Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc:14195 comp.lang.apl:139
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Pesch
From: Pesch@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.lang.apl
Subject: Re: APL shareware!
Message-ID: <4357@cup.portal.com>
Date: 7 Apr 88 05:35:20 GMT
References: <4602@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 40
XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.1813


Neta Amit posted two questions with the announcement of SHARP APL/PC's
availability:

>1. IPSA is requesting registered users not to photocopy manuals. 
>  This is reasonable in the commercial world, but one cannot expect
>  students taking a Programming Languages class with 4 languages to
>  have to pay $60 each. So: has IPSA set a policy for students learning
>  APL? What is it?

I've been pursuing this with the people at IPSA who decide these things.
I've succeeded in persuading them that it is reasonable to prepare
a machine-readable version of the PC-product manual, to be distributed
as shareware on the same basis as the interpreter; so one thing
students may do is read the docn on their own machine, or print out
whatever portions of it they have the patience to wait for.  Beyond
this, the policy remains unchanged.  (The downside of this is that
I got them to agree to the plain-ascii docn by dint of volunteering
to convert it from its arcane internal markup language myself.  So
it may take a few weeks to actually make an appearance; conceivably
longer).


>2. On systems with EGA type display cards, saplpc loads soft APL 
>  fonts to the graphics RAM. When exiting APL, the previous fonts
>  are not restored (e.g. type "*"). Bug or feature?

We tend to regard this as a feature; if you happen to want to edit 8-bit
text containing APL special glyphs, some editors will work fine with the
font once it's loaded.  For instance you might want to read the
upcoming docn that way, so APL examples look the same way as in the
interpreter.  PC's in our environment tend to have the APL
font loaded most of the time.  However, I gather you can reset it by
invoking the DOS "mode" command, something like "mode co80"---which
you can of course add to the BAT file if that suits your work habits
best.

Neta also kindly said---
>I'll take the opportunity and say a big  Thanks, Roland

Thank *you*, Neta!