8bitfiles.net/archives/archives.tar/archives/canada-remote-systems/c128/utils/browser.sfx/readme

Text File | 1990-02-12 | 8.7 KB | 205 lines

                 ++++++++++  ┬ROWSER  ++++++++++
                               BY
                           ╥OD ╟ASSON

           90 ╚ILLIERS ╥D. ╥EYNELLA  5161,  ╙TH.┴USTRALIA

                         ╩AN 1ST  1995

   -----------------------------------------------------------------

   ╘HIS PROGRAM IS ╞╥┼┼╫┴╥┼. ╔T MAY BE FREELY COPIED, DISTRIBUTED AND
USED. ╔T MUST ╬╧╘ BE SOLD OR DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE ARCHIVES OF ANY
OTHER PROGRAM WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR, ╥OD ╟ASSON.

╔T MUST ╬╧╘ BE DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT THIS TEXT FILE INTACT.
╔T MUST ╬╧╘ BE ALTERED IN ANY WAY OTHER THAN FOR PERSONAL USE.
╔T MUST ╬╧╘ BE DISTRIBUTED IN ANY FORM OTHER THAN THE ORIGINAL .╙╞╪
(╙ELF ┼XTRACTING ┴RCHIVE) FORMAT, OR A ╒╒ENCODE (OR SIMILAR) OF SAME.


╘HIS PROGRAM COMES WITH NO GUARANTEES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. ╔T WORKS FOR
ME. ╔F IT DOESN'T WORK FOR YOU IT'S TOUGH LUCK, ╔'VE LEARNED FROM
BITTER EXPERIENCE THAT FIXING PROBLEMS DUE TO ╨┴╠/╬╘╙├
INCOMPATIBILITIES, OR PROBLEMS WITH SPECIFIC DISK DRIVES ETC COST ME A
SMALL FORTUNE TO ISOLATE, NOT TO MENTION THE TIME INVOLVED. ╔ WOULD
HAVE LIKED TO RELEASE THIS AS YET ANOTHER SHAREWARE PROGRAM AND USE ANY
FUNDS PRODUCED FROM IT TO OFFSET SUCH COSTS AS ╔ DID WITH MY 'FLAGSHIP'
PROGRAM ╤╫╦╥╥. ╚OWEVER DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS A COMMON
MISCONCEPTION THAT '╙HAREWARE' MEANS 'PAY IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT' AND THAT
MANY OF THOSE THAT REGISTER EXPECT A LIFE TIME OF SUPPORT AND FREE
UPGRADES, ╔'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ╙HAREWARE IS A BUST.  ╔'M
*╬╧╘* GOING TO 'PAY' PEOPLE TO USE MY SOFTWARE, AND UNFORTUNATELY THAT
HAS TURNED OUT TO BE THE SITUATION WITH ╤╫╦╥╥. ╘HE EXPENSES HAVE
OUTWEIGHED THE RETURNS AND ON TOP OF THIS ╔'M CONSIDERED TO BE A
BASTARD BECAUSE ╔ EXPECT THOSE THAT USE THE PROGRAM (╤╫╦╥╥) TO HELP
PAY FOR IT. ╔ HAVE EVEN RECIEVED ABUSE FROM SOME THE USERS BECAUSE THEY
FEEL THEY HAVE A 'RIGHT' TO USE THE PROGRAM WITHOUT PAYMENT.


  ╙╚┴╥┼╫┴╥┼ ╔╙ ┴ ═┼╘╚╧─ ╧╞ ─╔╙╘╥╔┬╒╘╔╧╬. ╔╘ ╔╙ ╬╧╘ ╞╥┼┼ ╙╧╞╘╫┴╥┼!


╘HIS LEAVES ME WITH THREE ALTERNATIVES IN WHICH TO RELEASE MY SOFTWARE.


