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From: rdd@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Help! Anyone know how to force the mouse to a location?
Message-ID: <30981@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jun 90 17:09:36 GMT
References: <1990Jun5.091419.14219@portia.Stanford.EDU> <16995@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
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Reply-To: rdd@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Robert Dorsett)
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Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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In article <16995@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes:
>Be warned that an application that changes low-memory globals has
>written its own death sentence.  It will do nasty things to systems.
                                     ^^^^ may

>Besides, to have a program move the pointer for you is like having a
>robot grab your hand and move it around for you.  The pointer is the
>user's `hand': he should have free, unconstrained movement of it at
>all times.
>
>Tell me what, exactly, this `good purpose' is that you've thought up,
>and I and millions of other Netters will help you come up with a more
>proper way of doing it.

Games.  It's often desirable to hide the pointer while the user goes into
another input mode (e.g., Flight Simulator).  It is only reasonable to have
the cursor appear at the last position it disappeared in (particularly on
a large screen).  The current hidecursor and showcursor routines do not do 
this; thus, we must.  Being able to set the mouse *value* can also serve to 
simplify data-gathering, should the mouse be used as a *control*.

"Let the user look for it" is not friendly OR reasonable.  In my game, for
instance, there's a complex, dense data entry display: the mouse can EASILY 
get lost.  The user will normally want to "disappear" the mouse at a certain 
point, and have it reappear at the same point.  The lack of an ability to do 
this can really affect the utility of the game.


BTW, have the low-memory cursor routines been verified to have EVER killed
a machine?  Last system I've tried them on was a iicx.  They've worked on
128's, 512's, Plus's, SE's, II's, IIX's, and IIcx's...  Why won't Apple just
provide calls to do this sort of thing, and make life more comfortable?  I
know games don't count for jack sh*t in Apple's corporate philosophy, but it
really would be appreciated. :-)