Ringhio Notifications ProgressBar Example Source code

Calling all C developers!

For those of you that want to use the new Ringhio Progress Bar in a bubble feature, there is now a basic C source code example available.

It can be reviewed on the Wiki here:

http://wiki.amiga.org/index.php?title ... tions_ProgressBar_Example

@amigakit

I have noticed a lot of nice classes in the Enhancer package. Whats not clear is redistribution if I use them in a project. I am assuming any user of my software requires purchase of Enhancer. Is this correct or am I missing something in documentation?

Thanks
Doug

@DStastny

Hi Doug,

If you have a project you are working on using classes from the Enhancer Software, then please get in touch. We would very much like to support your project.

@Amigakit

Thanks for quick reply. Should I email via AmigaDeveloper.com?

Doug

Ill send you a pmail now :)

@amigakit

Just what I was looking for - thanks!

Chris, that's good news.

I look forward to seeing it on the next time I download a file in Netsurf :)

@amigakit



It seems a bit quirky. If you close a progress notification it re-opens on WB but with nothing but the progress bar. This also seems to screw up WB's palette. Is there any way of the application telling that a notification has been closed, so it can stop pushing updates? Or should Ringhio automagically work this out?

On occasion additional "stuck" progress notifications appear on WB. I've tried to stop these by not pushing the same percentage progress more than once, which has helped but not stopped it completely.

I think all this stems from Ringhio not really knowing whether you're updating an existing notification or displaying a new one. I guess it has some logic to work this out, which perhaps isn't foolproof?

I must admit, I cannot understand why any third party developer would want to force their users to have to download an extra product just to use some basic functionality like this.

It just leads to more work, as it would be all nice and friendly to support the extra features, but it is two lots of code to determine whether x.library is installed or not.

Personally, I see this whole "enhancer" business as confusion as far as users are concerned. And lets not even go into the politics of the products which have since been taken over over that were previously system components. I mean, just how confusing is it all?

I applaud the work you, and your team are doing, to create additions to the OS, but that's all they are, and as application programmers go, I am one of those that will support whatever comes with the OS. Expecting my users to download (and pay for) an additional download in order to use my software just doesn't cut it.

I understand that your "enhancer" software would use your own classes/gadgets/etc, but to try and push that out to all developers just doesn't make sense.

If you want people to use your additions, make them free. If that doesn't fit your business model, then keep them in-house. Polluting every forum you can find with "adverts" of your stuff really isn't, IFAICS, going to gain ground.

As an example, lets assume that AmiUpdate makes use of this progress bar in the Ringhio notifications, I cannot guarantee that it is available, so I need two branches of code to accommodate the possibilities. It really isn't worth the effort, especially when you consider AmiUpdate is Free-licence software, but may possibly not work unless you gadget class is available.

All in my opinion, of course. (which does not represent anyone other individual or company).

Simon

PS: This is all hypothetical, and doesn't really require an answer, as there is no real question asked.

@Rigo
I (And not only i) ask Mattew few times why they just don't make their classes open for download: so anyone can use then in their apps without needs to buy enhancer, and have no answer.

But what is for sure, is that if those classes only will be distributed with enhancer, then there is no point and no sense to use them in any app, as users will be angree when they run app, and it ask for some simple class, which, he should BUY !

Quote:

I say the same before: replacing system components are wrong. 3d party apps and drivers and co are ok, but start that strange politic-kind-fight with replacing some of basic components imho wrong.


@Mattew
You don't need to put source of classes for public, just classes itself and SDK. You yourself limit usage of your classes by your team only :) Why anyone should use some trivial class which he can't download ?

Take aside that not everyone want to download _anything_ at all after he run app. But ok, if app is worht of it, one can go on os4depot/aminet/google. But once he will realse that there is needs to buy some CD, user will give up.

You going your way of course, but that a bit wrong imho. As well as not releasing a normal changelog :)


@DStastny
You also should understand that if you will use classes from enhancer, that will mean you will limit your user base as not everyone buy enhancer. That all can have reasons only when classes with their sdks will be on os4depot.

