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From: jcav@quads.uchicago.edu (john  cavallino)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: De-macification of the Amiga (Re: The Amiga's Future)
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.201851.23141@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 27 Jun 91 20:18:51 GMT
References: <1991Jun27.155751.28356@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu> <1991Jun27.161530.14821@midway.uchicago.edu> <1991Jun27.195750.29163@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu>
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In article <1991Jun27.195750.29163@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu> gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu writes:
>In article <1991Jun27.161530.14821@midway.uchicago.edu>, jcav@quads.uchicago.edu (john  cavallino) writes:
>>??????  The grayed icon is purely user-interface feedback, to let you know
>>that the application is running but hidden.  It hasn't anything at all to
>>do with re-entrancy.
>
>Correct, to an extent.  The grayed icon is to show that the program is
>running (whether or not the app is hidden makes no difference).

But...it's not gray unless the application is hidden.

>And you're right, the grayed icon doesn't have anything to directly do
>with re-entrancy.  It's visual feedback, to show the user that the
>program is already running and that (here's the kicker) -because- it's
>already running, you can't run it again.
>
>Get it?  It's visual feedback that the program can't be run, -because
>it's already running-.

Ohhhh... I get it.  You're referring to the icon of an active application,
as displayed on the Finder desktop.  I thought we were talking about the
icon in the System 7 Application menu.

Picked Nit: the Mac User-Interface Term for what you're referring to is a
"hollow" icon, not a "grayed" icon.

>On the Amiga WorkBench or in MS Windows, the icon of a running app
>undergoes no change.  Why?  Because apps are re-entrant there.  I can
>have the same application running two or three time if I like.

The problem on the Mac is that the OS Resource Manager is not re-entrant.
Many apps are in fact multi-launchable, but they have to reside on a shared
file-server and be launched on different Macs.  :-(

-- 
John Cavallino                      |     EMail: jcav@midway.uchicago.edu
University of Chicago Hospitals     |    USMail: 5841 S. Maryland Ave, Box 145
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