#ARexx book?
14 messages in this thread
Lou,
Does IDG have any plans on coming out with a book on ARexx or Any other
Amiga Programming languages/environments?
— Jane H. (Writing, it's easier read than done.)
There are two 'general reference' texts on Rexx out there. One is called
The Modern Approach to Programming or such, and is pretty good. Written
for general Rexx, not just the Amiga. I'm hoping now that IBM has made
Rexx an integral part of their standard system platform, that other texts
will be quickly forthcoming. ARexx, a great thing. –jp–seattle-temp in
L.A.–
A proposal was made to IDG Books, but so far I haven't heard anything about
it…I hope they do it 'cause it looked like a good book. -Lou
I'll keep my fingers crossed for an ARexx book, and maybe I'll even send
back the reply form at the back of the Official AmigaDOS 2 Companion, with
a note saying I'd like to see more on ARexx and Amiga Programming in
general.
— Jane H. (Writing, it's easier read than done.)
Are you aware of the book "The Rexx Language – A Practical Approach to
Programming", by M.F. Cowlishaw? Written in 1985, but still a great
resource.
There is also another volume, "Modern Programming using Rexx", which I have
searched in vain for. Anyone seen it? –jp–seattle–
John,
Yes. I've picked up a copy of Cowlishaw's book, but it would be nice for
an Amiga-specific book, with a disk of sample programs to interface and
control some of the most-used programs, like Cygnus Ed or DigiView, etc.
I'd like to see more samples of real-world applications in ARexx, written
with explanations for the novice. Since ARexx is a part of 2.0, and since
I believe it's adoption is vital to expand the Amiga market, it would be
nice to see a book explaning its use written in an easy, enjoyable style as
is the IDG book on 2.0.
Most of the books out for the Amiga are for the already technically
inclined, or people already familiar with programming concepts and the
ideas inherent in multitasking. To most people, the idea of passing
messages to programs from other programs is totally brand new. These
things should be explained so that real people can understand them, not
just programmers.
I'm not speaking for myself, since I am a programmer, and am technically
inclined. But I work with users, and frankly, the quality of books out on
the Amiga to date has been horrible. This IDG book is a step in the right
direction.
— Jane H. (Writing, it's easier read than done.)
Jane,
The March issue of Computer Language has a Rexx article which talks
about and has examples of ARexx scripts. The author is mentioned to have a
book coming out which covers ARexx. I don't have the magazine here or I'd
give you the name of the Author and the upcoming book.
— Mike Roth
Thanks, Mike.
— Jane H. (Writing, it's easier read than done.)
Yeah, an Amiga-specific book would be nice. Multiple-application ARexx
examples, using inter-program communication are rare. More common are the
small batch-type programs working with just one program. I just thought
that I'd mention the Cowlishaw book too. ttfn –jp–seattle–
I just picked up a copy of "Computer Language Magazine"… cause on the
cover it said, "Mmmmmm… That IS good Rexx".. I thumbed thru the article
quickly, and up, Arexx is mentioned (the article is by Eric Giguere).
Thought you'd like to know. 🙂 –Eet–
Thanks for mentioning that. It is nice to see the Amiga used as an example
for serious languages in non-amiga publications. –jp–seattle–
Jim, I saw that article too. In fact, at the end of the article, it
mentions an upcoming book on ARexx for Amiga Programmers. I don't remember
the exact title, and they didn't give a publisher, but apparently there is
one coming out.
— Jane H. (Writing, it's easier read than done.)
Cowlishaw's book is now in 2nd edition (1990) from Prentice Hall ISBN
0-13-780651-5. I got it (on order) from the local Waldenbooks for about
$34. It is a good reference to the language and gives interesting insight
to the language's (and designer's) programming philosophy. [Note from your
reply that you have picked up the book and already know this.]
But, it is not (IMHO) a "how-to-program-in-REXX" book by a long shot and
I'd (also) sure like to find the book John Pendergrass mentioned.
REC
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Arrgh … My message (as is probably apparent) was meant as a Comment to
Jane Hansen rather than a Reply to your reply to her. Sorry … sigh!
REC
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