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* * * * * * * * * * * * _________________________________________ * * / / * * * * * * / English Doc of AppPP v1.0 / * * * * / / * * * * ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ * * * * * * * * * * =============================================================================== === Summary ================================================================= =============================================================================== Summary: ======== - Description. - Necessary Material. - About ? - Usage. - AppPP's Messages. - To Do. - Bugs. - Thanks. - Excuses. Description: ============ - Description. Necessary Material: =================== - What this program requires at least. - But let us be serious. About ?: ======== - The rights I reserve on this program, the doc and the source code. (Respect them, because not restrictives.) - program's garantuees. - Bug report. Usage: ====== - Startup. - Configuration Panel. - Crunch or decrunch Files. - Stop file treatements. AppPP's Messages: ================= - Errors. - Other messages. To Do: ====== - General. - Configuration Panel. - Crunching Interface. Bugs: ===== - Seriouses. - Cosmetics. Thanks: ======= - To Jan Van den Baard. - To Schreckling Dominique. - To Mix-Image. - To the Migros. Excuses: ======== - To the Amiga communauty. - To the girls I know. =============================================================================== === Description ============================================================= =============================================================================== AppPP is a crunching program made to avoid loading Powerpacker or another utility like that everytime You have one or several files to crunch or decrunch. It has an AppIcon and a Gadtools graphical user interface which makes it easy to configure and to use. It is specially made to be used from the WBStartUp, althouth nothing prevent to use it from the Workbench. Because it's entierely in Assembly written, it takes a minimum of place in the WBStartUp, it's so particulary adapted to small configurations. (like mine...) It can save the files in a alternative path, so that the source file is not overwritten. For the crunching fanatics, the datas has been organized in the executable so that it can be crunched efficiently ! =============================================================================== === Necessary Material. ===================================================== =============================================================================== What this program requires at least: ==================================== - The 2.04 (V37) of the AmigaOS. - powerpacker.library in Libs:. Powerpacker.library is © by Nico François. (Very easy to find. (Eventually look for PPLib on Fred Fish's AmigaLibsDisk)) - asl.library in Libs:. (Is provided with the standard Wb 2.0+) - 512 Ko of Ram. But let us be serious: ====================== - Has someone already seen a 2.04 Amiga with only 512 kb of Ram ? I couldn't work with 512 kb of Ram and the 2.04 OS. - If someone could put such utilities in the WbStartUp drawer, he logically must have _more_ than 1 Mb of Ram. - Noone could really work with only 1 Mb of Ram. - When I speak about small config, I think about the 2.04 OS, 2Mb of Ram minimum and a MC68EC000. AppPP requires so a small config. By a medium config, you should think about the 2.1 OS or more, 1 MC68EC020 and a hard drive of 85 Mb. A big config is OS 3.0 or more, 8 Mb of Ram or more, 1 MC68040 at 25 MHz and a hard drive of 340 Mb or more. - If you have the KickStart 1.3 or inferior (is it possible ?), you haven't understood anything about the Amiga OS... The 1.3 Release is now 6 years old and it corresponds to the MS-DOS 4 on a PC. Have you already seen sensible persons use such an old OS. In this case, there is 4 solutions: - To invest in the 2.1 system and have enough Ram to use the Amiga seriously. (2 Mb at least) - To invest in another operating system, which is certainly more expensive. It could be UNIX, IBM, Macintosh or Atari. (In the order of the more to the less expensive) - To simply give up the computer science. (The cheaper solution) - To give up the computer science and invest in the CD32. (If you couldn't live without games) =============================================================================== === About ? ================================================================= =============================================================================== The rights I reserve on this program, the doc and the source code: ================================================================== AppPP is distributed as FreeWare, which means that you could copy it freely, while all the files are distibuted in original and unmodified form. It is forbidden to add, delete or modify anything in the AppPP package. If you have propositions for the program or the source code, simply contat me. Because it is freely distributable, gratuitous and entirely fonctionnal, I think that the user could easily respect the minimum I demand. Here the list of the package content: - AppPP | The executable - AppPP.info | Icon for an interlaced Workbench - AppPP icône 2 | Icon for a non-interlaced Workbench - AppPP English Doc | English doc of AppPP - AppPP Doc Française | French