Requests for desktop app?

Any requests for a small desktop app to make?

I’m going to write something anyway to exercise Haskell, so let me know if there’s something you want.

;) An application to display all of the applications on the system within a window; can show or open the path to the application. Perhaps, add searchable metadata to the list of applications.

A table generator or an application which sits on the icon bar and indicates whether the internet connection is working – please!

indicates whether the internet connection is working

Shouldn’t be too hard. Periodically try to fetch a known small file to see if it works, and if so record the status.

If it’s any help:

• http://heyrick.eu/software/minibbs/whoami.php
• https://heyrick.eu/software/minibbs/whoami.php

Returns your current public IP address. Note that it may return an IPv6 address if that’s how you have connected. Payload is however long the string is, plus usual headers. There’s no JSON or markup, it’s a straight string.

What metadata did you have in mind Andrew?

Hi Julie, thanks. I was thinking about being able to add editable metadata to an application name. Perhaps, as an example, !TechWrite → TechWriter, WordProcessor, DTP ;) Just ideas. Also, Categories spring to mind.

For table generator, do you mean like converting CSV to HTML?

CSV to HTML:

http://clive.semmens.org.uk/RISCOS/XP1ss2web.html

That’s good to know, Clive. I guess. Is tablemate the sort of thing Rob is seeking?
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/54987/TableMate%203/

Tablemate is precisely the type of application I was requesting please?

Tablemate is precisely the type of application I was requesting please?

Doesn’t Fireworkz Pro 2.30 pretty much replace Tablemate, now that it has the ability to save sheets out as OLE-friendly drawfiles?

The main purpose of my little app (from my pov) is to process CSV files saved from apps on other platforms – I don’t use any RISCOS spreadsheets these days 8~(

Ok, I’ve got a list of apps, and you can put tags seperated by spaces.

Before using it, make a blank text file RAM:$.AppsChoices

Applications such as !Chars, !Draw etc. will only appear after you’ve run them at least once.

Here’s the archive

Oh, and Julie – several of my little apps at http://clive.semmens.org.uk/RISCOS/RISCOS.html are a bit basic. If you feel inclined to make better versions of any of them, I for one would be Very Happy. The first five are fairly big and complex, but the rest could definitely do with improvement. Well, those first five could do with improvement, too, but that’d be a much bigger undertaking.

Tablemate is precisely the type of application I was requesting please?

Doesn’t Fireworkz Pro 2.30 pretty much replace Tablemate, now that it has the ability to save sheets out as OLE-friendly drawfiles?

To an extent, yes. There are a lot of new features that have been added to Fireworkz Pro since the Tutorial was last done in 1995. Whilst many old hands have found them and are able to work out their use, it really really does need a good overhaul, especially for those coming from the world of Eureka. I need my brain to be a bit less covid-addled.

@Julie. I like it! I am impressed with how it operates; so fast, and it is easy to use. ;) Not all of my Apps appeared. I have some ideas, but I understand that you may just be using this as a proof of concept for the Haskell environment. Thank you for bringing this to life. :)

Not all of my Apps appeared.

Things like !Chars only set Chars$Dir if you run them. Also Resources:$.Apps isn’t it the Filer ‘Look at’ list in Boot.

Also ‘Apps’ itself appears in the list twice because Obey$Dir looks like it’s an application directory!

or an application which sits on the icon bar and indicates whether the internet connection is working – please!

Shouldn’t be too hard. Periodically try to fetch a known small file to see if it works, and if so record the status.

I made this but I’m really not happy with it; it was good practice though. Maybe I’ll turn it into something else.

Perhaps, add searchable metadata to the list of applications.

I’m looking at searching, but it’s gone wrong, the garbage collector is saying ‘Segmentation Fault’. Worrying :-/

I’ve got to the bottom of things.

I was using a function

arrayFromList :: [a] -> (Array Int a)
arrayFromList xs = array (0, n - 1) (zip [0 .. n - 1] xs)

but if you go

arrayFromList []

then jhc’s Array code asks for an allocation of length zero, and gets in response a NULL pointer which it feeds straight into the garbage collector as memory to keep.

I’ve got search to work with this awkward work-around:

arrayFromList :: [a] -> Maybe (Array Int a)
arrayFromList xs = 
  if n > 0
  then Just $ array (0, n - 1) (zip [0 .. n - 1] xs)
  else Nothing
  where n = length xs

Julie that sounds like progress; good to hear. :)

I’ve put a search in.

Thank you for the update, Julie. I was away from RISC OS for a few days. I loved the update, mainly how fast it is; it also uses the metadata for searches. :)

;) A complete list of Apps would be great; perhaps a list of apps without duplicates unless duplicates exist. I ran TechWriter, as it didn’t appear in the list, and on rerunning the program, it appeared twice, perhaps, similar to your earlier experience.

I’ve put up the source code for Apps, including wrappers for the OSLib functions I’ve used.

You can download the whole lot as a zip, or browse the source.