Re: Reg-Read.me et al.

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

> I had assumed that if one were
> logged onto the XyWrite Directory (and the only time I'm not, when
> running XyWrite, is when doing a Sweep search), one didn't need to alter
> the Path. Apparently that's not so, so I will fix the batch file that
> loads XyWrite.

Before launching Editor, insert in your BATfile:
 SET PATH=%PATH%;d:\xy4;
where "d:\xy4" represents drive:\path to Editor

> I suspect, however, that OOM is a more likely cause: I
> notice that "Install the
> XyWWWeb Registry" message has mostly popped up when I've had a couple of
> apps open (and on the office machine, which has only 96 Mb of RAM).

I'm not talking about system OOM; I'm talking Save/Get memory within XyWrite,
which gets brittle around 15Kb and definitively crashes at 27-28Kb. That's
*K*b, not Mb! Whenever you're curious to know where you stand, poll S/G memory
with "VA/NV $M+6". I still need to write an OOM FAQ -- haven't had time.
But in general, the biggest memory gobblers and contributors to OOM are
Save/Gets that are loaded permanently by STARTUP.INT -- almost all of which
can, with creative management of U2 and the keyboard file, be transformed into
transient S/Gs that are loaded only when needed, and then immediately wiped
from memory.

> how do you set up NBWIN, then? I had two copies of the U2package
> (including REG), one in the \XY directory, the other in \NBWIN. Should I
> write lines in NBSTARTUP to link with the U2 package in \XY? Thus keeping
> only one REG file on the machine

Three approaches:

1) Do it the way you're doing it, with one REG in each home (Editor's)
directory. Flaky! Because if you move your logged dir out of your home dir,
the system starts searching the PATH, and will pick up the REG that comes
_first_ in the PATH. Which, for one of your installations, will obviously be
the wrong dir.
2) Use a BAT file to launch each of the Editors (NB/XY), and swap REGs before
launching Editor. E.g. to toggle NB's REG into being active:
 RENAME d:\path\XYWWWEB.REG d:\path\XY4.REG
 RENAME d:\path\NB.REG d:\path\XYWWWEB.REG
3) Do it the way I do it, using XPL. There's an example in the REG template
included within U2's ZIPfile:
 [Help]
 ;Set "MD SO=###" to same number in SETTINGS.DFL! Default=113 (216 in NB)
 XyperLink/MDSO_Color=>"V4.02">
Why does that work? Xy4 carries the internal version (VA$VE) number 4.018.
XyWin is v4.12. NBWin is v4.1. So it sets the color for Xy4 to 113, and for
both XyWin and NBWin (which don't display color) to 216. IOW, if VA$VE reports
a value greater than v4.02, it sets a color suitable for a B&W window. Put REG
in the _first_ dir in the PATH, such as C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT\system32, so
that both Xy4 and NBWin can grab it right away without ploughing through the
entire PATH searching for the REGfile.

> a while back, amid the all the discussion of screen issues with XyDos
> and XP, you suggested that the group start thinking about the future; I
> inferred NBWIN. I'm using it more and more on XP and do not want, at this
> point, to discuss either its advantages or disadvantages, but I can not
> help but wonder -- wish, if you like -- whether one day the authors of U2
> will begin to adapt that essential package of programs -- all the
> exigencies of time, labor, health and so on notwithstanding -- to NBWIN.

You inferred correctly: I meant NBWin. Obviously, that is the future. Duh.
But I'm not prepared to plug it publicly, nor do I consider it really "ready
for U2". It's XPL handling is still very buggy (OOM OOM and more OOM). I do
not myself use NB very much. For a balance of power and buglessness, Xy4 is
still my preference by a wide margin. (For absolute buglessness, the edge
would have to go to v3.58; but the extra facilities & programming power of Xy4
blows v3.5x away, for me; and NB adds very little that I consider useful.)
However, I have periodically been invited by Steve Siebert to "resolve the
issues" in NBWin. Unfortunately, one or the other of us has been busy or
unresponsive when we sat down to actually do it. And frankly, I'm not sure
that I want to commit the time and testing required to fix NBWin's XPL handler,
because I think, in the end, I'm basically going to stick with Xy4 anyway.
Carl, of course, may feel otherwise. But both of us do this basically for
ourselves, and for relaxation and the fun of programming. It's the surfeit of
(mostly repetitive) explanation on this maillist that became truly onerous, and
so I quit reading it. Clearly, Carl has cut way back too.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------