Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!gatech!mcnc!rutgers!mtune!codas!usfvax2!pollock
From: pollock@usfvax2.UUCP (Wayne Pollock)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Multifinder woes. DA's
Message-ID: <937@usfvax2.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jan 88 07:35:29 GMT
References: <7965@j.ms.uky.edu> <411@ut-emx.UUCP> <7122@apple.UUCP>
Reply-To: pollock@usfvax2.usf.edu.UUCP (Wayne Pollock)
Organization: University of South Florida at Tampa
Lines: 51
Summary: where to open DAs; a suggestion
Keywords:


First of all, thanks, Phil, for the detailed response; its always nice
to know that people at Apple really listen!

As to you query about "parasitic" DAs, I believe they are more common
than you think;  I often use my spelling checker in conjuction with my
terminal emulator, and even with my text editor.  So installing it in my
word processor wouldn't work.  In addition to spelling checkers, there are
other word related tools, art grabbers, journal makers, work loggers,
and some useful but older DAs which won't work unless opened in the
application's memory space.

As you suggested, future evolution of the mac should make this a non-issue;
most of the problematic DAs will be rewritten as Inits or CDEVs or simply
as applications.  In the meantime, judging by the discussion here, this is
a problem for many users; a better answer than the option key trick is
needed.

It seems to me the whole issue can be simply resolved.  Macintosh
designer's had the tremendous foresight to structure files into seperate
pieces.  They knew that there would be additions/changes and they provided
a nice mechanism to allow for them.

Why not add a resource type, recognized by the system software, that would
tell the system where to install a DA?  A few lines of code in the DA
opening sequence, a technote telling people what resource to add to DAs
to modify the behavior, and viola! the problem is gone.

For example, the presence of an owned resouce 'DAH ' in a DA could cause
the DA to be opened by the DA handler; otherwise use the default
(application memory space).  If you prefer, use 'DAAP' to instruct the
system to put the DA in the application's space have use the DA handler
by default.  And of course the option key trick would still be available
as an overide.)

I have this same suggestion for 'SIZE' resources; it should be possible to
put a SIZE resource in a document, which would override the SIZE in the
application (which would be used as a default).  As you pointed out, memory
is a scarce resource it it is a shame to waste it by having a spreadsheet
program request enought memory for a large spreadsheet when all I'm using
is an itty-bitty one.

A smart application could put the SIZE resource in each document it
creates, and adjust it as the document grows and/or shrinks.  This ought
to work whenever the application is started by double-clicking one of its
documents; naturally the default SIZE would be used if the application
were launched directly.


Wayne Pollock (The MAD Scientist)	pollock@usfvax2.usf.edu.UUCP
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