doc of AppPP - AppPP English Doc.info | Icon of the english doc - AppPP Doc Française.info | Icon of the french doc Program's garantuees.: ====================== Althouth all the care I've taken and intensives tests of this program everytime during programming, I could not garantee that it has no bug. I decline all responsability in case of a file loss. As user, you assume entirely the risks encoured by using this program. Bug report: =========== If a bug appears, you should (moral obligation) warn me of the problem so that I could remove it to protect other users from losses. In this case, give me a complete description of the problem with the most of details possible. Unfortunately, I haven't any EMail, but here is something to join me. Adress: BURNAND Patrick Ch. de la Grangette 16b 1010 Lausanne Switzerland Telephone: 021/653.29.73 Fax: 021/653.29.73 (If someone answer, tell that it's for a fax and recall) For the telephone or the fax number, "021" represents the preffix of the Lausanne region. If you live in another country (it's very probable, because of the very small size of the country), you must certainly replace the "021" by the preffix to call to switzerland. I don't know these preffix. You should consult the telephone book. =============================================================================== === Usage =================================================================== =============================================================================== StartUp: ======== No problem, simply double click on the program's icon. You could start it automatically at the Worbench startup by gragging it's icon in the WBStartUp drawer. In this case the tooltype "DoNotWait" must be set. AppPP is volontary not runnable by the CLI, AmigaShell, AmigaDOS, or others Text Interfaces. In this case, the program will quit immediately. AppPP is an AppIcon program written to be started from the WBStartUp the Workbench should be started, and once the workbench is started, you needn't really the Dos. Configuration Panel: ==================== It's a graphical interface to configure rapidly and easily the program. IT appear when the config file is not found or when ou click on the AppIcon. Use Alt Path: ------------- With AppPP, it's not obigatory to overwrite the file that you crunch or decrunch. To use this option, select the gadget "Use Alt Path". "Use Alt Path" is short of "Use Alternative Path". When the gadget is selected, the file is saved in the directory indicated by the Read-Only "Alt Path" Gadget. If the gadget is not selected, the file is overwritten. To use carefully. Alt Path: --------- Read-Only Gadget which indicates the "Alt Path" or "Alternative Path". Get: ---- Pressing this gadget calls the standard ASL FileRequester. You can shoose the "Alt Path" with it. About: ------ Opens a window and displays a short description of the program. Efficiency: ----------- Gadget to set the efficiency of the crunching. You have to choose beetwen 5 options. Fast: Fast crunching with low gain. Mediocre: Crunching beetwen "Fast" and "Good". Good: Crunching which have a good gain and is not to slow. Very Good: Crunching beetwen "Good" et "Best". Best: Best gain, but the slower. The best way to know the efficiency of these is testing. Buffer: ------- Gadget to choose the size of the buffer allocated for the crunching. You have to choose beetwen 3 possibilities. Small: Small Buffer. Medium: Medium Buffer. Large: Large Buffer. The more the buffer is large the more the crunching will be fast. But it will use more Ram to. Generally, the best buffer is "Large", unless you have a very small config. Decr Effect: ------------ Written for "Decrunch Effect". It's the less important choice. If you don't select the option "« None »", the screen will display a special effect while decrunching. Save: ----- Saves the configuration and closes the Configuration Panel. The config is saved in "EnvArc:", in "Env:" which is normally ASSIGNed to "Ram Disk:" and in a small buffer allocated by the program. The configuration file names are "AppPP.Prefs". Use: ---- Saves the configuration only in a buffer allocated by the program. In this way, if you use several times AppPP, the programs could have different configurations. The content of the buffer is lost when you quit the program or reset the machine. Cancel: ------- Closes the Configuration Panel but doesn't save the configuration. All the changes done in the Confiuration Panel are lost. Quit: ----- Closes the Configuration Panel and stop the program. The configuration is not saved. The AppIcon is then removed from the Workbench. Crunching and decrunching Files: ================================ How to do ? With fun ! You take some icons that represents files. (Press Shift for multi-selection of groups of icons). Drag all these icons on the AppPP's AppIcon. At this time, an interface is opened, telling that AppPP have received files and ask you what you would do with these files. You can choose beetwen three possibilities. Crunch: ------- All the files that aren't already crunched with a known format of Powerpacker Data File are crunched and saved in the place choosen in the Configuration Panel or writed over the uncrunched files. Decrunch: --------- All the files that are already crunched with a known format of Powerpacker Data File are decrunched