MACD 5/MACD 5.bin/workbench/boot/czesc_2/patchos/patch2.0.doc

Text File | 1992-08-04 | 18KB | 381 lines

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                                © June 1992 by
                          Bernstein Zirkel Softworks
                               c/o Hartmut Stein
                                Koelner Str. 7
                         W-5090 Leverkusen 3 - Opladen
                                 West-Germany




     1. A short introduction
     -----------------------

        Whow!   There it is, your brand new A(500+|600|3000|whatever with
     OS  2.xx) and it's just looking great!  A nice looking 3-dimensional
     graphics   design,   a  sharp  dressed  Workbench  and  hundreds  of
     fascinating new functions in the OS.

        But  after  some hours of work (editing, compiling etc., not just
     clicking  icons on the Workbench) I discovered that there were a few
     things missing on my A3000.  Since I couldn't find a solution for my
     problems  in  the usual mouse- and Intuition-programs (like MachIV -
     which  I  use  currently  -  or  all the others), I decided to write
     Patch2.0.   The  program  enhances  OS 2.04 or higher with three new
     features.


     2. Menu-shortcuts
     -----------------

        The  first  new  (or  old?)  feature  are  keyboard-shortcuts for
     menu-items.  You may think now 'What is he going to tell me?  I just
     CAN  use menu-shortcuts with the right amiga key!' That's right, but
     did you ever try this with an active string-gadget?  Under OS 1.3 it
     works  well:   you just hit right amiga together with the proper key
     and Intuition sends this to your program as a menu-selection.  Under
     OS  2.0  this  IS  a  problem,  since  Intuition totally ignores the
     menu-shortcuts, when a string-gadget is active, and just inserts the
     key  into  the gadget.  This seems to be a really strange idea witch
     makes no sense at all and makes you grab your mouse permanently.  As
     an  example  let's  have  a look at the editor CygnusEd (which I use
     currently and like very much):

        If  you  want  to search a string, CygnusED opens up a new window
     with  some toggle buttons ('upper case == lower case', 'wild cards',
     etc.) and a string-gadget, which is automatically activated.  So you
     can  type in the search string without having to activate the gadget
     manually.   The  window  also  has  a menu attached ('leave search',
     'toggle  upper  case  ==  lower case', 'toggle wild cards', ...), of
     which  the  items can also be accessed via shortcuts ('l' for leave,
     'c'  for  toogle case, 'w' for wild cards, ...).  So there are three
     different  ways  to  change  for example the case sensitivity of the
     text search:

        a) grab your mouse and click the gadget
        b) grab your mouse and choose the menu-item
        c) grab your keyboard and press right-amiga-c

        Under  OS  1.3  I  absolutely  prefered the third method, since I
     needn't  remove  my fingers from the keyboard.  But what's happening
     under OS 2.0?  When I press this combination while the string-gadget
     is  active,  Intuition  just inserts a 'c' into the string!  Hahaha,
     that's a really funny idea commodore had...

        This  problem  does  not  only  belong to CygnusED, it appears in
     every   program   which  offers  string-gadgets  and  menu-shortcuts
     together in the same window.

        When Patch2.0 is installed, the program checks all input from the
     keyboard.   If  it finds a key pressed in combination with the right
     amiga  key,  it takes a look at the actual window.  When it finds an
     active string gadget and a menu bar, which contains an item with the
     pressed  key as a shortcut, it sends a menu-selection-message to the
     appropriate  program,  thus  bypassing  Intuition's  strange  way of
     handling menu-shortcuts!


     3. Use the '*' in pattern matching
     ----------------------------------

        Under  OS  1.3 I used the APR Shell commands, which allowed me to
     use  the  '*'  instead  of  the  '#?'.   The OS 2.0 pattern matching
     functions  of  the dos.library also can understand the '*', but it's
     needless to say that this nice little feature is disabled by default
     and  that  there  is  no  possibility  to  enable  it  in one of the
     different preferences editors.

