Atari Mega Archive 1/Atari Mega Archive - Volume 1.iso/lists/gem/l_0799/439

Internet Message Format | 1994-08-27 | 3.6 KB

Date: Sun, 12 Jun 94 10:12 BST-1
From: Ofir Gal <[e-mail]>
Subject: Ofir's digest 12.06
To: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Precedence: bulk


In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] said:
>
>Can someone please check and see if the keyboard state variable (state of
>cntrl-alt-shifts) that is returned from evnt_multi() is valid when a

It does work.


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] said:
>
>this list about a week ago, and in that time the list has accumulated
>almost 130 messages.  I have to wonder if, while this standardization

There are more than 100 subscribers, so 130 messages means an average of 1
message every 5 days per user. We are making an effort to digest our mail,
but I think this will only bring the total down to just under 100 a week.
I wonder how many of those 130 were by Tim Miller about CTRL+A...

>irritating to see an _entire_ message quoted in a response, when

OK, point taken. PLEASE limit quoting to a minimum!

>2. Is it absolutely necessary for everyone to respond with an "I
>agree to this" message (which I've seen quite a bit of)?  If you're

This is useful for me, as I tend to count the "I dis/agree"s when
preparing a new proposal.

>files.  I would not be opposed to some environmental variable being
>used to define a path where configuration files could be kept;

That's a good idea and of course quite easy to implement.

>the user has to be able to figure out how to construct it!  Please,

I'm against an ASCII file for the user to edit. Parsing is a pain and
users are likely to hate it anyway. Someone will have to create an editor.

> - Why have a standard, if you have a key-definition file.
>
>I think Tim Miller asked this question.  Personally, I think it's a
>valid question.  IF we come up with a standard key-definition file,
>CTRL-U doesn't mean a damn thing to me, but CTRL-W sure does.

Because most users will not bother changing the keyboard.cnf (or whatever
it's called). Why does CTRL+W mean Close Window? It's not that obvious.
The majority of programs I get to review in the UK use CTRL+U to close a
window. Atari woke up to late with their style guide. The German
developers had the sense to come up with their own standard long before we
did. Give them credit and try to cooperate.

>Also, when you quote something is "standard", remember there are lots
>of different "standards".  I'd wager 99% of the US Atari users don't

What all 5 of them? :-) Seriously though, the majority of software now
originates in Germany so any standard has to take notice of the current
German standard. The proposal tries to marry both the Atari Compendium and
Profibuch. The authors of both books are on the list.

>are... and like me, if they can't find something that helps them
>remember the keyboard shortcuts, it won't be helping them--it will be

The easiest way to remember shortcuts is when all programs use the same
ones. The clipboard commands (CTRL+X/C/V) are a good example, they make no
sense but they are a standard, once learned, never forgotten.

>at a manageable level--otherwise I will unsubscribe.  And if I'm not a
>subscriber, I seriously doubt I'll be following any standard

That is up to you. Programs that will not follow the standard (if and when
i is widely accepted) will get bad scores on "Ease of Use" in magazines
and users will complain. I intend to follow the standard if one is found,
otherwise I will just copy the German one, I don't think an American
standard really exists.

Bye,

Ofir                                    [e-mail]