Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!psuvax1!ukma!husc6!lloyd!kent
From: kent@lloyd.camex.uucp (Kent Borg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Hey Apple Mac engineers, answer->Ma
Message-ID: <474@lloyd.camex.uucp>
Date: 14 Aug 89 01:28:21 GMT
References: <14845@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> <46100321@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Reply-To: kent@lloyd.UUCP (Kent Borg)
Organization: Camex, Inc., Boston, Mass USA
Lines: 50
In article <46100321@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>It is a fault of the operating system. In a true multitasking
>system, it is IMPOSSIBLE for one program to lock up the system,
>whether intentionally or because of a bug.
Actually, it is partly the `fault' of the user interface. It is
important for some modal dialogs to be modal. It the application is
warning the user about something important, the user should not be
able to go off and do something else without having read the dialog,
if s/he did, on later returning to the warning, the context of the
warning will have been lost, and if the warning really is important,
that is too dangerous.
Should the user be given a quick way to say "Wait a minute, I don't
understand here, let me check something..."? Yes, that is what the
"Cancel" button should do.
Should the user be allowed to switch to another application during a
long operation? Yes, applications programmers should allow that.
Do pre-MultiFinder applications work amazingly well under MultiFinder?
Yes, MultiFinder was a trade-off between new design and compatibility
with old applications, and it made those trade-offs *very* well.
Should the user have some way of blowing away the current application,
while leaving the rest alone? I'm not sure. Maybe the debugger
switch sould do that when a debugger is not installed.
>Is there a generic way on a Mac II running Multifinder to stop a
>program or switch programs while the watch icon is present? This
>is an ABSOLUTE requirement of a multitasking system. My PC
>under Desqview can easily do it.
No, there is no way for Joe- and Jane-User to do it currently, but
there is a way *you* can. Install MacsBug, reboot your machine. Now,
next time you want to blow away an application, hit the programmer's
switch to enter MacsBug, and type "es", for exit to shell.
Alternatively, go into ResEdit and create an FKEY in your system file
with the data a9f4 in it. Now, when you hit cmd-shift-, you will get an exit to shell.
This does not *always* work (I know Stuffit sometimes refuses to die),
but it usually will kill the current application, and it usually will
not kill your other applications--though your errant application may
have already.
Kent Borg
kent@lloyd.uucp
or
...!husc6!lloyd!kent