iRev Functionality

[J. Landman Gay]

Michael Kann wrote:
> --------------------------
> Thomas McGrath III asked:
> --------------------------
> Where is there a list of iRev commands available?
> 
> I just tried revSpeak in iRev and got a handler not found error and 
 > would like to know what else is not available.

The most complete reference right now is the dictionary. Make sure you 
have Rev's preferences set to show the "class" and "platforms" columns 
so you don't have to look up each term. If a term is supported for iRev 
it will say "server". The Rev speech commands are listed there as 
compatible, but I see the opposite in some very early notes released 
last summer. Those old notes say that the only externals available for 
iRev work are revzip, revdb, and revxml.

> Jacqueline, is the updated change log available anywhere?
 > I'm most interested in the differences between
> 
> 1. the most up-to-date reference for irev scripts (the change log I assume)
> 
> 2. the dictionary that comes with 4.0
> 
> 3. cgi scripts used with the 3.5 engine
> 

When using iRev scripts, the up-to-date reference and the dictionary are 
pretty much the same thing, except that the dictionary omits 
iRev-specific terms that don't apply to desktop apps. I have some early 
release notes but I can't recall where I got them; I think they arrived 
when I got my iRev account and downloaded the on-rev app. Those notes 
list some new variables applicable only to iRev scripting, which include 
$_SERVER, $_POST, $_POST_RAW, $_GET, "put new header", "put content", 
includes, and an errormode property that determines where script errors 
are sent. Other than that, most native terms are available as per the 
dictionary listing.

For CGIs, there are a few more limitations. The CGI script itself can't 
load externals (because those can only be loaded into a stack) or refer 
to anything that requires a GUI. I.e., a CGI script can't refer to "this 
card" because there aren't any cards, it's just a text script. Mouse 
events, functions that work with objects, etc. aren't applicable in a 
text-only environment. Many of those limitations can be overcome by 
loading a real stack as a library when the CGI starts up. In that case, 
you do have a stack running, and stack references, object functions, 
etc. will work. Even so, some things will still fail if they aren't 
relevant to a server environment. For example, there is no keyboard or 
mouse available to the CGI so functions like "the mouseloc" or "keydown" 
will fail.

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com