Kuma
If you have an ST, you will have noticed that many
programs consist of two files, the APP (or .PRG) file and the .RSC
file which contains encoded dialogs, icons, and other GEM objects. I
have in past issues reviewed several compilers each able to create
the APP application program file but, as I said in issue 21, this is
only half the process of generating a GEM application.
A resource editing program is needed to generate
the .RSC file. The trouble is that until now, the only resource
editors have been the Digital Research (DRI) Resource Construction
Set (RCS) which suffers from bugs and design problems often making
it unusable, and the rather limited Megamax version. Both come with
expensive (and perhaps unnecessary) C compilers. To solve the
problem Kuma have released K-Resource, an advanced resource editor
which is available on its own.
THE MANUAL
K-Resource is packed in an 8 inch square folder
and comes with a 31 page manual. The manual is in three parts, an
introduction, an example, and a (relatively) large reference
section. Like many manuals, this one only sets out to tell you what
K-Resource will do, and how to use it, it does not really aim to
teach you all about resources, what they are, how they work, and how
to program for them - if you want to know that sort of information,
get a copy of the ANTIC professional GEM series (1 through 15). The
example takes the user through a very simple resource creating
session, with 12 accompanying screen dumps. It is a simple demo, and
I thoroughly recommend that anyone new to resource editors should
play with it for some time. The reference section is quite thorough
and explains all of the programs operations.
THE EDITOR
K-Resource differs from the two aforementioned
editors in its basic operation by not having a window with all of
the objects on the desktop which you copy into the single resource
window to use. The K-Resource desktop is used very much in the same
way as the normal GEM desktop (you can copy and delete files, create
and open folders), but has been enhanced so that you can copy a
resource file icon from the window (the disk) onto the desktop
(representing memory) by dragging. By dragging more than one, you
can edit several resources at the same time (something unique to
K-Resource). When editing a resource tree (tree is the term used to
describe the whole of a GEM `part', tree types are: forms (dialogs);
menus; free strings; alerts; and free images) you generate a new
object by selecting a menu item which brings up a dialog with
suitable possible parts. Click on one and you have it. This is
easier than the drag from window used by the other editors and means
you can use a 'fulled' window if convenient.
The increased usability does not stop at the new
item selection. When you have an object you will want to customise
it (to change the text in a string, make it coloured or give it a
`macro' name for reference by the application) and a double click
brings a large dialog with all the variables (other editors make you
go to several places to make all the changes). Alternatively a
single click produces a pop-up menu, just where the cursor is, with
options available from: edit (like a double click); hide; unhide;
flatten; snap; sort; and retype.
If you click on an icon or image, you can use a
built in icon editor which is more convenient than having to use a
separate one (though see later). The final option available is a
test facility. Again unique to K-Resource, this allows you to do a
simple test of your resource before you leave the editor. If you
test a dialog, it will appear in the middle of the screen, fully
animated, and allow you to click on buttons, edit strings, and use
all the various parts to ensure correct operation. When you select
an EXIT button an alert showing its number and name (if any)
appears, and you can either continue or end the test. Similarly
menus and alerts can be tested (anything unsuitable for testing,
e.g. a tree with no exit button, is automatically untestable).
Error messages are provided in a very novel way.
If you make a mistake, you do not usually get an alert, rather the
erroneous item is surrounded by a thick, rounded rectangle linked to
another box which explains the error. A very nice and useful touch,
and one I hope others learn to emulate.
ADVANCED FACILITIES
K-Resource also makes some of the more advanced
GEM resource facilities easily available. When DRI defined the
resource structure they left a few spare flags around for
programmers to use for special effects. These extra flags (obstate,
obflags and obtype high byte) are included in the K-Resource flag
setting dialog.
PROBLEMS!
Unfortunately K-Resource is not without its
problems. The first I noticed was that you cannot load icons from
other icon editors (indeed you cannot load icons at all, only edit
them). If you have to make two versions of a resource for different
resolutions, it is useful to be able to create a low resolution
version from the high resolution file, by just loading in the
correctly sized icons. This is partly solved by the fact that you
can delete the old icon and then copy the new icon from another
resource. This is risky though as it is critical that the order of
the icons is the same in both resources if one application is to use
both. Deleting and then copying is likely to alter the order.
The next problem I had was also with icons. I
found it impossible to move a small image (an icon without a mask)
just a fraction when it was at the bottom of a tree. This is because
as soon as I started to drag it, an enormous `shadow' was generated
which fell off the bottom of the tree and prevented me placing it
back down again. Similarly, I found it impossible to shrink an image
box size to reduce its inverse-select area.
It may be that I make exceptional demands upon a
resource editor, but another of the facilities I occasionally
require is the generation of the C source code from which a resource
can be recreated on another machine (an IBM for instance). Of the
three resource editors available, only the Digital
Research version can produce the C source. I hope a future version
of K-Resource will give this option too.
The above problems may seem trivial, especially as
most users will not notice them, but there are other more serious
errors. K-Resource occasionally just hangs, I'm not sure when, but
it seems to be when you cancel an operation. Once hung, you have to
reboot, and that means that you lose all your work. I also managed
to bomb the system in the test mode by double clicking on a
TOUCHEXIT button. The reason for this should be well known to the
person who wrote K-Resource (in this situation the high bit is set
in the returned 'hit-button' value, making it seem negative), and it
worries me because it is a basic mistake and there may be more I
haven't found. It is obviously necessary to save your resource
often.
CONCLUSION
While there are a few problems they are relatively
minor when weighed against the advantages that K-Resource gives you,
and certainly less serious than those in the DRI editor. It really
is much easier to use than the other resource editors, and is well
worth adding to your set of utilities. Remember my reservation that
you need other literature to tell you about resources and how to
program for them though.
K-RESOURCE costs £39.95 and is published by
Kuma Computers Ltd. 12 Horseshoe Park, Pangbourne, Berks RG8 7JW.
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