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From: rjc@geech.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: How to improve Workbench 2.0!
Message-ID: <1991Feb4.151637.5868@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
Date: 4 Feb 91 15:16:37 GMT
References: <779@caslon.cs.arizona.edu> <1991Feb4.134336.23501@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: daemon@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Lucifer Maleficius)
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In article <1991Feb4.134336.23501@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> ragg0270@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Richard Alan Gerber) writes:
>dave@cs.arizona.edu (Dave P. Schaumann) writes:
>
>
>>It would be nice to have something like environment variables for icons with
>>standard names, so that instead of having default tool be sys:utilities/more
>>it could be $PAGER (or whatever syntax you like), and then if I *want* to
>>use more to look at text files, I can have (in S:Startup-Sequence, most likely)
>>something like "setenv PAGER=sys:utilities/more".  Or (my personal preference)
>>I could have "setenv PAGER=ram:MuchMore".  That way, I wouldn't have to deal
>>with eleventy-two different pagers, and their command structure.
>
>>Surely this would be an easy thing to do.
>
>Absolutely great idea, Dave! And if the environmental variable wasn't set
>you could have the default be the default tool. Give this man a job, C=.
>
>Additionally,  whenever the system can't find either the environmental
>variable or the default tool, have a requester inform the user of this
>fact and ask him if he would like to help find it. Then up pops a file
>requester a la AmigaVision, with which the user sets the path. (excuse
>me if this has been covered before, I've missed much of this thread).
>
>Regards,
>Richard
>gerber@rigel.astro.uiuc.edu

PROPOSAL:

  Why don't we all particpate in developing some standard Environment
variables for applications to use. Then future updates and new programs
could support them. Since env vars are on the 'user' side of things,
and since users are the ones who are going to be using them, it should be
only fitting that we develop their meanings. So follow-up on this post
and attach your favorite env-var name and what it does.

I'll start it off..


$EDITOR=path/name of default editor to use
$PAGER=path/name of pager (less,more,leggi, ppmore, etc)
$PAINT=paint program
$VIEW=iff picture viewer
$PLAY=smus/med player
$MOVIE=anim player
$TERM=term

 What are the benifits of env vars? How many times has a program
assumed the path of a program. Like a picture file looking for 'myhd:picviewer'
? Of course you have to edit it with the info command.

  With env vars, the Icon can just execute '$VIEW'. Optionally you could even
specify your favorite command line options. One problem with this is,
neither WB nor AmigaShell support wildcard expansion. Until Commodore adds
env var support in icons, it will have to be hacked with an iconx script.
The tooltype of pictures/music/textfiles, etc would have to execute
s:envexpand which would GetEnv the var and execute it.

 Any ideas?