From: Paul Guyot (pguyot_at_kallisys.net)
Date: Fri Apr 09 2004 - 15:42:11 PDT
Hi all,
The DCL Group is proud to announce the availability of a new Destkop
Connection Library sample code: PBBookMaker for Unix.
What is the Desktop Connection Library?
---------------------------------------
The DCL is a C++/Obj-C multi-platform framework for Newton data
manipulation on desktop computers and data exchange between desktop
computers and Newtons using the built-in Dock protocol (the protocol
used by the NewtonOS 2.1 Dock application and the NewtonOS 1.x and
2.0 Connection application).
The DCL currently compiles on Linux and MacOS X. We haven't checked
recently, but it very probably compiles on FreeBSD as well. NetBSD
users will have to wait until posix threads are brought into the
kernel to fully take advantage of the DCL. We're still looking for
Windows and BeOS developers.
The DCL home page is: http://www.kallisys.com/newton/dcl/
What is PBBookMaker for Unix?
-----------------------------
PBBookMaker for Unix is a command-line interface program that
compiles PaperBack books from text files. It takes advantage of the
DCL technology to build the package.
The syntax is the following:
PBBookMaker [options] <text file>
where options can be the following:
-n <package name> set the name of the package in Extras Drawer
-t <book title> set book title for PaperBack reader
-f <font name> set default font name.
Valid font names include:
- espy (System font)
- newYork (Fancy font)
- geneva (Simple font)
- handwriting (casual font)
monaco probably also works. Default is geneva
-s <font size> default font size [9].
-e <encoding> encoding of the text file.
Valid encodings include:
iso-8859-1 (latin-1, default)
iso-8859-2
macintosh
utf-8
utf-16
-o <output> output file (- for stdout)
If the -n option is not present, it is guessed from the text file
name. If the -o option is not present, it is the name of the text
file with a .pkg suffix, i.e. the following is sufficient:
PBBookMaker myTextFile
PBBookMaker will automatically convert text files with Unix or DOS
encoding to Macintosh encoding as required by PaperBack. PBBookMaker
can also read text files from stdin.
Please note that PBBookMaker will not create books with PaperBack
reader code included. You need a book created with PaperBack and with
its reader code on your Newton to take advantage of books created
with PBBookMaker.
Additionally, PBBookMaker builds NewtonOS 2.x PaperBack books only.
They are extensions to save space and you cannot search them unlike
PaperBack books. They also look like extensions, but this may change
in the future.
How can I get PBBookMaker for Unix?
-----------------------------------
PBBookMaker for Unix was just checked into the CVS tree. You can
either download the source code from the CVS repository and compile
it with CodeWarrior, Xcode (on MacOS X) and Jam (MacOS X and Linux).
You can also wait for tomorrow nightly builds that will include
PBBookMaker for Unix.
How can I help the development of the DCL?
------------------------------------------
There are many ways to help us with the development of the DCL and
they can be ordered by the amount of time and skills required.
1/ The easiest one is to download a nightly build of the DCL for your
platform here:
http://www.kallisys.com/files/newton/DCL/nightlies/celebrimbor/ (MacOS X)
http://www.kallisys.com/files/newton/DCL/nightlies/misato/ (Linux x86)
and to test applications and sample codes and send us feedback.
Anyone with a MacOS X or a Linux x86 application and a big bandwidth
to download the heavy nightly builds can help us with feedback.
2/ The second way is to test applications and sample codes and design
graphical user interface-level test suites. Our automated tests focus
on the lower layer of the DCL and many annoying bugs are related to
the interface. Hence, gathering a suite of tests of the higher layer
will help us release a very stable version of the applications by
defining tests to perform before any release.
3/ The third way is to port the DCL to other platforms, including
just checking that it does compile on another platform and eventually
provide us with nightly builds for such a platform.
4/ The fourth way is to provide us with a translation in your
language of sample applications and to volunteer for maintaining the
translation through updates of these applications.
5/ The fifth way to help us is to jump into the code and to provide
us with patches to extend the DCL or to fix bugs. If you want to join
us, please discuss your goals with us first to make sure that we do
not work on the same bits at the same time.
About the DCL Group
-------------------
Like several other successful Newton projects such as Waba and NPDS,
the DCL is open source since day one. It is brought to you by the DCL
group that gathers:
- Michael Vacík, Czech Republic <mici_at_metastasis.net>
- Nicolas Zinovieff, France <krugazor_at_poulet.org>
- Paul Guyot, France. <pguyot_at_kallisys.net>
-- Philosophie de baignoire - consultations sur rendez-vous. NPDS/NewtonOS: http://newton.kallisys.net:8080/ Apache/FreeBSD: http://www.kallisys.com/ -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/ WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
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