From: ewilts@mr.gov.bc.ca (Ed Wilts)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
Subject: Re: RexxArpLibrary 3.0
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:24:11 -0700
Organization: BC Systems Corporation

In article <44510002@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com>, brians@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com (Brian Sullivan) writes:
>> Lastly, your example is wrong. VLT doesn't require rexxarplib at all.
>> Some example scripts with VLT do require rexxarplib, that's all. Add to
>> this that I just don't like distributing other people's work with my
>> own in case you also think I should include all the XPR libraries.
>  
>   Well, I see that I was correct about the reasons that these libaries
> are not included.   As far as whether they are required or not I
> suppose that is still a matter of opinion.  But I'll try to explain
> it from my point of view.  I want a full featured term program that is
> written with WB 2.0 in mind.  I have heard many good things about the
> VLT program and I decide that I want to start using it.  So, I ftp
> all of the files starting with vlt* from ab20, hoping that I will have
> everything that I need.  Since I have lharc for UNIX I can examine the
> archive and repck them if neccessary.  (Could someone tell me where I
> can get a UNIX version of LhA??)  Well, I think that I have everything
> but when I try to use the "Phonebook"  (This is the very first thing
> that I tried, it is to me an elementary and basic feature of a good
> term program),  However I get some message telling me that I need to
> use rexxarplib.library version 3.0.  I then log into my UNIX system
> and grep the files of ab20 (A local copy)  I then find that ab20
> does not even have a version 3.0 of rexxarplib.library.  I also then
> take the time to download every XPR library that I can find so that I
> can at least get the download/upload portion of the term working.

Your problem was that you assumed ab20 had everything you needed.  Willy's
original distribution point is unixhub.slac.stanford.edu, not ab20.  This site
has rexxarplib version 3 (I also put it on ab20 last year but it has been
deleted since and I sent it to c.b.amiga but it never made it through Tad's
queue).  You'll also find a collection of XPRs at slac - presumably Willy
tested VLT with these but since he didn't develop the XPRs, it's not really his
job to ensure that they work.  Willy help write the XPR spec, so I assume he
can assure us that VLT conforms to the spec.

>   Anyway, I am only trying to give you some construvtive feedback
> about what makes your product easy or hard to use, and suggest way
> that you might want to consider to improve it.  If as you seem to believe
> every Amiga user already has the latest and greatest versions of these
> libraries they won't need the various arp libraries and XPR libraries,
> but if as I content, the majority of Amiga users just want a very good
> fast and nifty term program and they have not already got all of these
> libararies then they will have to hunt them down and I will tell you
> that it is often very difficult to find each of these XPR and ARP
> libararies.   So, I would suggest as a comprimise that you upload
> something called vlt-arp-and-xpr.lzh along with the latest version
> of your vlt program and them those of up who want or need it can be
> sure to pick it up when they get the VLT program.  We also will know
> which version of these libraries have been tested and are known to work
> with VLT.  I would think that this would make it work better for everyone.

And I suggest that you go to the original source if you want complete packages. 
Willy is already doing us a FANTASTIC favor releasing VLT to the public, and I
for one really appreciate it.

Freely distributable software is a privilege, not a right.  Asking somebody to
package it up every which way possible for everybody will consume more time -
and I prefer that he spend the time adding new features (double-wide/height?)
or fixing a bug or two (^H while in swap bs <-> delete).  There are already 2
versions available - one with Tek emulation and one without.  Packaging up 2
copies of each of these means FOUR different versions floating out there.

>     -- brian --

-- 
Ed Wilts, BC Systems Corp., 4000 Seymour Place, Victoria, B.C., Canada, V8X 4S8
EWilts@MR.Gov.BC.CA   |   Ed.Wilts@BCSystems.Gov.BC.CA   |   (604) 389-3430