From: David.Empson@bbs.actrix.gen.nz
Subject: Re: Which language?
Organization: Actrix Information Exchange
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 00:11:00 GMT

In article <1992Dec24.034315.19081@nuscc.nus.sg> ltchean@iss.nus.sg (Lim Thye Chean) writes:
> 
> Is there any high level language animation toolkit around? Of course, in
> assembly language, I have written Super Magic 3, in C, I have seen Jawaid's
> sprites, ...

I've downloaded Super Magic 3, but haven't looked into it yet.  As
long as you've made the interface to it reasonably clean, it should be
possible to write some 'glue' code that would allow you to call it
from ORCA/C or Pascal.

> Anybody knows about Micol Advance Basic? Is it System 6 compatible? Is it
> fast and easy to use? Something like Micol Advance Basic is very attractive
> to an Applesoft fan like me. But I did not see anybody using it.

A friend of mine uses it, but I haven't heard of many others.

> Learning all 3 volumes of the IIGS toolbox references is definitely too
> much for a weekend GS programmer like me...

Speaking as a weekend GS programmer, you really don't need to learn
all that much.  You need a little understanding of QuickDraw, and a
moderate amount about the Event, Menu, Control and Window managers,
but most of the rest can be glossed over until you really need it.
Standard File comes in handy.

> Why people prefer to use Orca/C instead of Orca/Pascal? Is it because the
> C language is better? faster? or what? 

No idea.  I definitely prefer C, since I use it at work, and it is
much more flexible than Pascal.  Being able to initialize variables at
compile time really helps, especially if you're doing direct GS/OS calls.

> Does Prizm actually work? I have heard that it is not compatible with GNO
> right?

Well, "work" is not a term I would associate with Prizm.  Every time
I've tried to use it for anything of a reasonable size, I've been
frustrated.  It is buggy, has a non-standard user interface (e.g. its
own special standard file dialog, which is about as functional as that
of System 2.0).  I don't even try to use it any more.  I'm much
happier with the text environment.

> Is REZ resource compiler hard to use? Do I really need a resource editor if
> I have REZ?

REZ is basically a programming language.  You define your resources
in a source file, and run the REZ compiler to create the resource
fork.  The resource descriptions are very like C - a lot of { }
characters, and the same syntax rules for comments.

What is really good about REZ is that you can use it to create ANY
type of resource, not just those types that a resource editor supports.

REZ is supplied with a full set of resource definitions for System
6.0.  There is also DEREZ, a utility which converts a resource fork
into REZ source code.

The only problem with REZ is that it is very clumsy for creating
window definitions.  You have to define a lot of resources.  Quite
often, I use Genesys to design the window, then output REZ code to
combine with other (g


resource editing application (
> 
> 
> >-- 
> >David Empson
> 
> 
> -- 
>     %% GS Lover Loves GS %%    Author of Super Magic 3 & Mandelbrot II GS
>     %%  and Avatar too.  %%   
>           Lim Thye Chean: Lim is my surname. My name is Thye Chean.
>      My address: LTCHEAN@ISS.NUS.SG, or 9, College Green, Singapore 1129 


-- 
David Empson

Internet: David.Empson@bbs.actrix.gen.nz    EMPSON_D@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand
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