From:	"D. Huizenga" <skis AT concentric DOT net>
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	Re: Allegro WishList
Date:	Mon, 23 Mar 1998 08:51:32 -0500
Organization:	Student
Lines:	101
Message-ID:	<351668E4.E304389D@concentric.net>
References:	<D1FB30BBA491D1118E6D006097BCAE391A0A47 AT Probe-nt-2a DOT Probe DOT co DOT uk>
NNTP-Posting-Host:	ts001d08.gps-mi.concentric.net
Mime-Version:	1.0
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Shawn Hargreaves wrote:
> 
> D. Huizenga writes:
> > I just went to  Shawn's home page, and I notice a new
> > WIP of Allegro 3.0 is out. Good work, guys! I began thinking,
> > why not start a "wish list", so that we have ideas of things
> > to add.
> 
> Sounds like a good plan. Of course I can't promise that I will
> actually implement any of these suggestions (it is much easier
> just to ignore them :-) but I'm always interested to hear what
> you want adding, and I will always at least consider anything
> that you can suggest...
> 
> > 1. A windowing system in which each window contains a
> >    "standard" allegro dialog (using pointers). (I am already
> >    working on this, but it isn't going well).
> 
> There are already several addon packages that provide enhanced
> GUI routines. In particular, take a look at:
> 
>     http://huizen.dds.nl/~deleveld/degui.htm
>     http://moopws.csse.muroran-it.ac.jp/~kutch/mtd.htm
>     http://www.cpedu.rug.nl/~N0772984/
> 

I think that all of these packages are great. I was planning on
making some things with WHAM, but when the author accidentally
deleted his home page, I think the modifications that you have
to make to DJGPP went right along with it. The library requires
that you change one of the files that comes with DJGPP, but I
can't remember which one. I think MTD is close to what I want
(I haven't actually gotten it), except not only do I want to have
multiple dialogs open, I want them to be in moveable windows, that
can go on top of each other, etc. I began to implement this, but
it keeps crashing with Segment Violations, and GDB gets all messed
up because of the graphics mode, so it doesn't help too much. (Isn't
Allegro supposed to jump back to text mode, or does GDB prevent that?

> > 2. Serial support.
> 
> Already done! See:
> 
> ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2tk/allegro/dzcom052.zip

Thanks.. Now how about DOS PPP support? I know it can be done, because
I have a program called Arachne (http://www.naf.cz/arachne/ ), which has
most of Netscape's functionality, except it will run under plain DOS. 
(Useful for that old 386). This would be cool for setting up multi-player
games.

[CD stuff snipped] (Breaking my own rule for the list :)
[Printer stuff snipped] (Breaking them again :-)

> 
> > 5. Maybe i'll do this.. I think it would be nice to have an
> >    "installer creator". It could put all of the files in a data
> >    file, and have the first element be something similar to a windows
> >    .inf installation file. Then there could be a "standard" Allegro
> >    Installer that read the file and installed the program.
> 
> That could be useful, if you want to write it. But is this really
> needed? Given that a program can be written to extract all its
> resources from a single datafile at runtime, and the exedat utility
> can then be used to merge this datafile with your program executable,
> why not just make your program so that it can be distributed as a
> single, directly runnable binary?

Yes, but I was thinking that the installer could also set up some config
files, sort of like Windows installation scripts can add keys to the 
registry.

[Tutorial stuff snipped] (Hmmm... I guess shawn was the 
                                  one who snipped the rules..:-)

> > 1. Fix the scroll bars on list boxes so that they look like the ones
> >    on an Atari STe. Right now they are inverted from a normal ST.
> 
> Are they? It is so long since I used an Atari that I don't remember :-)

Yes, they are. I have to admit, I didn't actually boot up my STe. I
just downloaded a DOS ST emulator called 
Pacifist (http://www.pacifist.fatal-design.com/ ),
and I noticed this.

> I'm not sure I agree with you on aesthetic grounds, though. If the
> Atari did use white on grey, I think it got it the wrong way round!
> (the dialog background is white, so it makes sense to me for the scroll
> bar background to be white as well). And in Windows, the default color
> scheme has darker sliders on a pale background.

I think the reason that the handles were white was so that the "stuck out"
more, and that would naturally make them more logical for the user to grab.
Windows makes it's sliders "stick out" by giving them a "3D" highlight, and
so they are still the most natural thing for the user to grab.

--
Dan Huizenga
Email: Skis AT Concentric DOT net
Home: http://www.concentric.net/~skis
(BGui is sitting untouched, except for the new example programs)

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