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1995-05-02
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Runner -- A Desktop Alternative
OVERVIEW
What is Runner / Shareware / Related Programs / What's Next?
Copyright (C) 1991 by Dave Thorson
Version 1.50 March 10, 1991
Legalese: Runner may be distributed freely as long as all
original files (except MINI_RUN.TTP and REGIONS.TTP) are
included, unchanged. Dave Thorson is not responsible for any
damages (lost files, loss of time, etc.) caused directly or
indirectly by this software. Users of this software assume all
responsibility for risk. This program is Shareware and is NOT
released to the Public Domain; Copyright ownership remains with
Dave Thorson. The companion programs Mini-Run and Regions are
NOT shareware and are available only to users of Runner who
register for $10 or more; they may NOT be distributed to others.
Note: in most .HLP files, $$ is used to mark the start of a new
section. Use this as a search string to find things quickly.
$$ Intro
Runner is a quick, easy-to-use alternative to the standard Atari
desktop, developed for hard drive users with at least one
megabyte of memory, however it may still be of use for floppy
drive users. The new Mini-Run program makes Runner suitable for
use even on 520K systems. Runner has only been tested on a
1040ST with TOS 1.0 and Atari SH-204 hard drive, but should work
on other systems as well (please contact me at the address below
with any bug reports, especially for STe systems -- Thank You!)
Runner lets you manage your programs more effectively by placing
them in one or more menus; simply click on a program in a menu
to run it. You can also assign up to twenty QuickKeys to run
your most-used software with a single keypress, and install
applications to run by selecting their data files. Default
parameter strings can be assigned to installed applications,
with automatic name substitution for the selected file.
Runner is much quicker than the desktop, and programs can
be placed in menus regardless of what drive or folder they
live in. You can group similar programs together in the
same menu, such as all games or all graphics programs or
all word processing software.
Menus can contain programs or other menus, and you decide how
you want to set them up. Runner also provides direct access to
a file selector (if you use Universal Item Selector you may
never need the desktop again!), lets you view files or run
programs not in your menus and access desk accessories. Several
customization options let you create a personalized computing
environment, such as using a background picture if you like
(Degas Elite color-cycling supported, of course). All these
features and more are described later, but first....
$$ Shareware Stuff
I am releasing Runner as Shareware to test the market for such
programs. Runner is NOT "Public Domain" and I reserve all
rights to the program and this documentation. Runner has been
in development for over a year, and I use it EVERY time I use my
ST (except on self-booting games, Turtle, or the time I lost my
main hard drive partition, but that's another story....).
You are free to take Runner for a test drive on your own
computer, and see if you find it to be of value. Whether you
keep it or not, feel free to give copies of RUNNER.ARC (or the
full set of un-ARC'ed files) to your friends (do NOT give them
MINI_RUN.TTP or REGIONS.TTP!). I save on distribution and
marketing costs, and you don't get stuck buying a program that
doesn't work out as you expected after seeing it for only a few
minutes in a store.
Since Runner is a copyrighted, professional program that took a
LOT of my time to develop and document, you are expected to
purchase it if you want to keep it (just like all those programs
on the wall at your local dealer!). If you decide to keep
Runner, please send a donation of $5 to $15 (and a disk I can
fill and send back to you) to:
Dave Thorson
3018 East Cheery Lynn Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Be sure to include a return address if you need a reply, and
tell me what program you're registering so I can keep my records
straight. Let me know if you are limited to a single-sided disk
drive, and if you object to receiving ARC'ed files (if you don't
know what ARC is, tell me, and you'll not get any ARC'ed files).
I could charge more (like the "going rate" for ST software of
$40 per package), but through shareware you can save on
marketing and distribution costs as well! Shareware can make
all of us come out ahead, but only if donations are sent.
