#Modula Keyb.
Assembler might have been easier to understand in some cases – even if one did
not know 68K assembler very well.
The sea of structures within structures, while perfectly logical, are often
difficult to follow. I have found that 'Big Picture' tree diagrams showing the
relationships between structures – within the context of a particular
operationsuch as defining & drawing shapes, opening files etc. – can be of
great use in giving the user a better "feel" for the job at hand.
The RKM has this disturbing habit of giving pages of information about somthing
and then – 20 pages later – adding a " Oh yes, Did we mention ? " sort of
sentence containing the vital information to make the first bit work. I find
this a very difficult style to follow, since it becomes necessary to read
practically every sentence in the book just to make sure you havn't missed
somthing vital.
There ARE ways to make this sort of OS more comprehensible. You just can't try
and show the whole of it at once – it's impossible. Too many things are tied to
too many other things. I feel that each TYPE of task needs its own
documentation – very thorough – as opposed to making the scope of the
discussions too wide. Since Commodore has has plans to expand the Amiga market
upwards and downwards, it would be a good move to prepare a new revision of the
RKM and try a better approach.
— Jim Mason