From: ijp@doc.ic.ac.uk (Ian Palmer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Yet more grumbles about Acorn (Was Re: The draw format and Acorn)
Date: 6 Apr 92 10:12:15 GMT
Organization: Department of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK.

In article <17d9Z3j013n@khantazi.welly.gen.nz> banks_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz writes:
>ijp@doc.ic.ac.uk (Ian Palmer) writes:
>
>[lots of gumbles about Draw format deleted.]
>

Can I just point out that I did in no way grumble about the Draw
format in my posting. If you'd bothered to read it, I simply asked a
question (remember those) about what happens when a new feature is
used and is loaded into a package that is ignorant of this new
feature. What you placed within the brackets is in fact a total
disrepresentation of what I asked. 

As for my grumbles about Acorn, my only real grumble with them is
concerning the PRM's for risc-os 3. As I see it there is no
justification for Acorn holding out until RO3 comes out fully. The
fact that RO3 (debugged version) is not out yet I can live with (just)
but the total lack of PRMs is extreemly frustrating, because
everything I want to find out about has to be done the hard way, and I
don't mind using a small amount of 'suck it and see' when I program,
but when you have to do it for every little thing you hant to do, ie
bring up a window, create a menu, create a sprite, display a sprite,
refresh a window (now that's fun with no documentation), the list goes
on and on and on. Bear in mind it's taken me 3 and a half months to
progress as far as I would have done in about half a week if I had the
programming reference manuals. With something that is as complex as
RO3 you can not get by with the 'suck it and see' method of
programming, and hence the ever mounting pile of programs I would like
to write for my A5000 are sitting gathering dust (metaphorically) as I
don't want to (can't) start them and then have to spend a long time
rewritting them once I find out how I should have done it in the first
place.

It's all very well and good people who have already gained experience
of Risc-Os programming to sit in judgement and say 'Stop complaining
about Acorn, their doing their best'. Well I would (probably) stop
complaining about Acorn if they would just release one thing, the
PRMs.

>
>> P.S. Did anyone assertain whether or not you can get the educational
>> discount in retrospect (ie. after you've bought the A5000). I do
>> remember someone asking this question, but I don't remember a reply. It
>> would be nice if you could.
>
>   How about you ask for a golden egg, three million dollars and a diamond
>necklace as well? Geeze not asking much are you....
>

I don't think they are quite the same thing.

>    Philip
>
>--
>Philip R. Banks                                                         @@@@@/|
>Syntax: mail <banks_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz|banksie@khantazi.welly.gen.nz> @@@@/#|
>                                                                        @@@/##|
>What price the crown of a king on his throne,                           @@/---|
>When you're chained in the dark all alone?  ---A.P.P.                   @/    |

Or to put it another way, what's the point in having a wonderful
computer (yes there's a bit of praise in there) like the A5000 when
you can't use it to it's full potential because you are in the dark as
to how to program the damn thing.

Remember you said it, not me......

Ian

-- 
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