The Watcom C Optimizing Compiler and Tools has been upgraded to Version 8.0, Watcom announced. The company describes this as a complete line of professional C development products for the IBM PC and compatibles. Included in this version is support for OS/2 run-time libraries and Windows run-time conventions, and a 386 source-level debugger user interface provides multiple windows and mouse support. Watcom claims the compiler is better in such areas as performance, debugging capability, multiplatform support, language extensions, and performance tuning. And C8.0 is run-time compatible with the new Watcom Fortan 77 compiler.
Special versions of the compiler run in protected mode on OS/2 or 386 DOS systems and use memory greater than 640K to optimize large programs. A new execution profiler for performance tuning pinpoints high-use regions of code, so you can revise the parts of your program that get the most use. Expanded language support now includes IBM's SAA C specification, in addition to ANSI C and Microsoft C source compatibility. Both C8.0 and C8.0/386 are also available in professional editions, which provide such features as OS/2 and Windows support, the execution profiler, graphics library, and 386 protected-mode compiler. The 386 source-level debugger comes with the professional edition of C8.0/386. These editions cost $495 for C8.0 and $1,295 for C8.0/386. The standard editions cost $395 and $895, respectively.
Reader service no. 20. Watcom Products Inc. 415 Phillip St. Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 3X2 519-886-3700
A new hypermedia engine for manipulating multimedia information objects has been released b OWL International. They have redesigned their hypertext product, Guide; release 3.0 allows you to incorporate text, graphics, sound, and video images in hypermedia software for PCs.
DDJ met with William Nisen, the president of OWL, who explained that "Guide 3.0 has an object-oriented framework that was rewritten in C. The hypermedia engine manages objects that are directly addressable. Developers can customize the environment and keep the interface simple -- one click of the mouse can do five things." He also said that in addition to providing the product, OWL provides the services to help people with the software.
A new full-function programming language, LOGiiX, gives you control over the Guide hypermedia engine, and allows you to create customized documents; hypermedia linking tools let you add multidimensional and versatile referencing capabilities; and you can import and export graphics through industry-standard file formats. Other improvements include hypertext links for searching interrelated or selected documents, document formatting for customizing the graphical user interface, text-in-window control of text placement and line wrapping, document maintenance tools, and Windows compatibility. Guide 3.0 costs $495. Reader service no. 21.
OWL International Inc. 2800 156th Ave. SE Bellevue, WA 98007 206-747-3203
A pop-up file scan and hypertext tool for IBM PCs and compatibles, PC-Browse, is available from Quicksoft. This program lets you view files, find lost files, search files for information, and link them together, using hypertext. One hotkey press can, for example, import a text file into a spreadsheet application; once in view, it can either be printed or pasted into the host application. DOS wildcards allow searches in multiple files, directories, or drives, and the lookup search finds files with sorted records.
PC-Browse can be used for cross-referencing information; words can be flagged within whatever word processor you use, and then linked within files or between two or more files. You can customize on-line cross-references and make large files more manageable. You can also develop menu systems for end users, change hotkeys, reconfigure buffer size, and customize screen colors and delimiter characters. PC-Browse is shareware -- full registration, for $49, includes the software, manual, one year of technical support, and a quarterly newsletter. OEM licensing is also available. Reader service no. 22.
Quicksoft Inc. 219 First Ave. N #224 Seattle, WA 98109 206-282-0452
Seminars on online documentation will be held this fall in Chicago, Boston, and San Jose, sponsored by William Horton Associates. These two-day seminars discuss issues such as the differences between paper and online documents; what should and should not go online; and various types of online documentation such as help, hypertext, video-text, hypermedia, and tutorials.
The seminars will also cover the styles online documents should be written in, options in display design, and the various software available for online documentation. The kinds of storage and delivery media, such as CD-ROM, file servers, and local- and wide-area networks will also be discussed, as well as how to make information accessible through menus, indexes, information retrieval, context sensitivity, and full-text search. The seminars will deal with problems such as producing online documents with limited staff and resources, converting existing paper documents to effective online documentation, and publishing both paper and online documents from a single source. Group activities and hands-on exercises, as well as handouts and William Horton's book Designing and Writing Online Documentation, are included in the $395 fee for the seminars. In-house seminars are also available. Reader service no. 25.