Without them, shareware developers like myself will have no
incentive to develop more software, and you will stop seeing
nifty utilities and games come your way.
$$ * * * Mini-Run: Extra Shareware Incentive * * *
An extra program, Mini-Run, will be sent to anyone contributing
$10.00 or more, as long as a disk to hold the new program is
included. Please be sure to include a return address! I am
making Mini-Run available only through registration because NO
ONE sent any contributions for prior shareware programs I have
released. Runner by itself is even better than before, but
Mini-Run may entice those who USE Runner to contribute for
shareware (this tactic seems to be working -- THANK YOU to all
who have registered so far!).
Mini-Run can be called from Runner to run programs needing all
the memory they can get. Runner exits and loads Mini-Run, which
in turn loads the desired program (passing any parameters or
filenames as needed for .TTP programs). When the program exits,
Mini-Run exits and reloads Runner in its place. Mini-Run can
free up almost 68K bytes for another program in addition to what
Runner allows (almost 100K if a picture is loaded, but the
picture must be reloaded as well - Runner "starts over" after
Mini-Run exits). It consumes only 29K of memory and about 8K of
disk space.
Mini-Run is a very short program so it loads quickly, adding
only a second or so of delay from a hard disk. Of course,
Runner itself is reloaded later as well, adding a bit to the
delay time. Even with these delays the process of running a
program through Mini-Run is still far quicker (and certainly
more convenient) than exiting to the desktop to run a large
program, and returning to Runner after it's done. Please note
that Mini-Run is not a mini version of Runner; it does not
provide any menus or options; it only runs a program as directed
by Runner.
In my configuration I get the following memory values from a
command line interpreter (DO-IT! from QMI) run from the desktop,
Runner 1.50 (with and without a background picture) and Mini-
Run. Values for Runner 1.40 are also shown as a comparison in
case you're upgrading from that version. Memory availability on
your computer will depend on how much RAM you have, other
installed programs and desk accessories, and how you measure it!
Still, the last column shown here should be fairly close to what
you will see:
"DO_IT!" run from: Free Memory: Less than Desktop:
Desktop 687,480 0
Mini-Run 658,468 29,012
Runner 1.40 no pic 605,626 81,854
Runner 1.40 w/pic 573,626 113,854
Runner 1.50 no pic 590,884 96,596
Runner 1.50 w/pic 590,884 128,596
(Runner version 1.50 is about 15K larger than version 1.40.
Values shown for Low Res color, TOS 1.0, with following
accessories/programs in memory: UIS III, a SCRNSAVE, Turbo
ST 1.6, Fujidesk, FOLDR060, CodeKeys 1.2, PinHead 1.8, MACCEL3,
HeadStart 1.1, and FATSPEED)
$$ * * Regions: Additional Extra Shareware Incentive * *
A new Runner companion program, Regions, lets you set up active
screen regions that you can select with a mouse click. These
regions can activate nearly any feature available within Runner
and a few more besides. You can now dress up your screens with
disk drive "icons" or other pictures to make your Atari even
easier to use.
Simply paint the screen the way you want it using your favorite
paint program, convert the file to Degas format (.PIx or .PCx)
if your favorite paint program is not Degas Elite. Load the
picture into Runner as a background pic, then call Regions by
pressing the "Y" key. Within Regions, define the location and
size of up to 32 rectangular screen regions on top of your
picture, and assign each a Runner function, including all menu
options, most keyboard commands, and QuickKeys.
Regions also lets you define a list of picture files that can be
assigned to screen regions and loaded by clicking on the
associated region or by pressing a shifted number key. You can
even lock out the GEM menu bar, exit, file selector and menus to
create custom applications or demos. Regions also lets you
resave the current picture including any palette changes made
within Runner so you will see the correct colors in paint
programs or other applications. The Regions program will also
be sent to anyone registering Runner for $10 or more.
$$ Other Miscellaneous Stuff
Do not rename the programs RUNNER.PRG, MINI_RUN.TTP or
REGIONS.TTP since these are the names Runner expects to find.
