{EI}{SX01,{CP}}JM_2.r2x{SV50,

xy.02=''
byte1=x2c('FF')
do i=128 to 130
 do j=1 to 255 by 2
 if i=130 & j=249 then leave
 xy.02=xy.02||byte1||d2c(i)||d2c(j)
  end
 end
xy.02=xy.02||CrLf

}Q2_DX_GT_XP_{GT02}BX_(jmp {PV01})DO_{PRDone}{EX}

... appeals to you, then take a look. The new release has an Alarm
applet, by which visible|audible reminders can be set directly from
the XyWrite command line. Also -- of interest to advanced XPLers of
any OS persuasion -- it includes a structured, commented, printable
listing for the two enabling routines, R2 and R2X.

Additional information appears in the following descriptive text
file.

----- Quote REXXPL.TXT ----------

Title:  "RexXPL!" (REXXPL.ZIP)
Author: Carl L. Distefano
Date:  July 21, 1996
Object: Embed Rexx procedures within programs written
     in the XyWrite (DOS/Windows) word-processor's
     XyWrite Programming Language (XPL)
------------------------------------------------------------

RexXPL (REXXPL.ZIP) is an unusual set of programs that "Rexx-
enables" XyWrite, the highly-regarded DOS & Windows word-processor
still in wide use among professional writers and editors.

RexXPL is an extension of Robert Holmgren's XyWrite-OS/2 Shell,
which must be installed first. It also makes use of Eberhard
Mattes's OS2EXEC (Execute OS/2 Programs from DOS Session).

The XyWrite-OS/2 Shell can be downloaded, as XYOS2SHL.ZIP, at
  ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/editors/, or
  ftp://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/pub/eaan/.

OS2EXEC can be downloaded, as OS2EXEC.ZIP, at
  ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/textutil/.

XYOS2SHL.ZIP and OS2EXEC.ZIP are freeware; consult the
documentation
bundled with each for any restrictions on copying or use.

RexXPL is necessarily addressed to a "niche" audience: the subset of
OS/2 users that writes with XyWrite. Its base routines are written
in the XyWrite Programming Language (XPL), a loosely-structured,
hard-to-decipher, but versatile string-manipulation language, which
is tightly integrated with XyWrite's editing and file-handling
functions. More than a macro language, XPL has been described as
the cement that binds together the various user-configurable
components -- keyboard file, printer drivers, hypertext help/menu
system, to name a few -- that comprise what is surely the world's
most malleable word-processor. Building on the impressive
capabilities of the XyWrite-OS/2 Shell, RexXPL grafts the keyword
instructions, built-in functions and external function libraries of
OS/2's scripting language onto the already variegated syntax of XPL.

REXXPL.ZIP contains two files:

REXXPL.U2  is a "loadable" XyWrite user command-set (U2) Help file. 
It
---------  contains the RexXPL enabling routines (R2 and R2X), on-line
       help for RexXPL, plus an Alarm applet and a utility called
       Runcode, for running the demo routines.

REXXPL.DOC  provides detailed instructions on using RexXPL,
including
----------  a series of demo routines and a structured, commented
       "pseudo-code" listing for the two RexXPL enabling routines.

REXXPL.U2 and REXXPL.DOC are Copyright (C) 1996 Carl L. Distefano. 
They
are the author's original work and, to the best of his knowledge, do not
infringe any copyright. REXXPL.ZIP is freeware and may be freely
distributed....

----- End Quote ----------

--------------
Carl Distefano * * * CLDistefano@xxxxxxxx
--------------