and saved in the place choosen in the Configuration Panel or writed over the crunched files. Do nothing: ----------- This option is done to do nothing. It could be useful if you drag icons on an AppIcon that you not wanted. I've think at this option because my Workbench have about 10 AppIcons and sevral disk Icons at the startup. The contents of directories can't be crunched or decrunched by draging a drawer icon on AppPP's AppIcon. If you do so, a message indicates that it is a drawer and nothing else would happen. The files crunched with option "Command" or "LoadSeg" in Powerpacker wouldn't be recognized. When you try to crunch them, you will receive a "Buffer Overflow" message. These files are also no decrunchable by AppPP, Stop file treatements: ====================== While crunching or decrunching, you have 2 possibilities: Skip File: ---------- Stops the crunching or decrunching of the file. The next file is then treated and the process continues. Stop All!: ---------- Stops all the crunching or decrunching process. All the files not treated will stay intacts. By selecting "Skip File" or "Stop All !", the crunching is not immediately stopped. This becomes from a limitation of the program. If you select one of these gadet while crunching or decrunching a file, the crunching or decrunching will end normally, but the file will simply not be saved. In fact, don't panic if the program don't stop immediately to work. Your order is always recorded by the program and it will take act. =============================================================================== === AppPP's Messages ======================================================== =============================================================================== Errors: ======= No panic, it's generally nothing important. But here is a description of the possible errors' messages. AppPP Error Report, asw...: --------------------------- This error arrives when AppPP can't alloc a very small buffer. It's very recognizable because this message is displayed in the standard output. When there is no memory available, AppPP can't do anything. It's even possible that the program quits without any message. That the case where the system could not open the standard output. Cannot save Configuration to Env.: ---------------------------------- AppPP can not save the Configuration in "Env:AppPP.Prefs". It's certainly Env: that is not correctly installed or ASSIGNed to a wrong place. In the StartUp- Sequence of Wb 2.+, there is an instruction "Assign Env: Ram:Env". If you make yourself a bootable disk, it's possible that you haven't correctly installed "Env:" Cannot save Configuration to EnvArc.: ------------------------------------- Same problem as previous, but could also be a simple write error. (Disk full, disk write-protected or disk error) Can't Lock() File.: ------------------- This message arrives very frequently when one icon that you gragged on AppPP's AppIcon doesn't correspond to any real file. It could arrive when you open a window, delete or rename a file in the shell or in another program and don't update the content of the window. In this case, Icons could not correspond to any real file. Another possibility is the existency of a ".info" file but no "" file. If you want to verify it, simply make a List in the Shell. Can't Examine() File.: ---------------------- Should happen extremely scrarely. If it should happen, it's certainly a disk error. It's the unique rational explication to this. Can't Open() Source File.: -------------------------- Should happen scrarely too. The most probable possibility is a disk error. There is another possibility that should never happen. It's only possible on Amiga because of it's _true multitasking_ OS (The system chare in _real time_ the calcul time for each application !) It's possible that a program deletes or renames a file just beetwen the moment where AppPP examines the file and the moment where AppPP call the Open() function. But... File is Empty or less than 4 bytes. Not crunchable.: ---------------------------------------------------- Could arrive frequently if the file is empty (0 bytes). This generally comes from file that were opened for writing when happened a system crash. If the file is smaller than 4 bytes it's not crunchable and is not crunched too. Because the 4 first bytes of a Powerpacker data file is "PP20" or "PX20" Error while Reading File. Can't Crunch.: ----------------------------------------- Disk error. Error while Reading File. Can't Derunch.: ------------------------------------------ Disk error. Can't AllocMem() to crunch File.: --------------------------------- Is always caused by insufficient free memory. Can't AllocMem() to decrunch File.: ----------------------------------- Is always caused by insufficient free memory. Unknown Powerpacker Format. Can't decrunch.: --------------------------------------------- Could arrive if you have files crunched recently and try to decrunch them with an old "powerpacker.library". File is Crypted. Use Powerpacker to decrunch.: ----------------------------------------------- This message should never arrive. Because Powerpacker has a default password requester. Wrong Password. Can't decrunch.: --------------------------------- You have entered a wrong password in the password requester. Then Powerpacker