externals

Randall Reetz randall at randallreetz.com
Tue Jan 20 16:22:10 EST 2009


The OS and the file system intersect through the b-tree struct that represents the parrent child relationships between files and folders (and other folders) and pointers from this data tree to disc address sectors holding the actual document data.  In modern OSs the desktop or finder is simply an application like any other application.   Disc storage, the domain of files is called persistant storage and has nothing much to do with computing which is mainly within the purview of transient memory (chip memory).  

Because it is always faster and more efficient to react to changes to data as they are ordered than it is to search for changes after they occure (it is prohibitively expensive to look for changes especially if the data is large and growing and requires the creation and storage of a reference duplicate each time a change is made).

Automation on a dynamic data set is not possible after the fact (as dependent relationships are already caussally bound by the time an outside system attempts to react.

I have created a user environment ("Reactor") for the creation and modification of system event triggered macros and the conditions that must be met before they are sent.

What is missing is a way to capture and sellectively subscribe to these events.

I dont know how MS handles file system edit events, but i do know that on the mac side OSX does publish these events to internal processes which include the finder and the spotlight desktop index and search app.

I am asking for outside help here.  An intermediate application that would launch at startup and listen to the flile system event loop... Waiting for user defined events and sending them out to my reactor app. (or any other stack or app so inclined).

I dont write binding code... Just xtalk... So i am dependent on that other dark art called "the nerd" for deep access to system processing.
Randall 

-----Original Message-----
From: "Brian Yennie" <briany at qldlearning.com>
To: "How to use Revolution" <use-revolution at lists.runrev.com>
Sent: 1/20/2009 10:21 AM
Subject: Re: externals

Yes Randall, but someone still had to invent the steam engine. I was  
just pointing out that if you are planning on actually doing this,  
you'll have to get your hands dirty in C (or something at that level).  
Have you done the research to know if these "system level events" even  
exist as you envision them?

Your enthusiasm is appreciated, don't get me wrong -- but, well, is  
this something you want to do, or were just hoping someone else would?

> Thank god people had horse drawn carriages before the train.  Else  
> people would have recomended away from steering wheels in  
> automobiles... "do we really want people to have that much control  
> over the direction of their vehicle?"  "...they could steer it into  
> danger!".  All of which is true.  But is it a logical and measured  
> arguement against the benefits of personally directed  
> transportation.  Spam sucks too... but does it argue against having  
> access to the profound benefits of email?  There is a trash can on  
> my desktop... nothing about it provents me or anyone else from  
> dragging all of my folders into it... But i dont have nightmares  
> about loosing my mind and doing so any more than i have nightmares  
> about steerong my car off a cliff for no reason.  Hell, people in a  
> democracy could vote for ron paul if they wanted to... should we  
> adopt a dictatorship to provent such an eventuality?  There are a  
> million ways to prevent the missuse of access to system level  
> events... the stupidest would be to avoid it completely.  Just my  
> opinion.  For what it is worth.  Randall
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Brian Yennie" <briany at qldlearning.com>
> To: "How to use Revolution" <use-revolution at lists.runrev.com>
> Sent: 1/19/2009 1:17 PM
> Subject: Re: externals
>
> Randall,
>
> Unfortunately it seems you are looking for a high-level API to take
> care of a very low level job. There simply isn't an API for
> everything. You are probably going to have to get your hands dirty in
> C if this is your goal. If you know the OS APIs you want to tap into,
> you could work on building externals in C. If you don't, time to do
> some research =). You will definitely need to build separate externals
> for each operating system as well.
>
> Maybe not what you were hoping for, but I hope that helps.
>
>> QuickKeys is cool... but it doesn't offer finder events as triggers
>> for the execution of macros.  There is no way, for instance, to tell
>> it:
>>
>> When a user saves any file, from any application, and the name
>> contains "Entropy", then save an alias at "Hard Drive: My Entropy
>> Docs:"



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