╨UBLIC DOMAIN : ╘HE AUTHOR HAS RELINQUISHED ALL RIGHTS TO THE PROGRAM.
                ╨─ PROGRAMS CAN BE FREELY MODIFIED AND DISTRIBUTED AS
                THE USER SEES FIT.
                ─ON'T EXPECT ANY SUPPORT OR BUG FIXES.


╞REEWARE      : ╘HE AUTHOR MAINTAINS ALL RIGHTS TO THE PROGRAM. ╔T MAY
                BE FREELY USED AND DISTRIBUTED BUT ONLY AS LONG AS ANY
                DISTRIBUTION CLAUSES ARE ADHERED TO. (╙EE ABOVE FOR AN
                EXAMPLE OF SUCH CLAUSES).

                ╞REEWARE IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS SHAREWARE BUT NO
                PAYMENT IS REQUIRED, HENSE THE NAME ╞╥┼┼WARE.
                ─ON'T EXPECT ANY SUPPORT OR BUG FIXES.


├OMMERCIAL.  :  ╘HIS IS WHERE YOU HAVE TO PAY YOUR MONEY BEFORE YOU
                EVEN SEE THE PROGRAM. ╔F IT ISN'T WHAT YOU EXPECT THATS
                TOUGH LUCK. ╔F IT HAS BUGS AND YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH
                THAT THE PROGRAM IS STILL SUPPORTED THEN EXPECT TO PAY
                MORE TO GET IT FIXED. ┘OU USUALLY PAY MORE THAN THE
                PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY WORTH BECAUSE YOU ARE ALSO PAYING
                FOR ADVERTISING AND DISTRIBUTION COSTS.


╔ HAVE ELECTED TO RELEASE THIS PROGRAM AS ╞╥┼┼WARE.

╫HEN/IF IT REACHES WHAT ╔ CONSIDER 'COMMERCIAL' STANDARD ╔ WILL ALMOST
CERTAINLY SELL IT AS SUCH.


╔'M RATHER BITTER TOWARDS THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT AT THE MOMENT.

╧╦, ENOUGH OF MY GRIPES. ╔ DON'T WANT OR EXPECT ANY RETURNS FOR
"┬ROWSER".  ╔T IS MY NEW YEARS GIFT TO THE BULK OF ├128 USERS OUT THERE
THAT STILL USE AND SUPPORT MY FAVOURITE COMPUTER, AND ESPECIALLY TO
THOSE THAT SUPPORT US THAT PROGRAM FOR IT.

'┬ROWSER'  DOESN'T REALLY NEED MUCH IN THE WAY OF DOCUMENTATION 'COS
ALMOST ALL OPTIONS ARE SHOWN ONSCREEN.  ╔F YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY RUN THE
PROGRAM IT IS REALLY LITTLE MORE THAN AN ENHANCED TEXT READER. ╔T IS
ABLE TO READ THE FOLLOWING FILE TYPES:

<┴>╙├╔╔.
╘EXT PRODUCED BY NON ├┬═ COMPUTERS (AND SOME ├┬═ WORD PROCESSORS).

<╨>┼╘╙├╔╔.
├┬═ TEXT FILES (DOC FILES ETC).
├┬═ COLOUR GRAPHICS FILES ARE ╬╧╘ SUPPORTED AT THIS TIME.


<┬>┴╙╔├.
├OLOURISED LISTINGS OF ┬┴╙╔├ PROGRAMS.

<─>┴╘.
╤╫╦ FORMATTED FILES (AS USED BY ╧FFLINE MAIL READERS FOR ┬┬╙ USE)

┴<╬>╙╔
╔┬═ STYLE COLOUR GRAPHICS FILES (┬┬╙ LOGON SCREENS ETC).
╬OTE: ╚OLDING THE SHIFT KEY WHILST PRESSING 'N' WILL DISPLAY ┴╬╙╔ FILES
IN 'DEBUG' MODE. ╘HE OUTPUT WILL PAUSE FOR A KEYPRESS PRIOR TO ACTING
ON AN ┴╬╙╔ ESCAPE SEQUENCE.