Runner's Fix command only loads RUNNER.PRG, and Runner only
calls MINI_RUN.TTP and REGIONS.TTP when needed; there is no way
to tell it to do otherwise.
Runner contains only one error message, and it's used no matter
what the problem is. This is better than crashing over small
problems, and I felt it better than using lots of memory to
diagnose and report various problems. If you see the error
message (something general like "Bad Drive, Path or Other
Error"), you can choose to return to Runner or exit to the
desktop.
$$ Read Only Problem
For some reason beyond my understanding, a program cannot be run
from Runner if the program file is locked (set for Read Only).
If you have trouble loading a program, check for this using the
File/Show Info function from the desktop. Runner does NOT write
to any files other than RUNNER.CFG and filename.CFx (picture
configuration files where filename is the picture's name and
x=1,2,3). Trust me! (Okay, Regions can write to a picture
file, and Runner will write to .TMP files and then rename them
if successful (as described above) but everything else is safe!)
$$ Template Files
The template files, called GUIDE.PI1, GUIDE.PI2 and GUIDE.PI3
are ready to load into Degas Elite or any other program that
accepts the Degas file format. They mark where Runner displays
its menus. The Grey areas are used by Runner (you can put stuff
there, but Runner may cover it from time to time). The black
borders are not part of the area used by Runner. The red lines
(in GUIDE.PI3, the fuzzy markers) are used to verify the
location of the lines. A red line segment appears on each side
of the black border lines. Runner should never cover more than
the inside red line segment (or the inside edge of the fuzzy
markers). A calibration guide of sorts.... Color 3 is used for
menu text in low res and 15 in medium res, and the opposite of
color 0 is used in monochrome.
Special thanks to David Lindsley and Bruce P. De Vries for some
good ideas on this one....
One last note about GFA BASIC: I spent a great deal of time
working around problems in detecting mouse clicks in the GEM
menu bar rather then on the underlying screen (for example, when
a pull down menu overlaps the title line, and you click on Add
Menu but instead get the file selector box called by clicking on
the title line). GFA works reasonably well if everything is
done inside a window and you rely on GFA's internal commands for
detecting mouse presses, keypresses and so on. The problem then
is that GFA does all this too s-l-o-w-l-y to be usable, and has
real problems registering mouse clicks consistently. The
language has a lot going for it, and is clearly up the required
level of performance, but NOT if you go "by the book." If
anyone else out there has found better solutions (other than
switching to C), please let me know. I could cut out a lot of
silly code that tracks the same things GEM must track
internally.
If you have trouble with mouse clicks, you should try holding
the mouse down a bit longer. This clears up lots of problems
like going to a new screen and having the mouse select the first
thing it passes over, without a new mouse click. Runner never
uses double clicks, so slow down a bit and it all works better!
I completely gave up trying to tell when -exactly- to set or
clear the inverse display of a program or menu name since GFA
gives no way to tell if a GEM menu is displayed or not. I tried
putting in lots of delays. They kept the screen cleaner but
slowed the program too much and weren't completely or
consistently effective either. You'll have to live with the
occasional characters staying inverted when they shouldn't
until I find a better way (or a better language). Sorry, but I
gave it my best shot. Just run the mouse over them to clear
them if you like.
My apologies to GEM purists everywhere. My goal here was to
design an easy-to-use, powerful program to fit in as little
memory as possible. Sure, there are lots of "niceties" like
time and date display or picture animation, but I made tradeoffs
to my preference of having more capability with the overhead of
not having everything work strictly to GEM standards. Yes, it
would be nice to be able to do everything in the Add/Change
Dialog Box with either the mouse OR the keyboard, but that adds
a lot of memory overhead. Same for color changes. I can read
the R, G and B keys in a lot less memory than would be needed
for a "Control Panel"-like color change capability. That would
also require use of a mouse, and if the colors loaded from a
picture are such that you can't see the mouse pointer or what
you need to click on.... Well, I think my approaches are sound
when you consider what this program is doing!
$$ What's Next?
