Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!swbatl!thanson
From: thanson@swbatl.sbc.com (Tony Hanson D2D - 331-2904)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: need info on PLUS
Keywords: PLUS, Oracle Card
Message-ID: <1991May29.183358.10573@swbatl.sbc.com>
Date: 29 May 91 18:33:58 GMT
Organization: Southwestern Bell
Lines: 91

In article <1991May29.143748.1972@fwi.uva.nl> zee@fwi.uva.nl 
(Daniel M. van der Zee (I89)) writes:
>
>I'm looking for information about PLUS, a hypercard-like application running
>both on mac and ms-dos systems. I would like to have a good idea about what PLUS
>is like before -eventually- purchasing it. Especially interesting for me are
>answers to the following questions:
>

I started working with Plus around August of 1990, although I have 
shifted my application over to Oracle's implementation of it since then
(called Oracle Card, and it appears to be Plus with a lot of 
Oracle created stacks wrapped around it.)  I will answer those 
questions that I can:

>1. Is PLUS-mac completely compatible with PLUS-dos?

I started developing under Plus on a Macintosh, then moved over
to a PC. After I had finished my application I copied it back to the
Macintosh. Since then I have supported the same application on both
platforms, and I have not found anything that will not work.

You will need to use the Apple File Exchange (or something like it) and 
something like resedit, but it does work.

Note that external resources (Xcmd's and the like) *do not* port so
easily. These are usually written in something like C, and must be
re-compiled (at least) on each platform.

>2. Has PLUS been updated to work with hypercard 2.0 stacks or does it only
>   convert and run the old hypercard 1.0-1.2 stacks? Has PLUS been updated on
>   both platforms?

Don't know.

>3. Can the run-time version be freely distributed on both platforms or does 
>   the manifacturer require licenceing fees to be paid for each copy?

The information I have from Spinnaker says: $495 for a runtime license for
Windows or the Macintosh. $900 will cover both.

>4. How fast is PLUS. Is the switching between cards slower than hypercard?
>   What about scripts?

Switching between cards takes a noticeable amount of time: on the order of
1-2 seconds. Can't comment on how this relates to Hypercard.

>5. Is it possible to delete all PLUS-menus from the menubar and replace them
>   by custom-menus without the use of external commands?

You can hide the Plus menu's, but Plus does a poor job of supporting
user created menu's. Plus does support a command called popUpMenuSelect 
that lets buttons look and (mostly) act like menu's. The biggest flaw:
it will not recognize when the pointer has left one menu and entered
another (in most packages, selecting, say the File menu, then sliding the
mouse to another menu, say Edit, will cause the File menu to close and the
Edit menu to appear. This does not happen with this command. You must
release the mouse to make the first menu go away, then click on the
second menu.).

>6. Is it possible to work with variable card-sizes?

Yes.

>7. Can different fonts be used (and printed) in one field?

Plus offers several different types of fields: fields, wpfields and
dbfields. I gather that fields are just like fields in HyperCard.
WPFields allow the use of different fonts. DBfields are one line
fields.

>8. How does PLUS handle printing? Is printing better in PLUS or in HYPERCARD.
>   Is it possible to print labels?

I know that Plus lets you print a card, but beyond that I do not know.

Other thoughts:

I have not worked with HyperCard, so I cannot commment too much on it.
I did pull some Xcmds from my HyperCard stack and attach them to my
Plus stack (on my Macintosh, obviously) and they worked fine. I have
also imported Hypercard scripts as well as Supercard scripts and had
them run without any difficulty.

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me.

Tony Hanson
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
St. Louis, Mo  USA
thanson@swbatl.sbc.com
(314) 331-2904