Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!uwmcsd1!marque!gryphon!richard
From: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Planning for Shell 20.8M
Message-ID: <2257@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Date: 23 Jan 88 21:06:39 GMT
References: <8801221705.AA20640@decwrl.dec.com>
Reply-To: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton)
Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 88
Summary: uh, yes

Steve Drew writes:
>
>	First of all there is no Shell 2.08M, yet.
>
>	And there wont be for a little while, (as least from me).
>	Since I'm pretty tied up, for a couple of weeks. And then
>	on holidays (florida) for a couple more. 
>
>	What I would like include in version 2.08M:
>
>	1. $_titlebar variable, 
>	2. Iconify,
>	3. Dir command,
>	4. File comment support,

>        Anymore reasonable suggestions welcome.

Geez, I dunno, what do you call reasonable ? :-)

I have two things I'd like to see.

	5. "Screen history". Incorperate the idea in the
	_rollback_ program to save all that text that just 
	scrolled off the top of your screen. Have a user
	sizable local memory buffer and page off to the disk.

	6. "Seperate input and output windows". Like Apollo's.
	The bottom line is the input window, and there is a horizontal
	line painted above it. All output goes to the window above
	the input line. Input is typed into the input window
	and the commands "stack up" as the horizontal line
	is moved up:



    |                                <--   crude simulation of diagram
    | dir                                  of the lower left portion of
    |  Directory of: foo                   your screen.
    |    .login          
    ----------------------
    | > date
    +---------------------


	Now, at this point, on an amiga, hitting the 'd' key in date
	stops the output from the directory listing and waits for
	you to terminate the input with a <CR> or some such.
	What the you gain with a seperate input window is not mixing text
	from input and output. In the above example if the still hadnt 
	processed the date command on the apollo, it would have stacked up:


    |
    | dir
    |  Directory of: foo
    |    .login     foo1    foo2
    |    .now       .then   .never
    |   6 very silly files in this directory
    +-----------------------------------------
    | date
    | > cat foo1
    ------------------------------------------

	The input window expands to two lines, the input is
	held there safely, out of output stream and incomprehensability.

	As the system processes the input, the input window contracts.

   |                                         |
   |                                         |   .login     foo1    foo2
   | dir                                     |   .now       .then   .never
   |  Directory of: foo                      |  6 very silly files in this
   |   .login     foo1    foo2               | date
   |   .now       .then   .never             |  Right now t's 10:45. That'
   |  6 very silly files in this directory   | cat foo1
   | date                                    |  1 of 2 lines of foo1. 
   |  Right now it's 10:45. That's $0.10.    |  2 of 2 lines of foo1.
   +------------------------------------     +------------------------
   | > cat foo1                              | >
   +------------------------------------     +-------------------------


Just an idea.

-- 
      "...and before too long I might, see those flashing red lights" 
                          richard@gryphon.CTS.COM 
   {ihnp4!scgvaxd!cadovax, philabs!cadovax, codas!ddsw1} gryphon!richard