As I have
described in some of my reviews, a typical programming session consists of
an edit, compile, link, run (debug) cycle. The GST C language comes with a
shell program to allow you to go through this cycle by selecting the
programs from a set of menus, as well as setting each programs' options
(like list file on/off, etc). Megamax C comes with a similar shell. They
are very easy to use, and just what is needed to make the boring part of
programming easy. But what if you don't like the editor that is supplied
with the system, or you have a special requirement that is not catered for
in the shell? You cannot change either of the two shells mentioned, so the
answer is you either accept them as they are, or resort to running each
part separately. Metacomco have produced their answer to the problem,
MENU+.
MENU+ is a user customisable shell. With it, you can configure three drop
down menus to contain what you want, and to do what you want. The first
menu is called FILE, and typically contains entries like 'choose' and
'choose. C', as well as `COMMAND' (run a program) and `QUIT' (leave MENU
+). The two choose options are used to allow the user to select which file
the commands are to operate on. If you were using an assembler for
example, you would have 'choose .ASM', with Pascal, 'choose which is
loaded by MENU+ when it is run'. In the next menu, TOOLS, the actual
working programs are available. Whilst you can have the normal 'edit',
'compile', 'link' and 'run', you can give yourself extra options, like
'compile with debug' and 'compile, link then run' (though not in so many
letters).
Behind each option lies one or more command lines. For instance, the EDIT
line in the menu could start the line `d:/utils/edit.prg path/file.type ed
opts'. Thus the edit program would be run, and pass the current file's
name, along with options which are given defaults in MENU.INF, and are
alterable when in the shell in the third, OPTIONS, menu. With, for
example, the compile option you may want to have more than one program run
consecutively, and MENU+ allows you to specify both (and more if you
want). You can choose to pause after the first one has completed, and to
stop the sequence if the phase has failed. You specify a similar command
line for each option you want in the menu, until you have all you need to
complete your task. The system is very flexible, and will cope with many
different situations by having more than one MENU.INF file.
The manual is a 26 page leaflet which adequately describes how to use and
program MENU+. It also describes UTIL.TTP, a utility supplied to perform
basic tasks such as file print, copy, delete and rename.
Despite its very powerful facilities, however, I did find some problems
with MENU+. In the first place, it is difficult (though not absolutely
impossible) to act on files in a different sub directory, perhaps to
perform a link in /object/ when you are using MENU+ in /source/. Also,
much more serious, I found it crashed quite a few times while I was
developing a MENU.INF file, so much so that I gave up finishing it. I am
using it for another purpose though, where it works just fine.
MENU+ is good when it works, which is most of the time. For the asking
price (about £20, or free with a Metacomco compiler) it is well worth
experimenting with if you find your current setup restrictive or slow to
use.
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