Conference misery::feline_v1

    Judy, I have jhneko (the program name) on my system.  I just love him. 
    I call him Kalliste after the cat that I recently lost and have set it
    up so that he starts automatically when I log in.  That way, I always
    have Kalliste here with me. 8^} <---- that is supposed to be a sad
    smile.
    
    BTW, Neko is Japanese for cat.
    
    Jo

    I've got that running on ULTRIX - it's called xneko!
    
    Lisa.
    

    
    	Jack Cunniff put it in here, do dir/title="xneko" and you
    	should find it...
    

    
    	so *that's* what Jack put in here.  I wasn't really
    	paying much attention to it at the time and forgot 
    	about it.
    
    	It's so cute!
    

    Re: dir/title="xneko"
    
    Gets no such note....
    

    My systems manager installed it for me about 6 months ago.
    That little kitty sure must get tired after some of the days
    I have working in windows. I also have a kaleidoscope that 
    changes continunously and since I have color my eyes always
    have something beautiful to look at. (Since I no longer have
    a window office with my bird feeder outside)
    
    Barbara

	If anyone else would like to have the files necessary to run
	XNEKO, you can copy them from smurf::usera:[games.xneko]*.*
	There are 39 files, but they take up less than 200 blocks.

	Sandy

    Re: .7
    
    Will those work on ultrix?  How do I "install" this?
    

    
    
    	Sandy,
    
    	I was unable to copy JHNEKO.EXE due to a protection....
    
    	JJ
    

	I've fixed the protection problem on JHNEKO.EXE, and sent mail
	to Judy as to how it all works.  I have three different versions 
	of the executable file in the directory (it's better to copy all
	the files to a subdirectory so you can get rid of them later if
	you need to), but I don't recall the difference between the
	above one and XNEKO.EXE itself.  The one labeled OLD_XNEKO won't
	work in your pause window.  JHNEKO may have been an interim
	version.

	Re it working on Ultrix - take a look at note # 484 in 
	ELKTRA::DW_EXAMPLES.  Someone was working on porting it to
	Ultrix.

	Sandy

    
    Here are the details as to how to get XNEKO working on VMS.  I just
    re-read the replies, and saw that Lisa has it working on Ultrix, and I
    believe there's a pointer in the DW_EXAMPLES notesfile as to where to
    find the Ultrix images.
    
	First you need to define a symbol to call up the image:

	$ xneko :== $disk:[directory]xneko.exe

	You can get help (sorta) in an Ultrix manner:

	$ xneko -h

	Then set the display to your workstation and run it.  This will	
	display in a small window, but will tie up your main window, so
	I usually spawn it out as a subprocess:

	$ spawn/nowait/input=NL: xneko
		(for a regular window display)
	$ spawn/nowait/input=NL: xneko -root
		(to display as your background)
	$ spawn/nowait/input=nl: xneko -pause
		(this has to be issued from another terminal when your
		  w/s is already paused, and will display on the pause
		  window)

    

    
    	Can I install and run this on a MAC??? 
    
    	Sherry
    

    I wasn;'t able to access the Ultrix sources pointed to in the
    DW_examples conference.  Does anyone have them?
    

    Here's how to get this going (sort of) on Ultrix 4.0:
    
    1. copy the file using dcp to some directory in your PATH:
    
    dcp yrdarm::"/usr/bin/X11/xneko" xneko
    
    2. chmod +x xneko
    
    3. rehash
    
    4. xneko&
    
    Now a question.  When I do this, it produces this cute cat running
    around in a new window.  Is there a way to make it live in
    the other windows on my screen, and are there other variations on
    this like its running in one specific window of my choice?  I
    tried xneko -h for clues, but didn't get any place.  Thanks.
    

    p.s.  don't try the copy with rcp, it doesn't work for some reason.
    

    Karen-
    
    One of the guys in my group copied it on to our workstation and had it 
    running around in a teeny, tiny window....all the time.  I can ask him
    how he did it.
    
    Michele

    Mine has a window that I can make as large or as small as I want.
    It runs continually. Sometimes I forget about it and use my mouse
    for other things and the person standing in my office laughs at 
    this little fat cat running around the window.
    
    I usually make a long narrow window under my icon box and this
    way it doesn't interfer with my other windows.
    
    It's a real conversation piece.
    
