Conference noted::hackers_v1

	> My request is for a pop up program mechanism, not unlike an 
	> alarm clock, that will interrupt a user.

	I am working on a utility called REMINDER that will perform this
	function.  There  is already a very nice package called CALENDAR
	that  does  the  same  thing with nifty windows on a VAXstation.
	However,  my  program will run on vanilla terminals as well, and
	has (will have?) a number of features not found in CALENDAR.

	REMINDER doesn't need to be submitted to a batch queue.  It runs
	quietly in the background and wakes up only when needed (i.e. to
	remind  you of something to do).  Also, it doesn't take over the
	terminal, and you may choose to ignore the reminder if you wish.

	REMINDER should be ready for field testing by the end of January.
	Let me know if you'd like to test it.

	/ravi

    Too bad you aren't on a DEC-20. The SET ALERT command is just what
    you would need.
    
    Mike

    There's a REMINDER program on DECUS tapes.  I know of a customer
    site using it with surprising success; I think it uses a detached
    process, mailboxes, and $BRKTHRU (sp?) to communicate to users.
    ("Surprising" to me.  I have a low opinion of most of the software
    available on the DECUS tapes, although some of it is an excellent
    starting point.) 


    -- Linda Huxtable
       Kansas City Software Services

    Just remember that `80% of "everything" is crap'!  I agree, most of
    what is in the VMS DECUS SIG tapes is junk.  However if you look long
    enough, you will find a few goodies.  For the record, the few I have
    found are:

    	GREP - Implementation of U*nx GREP (SEARCH utility with patterns)
    	LOCK - DCL interface to the Lock Manager
    	SWING - display a tree on your VT1xx (or look-alike) of your
		directory and allow you to set your default to one of the
		sub-directories within.  Also print the entire tree.
	VMSTPC - Copy an entire mag-tape to a container file on disk and
		subsequently write it to another tape.  A good way to make
		an EXACT duplicate of a tape with only one tape drive. 
    There are (a) few others.

    -- Shel Smith

    RE .0
    
    Do you need to "take over" the terminal?
    
    I find REPLY/USER= in my alarm procedure works just fine - I get 
    beeped when my alarm goes off. (I never actually did it, but it seems to
    me that there is a system service that will do the same from an image.)
    One gets beeped everywhere he is logged on.
    
    There are also plenty of descriptions in this conference for using
    the PHONE utility do do the same thing - print a message to the
    screen asynchronous to the user's terminal. If your very ambitious,
    you can have your program actually make a call to you, which,
    when you answer it, it will tell you your message. Everyone will think
    you have a secretary that they didn't know about.  
    
    Help?
    
    Kevin 

	I  did  mine  with  mailboxes.   The master process sits in the
	background (detached) waiting for a command to be  put  in  its
	mailbox.   When  a  user wants to set/show/cancel an alarm, the
	same program is run, but since it was  run  interactively,  the
	front-end  code  is  called;  when it is run detached the alarm
	code is called.  When the detached process wakes up to  deliver
	an  alarm,  it  uses $BRKTHRU to send out the alarm to whatever
	processes the user may have logged on at the time, if any.

re .7
	Could you post or mail it to me?

						Thanks,
						- Ian -

I'm also intrested.

Frido!

	Take    a   look   at   SANITY::LUN$:[FARMER]ALARMCLK.BLI   and
	ALARMCLD.CLD.  The usual caveats:   it's  BLISS  and  it's  not
	meant for public consumption...

See also my ALARM2 tools (in the Toolshed).
							-- Jerry