Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!grad2.cis.upenn.edu!ranjit From: ranjit@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (Ranjit Bhatnagar) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech Subject: Re: Standard File Requesters Message-ID: <11126@netnews.upenn.edu> Date: 15 May 89 05:45:59 GMT References: <0914.AA0914@amigash> <941@sactoh0.UUCP> <11583@well.UUCP> <2977@cps3xx.UUCP> Sender: news@netnews.upenn.edu Reply-To: ranjit@grad2.cis.upenn.edu.UUCP (Ranjit Bhatnagar) Organization: University of Pennsylvania Lines: 49 In article <2977@cps3xx.UUCP> golden@cps3xx.UUCP (golden james) writes: > >That's exactly the point. You shouldn't have to be a hacker to get a >filerequestor that works well for you. I guess your saying that only >people with technical expertise deserve to have file requestors that >they like. > >Mike Golden OK, then - who's gonna be the first to write a file-requester in structured, well-documented AREXX code? Make it pleasant enough that the average BASIC novice can understand it, and even a newcomer can modify things like the size, position, color of the windows, whether to ignore case in alphabetization, and such. (Put all these in variable assignments at the top of the file.) This would make it embarassingly easy to add your favorite goodies. Sort by file-extender? Highlight .info files in blue? Automatically format any disks whose names start with 'v'? No problem. (Note that this approach makes it easy for people to trade their favorite file-requester code, and it also makes it relatively easy for novices to detect nasties like the v-disk formatter.) By the way, whaddya think about a REQ: device? An OPEN call on REQ:foo:bar brings up a requester with caption 'foo' in dir bar, and returns a lock on the file the user selects. This would add requesters to even all-text programs, and, in fact, could be used in scripts to add a bit of friendliness to all-text programs. script file fastfont: ff "req:Please choose a font to become the system font:fonts:" AnyProject.info: default tool = req:Pick your favorite application. script file easyzoo: zoo e// "req:Which file do you want to unzoo?:*.zoo" (note the new feature I just thought of.) -ranjit (well, SOMEBODY has to have the wild ideas) "Trespassers w" ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu mailrus!eecae!netnews!eniac!... Near the sides of tall buildings, how dare they kiss goodbye? Those buildings that saw the airplanes that kiss the air in their fantasy.