Technotools/Technotools (Chestnut CD-ROM)(1993).ISO/misc_pto/mwpetz06/mewel.doc

Text File | 1991-06-04 | 12KB | 279 lines

                          The MEWEL Window System
     MICROSOFT WINDOWS, PRESENTATION MANAGER, AND THE MACINTOSH.......
                           WITHOUT THE GRAPHICS


Magma Systems
15 Bodwell Terrace
Millburn, New Jersey 07041
[phone] (voice)
[phone] (24 hour BBS, 2400 & 1200 baud, N-8-1)
[phone] (fax for orders only)


NEWS RELEASE

Millburn, New Jersey -- June 1, 1990 --- Magma Systems, a firm dedicated
to producing programmer productivity tools, has released version 3.31 of
the MEWEL Window Library, the only windowing library on the market today
which allows programmers using MS-DOS to create applications which resemble
those of Microsoft Windows, Presentation Manager, and the MacIntosh, but
without the overhead of graphics.

WHAT MAKES MEWEL DIFFERENT?

MEWEL uses the same kind of event-driven, message passing model which is
used by windowing systems like X-Windows, MS-Windows, SunView, and PM. In
fact, the internals of MEWEL were designed to be very similar to
MS-Windows. The MEWEL API is compatible with Microsoft Windows,
both at the function call level and at the message passing level. A person
could even learn to program MEWEL by reading a book on Windows!

IBM's Common User Access (CUA) component of their System Application
Architecture (SAA) dictates how applications will look in future years.
None of the other commercial PC-based windowing libraries implements all of
the gadgets which are required by an SAA application, such as radio but-
tons, checkboxes, dialog boxes, pushbuttons, and scrollbars along with
mouse support. The latest version of MEWEL supports the new controls and
messages found in Microsoft Windows 3.0. Certainly, none of the others have
the message passing model which is absolutely necessary in today's window
systems.

MEWEL has been available since June of 1989. Our customers include
Microsoft, IBM, DCA, Fifth Generation Systems, General Electric, GTE, AT&T,
and others. Many developers of existing Windows applications have purchased
MEWEL so they could give their programs the same look-and-feel in DOS text
mode, thereby expanding their marketplace. Other developers are using MEWEL
as a stepping-stone to an eventual port to Windows and PM.

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    BRING YOUR APPLICATIONS INTO THE NINTIES!!!

Graphical Window Systems!!! Microsoft Windows, Presentation Manager, The
Macintosh, X Windows, SunView, NeWS, GEM.... It's no secret that everybody
has suddenly jumped on the graphical interface bandwagon. With the
introduction of Presentation Manager, Microsoft and IBM have basically
stated that all future applications will contain the certain kind of look and
feel which comes with these window systems.

But what if you don't have an super-powered UNIX machine or a Mac? What if
you don't want to have the overhead and slowness of graphics? Well, you're
stuck in character mode under DOS!

But what if you want your applications to have that modern looking in-
terface? What if you want all of the gadgets that come in these window sys-
tems? What if your plans dictate having your DOS apps eventually running
under character mode AND Microsoft Windows/PM???

The answer is ......

                                  MEWEL

                (Magma Extensible Window and Event Library)



HOW DOES MEWEL DIFFER FROM OTHER WINDOWING LIBRARIES?

Based on Message Passing.

Object-oriented Architecture.

Windows 3.0 compatible API. Unparalleled cross development between
  text mode and Windows.

Multiple overlapping windows. Resizable and moveable with the mouse.
Complex clipping between parent-child and sibling-sibling supported.

All of the SAA-defined control windows supported :
  Dialog Boxes (modal and modeless)
  Scrollbars (horizontal, vertical, control)
  Push buttons, check boxes, and radio buttons
  List Boxes (single & multiple selection, multi-column, owner drawn)
  Static fields (text, frames, fill boxes, character icons)
  Edit Fields (single & multiline, mouse oriented selection)
  Pulldown menus (multi-level, system menus, floating popups)
  Combo boxes (simple, dropdown and dropdown-list)

Windows compatible resource files. Supports dialog boxes, menus,
  accelerators, string tables, and character mode icons.

Dialog Editor with complete source.

and in the Magma tradition....
   The complete source code for MEWEL is available!!!


MESSAGE PASSING

Most modern window systems use a message-passing, event-driven architecture
for maximum flexibility. This includes Windows, PM, X WIndows, SunView, and
the Macintosh Toolkit. MEWEL is the first and only character mode window
library running under DOS to be message-based.

You can tell a window to perform an action by posting or sending a message
to it. The windows are "active" entities in MEWEL, not passive structures
as in other windowing libraries. In addition, since all operations inside
of MEWEL are done my passing messages throughout the system, you can alter
the very behavior of MEWEL by intercepting any message and modifying it.
The ultimate system of "hooks"!!!

Most of the messages have equivalents in both Microsoft Windows and PM.
In addition, most of the MEWEL API functions have corresponding Windows
equivalents. This means that you will have an easy time porting your MEWEL
apps over to these environments if and when the time comes.

