Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!claris!jazzman
From: jazzman@claris.com (Sydney R. Polk)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: resource forks
Message-ID: <10197@claris.com>
Date: 21 May 89 23:05:28 GMT
References: <1103@n8emr.UUCP>
Organization: Claris Corporation, Santa Clara CA
Lines: 41

From article <1103@n8emr.UUCP>, by lwv@n8emr.UUCP (Larry W. Virden):
> 
> Maybe I am missing something, but it seems like basically resource forks are
> just for making certain types of programming a little bit easier.  Is this
> basically it?  I mean, I could write my program to read in all the text from
> a text file, or put all the output text into a single module which could
> be replaced with other languages - that would be no problem.  I could write
> my programs with the dialog placements in a particular module which,
> using a program like genesys could be edited and recreated quite easily.

There are two main reasons for writing a program using resources.

1.  It is much easier to localize a program in another language using
resources.  This means that when all of the strings change, the code
does not have to be recompiled.  Somebody who doesn't have to know a lot
about the code can change the strings themselves and let the programmers
work on other things.  Also if any dialogs have to be reworked, or menus,
etc., it is much easier to do this in a resource editor.  To give an
example, when programming the GS without resources, a complex dialog
witha lot of buttons, check boxes and text can take three days to 
get the appearance right because the program has to be recompiled every
time a button is moved one pixel down.

2.  Having resources will make programming the GS a lot more like
programming the Mac, thus, at least Apple hopes so, attracting some
experienced Macintosh programmers to the machine.  I pity the poor
Mac programmer who tries this.  This machine has a lot more traps
for the programmer than the Mac.

Having resources is EXTREMELY useful for writing GS/OS applications, and
that is why they are there.

Someone could make a lot of money writing a file utility package that
is completely compatible, but I don't have the time or the inclination.


-- 
Syd Polk           | Wherever you go, there you are.
jazzman@claris.com | Let the music be your light.
GO 'STROS!         | These opinions are mine.  Any resemblence to other
GO RICE!           |  opinions, real or fictitious, is purely coincidence.