Quote:

I am sorry but this is wrong and is misinterpretation of what I have said previously. If a developer wishes to use some of the new classes bundled in their own project, they just need to contact us as I replied to Doug in this thread. For example, The latest PPaint is bundled with the new InfoWindow Class and a few other items from the Enhancer Software. We actively encourage use new classes and functionality for the benefit of progressing software on this platform.

@Rigo
Simon, these classes and gadgets are being concurrently written for OS3 so when complete there will be an identical set of classes (and actively maintained) available to both OS3 and OS4 developers. At the moment there is a lot of differences in functionality between the two platforms for older ReAction classes as we have found when trying to backport apps. The OS3 classes have not been updated for 17 years at least and the original source is "unavailable" to us when we enquired with the parties involved. Therefore we have had resort to plan B and start from scratch and create new source code from the ground up.

We are now working to bridge that gap between OS3 and OS4 encouraging more cross platform development in future. Please keep in mind that the strategy you see now is not necessarily what will emerge in future (watch this space!)

The main project goals that were set out before developing new classes were:

- Encourage more development and ensure we pay developers for their work in developing the new Classes.
- actively keep development and updates rolling to avoid the stagnation that has happened in preceding years. We are determined to build momentum behind these new projects.
- cross port work to OS3 to help bridge the gap between OS4 developers and OS3 developers hopefully leading to more common projects.
- produce software free of legal problems and disputes that is safe guarded for the longer term future. This is historically a big problem in Amiga land.
- increase the developer base and morale.

The Enhancer Software project is not even a year old yet so it is very early days so please afford it time to establish itself. It is being bundled with most of the new machines being produced so the user base is getting larger and many more with older machines have downloaded and installed it from AMIStore which is great news.

@Mattew
Quote:

Ah, sorry then. That is much better of course if you allow devs to distribute classes together with their apps. Not as good as os4depot downloads/sdks for everyone , but good enough as well :)

@amigakit
If you need a betatester for Os3 version of Enhancer, please contact me. I have an Amiga600+Vampire2 with Workbench3.1 installed

@Chris

Quote:
Don't know about closing a notification pop-up, but the Application Library provides a way to tell that the user has double-clicked on the Ringhio message box. If you add a APPNOTIFY_BackMsg tag to your Notify() call, your application will receive an APPLIBMT_CustomMsg, which you can process in your event loop (and act accordingly). If you also pass "APPNOTIFY_CloseOnDC, TRUE", the notification message will disappear right after the double click. See the Application Library documentation in the Dev Wiki, Chapter 7.

This used to work when Ringhio was part of the OS; whether it still works I have no idea. Now that Ringhio is a third-party product, I don't think it's very likely that the Application Library and the Ringhio server will cooperate more closely.

@trixie

I'm aware of that, but it only works on double-click.

Notify() appears to just pass the tags straight through to Ringhio so I'm sure some sort of message on close could be added.

@Chris

Quote:
It could, but the question is whether the Application Library can afford adding functionality that requires (and depends on) a third-party product that is not distributed with the OS.

Chris, please review this document on the Wiki which bypass any need for changes to the Application Library:

http://wiki.amiga.org/index.php?title ... fications_Arexx_Interface

Max has told me that he will address some of the problems you noticed within a few days, so thank you for your feedback. I hope this helps!

He is considering adding CLOSERXMSG to be sent back when a user close the Notification bubble.


@TommySammy

Of course, no problem there

@amigakit

I see there is a PAUSE and STOP BACKMSG available in the ARexx interface, shame there's no equivalent in C.

As @trixie said, this might require changes in application.library, which is unlikely to be possible. However depending on the internals sending a different message might be easy, or at the very least workaroundable (by sending a msgport via a Notify tag), without any changes to application.library.

Chris,

There are the equivalent tags to be used for the C interface as well:



The full list of new tags added are:

@amigakit

Thanks, that gives me a couple more issues to add to the previous list.

1. I was expecting the presence of APPNOTIFY_StopBackMsg to add a stop button to the notification, but it doesn't. (I haven't tried this via ARexx or PauseBackMsg, so the same may also be true there)

2. I can't see how to have more than one progress notification running simultaneously. Is it possible? Currently I get one notification with the progress bar throwing a bit of a fit. This ties in with my previous problem of extraneous notifications appearing. I wonder if giving Ringhio some kind of ID to reference specific notifications might be required?