    Barbara

    It sounds like that's its normal Ultrix state, confined to one window.
    I had the idea that it lived in multiple windows, wherever the
    cursor was.
    

    I have xneko on ULTRIX and I can either run it in its own window or run
    it in the root window. If its in the root window it can either run in
    front of or behind other windows.
    
    I hacked the code a bit and I also have a DECstation 3100 ....
    
    
    Lisa.
    (ULTRIX hacker and cat lover ;-)
    

    I'm not sure what a root window is....  Maybe something that
    exists only in decwindows land?  I'm running the Motif window manager.
    How do I try running xneko in the root window?  Thanks.
    

    The "Root Window" is essentially the background that all your other
    windows sit on.  Have you ever seen someone's workstation where
    instead of a colored or patterned background they have a picture
    or even a moving background?  This is from programs that interact
    with the root window.
    
    The root window is an artifact of X-windows.  Since both DECwindows
    and Motif run on top of X, both have root windows underneath it all.
    
    --jim (being unintentionally dragged kicking and screaming into 
           becoming an X-windows hacker 8-) 8-) 8-)  )

Thanks for the pointer to finding this treasure.  Someone showed it to me a
while ago, but I never did anything with it.

I have it running in my root (background), which I usually can't see (due to
maximization of window usage).

I also have it running in "pause", and have enjoyed watching the cat eat up
the words, erasing them, (vacuum kitty? :-))  and disappear behind the password
field.

The other neat thing I've done is start up a couple of regular (small,
individual) windows running it and put them next to each other such that I can
see all 3 (or more?) kitties trying to get to the one mouse in the middle.
That's more like real life for most of us in this file! :-)

Jill, who's getting used to the mouse pointer, but still likes her auklet
pointer better :-)

    Thanks Jill .... I love the idea of running several of the small
    Kitty windows and watching them all chase the mouse.
    
    Some people are so clever..!!!!!!
    
    Barbara              

    Sort of gives "kitty TV" a whole new meaning  :^)

    
    	So, no one knows if I can run this on a MACIntosh???  :(
    
    	

    re: sherry
    
    As I understand it, you need windows or ultrix capability, if your
    MAC has this capability you all set, otherwise your sol.

    
    	Thank you Michele. The MAc has multiple windows, and a
    	`moire device' which takes over an idle screen, I was 
    	thinking I could replace moire w/kitty...I guess I'll
    	have to find a MAC guru and go from there..
    

    Is there a way to change the background color of xneko?  I
    set xneko*background: mediumgoldenrod in my .Xdefaults file,
    but it seems to be ignored.  (None of my other windows have a white
    background, so xneko looks a little inconsistent.)
    

    
    re: MAC GURU - Sherry, call Jack.  I don't know as he's a MAC
    Guru at this point, but he's got this nice color Mac at home here
    and he used to use xenko at DEC.  If you need our home phon number
    send me mail.  Just call before 8:30.
      Nancy

Re:  .22

Could you please tell me how you get it to run in your background on your
workstation.  Also, how to you have in running in "pause"?

    Re: .30
    
    This is the command format in Ultrix.  perhaps it is the same in VMS:
    
    Usage: xneko [-display <display>] [-geometry <geometry>] \
          : [-title <title>] [-name <title>] [-iconic] [-pause] \
          : [-speed <speed>] [-time <time>] [-root] [-demo] [-help]
    
    I got it running in root by saying:
    
          xneko -root&
    
    Unfortunately, that means most of the time it is hidden behind
    windows, since it goes behind, not in front.  I have no idea
    what -pause does, probably something to do with the session
    manager which I don't run.  xneko& sets it up in its own
    window, which I keep at the top of my display as a long short
    rectangle where I can see it all the time.
    

    I followed the instructions in .14 and get an error message when
    I try to run xneko: 
    
    xneko: Non-ASCII shell script (may be cross-compiler object).
    
    Does anyone know what the problem is? I'm running ULTRIX/UWS 4.1,
    not 4.0.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Kate
    

    I just ran across this message with a different program, and someone
    (whose judgement I don't quite trust, actually) said it was from trying
    to run an Ultrix VAX program on an Ultrix RISC machine.  presumably
    it fails in the other direction also.  What type of machine are you
    running on?
    

