Re: DoodlesKids - a painting program for young kids

[Toinet <antoine.vignau@laposte.net>]

On 26 mai, 19:56, Michael Kent <mich...@syndicomm.remove.this.com>
wrote:
> Toinet <antoine.vig...@laposte.net> wrote:
> > On 26 mai, 06:20, limtc <thyech...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> My wish list - 640x480 mode for Apple IIGS (or better), with a VGA
> >> connector. Get a software expert to modify QuickDraw and/or Complete
> >> Pascal library (I am not sure what's involved), and I will not only
> >> get 2 cards from you, but will also write software to support it.
> > Buy an Apple video overlay card and get a 640*400 video mode but you
> > will have a update QuickDraw and some other tools ;-)
>
> There was an effort ten or fifteen years ago to do just that.  It was
> called Facelift.  A group of programmers were trying to genericize the
> toolbox to work with video drivers and allow for multiple native screen
> resolutions.  They planned to support the 640x400 VOC mode and two modes
> from the Second Sight card, IIRC.  I think 640x480 was one of them.

Are there any remains somewhere?

>
> They made some progress, but without the source code to the toolbox, it
> was difficult.  Many said it couldn't be done.
>

The Toolbox is so well-made that the "standard" or generic calls (draw
a point, a line...) are all located in a standard and reserved memory
space of the IIgs.

Note that QuickDraw is the basic tool to be changed but all other
related tools would require changes: QuickDraw Auxiliary (e.g.
SeedFill), Window Manager (icons in windows are 2 and 4-bit per pixel
characters), Font Manager and some others (Menu Manager, Print
Manager, Control Manager, LineEdit, Dialog Manager)

That is a huge work. Having the source code could help ;-) I am
currently creating another disassembly of the toolbox as well as
thousands of other things, maybe one day I will release it if Apple
allows it.

On the contrary, the QuickDraw tool is so smart that it handles more
than one 640*200 graphic buffer. If I remember well, in the ToolBox
reference volume 2 book, the QuickDraw explanations state that a
graphic buffer is from -8000 to +8000 wide and tall. Still limited to
2 and 4-bit per pixel alas!

> Then again, many said no one could ever reverse-engineer an FST.  :-)

Correct ;-) Still the $36 and $42 explanations I'd like to get
(private joke)

>
> Mike

antoine