Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!ubvax!ardent!rap
From: rap@ardent.UUCP (Rob Peck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Standardization
Summary: a platform already exists
Keywords: Menus
Message-ID: <653@ardent.UUCP>
Date: 21 Oct 88 19:32:01 GMT
References: <1314@nmtsun.nmt.edu> <2872@sugar.uu.net>
Organization: Dana Computer, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 46

In article <2872@sugar.uu.net>, peter@sugar.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes:
> My comment is... you're too specific. Standard menus shouldn't, at least at
> this point, be specified any deeper than:
> 
> 	Title: Jammed closely together, with anout 1.5 character positions
> 		between them. There's no need for extra space.
> 
> 		Implementation:
> 			menu = AddMenu(menubar, newmenuname)
> 
> 	Top level: Text, offset a little to make them look good when hilighted.
> 		Stacked vertically until the bottom of the screen, then
> 		continue on in even, even-height columns. Menu title should
> 		be jammed closely together... let the menus overlap, since
> 		they're not going to be displayed.
> 
> 		Implementation:
> 			menuitem = Additem(menu, itemname)

	(REST DELETED TO SAVE NET BANDWIDTH)

Sounds like Peter is proposing we adopt something VERY VERY close to what
already exists as a tool package in "PDTERM", on Fish Disk either 12 or 14
as I recall.  In the January 88 issue of AmigaWorld article on PD software,
I pointed this out.  YES, I think something like this is a reasonable idea.
But in an object-oriented bent -- I would also suggest that there be a
manager function that would manage global defaults for how a menu item
would appear.  Thus one might send a message to the global manager to
"push current default values", change a parameter, make a few menu items,
"pop current default values", then go on to do other menu items using
the original defaults.

Take another look at PDTERM's source.  It may give additional ideas.

Rob Peck
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