By the way, a message-passing architecture is absolutely perfect for
implementing real-time systems. We should know!!! One of the nicest stock
trader workstations on Wall Street was implemented using MEWEL!!! Using
MEWEL's event-driven architecture, simultaneous asynchronous input from the
comm port, network, keyboard, light pen, and mouse were handled with grace
and ease!


OBJECT-ORIENTED

At the present time, interest in object-oriented programming is at an all
time high. MEWEL supports various "classes" of windows, including scroll
bars, check boxes, push buttons, radio buttons, edit fields, and static
fields. These window classes "inherit" most of their properties from the
base window class.

You can send messages to any window; these messages will be acted on by the
window class' default message handler. Any message which the default hand-
ler does not process is passed on down to the message handler of the base
window class. You can use this technique to create your own customized win-
dow classes; you merely "subclass" an existing window class.

An example of this would be the creation of a non-echoing edit field. This
kind of window would be used when the user had to input some "secret"
information, such as a password. MEWEL already comes with an edit class, so
most of the work is already done for you. To implement a non-echoing
field, you merely need to create a window class, intercept all WM_CHAR
messages (sent when the user types a character), and store the keystrokes
in an internal buffer. All other messages would be passed on to the message
handler for the normal edit class!


MOUSE SUPPORT

If you have a Microsoft mouse, or a mouse which has a Microsoft-compatible
driver, your users will have an even greater ease-of-use in their
applications. You can change the input focus of any window merely by
clicking on the window. You can use the mouse to select pulldown menus from
the menu bar, select entires from listboxes, click on buttons, and move
through scrollbars. Messages are sent when the mouse is moved, when a
button is pressed, released, or double clicked. And since the MEWEL source
code is available, you can also integrate your own customized mice or input
devices, such as light pens, tocuh screens, and tablets.


SAA and CUA

The Common User Access (CUA) component of IBM's System Application
Architecture (SAA) dictates a style of how applications should look. Many
companies (such as Microsoft) are striving for SAA complience for their ap-
plications. Presentation Manager is an example of such a program.

Using MEWEL, you can put an CUA-complient front-end on your application.
Use the scrollbars, listboxes, and dialog boxes which CUA requires your
programs to have.


SOURCE CODE AVAILABILITY

As with our ME Text Editor, the full source code for MEWEL is available.
You can enhance MEWEL in any way you like, and see how modern
message-passing windowing systems are written as well. Add your own
customized input, event, and display handlers. Or just hack away!!!

The source code is mostly in ANSI C, and is compilable immediately under
Microsoft C 5.1 or greater and Borland's Turbo C++. Versions also
available for Zortech C++ and JPI TopSpeed C.


ROYALTIES OR RUN-TIME FEES

There are none!!!



PRICES

MEWEL with                                    $295.00
   Libraries for Microsoft C and Turbo C (medium and large models)
   Sample applications
   Dialog editor with full source

As above with full source code.               $595.00

OS/2 Protected Mode                           $595.00
 (includes full source code).

Special  - DOS and OS/2 versions with source  $895.00

UNIX and VMS versions                         call....

Please include $5.00 for shipping and handling within the United State,
$25.00 elsewhere.

Payment Terms :
  Visa or Mastercard, personal or company check accepted. COD upon request.
Payment must be made in US dollars and the check must be drawn on a US bank.

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                      C++ for Windows and MEWEL


Magma Systems and Inmark Development Company, developers of the MEWEL Window
Library and the zAPP class library for Microsoft Windows respectively, are
pleased to announce that the zAPP classes have been ported to MEWEL.
This means that applications written under C++ using the class libraries
supported by zAPP can run under Microsoft Windows 3.0 and in DOS or
OS/2 character mode without any source code changes. All you need to do
is to relink your application with either the Windows or the MEWEL
libraries.

zAPP will be available soon from Magma Systems or from Inmark, or
from quality distributors such as programmer's Shop and Programmer's
Connection.

For more information, call Magma Systems at [phone], or dial
the free public access BBS at [phone], 2400/1200 baud, N-8-1.

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Magma Systems and Millennium Software are pleased to annouce a MEWEL version
of Millenium's WM_CONTROL forms package for Windows. WM_CONTROL gives
the MEWEL and Windows programmer the formatted data entry fields which
Windows sadly lacks. No source code changes are required to the application
program in order to support both Windows and MEWEL under WM_CONTROL.

For more information, call Magma Systems at [phone], or dial
the free public access BBS at [phone], 2400/1200 baud, N-8-1.

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                        A Sampling of the
               Commercial Products Using MEWEL

FastBack 3.0 - Fifth Generation Systems
Notes (OS/2 server) - Lotus Development
Charge - Solutions Systems
Sourcer's Apprentice (installation) - Solution Systems
Intel/Lan Systems - Reference Point
SoftCost Cost Estimator - SoftCost USA
Paragen (Paradox App Generator) - Innovative Data Solutions
Home Lawyer - Overdrive Systems
Nova (formerly the Galaxy wordprocessor)

Plus ... one of the top selling utilities of all time (you'll know it
when you see it!).

Other companies using MEWEL :
  Novell, Microsoft, Ungermann-Bass, 3Com, Exxon R&D, American Airlines,
MECA, Coca Cola, General Electric, GTE, and many more. There are several
thousand users of MEWEL.