Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!syntron!jtsv16!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!pasteur!agate!ucbvax!MITRE.ARPA!mcgurrin
From: mcgurrin@MITRE.ARPA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: AC Basic
Message-ID: <8810251235.AA04438@mitre.arpa>
Date: 25 Oct 88 12:34:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: mitre.8810251235.AA04438
References: <1273@cod.NOSC.MIL>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Washington, D.C.
Lines: 20

I'd add a few thoughts on TML BASIC.  I purchased it awhile ago, and just
recently had the chance to start using it more.  I like the environment,
which I find very handy, especially the ability to cut and paste sections
of code from one file to another (and then modify them).  My major complaint
is the documentation.  I understand that they rely on other sources to
describe the toolbox routines themselves, but is it too much to ask for better
documentation on the TML BASIC syntax used to access them?  If the example
programs have an example similar to the one you want, your fine, otherwise
it's trial and error or hunt through multiple manual locations without the
benefit of a decent index.  In fairness, the syntax isn't too bad once you
figure it out, but it took me an evening the first time I decided to draw
something other than a rectangle or line (using draw poly routines).  I may
be a potential customer for your book, but having taken a course in C a few
months ago, I will most likely switch over.  Due to the limits of the BASIC
language, the handling of pointers and structures used by the toolbox is
not what it could be in Pascal or C.  

TML does supply some desktop library calls which make it a little easier,
for example, it is trivial to generate an alert box with 1 or 2 lines of
text and 1 or 2 buttons (OK and Cancel).