        Patch2.0  gives  you  full  control  over  this  pattern matching
     facility.

        Since  the '*' normally stands for the actual shell window, it is
     not 100% compatible to the '#?' pattern.  For example 'Copy * RAM:X'
     won't  copy  all  files  from  the actual directory to the directory
     'RAM:X',  it just copies all lines of text you now enter into a file
     named 'RAM:X'.  This problem only appears when you use a single star
     as  a  pathname.   That  means  that  you can type 'Copy Work:Data/*
     RAM:X'  or  'Copy *.c RAM:X'.  A very easy solution for this problem
     is  to  use  the  '**'  pattern  which means exactly the same and is
     accepted as a normal pattern.


     4. Insert Chars by typing their ASCII-code
     ------------------------------------------

        On  MS-DOS-PCs  I  found  one  feature  I  missed  on the Amiga -
     insertion  of  any character by entering its ascii-equivalent on the
     numeric  pad  in  combination  with the control key (that's the only
     feature of PCs I miss on the Amiga ...  by the way:  Do you know how
     to  create  a  large program on any computer with an INTEL processor
     inside  -  like  'Windows'  on  MS-DOS-PCs?  Well, that's very easy.
     Just  take  some  apes - a million or two, or a bit more - and place
     them  together  in  a  large,  large room.  Then give every ape a PC
     (there  are  people who say that just every real ape on earth owns a
     PC, but I can't agree with this).  After that, close the door of the
     large,  large  room and wait a bit - let's say, one eternity or two.
     Then  visit the room again and there it is - 'Windows' for PCs!  Now
     you  know what 'INTEL' is the abbreviation for:  'INfinite Terror of
     apE Legions'.  Now can you imagine what 'IBM' could mean?).

        Patch2.0  checks the input stream for any keys on the numeric pad
     pressed  together  with the control key.  If it finds some of those,
     it  converts  them to the appropriate ASCII-character.  This is very
     useful  when  inserting some special characters (which are difficult
     to  find  on  the  keyboard,  like  '©'  or 'ª') into a text or when
     searching  for some special ASCII-values like for example 155, which
     is  known as the 'Control Sequence Introduce' of the console.device.
     As  mentioned  above,  CygnusED  (and  all other editors I know) use
     string-gadgets  for entering a search-string.  Since you can't enter
     a ACII-code like 155 on the keyboard, you can't search for it.  When
     Patch2.0  is active, this is not longer a problem (be sure to switch
     the  'Text  gadget  filter' in the IControl-preferences-editor off).
     Just  activate  the  search  option,  press the control key and type
     '155' on the numeric pad - that's it!


     5. Installation
     ---------------

        Patch2.0  consists  of two parts:  the program 'Patch2.0' itself,
     which  can  be  placed  anywhere, and the handler 'Patch2.0Handler',
     which must be placed in the 'L:'-directory.

        Workbench-Users  should  click  the  'InstallHandler'-Icon, which
     copies  the  Handler to the desired directory.  Then you should move
     'Patch2.0'  to  the 'WBStartup'-directory of your 'WB_2.x'-disk.  In
     this  case  the program will be started automatically every time you
     start  or  reboot the amiga.  To stop the program (if it should ever
     be necessary) just double click on it.

        Shell-Users can use the InstallHandler-Skript to copy the Handler
     to  the  'L:'-directory  (or just the 'Copy'-command...).  Then copy
     'Patch2.0'  to  your  'C:'-directory  and  insert  a  line  in  your
     startup-sequence,  which  will start Patch2.0 automatically on every
     start  or  reboot  of the amiga.  You don't need 'Run' or 'RunBack',
     since  it  just  installs  the  handler  in  the background and then
     returns to the Shell.  To stop the program just start it again.


     6. Options
     ----------

        There  are  lots  of  options  which  control  the  behaviour  of
     Patch2.0.   In  the  normal  case  you  don't  need any of those, so
     Patch2.0 will work completely as stated above.

