Number: 212

Date: 20-Mar-84 12':29':12

Submitter: Sannella.PA

Source: masinter.pa

Subject: PROMPTFORWORD ringbells is only active while PROMPTFORWORD has the tty

Assigned To: 

Attn: JonL

Status: Declined

In/By: 

Problem Type: Design - UI

Impact: Moderate

Difficulty: 

Frequency: Intermittent

Priority: Unlikely

System: Operating System

Subsystem: Processes

Machine: 

Disk: 

Lisp Version: 

Source Files: 

Microcode Version: 

Memory Size: 

File Server: 

Server Software Version: 

Disposition: PROMPTFORWORD will change the cursor whenever it is called  (like Trillium does) -- thus the ringing of bells is a moot point, of value only when one isn''t watching the screen at all.  JonL, 8/2/84

Description: '
Date': 20 Mar 84 11':11 PST'
From': masinter.pa'
Subject': can hang waiting for typein without RINGBELL'
To': LispSupport'
cc': masinter.pa'
'
I said TEDIT(filename) and then buttoned another window and started working. I didn''t notice that the TEDIT was asking for a USER.CM in the prompt window. When I finally clicked in the prompt window, it did a RINGBELLS, so maybe it was hung up waiting for a monitor lock and never rang the bell.'
'
No quick hack solutions to this one, please, there is something fundamentally the matter.'
'
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Date':  4 Apr 84 17':13 PST'
From': vanMelle.pa'
....'
212': This is two problems.  (1) The ringbells "feature" in PROMPTFORWORD only is active while PROMPTFORWORD has the tty.  Personally, I would say this is not the problem, since I think the ringbells hack in PROMPTFORWORD is of dubious worth, and often an annoyance.  (2) Tedit prompts in an obscure place (the prompt window), far from the scene of the action.'
'
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'
Date':  6 APR 84 01':03 PST'
From': MASINTER.PA'
Subject': please attn 212 to vanMelle for additional explication'
To':   lispsupport'
cc':   vanmelle'
'
Bill, do you have some ideas about what this is about?'
'
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'
Date':  6 Apr 84 11':28 PST'
From': vanMelle.pa'
Subject': Re': please attn 212 to vanMelle for additional explication'
In-reply-to': MASINTER.PA''s message of 6 APR 84 01':03 PST'
To': MASINTER.PA'
cc': lispsupport.PA, vanmelle.PA'
'
PROMPTFORWORD has a "feature" whereby if you don''t type anything at it, then every 60 seconds it calls RINGBELLS.  This is implemented by a timer in its input character routine.  This routine, being a good citizen, calls \TTYBACKGROUND while it is idle, which has the side effect of blocking (until next bugged) if you take the tty process away from PROMPTFORWORD.'
'
(1) I hate this feature.  My understanding of why this feature is in there is because of calls to PROMPTFORWORD in the Promptwindow, which often go unnoticed.  [Side note': submit ar "Flush RINGBELLS from PROMPTFORWORD (or make it optional)"].'
'
(2) But given this feature, its behavior in your case is probably correct.  If you are typing at window x and suddenly the machine starts ringing a bell at you because you haven''t typed in window y, what are you supposed to make of it?  Flashing the window where the prompting is going on would make much more sense.'
'
(3) For this particular problem, the correct solution I think is for Tedit to do its prompting in or near its own window.  John says he is adding a promptwindow to Tedit (like Lafite), so this may already be done.'


Workaround: 

Test Case: 

Edit-By: JonL.pa

Edit-Date:  2-Jul-84 18':05':55