Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!execu!sequoia!rpp386!aubrey
From: aubrey@rpp386.cactus.org (Aubrey McIntosh)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2
Subject: Re: ftp-site for Zurich's oberon system in Germany
Summary: MacOberon up and running here.
Message-ID: <18441@rpp386.cactus.org>
Date: 2 Jul 90 07:18:37 GMT
References: <9006260955.AA26193@mathematik.uni-ulm.de> <9006261539.AA10943@dip.eecs.umich.edu> <42374@apple.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: aubrey@rpp386.UUCP (Aubrey McIntosh)
Organization: vima, Austin TX
Lines: 50

I have unStuffed MacOberon, and Driven through it some.  Unfortunately,
I have to work tomorrow, and could not spend all night with it...
(Besides, that makes my wife grumpy.)

It is interesting.  I wish the Mac had a Logitech mouse.  The strongest
initial impression was made by the Ultimate Point and Click that pervades
the system.

Any text in  any viewer (window), such as this instance of 
Edit.Open MyFirstProgram.Mod serves the function of a pull-down menu in the
mac environment (I'm still developing MS-DOS program for $, life is sad...)
That is, put the cursor on any character in Edit (I don't know if the '.Open'
counts or not, I didn't try that, and the doc's make me think not)
Click the right mouse button, simulated by the control key on the Mac keyboard,
and the Editor opens a viewer with MyFirstProgram.Mod sitting in it.  A flick of
the wrist to place the cursor there, a single keystroke to Select that window,
and point and click on the string 'Compile.Compile *' conveniently waiting in
one of the windows opened by the sample startup script, and the program
compiles.  The System.Log window comments about How Things Are Progressing.

The "A program is a document, and should literally say what happens." idea
is taken MUCH farther than in Modula-2.  The Do.Mod (or Try.Mod, i forget)
program is an Oberon source Module, followed by a typeset document with
instructions about 'point here, click there, this will happen.  Now change
this.'  I sat there for at least a minute waiting for it to compile, and then
realized it had compiled, in an eyeblink.  I clicked on the name again,
and the old version left its message in the System.Log.  Then I Interclicked
as instructed, and the System.Log clearly showed my changes in the tracks.


One of the things that I had thought Prof. W. missed with Modula-2 was not
releasing an operating system with the language.  He has apparantly repaid
that with interest.

Lesser impressions:
I have done typesetting on proposals for my wife's business, and it is a pain,
after she has language written with yellow pad and pencil I figure that about
0.25 of the work to place it on paper is finished.  In Oberon, the OS, one
selects the text of interest, the moves the cursor over text of similar typeface
to that desired, and with a series of 'interclicks' the typeface is applied to
the selected text.  Color is supposedly supported this way as well, but I didn't
get to that.

Anybody want a good deal on an XT...

-- 
Aubrey McIntosh  	"Find hungry samurai." -- The Old Man        
1502 Devon Circle       comp.os.minix, comp.lang.modula2         
Austin, TX 78723 
1-(512)-452-1540  (v)