        The  options  are  valid  for  both  Workbench-  and Shell-users.
     Workbench-users  can  enter the options as tooltypes (have a look at
     your   Workbench-manual   for  more  information  about  tooltypes),
     Shell-users  enter  the  options  as usual after the command's name.
     Upper  and lower case are ignored.  When started from the Shell with
     a  '?' as the only argument, you will get a help string in the usual
     format  for  Shell  commands  (look  at  the  Shell  manual for more
     information).

     On
        Install Patch2.0

     Off
        Remove Patch2.0.  If neither 'On' nor 'Off' are given, the actual
        state  of  the  program  is inverted (that means:  if it was off,
        switch it on, otherwise switch it off).

     Quiet
        Normally   Patch2.0   shows  you  a  requester  saying  'Patch2.0
        installed' on startup.  This option diables the requester.

     Usage
        Show  a  requester  with  short  explanations  for  the different
        options (better have a look at this file!).

     MenuOff
        Disable  the  interception  of  menu-shortcuts;  you get the same
        silly behaviour as without Patch2.0!

     AsciiOff
        Disable  the  ASCII-input  via  the  numeric  pad (to remove this
        PC-feeling from your Amiga).

     PatternOff
        The '*' as replacement for the '#?'-pattern is enabled by setting
        a  specified  flag  in  one  of the dos.library's data structures
        (sorry,  but  there  is  no  function  for  this in the library).
        Normally  Patch2.0  sets  this  flag,  if you enable the '*', and
        clears  it,  if  you  disable it.  So if another program wants to
        manipulate the flag, it will be overwritten by Patch2.0.  If this
        turns  out  to  be  a  problem,  you  should specify this option.
        Patch2.0 will then never touch this flag.

     StarOff
        Disable the '*' in pattern matching.

     Qualifier=nnn
        'nnn'   is   a  decimal  number  which  describes  the  qualifier
        (qualifiers  are:   control,  caps  lock,  shift, alt, amiga) for
        ASCII-input  via  the  numeric pad (defaults to the control key).
        The qualifiers have the following values:
           Left Shift  1
           Right Shift 2
           Caps Lock   4
           Control     8
           Left Alt    16
           Right Alt   32
           Left Amiga  64
           Right Amiga 128
        If  you  want  a  combination  of  qualifiers  you simply add the
        values.

     Cx_Priority=nnn
        The  decimal  number  'nnn'  specifies the priority of Patch2.0's
        inputhandler.

     Cx_PopUp=yes|no
        Please  enter either 'yes' or 'no' for this option.  In the first
        case Patch2.0 will automatically open its commodity window, where
        you can adjust all the settings by the use of gadgets.


     7. Some examples
     ----------------

     This are some examples for how to start Patch2.0 from the shell.  To
     use  the  examples  from  the workbench just enter every option as a
     single tool type in Patch2.0's info-window.

     Patch2.0 On PatternOff
        Start  Patch2.0  (or give an error message if it's just running).
        The  pattern matching flag of dos.library will not be affected at
        all.

     Patch2.0 Off
        Stop  Patch2.0  (or  give  an  error message if it wasn't running
        yet).

     Patch2.0 Qualifier=17 CX_Priority=100
        Use  the  combination  of  the left shift and the left alt key to
        insert  ASCII  chars  via  the  numeric pad.  The inputhandler is
        inserted at a priority of 100.

     Patch2.0 On CX_PopUp=Yes
        Start Patch2.0 (if it wasn't running yet) and open up the control
        window.


     8. Commodities
     --------------

        Patch2.0  can be controlled via the Commodities Exchange tool you
     find  on your Workbench disk.  It may be freely enabled, disabled or
     killed.   When  you  use  the  'Show'-Button  (or the 'Cx_PopUp=yes'
     option  an  startup)  Patch2.0  opens a special window where you can
     control all the programs features.

