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From: jeenglis@alcor.usc.edu (Joe English Muffin)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: WHITE PAPER: Enhancing the X resource file syntax
Keywords: Xrm
Message-ID: <12276@chaph.usc.edu>
Date: 1 Oct 90 05:32:40 GMT
References: <841@auto-trol.UUCP>
Sender: news@chaph.usc.edu
Organization: Joe's Homeopathic Hangover Remedies
Lines: 45
Nntp-Posting-Host: alcor.usc.edu

marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky) writes:

>   The  resource  file  syntax,  as  required   by   XrmGetFileDatabase   and
>   XrmPutLineResource  is  well  known.   However,  any  frequent Xrm user is
>   probably tired of typing lines like:

>      MyApp*file_menu.btn1.foreground:  white
>      MyApp*file_menu.btn1.background:  black
>      MyApp*file_menu.btn1.borderColor: red
>      ....
>      MyApp*file_menu.btn1.xxxx:        yyyy

[ ... ]

>   So why not allow something like:

>      MyApp*file_menu.btn1.foreground: white
>      -.background:                    black
>      -.borderColor:                   red

How about a syntax like this instead:

    MyApp*file_menu.btn1{
        .foreground:    puce
        .background:    purple
        .borderColor:   greenish
    }

This would also allow nesting, as in:

    MyApp{
        *Command{
            .foreground:    lightmagenta
            .background:    mauve
            .shapeStyle:    hexagonal
        }
        file_menu.btn1{
            ... etc.
        }
    }


--Joe English

  jeenglis@alcor.usc.edu