Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!agate!ig!uwmcsd1!bbn!rochester!cornell!batcomputer!sun!gary
From: gary@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Gary Levin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: system escape
Message-ID: <456@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>
Date: 23 Feb 88 01:54:45 GMT
Reply-To: gary@sun.mcs.clarkson.edu.UUCP (Gary Levin)
Distribution: na
Organization: Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
Lines: 25
Keywords: C Lightspeed system exec
Summary: Request for information to effect an exec


I have been using Lightspeed-C on the Mac, and I am reasonably happy
with the degree to which it supports the expected library of C
functions.  The one function that I miss, however, is "system" or any
of the "exec" family.  The fact that the Mac typically has no shell
makes "system" a little strange, I admit, but here is the situation:

    I have implemented a small, highly portable, interpreted subset of
    SETL.  It is convenient to have a way to escape from the
    interpreter into an editor so as to modify a file and then include
    it.

    The simple-minded default environment set-up by Lightspeed does not
    give you access to the Desk-Accessories.

Is there a simple way, from within Lightspeed, to permit temporary
suspension of a program a la "system" under Unix?  I don't need
multiprocessing/coroutines, just suspend-return/procedure-like action.

I don't have ready access to a large Mac community.  The Clarkson
campus is mainly Zenith/IBM clone oriented.  This means that I have my
copy of Lightspeed and little else in the way of languages or
documentation.  I only borrow the Mac so that I can provide a Mac
version of ISETL.

Thanks for any suggestions.