From: utzoo!decvax!cca!Reynolds@AMES-67@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.works
Title: Re: End User Interface ala Augment/NLS
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.2234
Posted: Thu Jul 22 04:10:27 1982
Received: Sun Jul 25 10:54:42 1982

In Reply To:  WorkS Digest, V2, I64 Message from Jake Feinler
  
Yes Indeed, I agree...
Although I have never used AUGMENT/NLS, I did borrow the ISIS film from
Doug Englebart a few years ago and was impressed with the power of NLS.
The film does misslead one though, into assuming that you have to learn
to deal with all the complexity of NLS just to get started, when only a
subset is needed.  We have had the same effect here bringing up our
interactive users on TSS, a powerful but somewhat user unfriendly system.
One has to spend some careful thinking in the TSS case in developing
a beginning subset of system commands so as not to overwhelm the user.
  
Another feature (problem?) of TSS is that users can define their own
system commands (one letter commands if they wish), as a combination
of existing system commands with desired parameters, or merely rename
system commands according to their desires.  This feature makes command
completion really difficult to implement.  What makes it impossible
is the IBM penchant for half-duplex data communications to ASCII
start-stop, asynchronous terminals.  Logging on TSS over the net
requires one to set the TIP to "transmit-on-linefeed".
If one only uses locally connected IBM 3270 (full screen CRT) terminals
one can live with a fairly crude editor, and the user interface is
tolerable.  Updating a full screen at a time at channel rates kind of
spoils a person, I suppose.
  
Maybe this topic belongs on HUMAN-NETS, but I'm interested in
inputs on user interfaces.  Let's keep them coming.
  
Best,
Don Reynolds
(415) 965-6444
(Reynolds at Ames-67)
------