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CU Amiga Super CD-ROM 4
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CU Amiga Magazine's Super CD-ROM 04 (1996)(EMAP Images)(GB)(Track 1 of 3)[!][issue 1996-11].iso
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newcron.lzx
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NEWCRON.TXT
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1996-09-20
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NewCron 1.1
Copyright 1995 Stefan Radig
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0. What's new
Version 1.1
Bugfixes:
- In the event screen, the event year was always the actual one.
This has been fixed.
- The switch delay is now only active, if there is a switch off event
- In version 1.0 it was impossible to switch the machine off, if NewCron
showed the message screen. This has been fixed.
Version 1.0
New features:
- A help is now available if the help file is installed.
- Events may now be triggered when the S3a is switched off and/or on.
- Settings which are not relevant for the actual event are printed in
grey.
Other changes:
- The sources now need OPP10f to be compiled. This is an OPL-preprocessor
by Andy Clarkson.
- The language specific code has completely been moved to the file
newcron.oph. There are versions for german and english language.
- The distribution format has been changed. See later for details.
WARNING: Files of version 0.9 and lower may no longer be used!
Version 0.9
New features:
- A new menu option has been added. Now you are able to search for
a message text (wildcards may be used).
- A new menu option has been added which displays the copyright screen
for a while
- There is now an english and a german version.
Bugfixes:
- A bug has been fixed which led to an error if you inserted an entry
before copying or editing one. Now a copy event is executed simply
before you may insert something.
Version 0.8
This version has been greatly enhanced. So much of the internal structure
has changed.
New features:
- The scheduler may no longer be started manually. It's started, when
NewCron is started and finishes when NewCron finishes.
- You can switch manually between the events and the message list via the
diamond key.
- You may edit entries while the scheduler is running. (Although it's
stopped while you are looking at a dialog or menu.)
- The time when an event occured is logged in the message list.
Bugfixes:
- Now all the 40 characters of a message may be displayed.
Version 0.7
New features:
- Now a daily time interval can be given. Events that do not fall in this
interval are ignored.
Bugfixes:
- A little bug in doevnt has been fixed. It was a wrong date comparison.
WARNING: Files of version 0.6 may no longer be used!
Version 0.6
The first released version.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Intro
This is NewCron 1.1, a scheduler program for the psion S3a. It may be used
to schedule repeated events. It uses a file for storing a list of events
each of which may trigger different actions.
Features:
- Number of events limited only by size of the used disk.
- Triggers sounds, texts, macros and/or opl-programs.
- Comfortable builtin editor for events running in parallel to the scheduler.
- Switches the S3a on, if necessary.
- Repetitions from seconds to years.
- Day time intervall for active events
- Events may be edited at each time and will be queued after you finished
editing.
- A help screen is given, which holds a subset of this manual.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Copying
The program may be copied and changed according to the terms stated in the
file COPYING, which is the GNU General public license. If you make any changes
please send them - along with some documentation - to me. If I consider them
useful I will include them in the next version. Although you are allowed to,
if would prefer if you would not post own versions. This would be very confusing.
However if you do, give it a different name and/or state explicitly that it's
an 'unofficial' release.
If you think, that the program is useful to you, don't send any donations but
please feel free to send your own programs (incl. keys, if shareware) to me.
I would appreciate very much getting feedback from you!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Files
The package consists of the following files in the following folders:
newcron.txt - this manual
copying.txt - the GNU General public license V2 which is to be applied
/binaries/
/deutsch/
/app/
newcrong.opa - the german binary
/cron/
newcrong.rsc - the german help file
/english/
/app/
newcrone.opa - the english binary
/cron/
newcrone.rsc - the english help file
/sources/
/opd/
newcrong.hlp - the source for the german help file
newcrone.hlp - the source for the english help file
/opp/
newcron.opp - the program source
newcron.oph - the language specific code
/pic/
newcron.pic - the icon for the opa
newcron2.pic - an alternative icon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Installation
- Choose your language and go into the appropriate folder. Copy everything
in it to the correct folder on the internal drive. Install the .opa file
in the usual way. Then use it.
Example for the english version:
- Create the folder /cron/
- Copy
/binaries/english/app/newcrone.opa to /app/newcrone.opa
/binaries/english/cron/newcrone.rsc to /cron/newcrone.rsc
- Install it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Using NewCron
The program conforms as close as I could to the style used by the internal
applications. This includes the file list from the system screen, which may
be used to choose the actual file or create a new one. Even several copies
of NewCron may be active at the same time.
Starting:
Start NewCron from the system screen selecting a file from the file list
or creating a new one using the menu option. The program will display a
copyright screen and then start to look for events past due. These will
be replayed.
*** You may stop replaying them by pressing any key.
*** THIS WILL STOP THE SCHEDULER until you edit any event!
If you didn't press a key or - after pressing a key - edited an event, the
scheduler will search for the next due - or passed due - event. This may
take a while, especially if you didn't use it a long while.
When the next event has been found NewCron will display "Waiting for event #".
