[Oberon] Re (2): PO2013 - System.CloseTrack / System.ExtendDisplay

[Skulski, Wojciech]

>No offense intended, but extant (old) techniques are being aimed at a
>new problem.  A touchscreen offers possibilities, more direct and
>simpler.

Peter:

  a touch screen requires a hardware touch screen controller, which is not present on any of the present FPGA Oberon boards, including RiskFive. 

The system itself is also not engineered for touch screen. I suspect that the touch screen, if present, could be absorbed into the Mouse module. Such a solution, though cludgy, would not alter the System architecture to a significant degree. 

I also suspect that the touch screen is not well suited to a TUI system which is fundamentally meant to present large amounts of text (mostly programs in source) in an efficient way. The touch screen is fundamentally meant to be a dashboard of sorts, presenting a small number of graphics elements resembling dials or buttons. Trying to find a middle ground may lead to hybrids, which are neither good text processors nor comfortable instrument dashboards.

A smartphone is probably a good example where the touch screen is beneficial, if we can say that a smartphone is beneficial.

W