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From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: AREXX and ICP
Message-ID: <2358@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 17-Sep-87 16:33:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.2358
Posted: Thu Sep 17 16:33:16 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 19-Sep-87 15:49:39 EDT
References: <765@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 42

in article <765@sugar.UUCP>, peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) says:
> Summary: REXX Runtime
> 
>> > 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.").
> 
> How about a REXX runtime package, that the developer can link with a pre-
> compiled REXX program or programs? The user gets the right to run REXX the
> way the devloper set up, but not write his own programs.
> -- 
> -- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
> --                 'U`      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Not seismo!soma (blush)

It seems to me that once the full REXX to Amiga-Application interface is
defined and documented, you could have an arbitrary program serving in
the REXX server slot just as easily as you could have a REXX client.  I
think this touches upon some of the stuff that JimM was talking about in
relation to REXX.  

One function of REXX appears to be to provide a standard, BASIC-like macro
language that'll function for any program that wants a macro language, as
well as between programs that want macro languages.  That would certainly
ease the job of anyone building a new program, in that they wouldn't have
to build yet another macro language into their program, only the message
ports or whatever it is that REXX requires.  And of course, that helps the
user in that he now learns just one macro language, instead of VT100 macro,
DPaint Macro, GonzoCalc Macro, HyperWord Macro, etc.  And certainly a 
scaled down run-time REXX would let the developer choose this scheme.  But
what I see in this is that some kind of standardized port interface to
programs give you the choice of macro languages for your programs.  Joe
Pazooli down the street might be happy with the mini-runtime REXX language
as-is.  His neighbor's a power-user and will only be satisfied by the
full commercial AREXX, which gives him N can't-live-without new powers.  I'd
probably turn my "almost-works" LISP interperter into a macro language that
supports the same protocols.  I don't know how tightly coupled the REXX
interface is to the specific language that REXX implements is, but certainly
what I'm talking about would be possible, given enough forethought.  
-- 
Dave Haynie     Commodore-Amiga    Usenet: {ihnp4|caip|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh
"The A2000 Guy"                    PLINK : D-DAVE H             BIX   : hazy
     "God, I wish I was sailing again"	-Jimmy Buffett