Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!rutgers!umn-d-ub!umn-cs!thelake!steve
From: steve@thelake.UUCP (Steve Yelvington)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: AES bug?  --> No, I just didn't know what i was doing!!
Message-ID: <1113892203364652@thelake.UUCP>
Date: 14 Dec 89 04:03:36 GMT
References: <150@bucsb.UUCP>
Reply-To: thelake!steve@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu
Followup-To: comp.sys.atari.st
Organization: Otter Lake Leisure Society (MN-USA)
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In article <150@bucsb.UUCP>,
     harryk@bucsb.UUCP (_harryk) writes ... 
>
>   I would like to thank Robert from Netherlands and Darek from ATARI Corp.
>   for answering my question!
>
>     They both suggested to use wind_update() instead of menu_bar(), inside
>   the for-loop! So YES, that was the answer: once i did it, everything was
>   working fine! As far as MN_SELECTED is concerned, i have to apologise, but
>   i was using MU_MESAG from the very first time; i just mistyped the code
>   when i sent it to the net!
>
>     The sad thing is, that I've never seen wind_update() documented along
>  with any menu_xxxx() function! I'm using MWC's manual and "GEM Programer's
>  Reference" by Abacus, as GEM reference guides! In both of them, wind_update()
>  is NOT even MENTIONED on the pages talking about menus! But that's why Use-
>  Net does exist, i guess!
>

The MWC manual is less than clear in its example of using the menu bar
(page 324). It has the event loop in main(), so it must turn off the menu
bar from within the switch-case before calling appl_exit() and exit(). As
a result, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion (as you did) that you
need to turn off the menu bar with "menu_bar(menu,0)" before you do
something. You don't, of course. You probably should set the menu entry to
normal, but don't erase the bar.

MWC documents wind_update() as "an AES routine that locks or unlocks a
window." In "Atari ST Application Programming" (Pollack and Weber, Bantam
Books), wind_update() is documented as "communicate with the AES about the
application's current processing," which is more general and more
accurate. 

The term "window" in this context is confusing, because you tend
to think of a window as the classic visual object with a title bar,
sliders, check boxes, etc. Actually, the work area is a window, and
wind_update() in this context simply tells the Screen Manager not to mess
with anything until you're finished.

>  ... (I only wish ATARI could publish a complete
>  documentation on Technical Information about its machines, and make it
>  available to the public! All the books i've seen assume that the reader
>  is already familiar with GEM, and are used as refernce books!

This is precisely the problem: You need a tutorial, and what you have are
reference works. The aforementioned Pollack and Weber book is a fairly
gentle tutorial introduction to GEM programming. Your local bookseller
should be able to order it, or you can get it direct from Bantam Books
Inc., 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103. The book's ISBN number is
0-553-34397-1. The copy I have says it's $24.95 US / $29.95 CDN.

-- 
   Steve Yelvington at the (frozen enough to skate!) lake in Minnesota
   UUCP: ... pwcs.StPaul.GOV!stag!thelake!steve