"┬ROWSER" ALSO HAS THE ABILITY TO ╥╒╬ ├128 PROGRAMS. ┘OU WILL GET THE
<╥>UN OPTION FOR ANY ╨╥╟ FILETYPE.  ╔T IS UP TO YOU TO ONLY USE THIS
OPTION FOR ├128 RUNABLE FILES. ╘RYING TO RUN A ├64 PROGRAM OR OTHER NON
RUNABLE PROGRAMS WILL ALMOST CERTAIN CAUSE A LOCKUP.

┴LMOST ALL ├128 PROGRAMS ARE 'RUNABLE'. :-)

"┬ROWSER" HAS ITS OWN CHARACTER SET INBUILT (╔N FACT THIS TAKES UP 30%
OF THE PROGRAM), BUT USER DEFINED CHARACTER SETS CAN BE LOADED FROM THE
OPTIONS MENU.  ┴LTHOUGH *┴╬┘* CHARACTER SET CAN BE LOADED AND VIEWED,
ONLY THOSE SETS WITH THE CHARACTERS IN THE SAME ORDER AS THOSE USED BY
─ESTERM WILL GIVE MEANINGFUL OUTPUT.
┴LL CHARACTER SETS ═╒╙╘ BE NAMED (OR RENAMED) WITH  .CHR AS AN
EXTENSION.  EG, IBMSET.CHR, AMIGASET.CHR, PETSET.CHR, FILENAME.CHR.

"┬ROWSER" WILL ╬╧╘ DISPLAY SUCH FILES DURING 'NORMAL' DIRECTORY
LISTINGS BUT WILL ╧╬╠┘ DISPLAY THEM FROM THE CHARSET MENU.  ╘HE
INTERNAL CHARACTER SET CAN BE RELOADED AT ANY TIME FROM THIS MENU BY
PRESSING THE BACKARROW KEY.

╔T IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE INTERNAL SET BE USED WHEN VIEWING ┴╬╙╔
FILES.

╒SER LOADED CHARACTER SETS ARE ONLY USED WHEN VIEWING FILES. ┴LL
'SYSTEM' TEXT, DIRECTORY LISTINGS, ETC WILL USE THE INTERNAL SET. ╔F A
FILE YOU ARE READING IS 'UNVIEWABLE' OR DOESN'T APPEAR AS YOU EXPECT IT
SHOULD THE PROBLEM IS YOU HAVE EITHER SELECTED THE WRONG OUTPUT TYPE,
OR YOU HAVE AN INCOMPATIBLE CHARACTER SET LOADED. (EG, CHARACTER SETS
FROM ─IALOGUE, ╤╫╦╥╥ ETC).


┴LL TEXT OUTPUT CAN BE ABORTED BY PRESSING THE STOP KEY.

╔N ALL MODES EXCEPT ┴╬╙╔ THE OUTPUT WILL BE PAUSED WHEN IT REACHES THE
BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN. ├URSOR DOWN WILL SCROLL ANY SUBSEQUENT TEXT ON A
LINE BY LINE BASIS. ┴NY OTHER KEY WILL DISPLAY THE NEXT 'PAGE'.
┴LTHOUGH ALL TEXT IS CURRENTLY BEING BUFFERED TO MEMORY AS IT IS BEING
READ, AT THIS STAGE THERE IS NO PROVISION FOR BACKWARD SCROLLING.

╞ROM THE OPTIONS MENU YOU CAN SELECT YOUR PREFERED SCREEN SIZE FOR TEXT
OUTPUT (HEIGHT/WIDTH). ┴S WITH THE CHARACTER SETS SUCH SETTINGS WILL
ONLY COME INTO EFFECT WHEN READING FILES. ╘HE TWO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS
ARE WITH ┴╬╙╔ OUTPUT - THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT/WIDTH IS ALWAYS USED, AND
WITH ─┴╘ OUTPUT THE MINIMUM WIDTH IS LIMITED TO 38 CHARACTERS.

