Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ames!uhccux!munnari.oz.au!bruce!goanna!pnm
From: pnm@goanna.oz (Paul Big-Ears Menon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Think C kudos (obscure neat things Symantec did)
Message-ID: <2363@goanna.oz>
Date: 10 Sep 89 07:34:25 GMT
References: <34593@apple.Apple.COM> <34598@apple.Apple.COM>
Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
Lines: 50

keith@Apple.COM (Keith Rollin) writes:

>In article <34593@apple.Apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>>Ottabind is a relatively new way of binding trade paperbacks. It is somewhat
>>more expensive than the traditional perfect binding technique normally used,
>>and it reduces the number of volumes than can be bound per hour. 
>>
>>The *advantage* of Ottabind is that you can finally take a paperback and lay
>>it flat without using paperweights or breaking the spine of the book. Try
>>it: open the Think C book on the table. It lays flat (take a look at the way
>>the cover is bound onto the back spine of the book and compare it to other
>>computer manuals, you'll see what I mean).

>Unfortunately, I have the opposite feelings about this, Chuq. First of all, I
>think that they used the same technique on their 3.0 manuals. It looks that
>way to me. But also, the binding tends to fall apart on me. The cover becomes
>separated from the rest of the book, and it looks like it's all torn apart.


  Err, yup!  I haven't said anything about this on the net before (I thought
my manual was a one off case), but now must speak.  I flick through
this manual on a daily basis - admittedly it sees a lot of action.  But I have
never seen another book/manual/magazine fall apart as easily as the Think C
user's manual in my life.  This is no exaggeration.  No I have not abused the
thing, and the only photocopying I have done is a blowup of the Think C
class library hierarchy diagram on page 197 [I freely admit this, I have it
stuck on a wall in front of my desk.  Apologies to Symantec for not getting
permission, but this as well as the diagrams on the next couple of pages
were the most frequently used.  Now specific classes get a thrashing].  Pages 
have already separated from the binder.  Now there is a split in the middle of
the book - the CButton chapter, and the gap twixt pages and cover/binder
just gets wider.  It's gotten to the stage where I am seriously considering
drilling some holes through it and sticking it in a ring binder/folder.  I have
not used Think 3.0 so couldn't comment on their manuals.  I have, however
used their Pascal manuals, and am happy to say they withstood my onslaught.
A suggestion: unless these were just hiccups, don't stay with this binding
method.


    Paul Menon,
    Dept of Computer Science,
    Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 
    124 Latrobe Street,
    Melbourne 3001, 
    Victoria, Australia.

PH:	+61 3 660 3209
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