-- card: 11854 from stack: in.0 -- bmap block id: 0 -- flags: 0000 -- background id: 3797 -- name: -- part contents for background part 1 ----- text ----- Date: Fri 18 Dec 87 23:47:37-PST From: Sunil Maulik O.K. All you Hyper-hackers, I have been following the BBoards for a while now, I've got Goodman's book, I've even got the APDA HyperCard technical reference package (which I barely understand - I'm NOT a seasoned Mac hacker) and I'm STILL confused: 1. How do HyperTalk scripts (and HyperCard in general) interface with MultiFinder? - Since HyperCard takes up the entire screen (we've all seen how HC does away with the scaleable "window" concept of the Mac) how can one switch back and forth between a HyperTalk script (to e.g. launch a program) and MultiFinder ? 2. Since creating DA's is trivial with HyperTalk (has anyone seen Goodman's desktop organizer, marketed by ActaVision, that seems to do everything SideKick does and more ?!), will HyperCard (suitably customized) BECOME the Finder ? 3. O.K. So I can launch a program using HyperTalk. But how do I MONITOR that program ? Specifically, how do I check if it needs more input, save its output, and, most importantly, "error-trap" any unwanted garbage it may produce ? 4. What I REALLY want to do with HyperCard - I'd like to write a HyperTalk program that runs a terminal emulator, logs on to a remote mainframe by dialling up through a modem, run a few programs, up- or down-load info (plain text files) using (e.g.) Kermit, and then save that info into a stack. I have heard DIALOG (the on-line retrieval service) demo'd exactly such a utility at MacWorld in Boston. How was it done? Does it require hacking around with XFND's, XCMD's and ResEdit ? Along these lines, could I design my own customized interface to a BBoard service (such as this one) where I could download selected messages and link them together? So.. Is it possible? Am I still dreaming ? As I've said before, I'm NOT a Mac programmer so I don't know how feasable such a project might be only using HyperTalk. But I could see how, if a script could run a terminal emulator in the background under MultiFinder, it just might be possible... [Moderator's note: CompuServe has a product called Navigator that does exactly this. It is supposed to be fascinating. I'll let you know after I get a copy and play with it...] Any Hyper-hacker's suggestions, code, XFND's/XCMD's, etc. welcome. Surely someone else must have the same idea ? -- part contents for background part 45 ----- text ----- HyperTalk Limitations/Another Wishlist