    > I just ran across this message with a different program, and someone
    > (whose judgement I don't quite trust, actually) said it was from trying
    > to run an Ultrix VAX program on an Ultrix RISC machine.  presumably
    > it fails in the other direction also.
    
    As an ULTRIX internals hacker, I can assure you that you can trust
    this person's judgement in this case... and yes, it fails the same
    way in both directions.
    
    More accurately, you get this message anytime you try to execute a
    file that's not a bona fide executable or a parseable shell script.
    You see, unlike VMS, ULTRIX uses exactly the same mechanism to
    execute a program (.EXE in VMS-speak) or a shell script (.COM file).
    If "exec" (the equivalent of the VMS image activator) looks at the
    file and sees that it's not in valid executable file format, it passes
    the file on to the shell to be interpreted.  If the shell then can't
    deal with it, it barfs in just the manner you described.
    
    Since VAX/ULTRIX and RISC/ULTRIX files are quite different in format,
    trying to run the one on the other will cause the shell mechanism to
    be invoked... with the results you saw.  You'd get a similar result
    if you tried to, say, run your latest batch-extract of FELINE as an
    executable 8-).
    
    Sorry for the techie rathole... [anyone got a kitty they can send
    down after the rat? 8-) ]
    
    --jim
    

    I'm running on a VAXstation 3100. Does anyone know how I can run it
    here, or whether there's a VAX version somewhere?
    
    Thanks,
    
    kate
    

    
    Yes! Please let us vax-vms people in on DECwidnow kitty! how/where
    do I get it???? 

re .30 (SHALOT::BROWN) and others

Reply .7 of this note gives one location of the VAX/VMS version of XNEKO.
Copy these files to your directory.

Reply .11 of this note tells how to run XNEKO in various ways:  in a window
by itself, in the background window (root), and as the pause window.

(by the way, you don't have to issue the "pause" command from another terminal
while you're paused, you can just spawn as the directions show)

If anyone is still having trouble, feel free to send me mail and I'll try to
help out (not that I'm an expert...yet!)  (this is VMS only...not Ultrix)

Jill

    re:  a few back to the mac lover...
    
    there is already a version for the macintosh, called simply "neko". 
    the mousie pointer can be changed to a fishie or a birdie (if your
    kitty gets tired of mousies!)  how can i get a copy to you?
    
    diane, stanley & stella
    

    
    	Diane - I sent you mail about the MACkitty
    	
    	Sherry (MPO::) Robinson
    

    PLEASE send me some info re :MACKitty if available
    Thanks

You can change the mouse into something else under VMS, at least sometimes. :-)
When I have the kitty running in the background I can run my custom cursor
program and change my cursor back into an auklet (which is sort of like a duck)
or even an arrow (which looks pretty silly, when you think about it).  I was
having too much trouble using the mouse pointer as a pointer, with the hot spot
in the middle, so I started playing with it.

Jill, learning more about decwindows now that I have a real reason to :-)

    
    
    	Anyone know how to get the kitty to run in front of the 	
    	windows for VMS?  I tried the -front -root command as in Ultrix
    	but it doesn't recognize -front.
    
    	JJ
    

    I have also tried the -root command, and I can't get it to work either.

    re .35
    
    I'm running VAX/ULTRIX (not VAX/VMS). It appears the program
    I copied might be for RISC/ULTRIX? 
    
    Kate
    

    
    I added "Kitty" to my session mgr and now it will automaticly start up!
    and I do not have to have my decterm window tied up!!
    
    But!  I cannot get the kitty to run in my screen..I followed the
    directions in note # .11 but I guess the file has been changed?
    
    A group member of mine has ULTRIX and he has the "kitty" running in
    the back of the sreen...but we can't get it to do it on VMS..
    
    Lou

    Re: .45
    
    Great idea!  I just added "kitty" to my session mgr also.
    
    Does anyone know how to customize it so that it will automatically come
    up in the exact size and location that you want?  

re .45 (Lou)

The directions in reply .11 are still correct.  If by getting the kitty to run
in your screen, you mean the "root", or the "background" window, you need to
give it the "-root" parameter.  I got it working, let me know if you need any
help.  As far as I know, you can't get the kitty to run in FRONT of the other
windows.

re .46 (SHALOT::BROWN)

>    Does anyone know how to customize it so that it will automatically come
>    up in the exact size and location that you want?  

