[Oberon] Editing multiple files together.

[Frans-Pieter Vonck]

Hello Chris,

I have similar experiences with the oberon plugin under windows. The
multiple floating windows came about when I used the latest update. Before
that is was a the original NO tiled version. I also think that the gnome
way is not an improvement.

Greets,
F.P.

>
> I must comment on this frequent observation of mine, which frustratingly
> no-one
> else ever mentions. This applies to any non-trivial task, but my example
> here is:
> 'how to allocate macro-strings to eg. function-keys under linux'.
>
> So after painfull search, I get to some documentation:-
> "...
>      The default key-bindings may be changed with an  inputrc  file.
> Other
>        programs that use this library may add their own commands and
> bindings.
> .."
>
> Now to analyse this single paragragh [of the 500 of the document], you
> need to
> 1. locate file inputrc;   2. open/view file inputrc
> which leads to 3 further questions, each needing their own file/S to be
> viewed.
>
> So, you ALWAYS quickly run into an explosion of files which need to be
> cross
> referenced. Of course if you've got a photographic memory, there's no
> problem.
> If not, you need to skip between the files, while extraction info, which
> you
> assemble to make the target-file which describes how to do the task.
>
> So under linux [& I can't imagine WINx would be better], I need 4 to 6
> terminals,
> each open with the contents of a text-file [typically a manual or data]
> and try
> to cutNpaste: documentation, data, test results to a 'file of final
> knowledge'!
>
> Obviously this is a nightmare, and remarkably S3/V4 solved this problem
> decades
> ago by their tiled-window-frames-scheme. Even the often recurring
> situation where
> the man states "bla..bla..as show below under ding-dong"; so you need to
> keep sight
> [or place - like a hyperlink] of the current text while skipping down to
> <ding-dong>
> and then returning. As we know this is simple with S3/V4.
>
> A 'compulsary dimension' is the N texts which must be simultaneously open.
> A further 'dimension' that S3/V4 offers is colour [and even font].
> The ease with which related text-stretches can be similarly coloured adds
> power too.
> For deeply nested <IF-THEN-ELSE>s, I've found that my
> statement-auto-colouring tool
> allows the structure to 'jump out at you'.
>
> Isn't it absurd that if I've got 'heavy tasks' under linux, I have to
> switch to
> ETH-Oberon under linux to help with the cognitive load ?
>
> How did the beautifull simplicity-with-power of S3/V4 come about ?!
> Was it inspired by Wirth's philosophy?
>
> == Chris Glur.
>
>
> --
> Oberon at lists.inf.ethz.ch mailing list for ETH Oberon and related systems
> https://lists.inf.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/oberon
>


Frans-Pieter Vonck
Jesse Owenshof 69
1034WT Amsterdam
020-5374854
06 40343011