Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!apple!well!ewhac
From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: How satisfied are you with IFF?
Message-ID: <7133@well.UUCP>
Date: 18 Sep 88 08:50:43 GMT
References: <3427@crash.cts.com> <584@ardent.UUCP>
Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
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Quote: "Would you *suspect* that I kiss like a gagging goldfish?"  -- Binkley

In article <584@ardent.UUCP> rap@ardent.UUCP (Rob Peck) writes:
>In article <3427@crash.cts.com>, haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) writes:
>>         Having had to get into EA's IFF code this summer, I've been more
>> than a little disappointed.  The code is cumbersome and hard to work with.
>>         So, I started working on a re-vamp...
>> [more details deleted]
>
>There is an alternative to EA's code... a fella named Jim Kent
>(of Aegis Animator fame, I believe) who did a rehash of the EA
>code in a far more understandable fashion and (I believe) placed it in the
>public domain.  The name of the program group in general is "JIFF".

	Jim Kent's code, while infinitely more readable, is still not an
optimal solution.  Error handling is a b*tch, and the code is designed to
work only with FORM ILBM's; translation to 8SVX or SMUS is non-obvious.

	There is, however, an even better alternative (I think).

#define SOAP_BOX_MODE

	Stuart Ferguson and I have been working on some IFF parsing code
(that is to say, Stu's been writing it, and I've been nodding my head).
Believe it or not, it makes dealing with IFF files *easy*.  It reads and
writes to all filesystem devices (PIPE: included), as well as the clipboard.
We don't use EA's method or interface for scanning files; we do it in a way
such that control is maintained at top-level as much as possible.

	You can use the library to scan for chunks yourself, or you can let
the library do it for you.  The library also correctly maintains the various
context levels and property scopes, so you don't have to.  You can read an
ILBM inside a LIST VDEO as easily as you can out of a FORM ILBM.  It's all
utterly painless.

	We think it's Zen.

	We're trying to get together with some AmiGuys to discuss some
periphery issues.  We hope to have it available Real Soon Now (I won't give
a specific date, since it's a middle-burner project for both of us).  Rest
assured that it *will* see the light of day in one form or another.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape	INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
 \_ -_		Recumbent Bikes:	UUCP: pacbell > !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o	      The Only Way To Fly.	      hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Work FOR?  I don't work FOR anybody!  I'm just having fun."  -- The Doctor