[MacPerl] MANUALS

[ndahl@tiac.net (nils dahl)]

Folks,
        A MacPERL Manual.  Here are a few ideas for the experienced users
and a declaration of my intentions.
        MacPERL versions contain comprehensive help files.  MacPERL could
be scripted to convert those help files into any number of different
document formats or into free-form text database formats that MacPERL
scripts could handle as hypertext or in any number of other formats.  Users
might make small contributions that could be integrated into a master
database.  The elegance of a solution that uses this fantastic language to
produce and maintain its own documentation and manuals sounds like an
appropriate goal.  As a beginner, applying the various array types and
building the scripts that would compose such an engine are well beyond my
abilities.  I am slowly pouring over the LLama book and attempting to
digest its power-packed and often extremely compact code.
        I will try to produce a beginner's introduction to MacPERL, using
DOCMaker and perhaps html formats.  It was suggested that a universal
manual covering differences between PERL versions be developed, so I did
some preliminary poking into the UNIX world.  With many variations in
platform behavior, no practical way of trying out more than one inexpensive
UNIX variant (LINUX for 'that other platform') - and that only after a
hardware investment that my budget will not handle at this time - I decided
to leave this to PERL users who might have time to feed small pieces to
some experienced and dedicated PERL professional in the UNIX world.
        MacPERL already offers far more power and potential than Filtertop
or any other tool(s) I have uncovered in the Mac world.  Unfortunately,
most Mac users rarely venture beyond the eminently useful GUI that makes
launching of finished tools so easy.  I have hopes of producing a friendly
manual that offers a depth of understanding sufficient to help potential
PERL users get started AND develop a decent comprehension of what happens
when one clicks on an icon.  This manual will likely not be useful to
anyone who already has some programming experience.
        The manual will use examples that develop scripts for extracting
from and modifying the format of the InfoMac Digest to produce databases of
useful Mac troubleshooting information.
        I hope to also develop scripts that will scan MIDI files for
troublesome information and reformat MIDI files in various ways.
        Anyone curious about MIDI should try using AMP 2.5 (Arnold's MIDI
Player from Arnaud Masson - current version on InfoMac) with Quicktime 2.0
or later plus Quicktime Musical Instruments extension plus a few MIDI note
information files to see how enjoyable music generated by a modern Mac can
be.  QTMI contains a subset of the Roland Sound Canvas wavetable
synthesizer engine.  MIDI files available from me and from thousands of web
sites world-wide.
        If any MacPERL users can spare time to produce detailed outlines of
topics for portions of a master manual, I will be glad to attempt to do
something broader in scope as I work through 4.1.8 and 5.x.  My efforts
will have to be read and corrected by knowledgeable users before they are
released anyway.  Can't see overloading the mac-perl mailing list with such
activities, so feel free to email me directly.

Nils Dahl, Hartford, Connecticut, USA