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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!pur-ee!pur-phy!cca
From: cca@pur-phy (Charles C. Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: More comments on Smalltalk/V Mac
Message-ID: <2260@pur-phy>
Date: 11 May 89 04:44:01 GMT
Organization: Purdue Univ. Phys Dept, W.Lafayette, IN
Lines: 41

I'm becoming a little more disenchanted with the current release of
Smalltalk/V Mac as I dig deeper into it.  Basically, it looks like Digitalk
needs to clean it up before it's truly usable as a Mac programming
environment.  Here are some further problems (& questions!) I've run
across.

The Pen>>fillAtX:andY: primitive is apparently not implemented.

When trying to get the above method working, another apparent bug came to
light:  In the DemoClass multiSpiral method (for example, the specific
method isn't important), stick

        pen fillAt: rectangle center.

as the third to last line.  An apparently infinite set of Walkback windows
starts appearing.

Each instance of any sort of SubPane has a CharacterScanner instance
variable.  I suppose this is a holdover from the days of the original
Smalltalk/V on the IBM that had no graphics capabilities.  It certainly
is not necessary for many types of panes.

I've been unable to figure out how to open a GraphPane that doesn't have
scrollbars.  The scrollbars scroll over something apparently the size of my
screen, but I haven't tracked down where this info really comes from.  Of
course, the scrollbars are added in the addMenus method, right where
EVERYBODY would immediately look for it.  Thank goodness for Senders and
Implementors browsers.  Note that this behavior snuck in between the
printing of the manual and the final image release. The pictures in the
manual show no scrollbars for AnimalHabitat, etc.  If anyone has figured
out GraphPanes, please send me a note.  DrawPanes seem simpler, but since
they're not documented in the manual, and used only by DemoClass, it's
difficult to figure out if they're going to stick around in future
versions.

FileIn the FreeDrawing demo.  Open a new FreeDrawing, and scroll the small
(actually, the "real" size) image on the left.  You can scroll the thumb
into hyperspace in either direction.  Watch as it writes over the Save and
Cancel buttons....

Charles Allen           cca@newton.physics.purdue.edu