Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!vsi1!hsv3!jls
From: jls@hsv3.UUCP (James Seidman)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: Corrupt?
Message-ID: <5014@hsv3.UUCP>
Date: 27 Sep 90 16:07:45 GMT
References: <1990Sep26.154911.1136@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <2477@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> <1990Sep26.223502.15953@athena.mit.edu>
Reply-To: jls@headland.UUCP (James Seidman)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Video Seven / Headland Technology
Lines: 33

In article <1990Sep26.223502.15953@athena.mit.edu> acook@athena.mit.edu (Andrew R Cook) writes:
>This is a good theory, but it fails blaringly in one case that is 

>important to me: the C compiler.  Microsoft did not supply a
>reference manual with version 6 of the compiler.  One must go to the
>bookstore, and buy it.

I will agree wholeheartedly that this was incredibly cheap of them and
sucks big time.  I know I was really pissed to discover that!

>One cannot make effective use of a compiler
>without a library manual.  There is an online version provided, but
>the interface required to access it (PWB) sucks.  It takes way to long
>to start this sucker up to look up a library function.  I have a hard
>time believing that anyone finds this truely useful, unless they have
>a 33Mhz 486 box.

Some info you might find useful: you do NOT have to go through the PWB to
access QH (quickhelp).  I wouldn't touch PWB with a ten-foot pole (nor do
I know a single programmer who would!).  You can access it just by typing
"QH" which'll give you a menu of help items.  Or "QH malloc" will take you
straight to the page on malloc(), for example.  Or "CL /help" or
"LINK /help" will invoke QH and take you automatically to the indices
associated with those programs.

The biggest problem for me is that it's very clumsy without a mouse.  And
you can't use a mouse inside a window, of course... (maybe 6.1 will have
a windows app version of QH?  We can only hope...)
-- 
Jim Seidman (Drax), the accidental engineer.
"There's a certain freedom to being completely screwed." - The Freshman
UUCP: ames!vsi1!headland!jls
ARPA: jls%headland.UUCP@ames.nasa.arc.gov