Oct 85 Letters
Volume Number: 1
Issue Number: 11
Column Tag: Letters
Likes the New look
Daniel Dyckman
Somerville, MA
The new LaserWriter image and the dull surface paper are perfect!
Needs Source Code Sooner
David Duchamp
Kalamazoo, MI
It would be nice to be able to obtain a computer readable copy of the source code
which appears in MacTutor when each issue comes out...any plans?
[We release a source code disk as soon as it is nearly full so the readers get their
money's worth. However, the increased size of MacTutor now requires a source disk
every two issues, so your wish may not be far off! -Ed.]
Up with MacAsm
Randell R. Ayling
Vellejo, CA
I just picked up Vol. 1 No. 9 of MacTutor. It's the first time I've seen your
publication and it's great! Within a half an hour your journal gave me answers to
Inside Macintosh questions that I had had since September '84. Since I program using
MacAsm, the "PrLink Source" in Vol. 1 No. 9 was very useful. I like Mainstay's
assembler. If they had an Apple compatible linker and handled tab characters the same
as Apple's MDS, it would make using MacAsm easier and more useful for their
customers.
I wish I had sucscribed to your publication when I first saw it advertised in
MacWord last year; it would have saved me a lot of grief. I've been an IBM mainframe
systems programmer for 8 years and I thought their documentation was bad, but
Apple's is terrible. Your articles really open up the toolbox and the operating system
on the Mac. Keep up the good work!
[ MacTutor is sponsoring a drive to make the MDS ".REL" file format a standard
for relocatable object code files so that programs compiled or assembled under a
variety of Mac programming languages may all be linked together under one linker. We
encourage Mainstay and others to adapt an MDS style object code file format option for
their development systems so that the goal of a single linker for a variety of tools may
be realized. More in future issues. -Ed.]
No Frills!
William Kerr
Davis, CA.
Congratulations on a well-written, no-frills magazine. Please start my
subscription as soon as possible and send me all the back issues, nos. 1-7.
Mac Programming for Fun
Vasilis E. Riginos
Washington, DC
I have been recieving your Journal since Vol. 1 #6. I would like to congratulate
you on the superb job that you are doing. Although I do a lot of programming
professionally, I program the Mac for fun. MacTutor is an endless source of
information and enjoyment.
Megamax C Fan
George Larson
Bend, OR.
MacTutor seems to be the only magazine currently in print for the Mac with any
real substance. I have just purchased a Mac and plan to program it in C with the
Megamax compiler which I am going to order soon. Please start my subscription with
the current issue.
Pascal Compiler looks good
G.C. Chirichigno
Cheltenham, GLOS
England
I have just finished reading the first eight issues of MacTutor and I must
congratulate you and your editorial staff for a sensible editorial policy and fine article
submissions. I am particularly impressed with both the C workshop by Bob Denny, and
the Assembly Lab by yourself. I commend Bob Denny for his clear and thorough
presentation of the way in which windows can be created and updated. I also find Chris
Derossi's submissions to be very helpful and eagerly await his next submission. [So do
I! -Ed.] The only recomendation that I would like to make is that the editors get
together and share each other's article submissions so that more interaction can be
developed between the workshops.
I was messing around with creating windows under MacPascal and I discovered a
curious aspect of the system. I created a document window (type 0) without a go-away
box. When I halted the program before disposing the window, I noticed that the window
that I created was transformed into a document window with a go away box, control
bars, etc. Does MacPascal get 'fooled' into thinking that the 'rogue' window is part of
the linked list of observation, drawing and edit windows?
While I have been playing around with MacPascal, I have been looking for a
native code pascal compiler. I have just ordered the MacLanguage Series Pascal from
TML systems for $49.95 (P.O. Box 361626, Melbourne, FL. 23936) which includes
a native code compiler, multi-window editor (Apple?), linker and resource compiler.
It has direct access to the toolbox, operating system and low level drivers. It compiles
to relocatable object code and requires no licensing fee and is not copy protected. [It
also is MDS compatible in the object code file, so says our Alan Wootton, who is very
excited about it. -Ed.]
Finally, I have trouble changing fonts in MacWrite 4.5 on my 128K Mac. I keep
getting a "Memory almost full" error. [The problem in MacWrite is that it really does
not work on a 128K Mac anymore. Version 4.5 should be considered a 512K version
only. -Ed.]
Mousehole Access?
Charlie Reiman
Lombard, IL.
MacTutor is great! It's about time someone gave me the inside poop on my Mac.
Sign me up for one year. By the way, how do I get on the mousehole BBS? You don't list
a phone number or password or anything (not even an area code, but I'll bet it's in
California like everything else).
[The Mousehole is a closed BBS system, but access may be granted by writing the
Sys. Op, Rusty Hodge, at the address given in the Mousehole column masthead. Rusty is
supposed to be issuing passwords to MacTutor readers who write him. If you have
trouble getting a response, please let me know. -Ed.]
C Notes
David Dunham
Goleta, CA.
Hi, it's me again. First let me express some amusement at the article "C Glue
Routines for Filter Procs." [September issue] The easiest solution to this problem is
of course to get a good C compiler such as Aztec C, where you can use the pascal
keyword:
pascal void scrlup(chdl, code) ControlHandle chdl;
word code; {
scroll(chdl, code, inUpButton);
}
This automatically handles arguments in the right order, and takes care of
cleaning up the stack. Perhaps I'm biased, but I sometimes wonder why people like Mac
C so much.
I know you don't really print reviews, but I'd like to see reviews of general
purpose programming tools such as the HeapShow product you are advertising. (You
did after all print a quasi-review of TMON...which would have been substantially
improved with some kind of screen photo). [Agreed. We are trying to bring new
programming products to our reader's attention without getting stuck in the fluff
quicksand. -Ed.]
As for a mini-review of my own, all C programmers should avoid Tardis
Software's C-Leaner. At least if you're a serious developer with Aztec C and a hard
disk. C-Leaner has real problems with #includes. C-Leaner claims to work just like
the compiler. But then it goes on to say that all ' "" ' files must be on the same disk as
the program, and that all ' <> ' files must be in the internal drive. I don't use the
internal drive. Aztec C has what's in effect a default prefix for searching the ' <> '
#includes, as well as a different one for the ' "" ' files. I'm not encouraged by a product
that claims to work just like my compiler, then insists I edit my source code so it's
less protable. I'm also not impressed by their quality control - the first copy I got
didn't have any documentation on disk as it was supposed to.
There's a, um, bug in the little program on page 30. [September issue] Icons are
32 bits wide, thus the assignments should be right:=42; bottom:=42; so no bit
multiplication has to be performed. [On the contrary, the assignments chosen made a
most pleasing display. Other values shrink or stretch the screen image of the icon
accordingly. -Ed.]
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