        At  the  top of the window you find four gadgets which correspond
     to  the four '...Off'-options explained above.  Use these gadgets to
     toggle  the features of Patch2.0 on or off.  If a gadget is checked,
     the feature is turned on.

        In the field below the features you can adjust the qualifiers for
     ASCII-input by hilighting the desired buttons.

        At  the  bottom  of  the  window  you find three gadgets:  'Hide'
     closes  the  window,  keeping Patch2.0 still in memory, while 'Quit'
     closes  the  window and removes the program.  The third button 'Save
     to  Icon'  is  only  available  when  the  program  was started from
     Workbench.   In  this  case  you  can  save  the  actual settings as
     tooltypes  to  Patch2.0's  icon,  so they will by active on the next
     start of the program.  There's no service like this for Shell-users;
     you  have  to  type  it  to  the  command  line by yourself (I think
     Shell-users like typing, so this should be no problem for you...).


     9. Caveats
     ----------

        Though  I  used  this  program  for  a  couple  of  weeks without
     problems,  there  may be any number of lurking bugs in it.  So if it
     low-level-formats  your  harddisk,  makes  your monitor explode into
     lots  of  little  pieces,  gobbles  down  your cat or drinks all the
     liquid  from  your neighbour's aquarium, making his goldfish gasping
     for water - please don't blame it on me!

        7236  bytes  of  disk space seem to be a bit more then needed for
     such  a  program like Patch2.0.  More than 50 % of this (57% or 4140
     byte)  are  used  to manage the commodity window.  If you don't need
     this  and  want  to use the smaller version you can order it from me
     (see below).

        Following  this  comes some legal stuff which sounds very well to
     me.   I took it from the readme file for Arq, which is a very, very,
     very  good  and  useful  program.   Hi,  Martin,  if  you would have
     mentioned  your adress in this file, I would have sent you something
     for  your  work.   But,  maybe, you will find Patch2.0 a bit useful,
     too...


     10. Legal Stuff
     ---------------

        The  author  will  not  be liable for any damage arising from the
     failure  of this program to perform as described, or any destruction
     of other programs or data residing on a system attempting to run the
     program.   While the author knows of no damaging errors, the user of
     this program uses it at his or her own risk.


     11. Other Stuff
     ---------------

        This  code  and documentation are freely distributable and may be
     used,  copied,  modified, fed to your dog or whatever you like to do
     with  it.  It would be nice not to remove this text when copying the
     program,  so  other  people  will  also  be  able  to understand its
     meaning.

        If  you  have any questions, have ideas for special improvements,
     want  to  have  a  look  at  the  sources  of  the  program  (rather
     undocumented,  I'm  afraid), want to order the smaller version or if
     you just want to thank me for this wonderful little tool, you should
     send me some money (or other valuables), a self-adressed and stamped
     envelope  (if  you  want response) and a empty disk (if you want the
     sources).

     Patch2.0  was  programmed  using  the  Aztec C 5.2a compiler, but it
     should be compilable with any of the Aztec compilers.


     12. An Apology
     --------------

     I'm  afraid  I  have  to  apologize  for the sometimes extremly poor
     quality  of  this  writing.  When I left school, my English was very
     bad.   Since  then I improved it a little bit by reading, re-reading
     and  re-re-reading  the  english  Rom Kernel Reference Manuals for a
     long  time  and  also placing them under my pillow to absorb them by
     osmosis  (this  joke © by Randell Jesup).  I also tried this with my
     AmigaDOS  manuals,  but that gave me extremly horrible nightmares of
     terrible  red monsters, at least ten foot tall, stalking me from the
     back  while I was sitting at my computer trying to program something
     useful  in  combination  with  the dos, with the four green flashing
     letters  of  'BCPL' on their chests and trying to beat me with their
     enormous  global  vectors.  I woke up crying and all my sheets soken
     wet and I never tried this again...