Re: CDA vs. NDA vs. CDEV

[yucath@leland.Stanford.EDU (Cathay Kwok Tai Yu)]

CDA (Classic Desk Accessories):

	1)  Location:  Desk.Accs folder inside of System folder
	2)  Appearance:  In the text screen after pressing OA-CNTRL-ESC
	3)  Samples:  Playing Soundsmith songs, text editors, slotted-
		card adjustments, etc.
	4)  Pros:  Available whenever OA-CTRL-ESC is accepted (though
		some CDAs require GS/OS to be running to work)
	5)  Cons:  Usually limited to text screen (usually by default,
		not by limitation); interrupts what is running (which
		can be a pro, too, I suppose); people generally consider
		CDAs (as its title suggests) pedestrian, but I personally
		think its okay...

NDA (New Desk Accessories):

	1)  Location:  Desk.Accs folder inside of System folder
	2)  Appearance:  In the apple menu (programs which don't
		have a menu bar, i.e. games, and certain utilities
		either require a separate way of accessing NDAs
		(such as ProSel) or you will just have to wait...
	3)  Samples:  Basically ranges from tool-like stuff like calculators,
		clocks, to full-fledged programs like word processing
		and graphic/sound utilities
	4)  Pros:  You can access it within most (well-written) programs.
		Doesn't seriously interrupt your work, snazzy GUI.
	5)  Cons:  Limited by availability of apple menu.

CDEV (I forgot what it stands for):

	1)  Location:  CDEV folder of Sysem folder
	2)  Apperance:  Under the Apple menu, select Control Panel.
		(Alternatively, you can also just double-click on CDEVs
		located in your CDEV folder).
	3)  Samples:  Pointless, HardPressed, Express.  As the title suggests
		usually applies for broad/OS related inter-functions.
	4)  Pros:  Very organized, very newish (full functionality only
		came with System 6, introduced in System 5)
	5)  Cons:  I can't think of any right about now.

General comments:  Programming CDAs and NDAs aren't all that different,
	(NDAs may have to deal with sharing resource time, while CDAs
	can hog the computer all they want).  CDEV can range from the
	simple (like adjusting the TWGS speed) to the complex (HardPressed,
	as I am sure Andy can tell you).  NDAs, CDAs, and CDEVs are a
	braod array of GS/OS add-ons and can be fun (to use or program).
	BTW, the fourth form of add-ons, which can be just as useful as
	NDAs, CDAs, and CDEVs are inits.  Those goes into the System.Setup
	folder (some System 6 inits can go into the Finder.Extras folder).
	One limitation of add-ons are that they take up space and memory.
	Another is that they can also be a tremendous source of headache 
	when they interact with one another.  Its tempting to want to install a
	whole batch of them at once, but resist.

Caveat:  I am typing this up with four finals looming.  All errors are
	my responsibility.  Please correct.

Hope this helps,

-- 
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Cathay K. Yu        (yucath@leland.stanford.edu)        :)  ;)  :P  *|  %(  B  
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