Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.hypercard:1283 comp.sys.mac:23315
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ukma!rutgers!apple!dan
From: dan@Apple.COM (Dan Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Query and Request of HyperCard Experts & Bill Atkinson
Keywords: Bill (& Apple HC Development group) are you out there?
Message-ID: <21302@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 28 Nov 88 03:06:24 GMT
References: <799@atux01.UUCP>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 32

In article <799@atux01.UUCP> jlc@atux01.UUCP (J. Collymore) writes:
>I need to know is there ANY way to, in essence, "pipe" (as UNIX does) one
>command to another (i.e., use the output of one operation as the input to
>another)?

No.  MPW has pipes, HyperCard does not.

>Does anyone know a way of scripting that will allow my print command to find
>and print all the cards of ONE background, even if those cards are not in
>contiguous order (so that I can perform sorts of a given background, and still
>be able to print the sorted, NON-CONTIGUOUS cards later)?

Create a (perhaps hidden) background field, with the cards numbered 1 to
n.  Sort your stack, print it, and sort it back to the original order
with the numbering of the bg field.


>In the next release of HyperCard, could you please:
>1)  create a "pipe-like" function,
>2)  could you make the "print" command and the "sort" command act as filters,
>3)  could you make the "print cards or open printing" commands understand
>    background names as acceptable arguments?

Pipes are definitely a great feature, to be sure.  But the HyperCard
model of things currently doesn't support (internally) pipes in any
natural way.  We'll keep these suggestions in mind as we continue to
evolve and refine HyperCard.  Thanks for the input.

Dan Allen
Software Explorer
HyperCard Team
Apple Computer