How do I get started - or I have mvToolbox, now what?

[eppick77]

To get into toolbox, type either LPR or MVTBX.

This will get you into a screen that contains all of your lists.

Yes, I know that you do not have any lists yet.

So think of a program file.

Type QL and that program file name.

Toolbox will now create a list for you.

Now if you either click on that list or push your enter key, you will
get into the list.

Notice that there is a file name on the left and the program name on
the right.

In a traditional pick list, it is only one direction - down. In a
toolbox list, you can go either direction.

You can use the down arrow or up arrow to move up and down. You can
also click on an item and you will enter that program.

[Tony G]

Eugene, thanks for the kickoff. I'd like focus even closer to
ensure everything is covered for the initial experience.

> This will get you into a screen that contains all of your
lists.

I think this needs to go even a little further back. This
software is heavily based on Lists. It might help to first
define this fundamental concept. Why is this the "front page"
feature? What do we intend to do with lists? With that
information, people will have some idea as to why they're
creating a list in the first place, and we can move forward from
there.

> Notice that there is a file name on the left and the program
name on
> the right.
>
> In a traditional pick list, it is only one direction - down.
In a
> toolbox list, you can go either direction.

Can you expand on what "it" is? How and why might we go in
"either direction", and from where? For example, is that
selecting a program to go up to a list?

Thanks!
T

[Bro Cope]

> I think this needs to go even a little further back.  This
> software is heavily based on Lists.  It might help to first
> define this fundamental concept.  Why is this the "front page"
> feature?  What do we intend to do with lists?  With that
> information, people will have some idea as to why they're
> creating a list in the first place, and we can move forward from
> there.

I'll give you a little background on how the mvToolbox came into
existence. I started working in Pick back in 1983 or 1984, and I
thought what a slick thing active select lists were. As I continiued
to work in mv, I also began to see some of the weaknesses. The active
select list only contained half the information needed - record id.
The first step of the mvToolbox was when I came up with the idea of an
enhanced list. The enhanced list had not just the record id, but it
also contained the file name also. With the enhanced list, I was able
to create programs that would act on the enhanced list the same way
that normal Pick utilities worked with select lists. The main
difference was that my list was not active in memory somewhere and
only accessible using READNEXT, etc. My lists were data in
themselves.

Over time, I wrote a number of utilities that would use the enhanced
list the same way as an active select list. But since my lists were
actual data, I was not limited to going forward in the list and losing
the last id used. I wrote the utilities so that they could modify the
lists and pass them along. Since they all existed on disk, there was
no loss of information. One utility would use the list, and pass it
on to the next utility. This began to grow as the number of utilites
grew that could use the enhanced list.

A list is mankind's main method of organizing things. The
functionality grew and the lists began to be useful as data
themselves, a means of organizing work.

About this time, I began to see that the programming environment
resembled a universe made up of programs, data, rules, and
connections. Connections became important. All programs and data are
interconnected. I saw that the universe could be "surfed" like one
would surf the internet. Everything is connected. let me give you
some examples. A program is not a list of disconnected lines of
code. It is a structure full of connections. Every read or write is
actually a connection over to another part of the universe. Paragraph
names are interconnected by GOTO's, GOSUB's, and RETURNS.

I saw that there was an immense amount of information available to the
programmer that he was just no aware of. I began to program the links
between what was on the screen. Each I/O verb connects to a universe
of data. Every subroutine was a room behind a door. When I wrote my
editor, VGER, (anybody know the reference?) I made it so if I clicked
on something, I would interpret that click to do or go somewhere.

In VGER, if you click on a Call, VGER goes out and brings in that
subroutine in a new editing session instantly. If I click on a GOTO,
VGER takes me to that paragraph, even if it is in a separate INCLUDE.
If I click on file, I can instantly look at the dictionary or a list
of the file and any dictionary items I want to see. The entire
universe represented by all the programs and all the data became one
click away. It is amazing. Those who have taken the time to learn
just the basics can do in minutes what would normally take days.

I had one user, and IBM'er, who was assigned a task reconciling two
versions of a 15,000 line program. He asked for the mvToolbox. He
had estimated a long weekend to finish, but after installing the
mvToolbox and a short learning curve, he finished the entire project
in less than an hour.

I had hired Eugene to help me with a client in Philadelphia. The
project was slated for 6 months. With the aid of the mvToolbox, he
did it in 3.

The design philosphy has always been "use what you see". I wrote my
tools to use all the information on the screen as links to other
things.

Well, those are the two underlying principles of the mvToolbox. The
enhanced list not as vaporware, but real data. And take advantage of
every connection on the screen.

