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From: matija@amiga.ifi.unizh.ch (Matija Milostnik)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: De-macification of the Amiga (Re: The Amiga's Future)
Summary: Changing programms for drag-and-drop
Keywords: Drag-and-drop, application start, programm changes
Message-ID: <1991Jun21.134801.19644@ifi.unizh.ch>
Date: 21 Jun 91 13:48:01 GMT
References: <1991Jun19.001332.23587@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1991Jun19.103606.2496@ifi.unizh.ch> <1991Jun20.005413.9471@sugar.hackercorp.com>
Sender: root@ifi.unizh.ch (System PRIVILEGED Account)
Organization: Informatik Club der Universitaet Zuerich (Amiga group)
Lines: 47

In article <1991Jun20.005413.9471@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <1991Jun19.103606.2496@ifi.unizh.ch> matija@amiga.ifi.unizh.ch (Matija Milostnik) writes:
>> Good point. This is a transitory solution I envision untill ALL programms 
>>have drag-and-drop.
>
>Huh? With a drag-and-drop workbench interface no program would ever have to
>be changed, so what's the point?

Not really true.
  Drag-and-drop is far more complex as just starting an appliction. The full 
drag-and-drop concept doesnt apply just to the start, but handles the incoming
request during the hole sesion. Let me explane it. It a long one.

  As far as we look at the start of a dropped document on a _not yet_ started
application, I completelly agree with you, there is no need to change a line
in the application code. The program will have a workbench message passed, as 
a shift-clik start.

Now take an already running application and drop a project on it. How can
you handle this situation? You have to notify your appliction someone just
dropped something. This can be done in two differnt ways:
  a) you get an arexx message 
  b) Intuition sends an IDCMP message 
In both cases the application has to deal with the incomming message and
act adequatelly. This is done in a) installing an arexx port for you or 
in b) with an appropriate GetMsg/ReplyMsg and case-select.

  The difficul management fo drops in a running appliction should be 
standarised and a claen and stable interface defined. Another question is
'how to drop something on a screen that isnt the WB-screen?' I didnt figure
how to do it in an reasonably way. Any suggestion?

  My proposal for a drop-requester in asl.library is a solution to have the 
drop alternative in existing programms _now_ and wait for the programmer to 
implement it.

   You see, there is a need for changing program code, but with some magic
we can offer some alternatives today, waiting for tomorow.:-)

>Peter da Silva.   `-_-'   <peter@sugar.neosoft.com>.

bye
 Matija
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