┴LTHOUGH "┬ROWSER" HAS BEEN TESTED ON AN ╬╘╙├ SYSTEM WITH NO PROBLEMS,
EVEN AT MAXIMUM SCREEN SIZES, ╔ STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT DUE TO THE
EXTENDED SCREEN SIZE THERE WILL BE SOME ╬╘╙├ SETUPS THAT WILL HAVE
PROBLEMS WITH IT. ┴S ╔ SAID BEFORE THATS TOO BAD. ╔ HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO
INCENTIVE TO CHANGE OR FIX IT. ╔T WORKS WELL FOR ME. ┴T WORSE THIS WILL
SIMPLY MEAN THAT SOME OF YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE ┴╬╙╔ OPTIONS.


"┬ROWSER" WAS AND IS PRIMARILY INTENDED FOR USE WITH ├═─ DEVICES SUCH
AS ╥AMLINK OR HARD DRIVES. ╔T WORKS ON A 'TREE' TYPE STRUCTURE STARTING
WITH THE DRIVE SELECTION, FOLLOWED BY PARTITION SELECTION, FOLLOWED BY
DIRECTORYS AND THEN SUBDIRECTORYS. ┼ACH 'LEVEL' BEING SELECTED BY
USING THE CURSOR KEYS AND RETURN.  ┘OU CAN GO BACK ONE 'LEVEL' AT A
TIME BY PRESSING THE BACKARROW KEY. ┴T THE TOP LEVEL (DRIVE SELECTION)
PRESSING THIS KEY WILL EXIT THE PROGRAM. ┴N ALTERNATE EXIT IS TO PRESS
THE BACKARROW KEY FROM THE OPTIONS MENU. ╘HIS WILL LEAVE THE CURRENTLY
SELECTED PARTITION/DIRECTORY 'ACTIVE' ON EXIT AND IS OFTEN A QUICKER
AND MORE DESIRABLE WAY TO EXIT. (┴REN'T YOU GLAD YOU READ THIS NOW?)
<GRIN>


╫ELL, ╔ THINK ╔'VE COVERED EVERYTHING. ╘O BAD IF ╔ HAVEN'T REALLY
BECAUSE ╔ ALREADY KNOW WHAT EVERYTHING DOES SO ╔ REALLY SHOULD BE DOING
OTHER THINGS FOR *ME* RATHER THAN WASTING TIME WRITING THIS FOR SOME OF
THE UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE OUT THERE.

╔F YOU DO HAVE BUG REPORTS OR EVEN IF (GOD FORBID) YOU JUST WANNA DROP
ME A LINE TO SAY YOU ARE USING THE PROGRAM PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO,
BUT FOR CHRISSAKES DON'T EXPECT ═┼ TO THANK YOU, OR BE INDEBTED TO YOU
FOR IT.

┘ES ╔'M STILL BITTER.


╬╧╘┼: ╔ JUST ╦╬╧╫ THERE WILL BE SOME PEOPLE THAT WILL FIND PARTS OF THIS
      TEXT FILE A BIT 'OFF'  AND WILL BE TEMPTED TO EDIT IT BEFORE
      MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO OTHERS. ╔ SAY ─╧╬'╘ DO IT. ╘O DO SO MEANS
      THAT YOU TOO ARE ONE OF THOSE THAT ╔'M SO BITTER AGAINST. ╔ AM
      GIVING YOU AND OTHERS A POTENTIALLY USEFUL PROGRAM WITH THIS ONE
      MINOR REQUEST. ─ON'T SLAP ME IN THE FACE BY DISREGARDING MY
      WISHES. ╔F YOU FEEL ╘╚┴╘ STRONGLY ABOUT IT, SIMPLY SCRATCH IT.
      ┘OU ARE DOING ME NO FAVOURS BY PASSING IT ON. ┘OU ARE DOING ME NO
      HARM BY SCRATCHING IT.


╚MMM,  ╔ GUESS ╔ AM A BASTARD AFTER ALL !

├HEERS
╥OD.