Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!eniac.seas.upenn.edu!ranjit From: ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Ranjit Bhatnagar) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech Subject: Too many devices? Was: Proposal for device hackers: REXX: Message-ID: <6457@netnews.upenn.edu> Date: 1 Dec 88 20:08:16 GMT References: <3039@sugar.uu.net> Sender: news@netnews.upenn.edu Reply-To: ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP (Ranjit Bhatnagar) Organization: University of Pennsylvania Lines: 34 This is a nice idea, but I'm starting to worry about the proliferation of handlers, devices, and libraries. If REXX: were to become standard, we would need to install libs:arexx.library, l:rexx-handler, and the actuall AREXX server itself (lives in c: I guess - I don't actually own AREXX). This is not really a complaint about AREXX - rather, I feel that the proliferation of support files makes things confusing for inexperienced users. I've done a bunch of thinking about how to automate the process of installing and REMOVING software that requires support files - and I haven't come up with anything worthwhile. Any thoughts? For instance: J. Schmo, new Amiga owner, wants to use the ARP command set. He's not a complete novice; he understands the risks and advantages of using (relatively) unsupported software; he just doesn't know about the details of the thing - and shouldn't have to. Similarly, there's no easy procedure for upgrading pre-existing boot disks to 1.3. I don't know if the 1.3 enhancer manual discusses it or not, but it's a tricky proposition for someone who doesn't even know there IS a devs: or a l: directory, let alone that some (but not all) of the contents of those directories must be changed, and some should not (those libraries, devices, etc. which are specific to the software in question.) - Ranjit "Trespassers w" ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu mailrus!eecae!netnews!eniac!... -- I'm not a drug enforcement agent, but I play one for TV --