[Coco] what goes around comes around

[Jeff Teunissen]

The .hlp files for Tim Kientzle's help program are not directly
compatible with the /DD/SYS/helpmsg file, not without adding the silly
@NAME line in between.

However, I have added a slightly-modified version of Tim's
public-domain HELP command into the "CoCo C" repository I use to work
on, uhh, CoCo C code...along with the help files I know about. The
main difference between the versions released in the 1990s and what's
in the repository is that the files now go into /DD/SYS/HELP instead
of /DD/HELP to get them out of the root directory of the default
drive.

You can access it at <https://github.com/Deek/CoCoC>. It's possible
that some of the command help files are not up to date with the
changes that were made to e.g. TMODE, DMODE, and XMODE, but if that's
the case I will accept patches and pull requests.

On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 8:55 PM Bill Pierce via Coco
<coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:
>
> Tim, I know the version of "help" you are referring to.
> But also, the current NitrOS9 distro has an intact help system and the help file includes almost every command in the distro's "CMDS" dir and it's very easy to add more. There's just no way of knowing what commands or apps a user might have.
>
> The one you are referring to does make it easier by just copying the "*.hlp" file into the "sys/help" dir, as opposed to editing a text help file. I remember a lot files I downloaded from Delphi and BBSs included .hlp in them. In most cases, the .hlp files can just be merged with the current help file as "I think" they use the same format
>
> I was also one of the people complaining about the "usage" section of the new commands being "commented" out, but after realizing it did save system memory when merging files in groups that I saw why this was done. Also, on some cmds, adding in the usage breaks the 8k (lots of text) line and causes the system to then allocate 16k for a cmd the would have originally (without usage) loaded into 8k.
>
> Bill P.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tfadden <t.fadden at cox.net>
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Tue, Apr 28, 2020 5:19 pm
> Subject: [Coco] what goes around comes around
>
> First off, please don't take this as an insult or complaint.
>
> I find it humorous that years ago I complained about OS9 functionality
> being taken away for a few milliseconds of speed, and the lack of
> coherent docs for the new commands.  Not to mention I gut shut down
> pretty fast. he he Now I see numerous comments about putting
> functionality back in various commands and the need for documentation.
> When I ran it daily, I used a utility called "help" where you kept
> command documentation in text format in a directory structure that you
> could edit, and add commands at will which I kept up to date.
>
> Any how,
>
> What goes around comes around. :-)
> --
> Tim Fadden
> "Hey Schmidt, don't forget about the six P's.
> Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance!"
>
>
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