Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.misc:10420 comp.windows.ms:11048 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!stanford.edu!leland.Stanford.EDU!jessica.stanford.edu!aaron From: aaron@jessica.stanford.edu (Aaron Wallace) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: give me solid facts: why is the mac better than MeSsy DOS/WINDOWS Message-ID: <1991Apr2.002941.5578@leland.Stanford.EDU> Date: 2 Apr 91 00:29:41 GMT References: <1991Mar24.065427.16198@nntp-server.caltech.edu> <1991Mar26.011127.28302@amd.com> <1991Mar26.063111.3133@cs.uoregon.edu> <1991Mar27.061300.7636@nntp-server.caltech.edu> Sender: Aaron Wallace Organization: Academic Information Resources Lines: 65 In article robertk@lotatg.lotus.com (Robert Krajewski) writes: >In article <1991Mar27.061300.7636@nntp-server.caltech.edu> woody@nntp-server.caltech.edu (William Edward Woody) writes: > > In article <1991Mar26.063111.3133@cs.uoregon.edu> akm@obelix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) writes: > > > >The seperation makes a different to users. I had a user who kept going > >back to the icon in the program manager (that was the one that she new > >about because that is the one she used to start Word with), and double > >clicking on it, which resulted in her repeatedly getting the same > >message. Finally, in frustration, she said "Yes I KNOW!! So RUN it!!" > >Exactly. The computer knows what's going on, so why can't it remedy >the problem and help her get work done ? Because "the right thing to do" is not clear. Windows can't always tell if the app allows multiple instances or not by examining the .EXE file. So, should Windows throw the file at the existing instance or start another afresh? Remember, an app that is otherwise multiple-instance compatible could still allow only one instance for whatever reason. > Strictly speaking, the problem your friend is experiencing is a > problem with Word. Window has many mechanisms for running an application; > each of these pretty much funnel down to the same routine which actually > runs the application. Windows *can* do it the Mac way--why Microsoft didn't choose to add the functionality is beyond me. I put it in an editor I'm working on and it took about 10-20 lines of simple code. You basically get the handle of the previous instance and send it a message with the file to be opened. >The real problem is that Windows does not define higher-level >mechanisms for things that the Macintosh does already. See, the way >it ought to work is that the File Manager ought to notice that an >instance of Word (or another other MDI application) is already >running, and then sends a DDE message to it (with standard semantics >and a standard interface) to open up a new file. But what if you really want a second instance? I think this is something best left to the application to worry about; the command line provides the communication channel between the shell and the app; the app can do whatever it pleases to effect the correct behavior. >I actually submitted >on OnLine SR about this a long time ago, but it never showed up in >Windows 3.0. Basically, it would involve extending the currently >anemic file association mechanism. Seems to work fine for me--throw the file at the program, and if it wants to hand it over to a previous instance, it can. If it wants to keep it to itself, no problem either. In my editor either behavior can be defined; you can also have a dialog box ask what to do with the file. And none of it involves any hacks as described below; it's all simple IPC. >Actually, the way the Mac actually implements the equivalent functions >is gross: it involves faking out a *dialog box call* after searching >down the application's menu for the File:Open item. On the other hand, >at least there *is* a standard call to get a file on the Mac. Anyway, all I really want to see is more programs that don't act like Word. Launching the second instance is ok. Passing the file to a previous instance is fine. But the Word reaction is silly; Word *should* know better. Windows doesn't have to: it told Word to open a file using the well-established command line interface. Aaron Wallace