[Bro Cope]

To anyone who has requested a copy of mvToolbox, I have to fess up.
After I was unable to burst on the market with the mvToolbox, I'm
afraid I got discouraged. While I continued to develop new tools,and
use them on my own assignements, I let some of the more infra-
structure things go. I have been quite pleasantly surprised by the
upswell of interest in the mvToolbox, which presents me with a
challenge.

I have sent out quite a few install packages in the last two weeks.
Since the last actual install I did was several years ago, there may
be holes in the installation process. I just didn't keep up with the
changes needed to make sweet installs nice and easy. I did pay
attention to what I was doing with it, but since I no longer was
selling it... well I'm sure you get the picture.

If any of you have any difficulties installing, please call me and I
will lend you a hand. Since I announced I was going to give free
licenses, i've had to chop up the install program, and I haven't had
the time to do test installs. Ooops.

Anyway, I hope you will give me a chance to make it all work. When
you see what all is available in the mvToolbox, you will be amazed.

Bro Cope

[Tony G]

I'm working intensely with Bro to refine the D3 installation
experience and will post here when that process is as fast and
easy as one would expect. Then we can all move forward with the
"I have mvToolbox, now what?" experience.

T

[Bro Cope]

Tony, I have been working feverishly to get the install process
smoothed out. I did a number of test installs and addressed all of
your suggestions. I also worked out some difficulties with my dead
website ISP, and can now deliver the toolbox online in a zip file.
Progress is nice.


If anyone else is interested in a free license good for a year, just
email me at cgc...@DMCons.com with your particulars, and I will build
you an install package.

[Wjhonson]

I have not yet tried to install this on my Universe on Windows system, but if there were any gotchas you found in that, I'd like to know.

Will Johnson

[CLARENCE COPE, III]

There were.  It was the result of disabling anti-pirating code so the mvToolbox would not have to be "activated" on my website, which was killed dead by my ISP being bought out.  I have done test installs for QM and D3, but I don't have a Universe license any more.  It expired.  I do not anticipate any problems, but as anyone in IT knows....  If you could download the revisions from this link, I would be most grateful if you would tell me of any install problems.  If you create a new account for the mvToolbox, there would be no impact on any systems by an install which does not go perfectly smooth.  There is a command to install linkage pointing to the mvToolbox account from any other account.

 

http://www.DMCons.com/Download_files/RedwoodCity.zip

 

 

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From: Wjhonson <wjho...@aol.com>
To: mvto...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Fri, August 5, 2011 1:17:17 AM

Subject: Re: How do I get started - or I have mvToolbox, now what?

[Wjhonson]

One gotcha is for Accuterm.  Some people, perhaps most will NOT have a [Keyboard] section in their config file at all.

It only puts one there IF you have specified something particular in your keyboard definition for Accuterm.

We had not here, so that section wasn't in the config file.

 

I added a caption to my F1 setting just to see, and after I exited my session it saved the file and then I could see in the config file (the .atcf file) that it now had the [Keyboard] tag with the one thing under it.

 

That's the first thing I found.

[Tony G]

Will, interesting catch but the mvtoolbox.atcf does have a [Keyboard] section. You can just use the that definition and change the host name to use with your own system. If you do that you'll want to adjust columns and rows, set your term type, and maybe widen and save your AT layout to accommodate the screen.

 

FYI: I've been working with Bro on a new keyboard definition for D3 which allows users to navigate mvToolbox _and_ the D3 TCL stack with the same definitions. Of course that's the same as the D3 UPdate processor, so you get to use the same ATCF file for all of your D3 activity.  I'd like to then take a look at getting QM to use the same key sequences as for SED.  The key mappings are published here:

http://www.pickwiki.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AccuTermKeyboardMapping

 

Regards,

T

---

From: Wjhonson

One gotcha is for Accuterm..  Some people, perhaps most will NOT have a [Keyboard] section in their config file at all.

It only puts one there IF you have specified something particular in your keyboard definition for Accuterm.

We had not here, so that section wasn't in the config file.

 

I added a caption to my F1 setting just to see, and after I exited my session it saved the file and then I could see in the config file (the ..atcf file) that it now had the [Keyboard] tag with the one thing under it.

[CLARENCE COPE, III]

I will be putting in the whole weekend addressing the items and issues brought up.  I am hopeful that I will make a significant leap forward.  My goal is to regenerate every install package I've sent out and uploaded to my graveyard website.  If anyone has any other observations or criticisms, PLEASE let me know.  As I've told Tony and Eugene, I am grateful for new eyes on the mvToolbox to see my blind spots.  Thank you all very much.

 

Bro

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From: Tony G <i6x4...@sneakemail.com>
To: mvto...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, August 17, 2011 7:54:47 PM
Subject: RE: How do I get started - or I have mvToolbox, now what?