Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!think!ames!apple!amdahl!kim From: kim@uts.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn) Newsgroups: comp.lang.rexx Subject: Re: Something useful with AREXX Keywords: dme Message-ID: Date: 15 Dec 89 22:43:09 GMT References: <2897@pur-phy> <9031@cbmvax.commodore.com> Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Lines: 59 In article <9031@cbmvax.commodore.com>, mks@cbmvax.commodore.com (Michael Sinz - CATS) writes: > > That is easy of DME has an AREXX port. Just have a simple AREXX program > that contains something like this: (This is not REAL code...) > > address command; "Wait 5 minutes" /* Use th CLI wait command */ > check if DME is still around and exit if not... > address DME; "do the save command" /* I don't have DME */ > /* Now loop back and wait again... */ Wellllll ... yes and no. I was the one who added the initial ARexx support to DME, and as I said in the documentation, it was a *minimal* implementation of that facility. Far as I know, it hasn't been extended ... if it has, I would certainly like to know about it. What's "minimal"? If you give DME a command that it doesn't recognize as a builtin, it'll hand it off to ARexx. As long as that macro does exist, and while it is still execution, it's reply port will indeed be around, so some- thing like the above *may* work (I've not tried to do that). I think what'll happen though is that DME will appear to hang, as (if memory serves) DME will not process any further commands (except from the macro, which may also be other macro calls) until the macro finishes and returns with a completion code. Also DME is not setup to respond to unsolicited msgs coming in ... currently, the interaction must be initiated from the editor itself. I would like to get back to this project, and do a full implementation, but aside from the demands on my time for other things, there are some fundemental problems that would need to be fixed in DME which would be rather extensive. Biggest problem is the limited amount of error handling/reporting that DME does. As it stands, it is *very* difficult for the ARexx macro to know when a command it issued to DME completed or failed, etc. Also, there are a number of parameters that need to be "broken out" so they can be passed to the macro (insert/overstrike mode, current line/col, cursor position, etc, etc.) Maybe one of these days ... Sorry to ramble on so about something that is more about a particular editor, than the REXX language per se, but I think some explanation was called for. /kim P.S. Give Michael's scheme a try, but don't expect too much. I'd be delighted if it works. If so, please post/email me about it. -- UUCP: kim@amdahl.amdahl.com or: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,uunet,oliveb,ames}!amdahl!kim DDD: 408-746-8462 USPS: Amdahl Corp. M/S 249, 1250 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 BIX: kdevaughn GEnie: K.DEVAUGHN CIS: 76535,25