I don't see much work remaining in Runner. I'm looking for
ideas, but don't want the program to grow any larger. I may try
to convert it C but don't look forward to that prospect: Runner
is currently over 4000 lines of GFA BASIC code. If initial
tests show significant savings in space, then a C version may be
on the way.
I also did a lot of testing to find out how much space I could
save be dropping certain functions I suspected of being memory
hogs. Here are the results, using (unreleased) version 1.50G.
Memory appears to be allocated in pages of 256 bytes, so changes
smaller than that don't show up.
Memory Difference Description
549924 0 Full version Runner 1.50G
549924 0 No use of malloc() or mfree()
549924 0 No use of LPRINT command
549924 0 No use of CVL() and related functions
540436 512 No support for REGIONS program
553252 3328 No File View
549412 512 No SELECT/CASE statements (us IF instead)
549924 0 Use INLINE to pre-store DATA values
560420 10496 "Small Runner" which leaves out all
editing capabilities (add, drop, change,
restore, QuickKey assign, change or add
installed applications, change menu
position, title, etc.)
Since none of these but the last made any significant
difference, they're all still in the program (except malloc()
and mfree(), which cause problems of their own). The "Small
Runner" concept seemed a good one; you could set things up using
regular Runner, and once your configuration stabilized you could
use Small Runner instead. But I'm not willing to support two
versions of the program for a 10K savings in memory! If this
last 10K is really critical, let me know, but you may be pushing
up a rope!
I can see other companion programs, such as an arranger program
that lets you put menu items wherever you like (you CAN arrange
them how you like now; Runner determines the alphabetical order
used for placement on the initial contents of the Add/Change
Dialog Box description line, BEFORE it presents the box to you.
You can change the description all you like without resorting
the menu locations. They only change on Adds and Restores. So,
you would have to give your programs some funny names to get
them in the right order.... Not all that acceptable, is it?).
I would like to have graphics file viewers triggered by common
file extensions such as .SPC, .PI1, .TNY, .GIF, .IFF, and so on,
that could be installed applications letting Runner view any
graphics file. These could be a series of short programs or
maybe one large one that handles them all. I would also like to
see a library of background pics submitted by other users. And,
if you come up with any generally usable applications created
using Regions, such as tutorials or whatever, let me know! I'll
try to pass stuff along through GEnie as I get it, or write me
to find out what's going on. I'd love to hear from you!
$$ Final Note
That about wraps it up for Runner. If you have any suggestions
for additions, or find features you never use that could be
removed, or something doesn't seem to work quite right, then
contact me at the address at the top of this document. If you
use Runner, please send some $'s my way. Remember, if you send
a contribution of $10.00 or more, accompanied by a disk to send
back to you and your return address, I will send you the Mini-
Run and Regions programs, and any other updates. Be sure to
tell me if you have only a single-sided drive and if you don't
know how to use the ARC program. And send in any background
pics you like!
Dave Thorson
3018 East Cheery Lynn Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
If you don't enjoy using your ST, you're not doing it right!
-- Dave Thorson
$$ Products Mentioned (in no particular order):
Atari Planetarium - Atari || Font Tricks - Analog Computing
Laser C - Megamax, Inc. || Headstart - CodeHead Software
Turbo ST - SofTrek || Do-It! - QMI
Word Writer ST - Timeworks || ST Writer - Bruce Noonan
Degas Elite / Degas - Batteries Included / Electronic Arts
Universal Item Selector III - Application and Design Software
GFA BASIC 3.0 - GFA Systemtechnik / Michtron / Antic Publishing
RealTime, Diablo, MidiMouse - Intelligent Music / Dr. T's
Flash, CAD 3D, Spectrum 512 - Antic Publishing
Colorburst 3000 - BeerysBit Software
Little Green Selector - Charles F. Johnson