Stepping around:
Step around with the arrow keys. Arrow-up goes to the first event, arrow-down
to the last one. Arrow-right creates a new entry if you press it when looking
at the last event. The events are not sorted and if you alter an event, it
will become the last one.
Editing:
You may now edit, add and delete events. Note that the scheduler is not
active, if either the menu or a dialog box is displayed. However it will
replay past due events in the appropriate order after the menu/dialog has
been left.
Press enter to edit the event you are looking at. To change the fields
<Repetition>, <Sound> or <Opl-Module> select them then press enter. This is
annoying because it does not conform to the builtin app style. But I don't
know how to use the <TAB>-Button-Options in a dialog from OPL. Is there
anyone who knows???
The <active> switch may be used to switch between <not active>, <active>,
<triggered when S3a is switched on> and <triggered when S3a is switched off>.
However <switched off> means switched off manually not automatically!
Using the menu:
The menu options may be selected by hotkeys, of course. But I didn't know
a reason why you should be forced to press the PSION-key. (Does anyone know
one???) So the plain keys will work, too. In addition the delete key will
delete an event, too.
Pressing the help key gives a help screen.
The log screen:
Each event executed is logged in the message list although you will only be
able to look at the last 10 or so events. If a message is attached to the
event, NewCron will switch to foreground and will display the message list
when the event occurs. Otherwise it won't. You may manually switch between
the event-screen and log-screen using the diamond key. If you are looking
at the log screen, every key will bring you back to the event-screen.
Hints:
- The order of events in the file - and with it the event numbers - will
change deliberately. So always check, that you are looking at the right event!
- Macros from Tom Dolbilin's MacSys may be used only if MacSys is installed.
Otherwise they are discarded without any special note!
- The scheduler will execute due events if and only if it displays a message
"Waiting for event #" in the bottom left edge of the screen. If you expect
an event to be due in future and don't see this something has gone wrong!!!
- When you edit an event, it will automatically switch to active state. Switch
back if this is undesired!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Changing the program
If you want to change the help files you will need helpkit1.zip which is
a help compiler written by Jezar. Follow the instructions given there for
compiling the help file. Copy the .rsc file to the correct directory.
If you want to edit the program or add a new language you will need opp10f
by Andy Clarkson.
Copy the files in /sources/ to the appropriate folders. Choose one of the
two .pic files and name it newcron.pic.
All changes concerning the language should be done only in newcron.oph. I
hope it works for every language, but I'm not sure. If not, contact me!
Choose the target language by setting the switch LANG to the desired number.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Bugs, suggestions and questions
I have not found any bugs (if I had I would have fixed them). If YOU find any
please send me a short description and I will fix. If you have suggestions and
you know how to implement them, then do it or tell me how. If you don't know
how then describe your suggestions and I will see, if I manage to implement them.
There is one disadvantage when triggering OPL modules: They are always started
in foreground. I don't know how to start a program in background.
There is a way around this: Simply rename lauch: in launch1: and lauch2: in
launch:. Then the opl programs - which must be started with a procedure
named 'main' will be started in the background. This has a different
disadvantage: The scheduler won't continue until the launched program has
finished. There is a way around this: Implement a server process for newcron.
This shouldn't be to hard and I will implement it if - but only if - there are
people asking for it.
The program uses 30 Kbytes when running which is consumed mainly by the
window server for the two windows...
I would be very happy to get feedback of any kind to help improving the
program!!! Also questions are welcome.
The newcron2.pic icon is a little joke because I am not at all an artist. If
someone develops a reasonable icon please mail it to me. The newcron.pic
is a more serious one and is taken from ibox.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Future developments
Eventually I will change the application to use asynchrous menus/dialogs.
This will bring the style closer to the style of the builtin applications
and will allow to trigger events even while a menu/dialog box is displayed.
This will only be done, if I get feedback from users who want this. As
I got - till now - exactly one message providing feedback, this will probably
be the last version.
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9. Credits
The program was entirely written on my German 2MB S3a. It's first program I
have ever written on a psion machine.
- I used the great package ST-Comms for storing on my ATARI ST. To every
Atari_and_Psion User: Try it!!!
- I got needed information from the psionics files at scr.doc.ic.ac.uk!
Thanks to Clive D.W. Feather.
- I tried CRON2.0 by Paul Merriman then decided to write a new one but I got
many ideas from it.
- The program uses runmacro from the great macsys package by Tom Dolbilin.
- The file lpcs.zip helped me developing version 0.8. I didn't know before how
to mix console events and io-events.
- I use Andy Clarksons OPP. It's great!
- Thanks to Jezar for the helpkit!
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10. Disclaimer
The program is not perfect. So try it at your own risc.
There is no disclaimer about my awful english ;-) but feel free to send
me corrections especially concerning the english version of the program.
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11. My address
Contact me over internet
radig@irb.uni-hannover.de
or over CompuServe
100753,3503@compuserve.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy! 14.9.95 Stefan Radig