Re: lynx-dev Directory Editing

[Jason F. McBrayer]

>>>>> "PW" == Philip Webb <address@hidden> writes:

PW> 980417 Jesse wrote: 
>> LYNX from the file, OS2LYNX271R1.ZIP (BOBBES), is the version
>> installed on my F: HPFS drive. mY OS is WARP 4.
>> the DIRED mode does not seem to be working:

That's because Lynx 2.7.1 for OS/2 has DIRED compiled out, because it
was too much trouble to get working.  It's compiled in in Lynx 2.8 for
OS/2, and mostly works, but I haven't gotten around to making up a
binary distribution for it yet.

PW> i hope i'm not offending any hard-working developer, but i believe
PW> the OS/2 port of Lynx is not well-supported: ie someone got it
PW> basically working, but it has known problems.

I'm only a little offended ;)

2.7.1 was almost completely working, except for being fairly hard to
install, and having a handful of minor bugs and limitations (which are
noted in the README.OS2 file in the binary distribution).  It didn't
have DIRED, you can't remove links from your bookmarks files with the
'r' key, and there were some text/binary problems when using lynx
noninteractively (-dump).  That's about all that was wrong with it.
The only thing "not well supported" about it, really, was that I never
got patches integrated, since I started on the released 2.7.1 at a
time when everyone else was working on 2.7.1ac and it was too
difficult to apply the patches from the older version.

In 2.8+, OS/2 should be perfectly well supported as soon as T.E.D
integrates the patches I sent him, and as soon as I get some
OS/2-specific documentation written and an OS/2 binary distribution
bundled up for Hobbes and Leo.  If you have EMX-gcc, gnufutils,
autoconf, and ncurses for OS/2, it should now be possible to
configure, compile, and install the OS/2 version of Lynx from the base
source distribution with no modifications.

PW> as an apparent OS/2 regular user -- if not expert -- ,
PW> you should consider having a look at the Lynx code yourself
PW> to try to find & correct the problem:

IMHO it's not worth putting any work in on 2.7.1 for OS/2.  I have
graduate exams in a couple of weeks, and I think understandably I'd
rather pass them than get a fully-cleaned-up OS/2 Lynx distribution
sent around.  Sometime next month I should be able to have 2.8
binaries and patched source on my web page and on Hobbes, but
unfortunately I just don't have the time to do it now.  After that,
(or now, if my EMX patches have gotten integrated into the 2.8.dev
sources) anyone who wants is invited to help me hunt down the
remaining bugs in the OS/2 Lynx 2.8 port.

-- 
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Jason F. McBrayer              address@hidden |
| The scalloped tatters of the King in Yellow must hide Yhtill   |   
| forever.                    R.W. Chambers _The King in Yellow_ |