| Re: .1
The latest issue of Amiga Mail (the newsletter published by Commodore for
developers or folks with $45) contained an announcement of the Bantan
AmigaDOS Manual.
It evidently has been heavily modified, and now contains information
of the layout of the Fast File System, changes to the object and
executable file "hunks," and the new Amiga DOS commands and system
calls.
Another welcome change is that there is one index for the entire
volume. The old edition of the manual was really separate books
with separate indexes bound under one cover.
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| This weekend, while shopping at Wordsworth in Cambridge, I bought a
copy of "The AmigaDOS Manual, 3rd Edition," published by Bantam. The
book covers AmigaDOS versions 2.04 and earlier.
The book is about the same size as the older edition, but it is no longer
spiral bound: it is a normal, perfect bound book.
It not contains 447 pages (150 pages more than the first edition), and
the organization has been cleaned up, with lots of new material added
and obsolete material deleted (it no longer discusses using SUN workstations
or IBM ATs as cross development platforms for AmigaDOS).
The only material deleted that I think should have been kept is that
it no longer describes the assembler syntax. Admittedly, I don't think
that anyone sells the old MetaComCo assembler anymore, but I think that
they should describe the format that Commodore ships the assembler include
files in.
Looking though the list of new commands and new AmigaDOS library functions
really makes you appreciate how much work was put into AmigaDOS 2.0.
The number of AmigaDOS library functions went from 31 to 150.
The book cover looks the same as previous editions: A large light blue,
three dimensional bitmapped graphic-looking letter "A" next to a
blue square that says "The AmigaDOS Manual." The price is the same
as previous editions: US $24.95, Canada $31.95, U.K #21.99.
Can the ROMs be far behind?
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| When were you in Wordsworth? I was there SUnday around seeing the Lear
matinee. I also saw the AmigaDOS manual in the Natick bookstore near
Lechmere's, but didn't get it, I got the 1.3 libs/devices/intuition
instead. I may never have 2.0, so I don't need the book now.
Tom
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| Two or three weeks ago, I bought a copy of the "Amiga User Interface Style
Guide," a new book from Commodore-Amiga, part of the Addison-Wesley
Amiga Technical Reference Series.
The book is the same size as the other Addison-Wesley ROM Kernal manuals,
but they have changed the cover style again. The new book is charcoal
gray, with a few squiggly pastel lines (maybe book designers think that
programmers like squiggly lines). The cost is US $21.95 or $28.95
in Canada. It is 206 pages.
The book describes the rules to be used in designing AmigaDOS 2.0-style
interfaces for programs. I think it is a must-read for anyone writing
a program that going to use gadgets and menus. People designing
CLI and ARexx programs would also be advised to read it.
The book is not low level technical: it doesn't describe function calls
or data structures that you use to program a user interface. However,
it does a very good job of explaining how your user interface should
work. In the forward of the book, they explain that they don't discuss
coding because they wanted the book to be equally useful to programmers
or non-technical graphics artists working with programmers.
One thing that really surprised me about the book is that it is very
readable. It's very well written, bright, and clever without ever
becoming unprofessional.
Every chapter begins with a quote, many times from a surprising source
(like rock star Frank Zappa) that is unusually apropos of the subject
matter of the chapter. I haven't enjoyed quotes so much since Knuth.
Since I can't resist, a list of chapters and the quotes that go with them
follows.
Chapter One: Introduction
"The most we can hope for is that the oftener things are found
together, the more probable it becomes that they will be found
together another time, and that, if they have been found together
often enough, the probability will amount almost to certainty."
--- Bertrand Russell
Chapter Two: Some Basics
"One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural'
is a null word."
--- Robert Heinlein
Chapter Three: Screens
"The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the
circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle
transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the
petals of a flower."
--- Robert Pirsig
Chapter Four: Windows and Requesters
"The dogs did bark, the children screamed,
Up flew the windows all;
And every soul bawled out, Well done!
As loud as he could bawl."
--- William Cowper
Chapter Five: Gadgets
"As for Clothing... perhaps we are led oftener by the love of
novelty and a regard for the opinions of men, in procuring it,
that by a true utility... Kings and Queens who wear a suit
but once, though made by some tailor or dressmaker to their
majesties, cannot know the comfort of wearing a suit that fits."
--- Henry David Thoreau
Chapter Six: Menus
"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."
--- Proverbs
Chapter Seven: Workbench
"To understand a man is to afford him immense satisfaction.
The moment he is understood he begins to feel comforted."
--- Jean Guibert
Chapter Eight: The Shell
"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't
brood. I'd type a little faster."
--- Isaac Asimov
author of over 400 books
Chapter Nine: ARexx
"The space of all possible programs is so huge that no one can have
a sense of what is possible... Proximity to a concept, and a gentle
shove, are often all that is needed for a major discovery---and
that is the reason for the drive towards languages of even higher
levels."
--- Douglas R. Hofstadter
Chapter Ten: The Keyboard
"In the fight between you and the world, back the world."
--- Frank Zappa
Chapter Eleven: Data Sharing
"We say that there is something that is equal. I do not mean
a stick equal to a stick or a stone to a stone, or anything
of that kind, but something else beyond all these, the Equal
itself."
--- Plato
Chapter Twelve: Preferences
"All men attribute to themselves freedom of will."
--- Immanuel Kant
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| Re: .5
Yes, I was in Wordsworth Sunday from about 7:30pm to 8:30pm. I
met some friends for dinner at Casa Mexico (my favorite Mexican
place), and then we went to Wordsworth.
By the way, I was one of the two fellows that showed up late for
your one man play the last night you gave it (I was the one without
the sideburns). I usually don't go in for cutesy mail or notes
personal names, but after seeing your play, I almost changed mine
to "Performance Artist Without Publicity."
Now, all the other readers of the notesfile will wonder what the hell
I meant by that. I guess they will just have to wait until your play
has another run.
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| You and I were in Wordsworth at the same time. I guess I shoul
where my badge all the time on my pocket.
I didn't anything in the Intuition guide (in the store by
Lechmere's Natick) of vital importance to me at this time.
I think that people who have seen lots of quality applications
get the gist, although I'm sure the book has some additional 2.0-
specific help. If I were making a product, hey, sure.
Tom
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