refuse to decrunch the file. (Normal) Write() Error. Can't Save. Dest File deleted.: ------------------------------------------------ Classical write error. Generally, the destination disk is full. It could be a disk error too. Other Messages: =============== Skipping File.: --------------- This message arrives when the user had pushed the "Skip File" button while crunching or decrunching a file. Aborting All !: --------------- Arrives when the user pushes the "Stop All !" button while crunching or decrunching a file. All the process stops. File is not crunched.: ---------------------- The user tried to decrunch an uncrunched file. File is already crunched.: -------------------------- The user tried to crunch an crunched file. Buffer Overflow.: ----------------- The memory buffer allocated for the file crunching was not sufficient. It indiquates that the file would be larger once crunched than uncrunched. Crunching Aborted.: ------------------- This message should never happen, because AppPP is not done to stop the file crunching itself. Skipping Directory...: ---------------------- Arrives when the user tries to crunch or decrunch a drawer. AppPP displays it and the crunching or decrunching of the next files continues. Work Finished.: --------------- Indicates that all the files have been crunched or decrunched. (if no error) =============================================================================== === To Do =================================================================== =============================================================================== Here's a list of things that I could do for the next version. I don't garantee that I would make these, nor that there will next version of the program. It's useless to contact me to propose things that are already in this list. General: ======== Localise the program. AmigaGuide Format Documentation. Commodity Installable. Add keyboard shortcuts. Configuration Panel: ==================== Add an option "Copy Icon". Add an option "Add .pp". Choice of the AppIcon. Possibility to choice the name of the AppIcon. Possibility to choice the task's priorité of the program. Save the Configuration in ToolTypes in the icon of the program. Crunching decrunching interface: ================================ Replace the ASLs and Intuition Requesters by Reqtools. Add File crypting possibility. Possibility to reduce the crunching window. Put an AppWindow in place of the Intuition window. =============================================================================== === Bugs ==================================================================== =============================================================================== Seriouses: (Crashs, file losses, etc...): ========================================== None known. Cosmetics: (Display problems, small problems, asw...): ======================================================= Bug 0: ------ By using certain fonts for the system, text could overflow of the gadgets and give ugly interfaces. Generally, avoid the extremely low or high fonts. They causes problems when calculating the interface's gadgets dimensions. (Because AppPP has a Font- Adaptive GUI. Which means that it adaptes its interface to the fonts choosed by the preferences) The best way to avoid this is to use the same font for the default text and for the window text. (The icons' fonts is not important) =============================================================================== === Thanks ================================================================== =============================================================================== To Jan van den Baard: ===================== For his GadtoolsBox program, a GUI generator. This program has helped me to: - Undestand the functionement of the Gadtools gadget tool kit. - Easily Generate source code for my own interfaces. (It's very useful in spite I throw away the source code and keep only the gadgets dimensions and Types.) - Have immediately an idea of the look of the interface. Millimetred paper is not interesting for that. - Avoid doing hundreds of tests to position the gadgets. To SHRECKLING Dominique ======================= He has tested a prerelease of the progam on his A1200 and has found some bugs (no crash, but boring), things to improve and propositions. Very good testeur. Mix-Image ========= A Small Amiga shop in Lausanne. Mix-Image has the CAM and Fred Fishs. The boss permits me to test a preversion on his A4030. To the Migros: ============== Swiss supermarkets. For the exellent Ice-Tea that I gladly sip when working or programming on my Amiga. =============================================================================== === Excuses ================================================================= =============================================================================== To the Amiha communauty: ======================== To Have distributed a program like XCod_1.0. It was a program to code files. The only thing that was interesting in this program was the key. It was of 256^3570. It was so dirty, that it doesn't run on 2.0 and his interface (Text only) was just good for a PC... To the girls I know: ==================== Because I don't take the time to meet them. With the Amiga, I coould be busy all my life... Lausanne, the 05.04.94 BURNAND Patrick