Megahits 4/MegaHits_Vol.4.iso/mui/dev/e/amiga-e/readme

Text File | 1994-10-24 | 7.7 KB | 189 lines

                         INTRODUCTION
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The original files for Amiga-E programmer that came with the
developer archive of MUI 2.1 (mui21dev.lha) are not very usefull.
   The muimaster.m file, that should define the functions of the
muimaster.library, does this only for the functions of MUI 1.4
and the mui.e file is only a very very bad replacement for the
mui.h file that C programmer could use!

   Thats why I created my own MUI-AmigaE-interface. This archive
(as a replacement of the original Amiga-E drawer of the mui21dev
archive) contains nearly all what's needed to write MUI-programs
in E and some additional informations in this file! The only
"extra" you need (to use the macrofiles) is the program "Mac2E".



                          THE FILES
                          ~~~~~~~~~

"ReadMe" - This file. Please read the entire file before mailing
   me something like: "This files are creating only errors, what
   make I wrong?" There are some special problems with MUI and
   Amiga-E which can cause big trouble :-( Go on reading and
   don't make this faults :-)

"Modules/muimaster.m" - This file defines the functions of the
   muimaster.library. Copy it to EMODULES: and write
   "MODULE 'muimaster'" in your source to use it.

"Modules/libraries/mui.m" - This file (and the next one) contain
   the most definitions of the mui.h file that came for C
   programmer with the developer archive of MUI 2.1. Use this C
   mui.h file with its comments to get more information about
   this definitions!
      In this mui.m module all CONSTs and the structs (OBJECTs)
   which are of interest for E programmer, are defined.  To see
   which structs are in this module, use the ShowModule-tool that
   came with the E compiler. Therefore all OBJECTs are collected
   at the beginning of the module.
      The CONSTs are written exactly the same way as in the mui.h
   file (with lowercase letters - that is no problem as long as
   the two first are uppercase, even if the E-language-descrip-
   tion says that CONSTs have to be totaly uppercase!) So it's no
   problem to use this files even if you have used the macrofile
   that came with "Mac2E" until now.
      The identifiers of the OBJECTs are written totaly
   lowercase!!
      Copy this file to EMODULES:libraries/ and write
   "MODULE 'libraries/mui'" in your source to use it.

"MacroFiles/mui.e" - This file contains the most macro defini-
   tions of the mui.h file which are, caused by the limitations
   of E, not in the file above. Only "the most", because some of
   them couldn't be translated to E, but they are not very
   important.
      To use this file and its macrodefinitions you need the
   program "Mac2E", and if you use a version >= 3 of "Mac2E"
   you first have to create the pre-analysed macrofile which is
   not included in this archive.
      As a result of moving the CONSTs to the E-module-file
   mui.m above, instead of using only one macrofile like the one
   that came with "Mac2E", it's possible to write MUI programs
   *without* using this macrofile and "Mac2E", but I wouldn't do
   so!!! With this macrofile it's possible to write MUI programs
   in E nearly the same way as in C.
      The more interesting advantage of puting the CONSTs in a
   E-module is the much more readable source after using "Mac2E".
   Sometimes - not often, but sometimes - it's better to search
   an error in the source that is created by "Mac2E" and than
   it's better to read "MUIA_String_Contents" instead of
   "$80428FFD".
      The macronames are written the same way as the C originals
   in mui.h - with one exception: The macro "String" is renamed
   to "StringMUI" to avoid conflicts with the E-Function String()
      Copy this file to ... where you want it - for example in a
   MacroFiles-directory in your Amiga-E-directory.

"Sources/doMethod.e" - To write MUI programs, you need a DoMethod
   function. Because this function is part of the amiga.lib,
   which we don't have as E programmer (until now), you have to
   write your own one, or better use this one.
      Copy it to your source to use it and look at the demo-
   source "Sources/MUI_Demo.e" to see, how to use it.

"Source/installhook.e" - Sometimes - for example if you use
   PopUps - you need hooks. This source gives you a PROC that
   makes it very easy to install the needed hook-structures.
   Look at this source (the comments) and the demo-source
   "Sources/PopUp.e" to see, how to use it.

"Source/MUI-Demo.e" - This is a translation of the C demo-source
   "MUI-Demo.c" that came with MUI. Use it to see, how to write
   MUI-programms in E and where are the differences between C
   and E.

"Source/PopUp.e" - This is a translation of the demo-source
   "PopUp.c" that came with MUI. Use it to see, how to use the
   installhook-PROC.



                     PROBLEMS WITH MUI AND E
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                       TRUE=1 or TRUE=-1
                       -----------------

   In C TRUE has the value 1 but in E TRUE has the value -1.
That can cause problems, therefore a CONST "MUI_TRUE" with
value 1 is defined in "Modules/libraries/mui.m". Use this
instead of TRUE whenever you want to give TRUE to MUI. See
"Sources/MUI_Demo.e" and "Sources/PopUp.e"


                    Problem with SetAttrsA()
                    ------------------------

   Whenever you try to set an attribut to the value it allready
has, MUI overwrites this attribut in the taglist with TAG_IGNORE
to make shure that notify-class don't react on it. This is
nessesary to prevent endless-notification-loops. As long as you
are a C programmer and use SetAttr() that is no problem, because
then MUI changes only a *copy* of the original-datas of the
SetAttrs()-call. But if you use SetAttrsA(), as we must do
because SetAttrs() is a function of amiga.lib, it is a problem!
You only give a PTR to the original-datas with SetAttrsA() and
now MUI changes this *original*-datas. If you than uses this
datas again, they are still changed and nothing (TAG_IGNORE)
will happen. One possible way to avoid this problem is, to make
the attribut a non-constant data. Instead of

   SetAttrsA(obj, [ MUIA_..., value, ..., TAG_DONE])

write

   SetAttrsA(obj, [ var + MUIA_..., value, ..., TAG_DONE])
                   ~~~~~~~
with var=0. Now everytime this SetAttrsA()-call is executet, the
attribute is again "evaluated" and stored in the list.
   Because of that I have defined the macros set() and nnset()
in "MacroFiles/mui.e" this way and if you want to use them you
have to DEFine a global(!) variable setAttrsA in your source
and set it to 0 (DEF setAttrsA=0) !!!
   BTW: x:=[...]; SetAttrsA(obj,x); SetAttrsA(obj,x) has *NOT*
the wished result!


                          TAG_IGNORE,0,
                          -------------

   Some of the macros in "MacroFiles/mui.e" are ending with
"[ TAG_IGNORE,0,". That seems to be superfluous but it is
needed, because in E if you want to split a statement over
several lines, you can't end a line with "[" but with a comma.
(See program "OptiMUI" that cames with "Mac2E")



                   AUTHORS (AND COPYRIGHTS)
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan Stuntz: - MUI with mui.h and the original C versions of
                 MUI-Demo.e and PopUp.e

Lionel Vintenat: - Mac2E


Wouter van Oortmerssen: - Amiga-E
                        - doMethod.e
                        - installhook.e

Jan Hendrik Schulz: - muimaster.m
                    - mui.m
                    - mui.e
                    - translations of MUI-Demo and PopUp to E
                    - this ReadMe-file
   (To contact me: [e-mail]  or
                   [e-mail] )



                            FUTURE
                            ~~~~~~
 - With future versions of MUI this files will be included.