🚀 go-pugleaf

We have an ~80 module M2 library which we are going to release to the
public domain within the next few weeks.  I have several questions
which will help me get the library ready for release.  Please respond
to me directly (I will acknowledge receipt).  If you would like to
know a bit about the library before answering these questions, I have
included a short description at the end of this note.

    1. Is anyone interested in the library?  Are you interested in being
       a beta test site?
    2. How would you like the library distributed?  Source only?
       Separate binary and source distributions?  All the modules
       in one directory?  We have an added complication that the
       library must be preprocessed before it is compiled.  This doubles
       the number of sources files.  (You need to keep both copies around
       if you want to debug the library.)  Do you want our test programs?
    3. We have quite an extensive manual.  The text formatter we use
       is Latex.  Will this be a problem?  (Note: the definition modules
       are well commented so the need for a manual is not as great as
       with other libraries.)

Thanx for any responses,
Rob Nagler
olsen!nagler@uunet.uu.net
Olsen & Associates
Seefeldstrasse 233
CH-8008 Zuerich
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The following is a list of the general module groupings.
    o Binary (direct) I/O       o Text I/O
    o List Managment            o String Conversions and Manipulations
    o High-level Memory Mgmt    o Debugging Facilities
    o Debugging Facilities      o Light-weight processes
    o Screen (Terminal) I/O     o M2 Preprocessor (statement control only)
    o Portable Types & Consts   o Directory Facilities
    o Random Numbers            o I/O Name Space Manips
    o Memory Ops                o Formatted I/O (a la Fortran & C)
    o Configuration Files       o Centralized Error Handling Facilities
    o Program Arguments & Environment
    o Compiler ``Extensions'' such as 32 bit cardinals for the PC

The library currently runs with Logitech/86 2.0 & 3.0 on IBM-PCs/DOS 2.X & 3.X
and Sun M2 2.0 on Sun-3s/OS 3.X.  It will probably port to Sun 4.0
fairly as well as Sun-2s and Sun-4s.  We expect that the library will
port to other systems (VAX, Mac, Atari, etc.) fairly easily.  If you
have a TOPS-20 machine the confusion between BYTE and WORD might make
things messy, but we have even tried to take these dinosaurs into account.
Applications which are written with the library as the sole operating
system interface will most certainly port to any system to which the
library can be ported.

If you are writing larger scale applications, you may find the library
quite useful.  If you want to write the ``cat'' or ``type'' program,
it's easy but may be a little bulky compared with the versions supplied
with the operating system.   We use it in our distributed information
system and for many tools such as a M2 Dependency Generator, a
M2 Preprocessor, and a Bitmap Editor.

The name of this library might be YAML and if you feel that way, so be it.
However, we are distributing it to help people in any way possible.
You may use a part or the whole thing.   The I/O modules are layered
and integrated (yes, even ScreenIO), but there are many other standalone
modules such as ProgArgs, ProgEnviron, NameLists, Objects, etc. which
are not provided by any proposals know to me.   If nothing else, the
library can serve as an alternative approach to programming in M2.