Yes. :-)

The first way I did it was changing the sources.  Then I realized another easier
way.  If you give the command

$ xneko -h

it will list a lot of different parameters you can give for customization.
I haven't figured it all out yet, but you can say something like

$ xneko -geometry 400x400+100+100

and it will make the window 400 by 400, starting at 100,100  (in pixels).  Not
sure where the banner went though, that's tomorrow's job.

Gotta run,
Jill

    Thanks for the help about customizations.  They only problem is that
    with VMS, you can't enter the -h command.  If I type
    
    $ xneko -h
    
    I get the error message "too many parameters, reenter with fewer
    parameters"
    
    Does anyone know how this works in VMS?

	You can enter any valid flags provided you first define xneko as
	a symbol, i.e. $ xneko :== $disk:[dir]xneko.exe.

	Sandy

Thanks Sandy, you beat me to it. :-)

If you don't have the foreign command set up right, you can't do any of the
background/pause/customization stuff...

Jill

    Thanks for everyone's help.  Like .50 said, if you don't have the
    foreign command set up right, it won't work.  That was my problem.  I
    didn't have the $ in front of my directory spec.
    
    Now that I can get the customizations to work, I have a couple of
    questions.
    
    1) How do you know what is a valid parameter to the customizations,
       such as -display, -speed, etc.?
    
    2) Re: .47 - I also had the problem of losing my title when I use the
       geometry tag.  I would like to keep the title so that I have the
       option of iconifying it, moving it, etc.  If you figure out how to
       use both the -title and the -geometry tags, would you please let me
       know.

    I tried twiddling with the geometry on ultrix, but the xneko window
    comes up with no border, so it can't be dragged or iconized.  So I just
    use:
    
    /usr/users/kolling/bin/xneko -root &
    
    in my .login to get the cat in the background.
    

    reply to .40
    
    i just got back to this note today, so sorry for the delay.  please
    send me mail with your complete address, mail stop, and name.  i will
    send you neko/da.
    
    reply to sherry re:  colour...
    
    we have a colour monitor in the lab.  i will try testing the prog. 
    since i have always had a greyscale monitor, i don't know if the prog
    works in colour or not.
    
    di
    don't forget us! (stanley & stella)
                                       

re .51 (SHALOT::BROWN)

Well, I finally figured out what happened to the title when using the -geometry
parameter.  Actually, a friend of mine figured it out.  I just learned a lot
about C and Decwindows in the process :-)

In short, if you specify the full geometry (e.g. 400x400+100+100), the program
decides that you don't want the title bar at all.  If you just say

$ xneko -geometry 400x400+100 -title "My Kitty"

it works fine.

Now I can sleep at night :-)

As far as what the other parameters do and/or what kind of values to give them,
there is a help file in Japanese that explains them and gives a couple of
examples.  Speed/time are used like:

$ xneko -speed 4 -time 200000

but I can't figure out yet what the units are, or anything like that.  I
have made the kitty race around real fast (like with the above example)
but I still have to look at the code some more to understand it.

It looks like the Display command controls what node the window is displayed
on, but I haven't tried that either.

Jill

    time appears to be the reaction time before the kitty notices
    that the mouse has moved.  What are the other variables besides
    time, speed, and Display?
    

-time seems to do more than influence the time before the kitty notices the
mouse has moved.  It also changes the speed of the kitty running to catch the
mouse.

typing the  help command gives the following output, which includes the
choices for parameters (editted to make it fit here better)

AUKLET$ xneko -h
Usage: disk:[meier]xneko.exe;4 [-display <display>] [-geometry <geometry>] \
      : [-title <title>] [-name <title>] [-iconic] [-pause] \
      : [-speed <speed>] [-time <time>] [-root] [-demo] [-help]


From what I've gathered:

-iconic     starts the window as an icon
-demo       the default (window with kitty inside)
-pause      kitty runs in Pause window
-root       kitty runs in Root, behind regular windows
-display    which node window appears on
-geometry   eg 100x200+300+400, gives size and position of window in pixels
            <width>x<height>+<horizontal position>+<vertical position>
-title      title of window and icon
-name       same
-speed      speed of kitty running? (to be determined)
-time       reaction time? (to be determined)

Jill