Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nbires!hao!boulder!sunybcs!rutgers!labrea!rocky!ali
From: ali@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Ali Ozer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: AREXX and ICP
Message-ID: <581@rocky.STANFORD.EDU>
Date: Sun, 13-Sep-87 12:04:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocky.581
Posted: Sun Sep 13 12:04:26 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 13-Sep-87 21:44:01 EDT
References: <267@mitsumi.UUCP> <3939@well.UUCP>
Reply-To: ali@rocky.UUCP (Ali Ozer)
Organization: Stanford University Computer Science Department
Lines: 40

In article <3939@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes:
>	I attended the BADGE meeting where REXX was discussed.  As I
>understood it, REXX can be thought of as nothing more that an intelligent
>pipe device.  You feed it data, it does things to it, it spits the new data
>out.  I get the feeling it's more than this, but I can't think what.

At the Desktop Publishing Conference here in Santa Clara Tom Rokicki was
showing AmigaTeX, with the newest features. One thing he did was to 
load a TeX file into (his own REXXified version of) mg, then hit ESC-T.
This caused the currently selected region of text to get sent to TeX, 
which processed the incoming TeX commands and sent them over to the previewer
as soon as a page was ready. Thus, you had instant previewing (next best
thing to wysiwyg TeX). The communication between the programs was all done 
with REXX. (For all you TeXies out there, I don't think this version is 
being released yet, so don't ask him how to get this (like I did 8-) ).
But I was happy to finally see REXX in action (as at the BADGE meeting 
we hadn't seen it actually working).

Of course, the above could've been possible without the use of REXX as well.
He would've still needed to hack up mg a bit. But, with REXX, you have the
capability to talk to any REXX compatible program, and any other editor
(TxED, for instance, which I understand has a REXX port?) could be used to
replace mg. Or that's what it sounds like to me.

>	Assuming it *is* just a smart pipe, then I think it should be
>written as a device in the AmigaDOS filespace (like, maybe, REXX:).

That's the problem I see with REXX --- If it sells as a seperate commercial
product, I can't see it getting too successful. (A label on the package
says "Requires 512K Amiga, 1.2 KickStart. AREXX recommended.") And what 
happens when the user gets REXX? "Copy the AREXX program from the REXX
disk to your TeX disk. Then edit your startup-sequence file and..."
Maybe every developer that wants to use it should get a license to include 
it with his/her program? That's a bit messy too. You can also understand
the author's attempt at making money off the program (he's also the
person who brought us conman). Maybe C-A should look at
the product, and if they decide it's useful and worthwhile enough, they
should buy all rights to it? No? Any solutions?

Ali Ozer, ali@rocky.stanford.edu