!Apps autoupdate and more

Since we’re speaking proper English

For Essex, that may be “proppa” :)

they never really noticed that elsewhere there is actually a difference between the Alt and AltGr keys

Left-Alt and Right-Alt :) and with shift just reverses the key-code :(

writable vs. writeable

Both are correct.
The first is common American use, the second is common British use.

Except that Acorn use “writable” in the Wimp documentation, as far as know. I remember using “writeable” in my Wimp tutorial, and then having to do a search-and-replace to remove the “e” from the description of the icon button types after I’d re-read the PRMs.

My PRMs aren’t handy to check at the moment, so this is from memory (and could be wrong).

For Essex, that may be “proppa” :)

Holds for much of the Home Counties, I would imagine. It’s not far off how I say it, and the closest I ever got to Essex was West Sussex.

Edit: Essex is further north than I thought. I think I’m mixing it up with Kent.
So, closest I ever got to Essex was probably the big Acorn Show up in London.

Except that Acorn use “writable”

Yeah, I know.

Interestingly… “No writeable memory at this address”.

then having to do a search-and-replace to remove the “e”

I stuck with the e.

Looks like Cambridge and Oxford both list the non-e version as the main word, the e version as an alternative, and then give examples that use both. So, Anne-with-an-e or no e? Up to you.

To my mind, “writable” looks like it ought to be pronounced ritt-ah-bul rather than rahy-tah-bul (this would be so much easier in IPA!). Think “writ” versus “write”. It’s the e that makes all the difference.

Except that Acorn use “writable” in the Wimp documentation

There’s a table of alternative spellings in the Technical Publications Style Guide (issue 3, page 17) which specifically covers writable, provided Acorn/ROOL follow their own style it should be consistent even if it looks a bit odd.

There are three identical copies of the subdirectory CVS: !NSTheme.CVS, !NSTheme.Resources.CVS and !NSTheme.Resources.en.CVS each containing files called Entries, Repository and Root. It looks like somebody has been having second and third thoughts about where things should go.

CVS is a source control system, those are CVS’ control files. Normally when you do a release you’d do cvs export and build that so you don’t get the control files, but presumably when NSTheme was last updated it was just cvs checkout on a developer’s computer – you can delete them they’re nothing to do with the resulting application.

Certain styles of the Style Guide raise questions in my mind.

Argh! One of the dialogue examples “don’t use jargon” suggests replacing “Leading” with “Line spacing”.

Yeah, well, they’re not actually the same thing.

Leading (say “led-ing”) is the space between lines, so called because in the early days of print, thin strips of lead would be inserted to make the correct spacing.

Line spacing is the space from one line to the next, including the line (though a lot of software gets this wrong using it as a euphemism for leading).

What they probably mean is interline spacing but that’s getting unwieldy now, especially given as there’s a perfectly cromulent seven letter word that pretty much anybody with even basic knowledge of publishing would understand.

Looks like Cambridge and Oxford both list the non-e version as the main word, the e version as an alternative

My Oxford doesn’t list the e version at all!

To my mind, “writable” looks like it ought to be pronounced ritt-ah-bul rather than rahy-tah-bul (this would be so much easier in IPA!). Think “writ” versus “write”.

Think Trump (writ) versus Martin Bell (write)

My Oxford doesn’t list the e version at all!

Small publisher based in the settlement on the south island ?? :)

There’s a table of alternative spellings in the Technical Publications Style Guide (issue 3, page 17)

HHGTTG. Presumably, a master file copy is in the back of a drawer in a filing cabinet in the basement…

…down to which there are no stairs.

You should always read your choices from Choices$Path, with something like this:

 handle% = OPENIN (“Choices:MyAppFolder.Choices”)

This works nicely on my 4té2 with RO 5.29, but on VRPC with RO 4.02 it generates an ‘Access violation’ error, while on RPCemu with RO 5.27 handle% is 0. Both errors can be skipped though, so it doesn’t stop the program from running, but I wonder what is going wrong.

Sounds like an issue translating between the host filing system and the emulated one.

Is a file created on the host? If so, what is it called?

Sounds like an issue translating between the host filing system and the emulated one.
Is a file created on the host? If so, what is it called?

Yes, in both cases a file is created on the host, but these are normal names, no special characters whatsoever. (Choices:GoL.Shapes)

Yup. I’m just wondering if it’s creating one file (“Choices”) and then trying to access a different one (“Choices,ffd” for example)?

No, it’s just checking for the existence of a directory (Shapes), which has no file extension or file type.