Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!kth!draken!tut!metso!mk59200
From: mk59200@metso.tut.fi (Kolkka Markku Olavi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Pet Peves or Why,  oh why do they do this? (long)
Message-ID: <7471@etana.tut.fi>
Date: 6 Jun 89 08:00:48 GMT
References: <16916@louie.udel.EDU>
Sender: News@tut.fi
Reply-To: mk59200@metso.UUCP (Kolkka Markku Olavi)
Organization: Tampere University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 56

In article <16916@louie.udel.EDU> C506634@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Eric Edwards) writes:
>After silently accepting the following abuses in many pd and commerical
>    programs I have decided to compile a list and submit them to the net in
>    hopes of reducing these anoyances.  So here they are in order of
>    decreasing agravation...
>
>1) No Multitasking
>2) Full size, gadgetless windows on the workbench screen
>3) Full size, non-resisable windows on the workbench screen.
>4) Turning off the Screen DMA.
>5) Full size, non-resizealbe windows on Custom screens.
>6)  Unessarily tying up the CPU.
>7)  Poor use of system resources.
>8)  Poor use of memory.
>9)  Programs that do not use menus or anything resembling them.
>10)  Programs that won't run from workbench.
>
>Well that about does it.  While most of what I have incountered is with PD and
>shareware programs my opinions stand for commerical as well.
>Most of these infractions would not be so grave if they wern't so widespread
>and many of the programs to do them so excelent in other regards.  :-(
>
>Guess I'll just sit back and watch the flames roll in... :-)

OK, here are a couple of things that I and probably many other
European users find _very_ annoying:

11) Bypassing the keymap
	The operating system provides a standard way to redefine
	the keymap for use in different languages. Some programs
	just don't care, and read raw keycodes and treat them as
	if coming from US-0 keyboard for A1000, ignoring also the
	extra keys in A500 and A2000 keyboards. Known offenders:
	MicroEmacs 3.10, old versions of VT100.

12) Assuming that screen size is 640x200
	Many programs simply assume the 'least common denominator'
	or the 640 by 200 standard NTSC screen size, and use it for
	their custom screens or set the maximum window size to
	these limits without checking the true screen size.
	This means that 35% of my MoreRowed PAL display (704 by 280)
	is left unused.  Instead of 85 column by 33 line text
	display I get 72 by 24.  Known offenders: MicroEmacs (again),
	and many, many others.

It seems that the commercial developers are already learning the
lesson, many packages work well in international systems, for
example Sculpt/Animate 3D and Lattice CodeProbe use the full screen
(but CodeProbe does some nasty tricks with keymaps).

To all PD/shareware/other developers out there: come on, it isn't
really so difficult to do things the right way!

--
	Markku Kolkka
	mk59200@tut.fi