William Horton Associates 1523 Ward Ave. NE Huntsville, AL 35801 205-536-8207
HyperEdit, a hypertext program editor from SpeedyWrite Software, can supposedly find any procedure, variable, or type, or anything else, anywhere in your program, no matter what language you use. HyperEdit features the ability to view an automatically generated list of variable, type, and procedure names (to search for parts of names or just scroll through the list); to look up calling sequences for C and Modula-2 library functions; to use wildcards in any search or look-up command; and to design complex searches including base conversion, arithmetic, and looking for characters in a certain range. HyperEdit also allows you to work with any number of files or languages in the same project.
A smart pair-matching command matches any parenthesis, bracket, brace, or language-specific pair such as begin and end, ignoring parentheses in string constants and comments, in order to check program balance. Included are such programming utilities as a calculator, ASCII table, screen-attribute table, and keycode display. Requires an IBM PC or compatible with DOS 2.1 or later, and 384K of RAM. Hard disk recommended, lists for $69.95 for noneducational uses, $49.95 for educational (single user). Reader service no. 26.
SpeedyWrite Software 1600 Grand Ave., Box 1691 St. Paul, MN 55105 612-696-6732
Three hypertext-based reference tools are available from Sageline. Write*On is a comprehensive reference system that provides rules and tips on questions of grammar, usage, and punctuation. Effective examples illustrate the rules, and cross-references are provided when necessary.
GPOStyle is a hypertexted edition of the Government Printing Office (GPO) Style Manual. While we here at DDJ prefer The Chicago Manual of Style, GPOStyle is a handy reference to usage. It is not as comprehensive as Write*On, however.
The Shell automatically integrates existing and future Sageline reference systems, so that they are all accessible from one directory. It is packaged with the Almanac, a handy but limited reference. Categories include computers (character tables, numbers, PC extended key codes, and more), U.S. history (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Amendments), language (the name implies a wider category -- but one fun feature is the "Quotes for Contemplation"), math (useful formulas, logarithmic identifiers, geometry and trigonometry functions), science (physical constants, statistics on the Sun, Moon, and planets, a table of the elements), and geography (mail and UPS rates, state capitals, area codes, and time zones). Though a lot of work obviously went into the almanac, a more comprehensive treatment would be great.
All three are easy-to-use and well referenced. The only drawback is that you have to leave whatever application you're working in in order to access these tools. The Almanac costs $29, Write*On is $49, and GPOStyle is $79. Reader service no. 27.
Sageline P.O. Box 2346 Kingston, NY 12401 800-345-5571
HyperTMON, a debugger for the HyperTalk programming language, is available from ICOM Simulations. The company claims this is the first tool of its kind for HyperTalk programming. It can find errors within HyperCard scripts and immediately modify them. The main purpose of HyperTMON is to enable users to study scripts step-by-step, shortening development time. Access to stacks is done simply by cutting and pasting the debug button from the HyperTMON stack. It sells for $99.95. Reader service no. 24.
ICOM Simulations Inc. 648 S. Wheeling Rd. Wheeling, IL 60090 708-520-4440
If you're developing CD-ROM applications for Apple systems, you might be interested in the CD-ROM Developer's Lab from Software Mart. It is a multi-media production reference on CD-ROM -- a searchable, full-text database that contains how-to information on all aspects of production. Includes such topics as design, programming, data preparation, transportability, media production, premastering, manufacturing, project management, encryption, and data assembly.
Included are functional applications that were created with Media-Mixer, another Software Mart product, which is a set of subroutine libraries for prototyping and creating full-text or multi-media CD-ROM databases and retrieval software. The tools for these libraries were written in Turbo Pascal and Microsoft C. The Developer's Lab also includes technical specifications, demonstrations of off-the-shelf tools for media production, and industry contacts for the fields of animation, sound production and editing, and high-resolution images. Requires a Mac with 1 Mbyte of RAM, a CD-ROM drive with an Apple-compatible SCSI interface, Apple CD-ROM driver v. 2.0 or later, and a printer. Retails for $795 (Media-Mixer usage licenses start at $1,750). Reader service no. 29.
Software Mart Inc. 4131 Spicewood Springs Rd., Ste. I-3 Austin, TX 78759-8606 512-346-7887
IBM LinkWay: Hypermedia for the PC, by Harrington, Fancher, and Black, has been published by John Wiley & Sons. It is a hands-on guide to understanding LinkWay, IBM's version of HyperCard, and is suitable for both beginners and experienced LinkWay users. It covers various components, object-oriented programming, and script commands. And it features a multimedia application to guide you through the process of combining media. ISBN 0-471-51298-2, $22.95. Reader service no. 30.
John Wiley & Sons 605 Third Ave. New York, NY 10158 212-850-6000