From: pdietz@cse.unl.edu (Phil Dietz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: People please infer! [ResEdit 21. for Amiga]
Date: 6 Jan 1993 17:13:47 GMT
Organization: NCEMRSoft
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: cse.unl.edu


True, Marc Barret gets on alot of peoples nerves, but don't flame him when
he asks a question (even in it's want-to-be-flammed context).
 
The Amiga has absolutley no type of ResEdit available.  If you want to move
or edit a gadget...change a menu item...or add a font or what-have-you one
has to recompile the whole darn thing.
 
I must agree that their should be some sort of ResEdit for the Amiga.  It
should allow people to include fonts, pictures, and sounds to be transfered
inside of applications as well as the ability to edit strings, move gadgets,
and all the other GUI stuff.
 
-------------------------------------
what a pseudo-resedit will accomplish
-------------------------------------

FORS:  a. allow easy transportation of data files for an application (ie
          fonts, picts, etc.).
       b. allow a programmer or user to easily change the position of 
          intuition objects (menus, gadgets, etc.)  that are normally
          hard coded into a application and must be re-compiled.
       c. ASSIGNs that are needed to point to an application data files
          will no longer be needed since the files are in the APP. now.
          (Thus making a clearer GUI to the super-novice)

AGAINST: a. programs will slow down since they will have to fetch the 
            resources.
         b. a faulty tampering of the the resources could bring about bad
            results...thus programs would need a large degree of error
            checking code, etc.
         c. the ability for resources is put on Commodore's back (since OS
            stuff will need to be changed.)

----------------
Now how we do it
----------------
There are many possible ways a resource type chunk could be made, however two 
stand out.
 
1) Keep the resources in the accompaning .info file.  All this programs
   data (picts, fonts, snds, etc.) could easily be added to it's .info
   file probably as an IFF extension as well.  
 
FOR: a. having to have hundreds of ASSIGNs for a program to be able to run will
        go away since the .info file will store all the extra data.  
     b. Since all the data is in the info file, moving the application around
        with Workbench will transparently move all the needed data files too.
 
AGAINST: a. if someone trashes the icon then all the data is toast.  But then 
            again a person could due a 'format dh0:' by accident as well.
     
2) Keep the resources in the so-called 'last un-used debug hunk' the executables
   have.

FORS: a. Data is kept in the Application so trashing .info's will not harm
         the integrity of the application.
      b. If we use this hunk as a data area, we might as well put the .info
         icon in their as well to reduce the number of unnecessary files
         presented to users.

AGAINST: a. maybe some day we will need the extra hunk for something else.

----------
my opinion
----------

I would shoot for the hunk storage area since theoretically one can store the
.info in it as well.
 
Allowing a resource type chunk allows for customability.  
  - No need in copying an apps fonts to fonts: and all that jazz.  
  - No need in making 5 or 6 assigns.  Just click the icon like it should be.  
  - If a programmer needs to move his static intui-objects around he can do it
    without hassles. Imagine a RES-Edit similar to GadToolsBox.
    If the programmer has some things he doesn't want customizable..he can 
    just hard-code them the old way.
 
Commodore now allows the easy changing of internal strings (localization).
They should take it another step and allow other data type to be changed.

I see only benefits from allowing the resource chunk. 


--
                                                              Phil Dietz
     Why is Windows so popular?                       pdietz@cse.unl.edu
        'PKzip for Windows' of course             University Of Nebraska
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer