Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!chuq From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps Subject: Re: Is the Hypercard home stack magic ?? Message-ID: <51292@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 8 Apr 91 15:35:56 GMT References: <91096.005039STREATER@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU> <41011@cup.portal.com> Organization: Dottie I's Private Eyes Lines: 31 gort@cup.portal.com (george d harrington) writes: >>Is there anything magic about the Hypercard home stack? The Claris doccy syas >>there has to be one but doesn't say why. Can I just name any stack "home" and >>have it treated as such by Hypercard - or are there some magic internals that >>we can't get at and so thus have to use an Apple/Claris-supplied home stack. >The home stack must br present and must be called "Home", but you can >call any stack you want "Home" and that will satisfy HyperCard. Sort of. >The reason (I believe) for this is that the script of the "Home" stack >and its resource fork are always in the message hierarchy. There's another reason -- the home stack has handlers that initialize various system and global parameters (things like userlevel, the search path for stacks and apps, etc). So the home stack is actually magic as well as being a repository for global functions in the message hierarchy. If you're going to create your own home stack, you really ought to set up the same global environment as the standard one -- take a look at the stack script of the Home stack, especially StartUp and getHomeInfo. -- Chuq Von Rospach >=< chuq@apple.com >=< GEnie: CHUQ >=< AppleLink: CHUQ SFWA Nebula Awards Reports Editor =+= Editor, OtherRealms Book Reviewer, Amazing Stories ---@--- #include Recommended reading: XENOCIDE by Orson Scott Card (with reservations, August); GOBLIN MOON by Teresa Edgerton; BONE DANCE by Emma Bull (May)