[538] in OS/2_Discussion
OS/2UG 5/18 : CEnvi demonstration
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (klund@MIT.EDU)
Mon May 8 15:07:37 1995
From: klund@MIT.EDU
Date: Mon, 8 May 95 15:04:10 -0400
To: os2admin@MIT.EDU
The next meeting of the MIT OS/2 USERS GROUP will be Thursday, May 18 at
5pm in MIT room 2-105. Brent Noorda, of Nombus Software, will be
showing off C-envi, a REXX-enhancing script language. CEnvi is a
powerful cross-platform macro-language interpreter that implements the
Cmm (C-minus-minus ('C' without the hard stuff)) language. A brochure
about the product follows this message.
--> Kent Lundberg, Director
M.I.T. OS/2 Users Group
The CEnvi Cmm Interpreter for DOS, Windows, OS/2, and NT.
There are a million solutions in this powerful tool.
CEnvi, is the most powerful cross-platform macro-language interpreter
available today. With CEnvi, you can take control of your computer.
CEnvi scripts give you the full power of a computer language, without
the hardware, time, and engineering resources needed for developing
full-blown low-level programs. Power, safety, and simplicity make CEnvi
ideal for scripting/macro uses.
Whether you're a programming professional, a computer-phobe, or
somewhere in between, CEnvi gives you the tools you need to increase
your computer productivity, simplify your daily tasks, and make your
computer system work for you in your own personal style.
CENVI FOR PROGRAMMING PROFESSIONALS
You are a programming professional, and a smart one, too: you could
program a computer to do anything--if you only had the time!
With CEnvi you can create small utilities in minutes, with the same
functionality of a compiled program but without the compiler's
tedious memory/data constraints or tiresome cycle of
compile-test-debug-compile-test-debug. CEnvi handles all of the
memory and data housekeeping for you; you don't need extra lines of
code simply telling a compiler how to set up memory and how to
arrange data; instead you only need to write the code that actually
does the task. In many cases, you can write a CEnvi program in a
single command line! Turn to CEnvi when you want to spend more time
using a program than creating it.
CENVI FOR IS, USER SUPPORT, & SYSTEM CONSULTANTS
You have to care for a slew of computer systems across an entire
department. Your users range from those who cannot find the "ANY
KEY" to the ones who think they know what they are doing and try to
prove it by constantly "improving" their own systems. You never
have time to sleep, and any sleep you do get is haunted by
nightmares about that upcoming department-wide upgrade.
Imagine what you could accomplish if every computer system you
supported had the same fully-functional, structured language,
despite its operating-system or hardware limits. Now imagine that
the toolbox for this language was one tiny 200K executable. Stop
imagining, and use CEnvi to create tools for any particular computer
or for all the computers you support. Setups, upgrades, and
installation procedures on multiple systems become a breeze because
CEnvi allows you to automate all of the steps in a CEnvi script.
This includes programmatic control of any application. With CEnvi
on everyone's system--or even on a floppy in your shirt pocket--no
matter where you are or what operating system you're using, you have
the right tool for the job.
CENVI FOR COMPUTER USERS WITH A "REAL" JOB TO DO
You are not a programmer and you do not want to be a programmer.
You could not care less about the latest computer science
terminology, your glasses are not taped together, and you do not
wear a pocket protector. Your computer is just a tool. So why do
you spend so much time pampering and upgrading your computer "tool"
to make it work for you instead of against you? You have a
life--and a real job to do!
Don't waste time and money on every new computer utility. With
CEnvi, the mother of all utilities, chances are that the tool you
need is already in the CEnvi sample library--there are literally
hundreds. You can combine or make small modifications to these
CEnvi sample tools to get the perfect custom script for doing your
job: your own custom utility. CEnvi is also extremely useful for
creating scripts to automate your repetitive tasks. Instead of
repeating the same commands, key-pushes, menu selections, and mouse
clicks every time you perform a multi-step action, a CEnvi script
can automate these steps for you, guaranteeing the same actions
every time.
CENVI FOR COMPUTER-PHOBICS
You are afraid to touch that keyboard, and who could blame you?!
Nothing can waste more time, eat more paper, and destroy more
projects faster than a computer. Furthermore, if you were meant to
hold a mouse you would have been born a boa constrictor.
Nombas, creator of CEnvi, agrees: computers are much too difficult.
A computer expert (i.e. "nerd") knows hundreds of arcane tricks,
commands, utilities, and programs to make a computer tick. But to
take control of your computer you don't need to be an expert--you
just need to know an expert. That expert can be the guy in the
other office, your 14-year-old nephew, or Nombas and the community
of CEnvi users. When asked, "How do I get my computer to...?" the
expert can usually answer with a short CEnvi script. CEnvi novices
often direct such questions at Nombas (via CompuServe, internet, or
regular mail) and are surprised to learn how simple the answer is
when you're armed with CEnvi. Whatever your question ("How do I
print my ToDo list each morning?", "How can I send a midnight fax to
Joe?", "How can I alphabetize my clipboard?") you'll probably get a
simple CEnvi script or discover the solution is already in the CEnvi
sample library. When you do feel adventurous, you'll find that no
other language is as easy to learn as CEnvi's Cmm.
CENVI FEATURES...
*An extendible scripting language for creating your
own custom Windows, DOS, OS/2 or NT utilities in minutes
*Automation of any task through simulated keystroke, menu, & dialog
control
*Multiplatform support: DOS, OS/2, Windows, NT--all for one low price
*Hooks to exploit any operating system interrupt or DLL function
*Complete function sets for data, I/O, files, strings, math, time,
sorts, and more.
*150+ built-in functions: the standard C library and more
*Hundreds of sample utilities in the growing CEnvi sample libraries;
use as they are or customize
*Low resource requirements: Interpreter and libraries all in about
200K
*Flexibility to add your own functions and include libraries of your
favorite routines
*Programming commands for full flow control: if, else, do, while,
switch, for, goto
*Data exchange through DDE, clipboard, shared memory, and named pipes
*Control of Windows applications and GUI elements: handle window
events or pass them on
*Batch or REXX enhancement by embedding CEnvi statements within other
files
*Batch enhancement through user input, screen design, sound, and
looping features
*REXX enhancement through added access to DLL and I/O calls
*Code interpretation directly from the command line or from script
files
*Direct mathematical and string manipulation of environment variables
*Event scheduling and event monitoring
*Free Cmm function libraries and utilities
*The Cmm Tutorial: Learn to write and debug your own text editor one
step at a time
*Support through CompuServe, internet, or BBS
*A common language among all operating systems and applications that
share the Cmm macro language
*Add menu selections to existing Windows applications
THE CENVI-CMM LIBRARIES: HUNDREDS OF USEFUL TOOLS
Included with CEnvi are hundreds of sample files, scripts, and
utilities: The CEnvi-Cmm Libraries. Some of these samples may be
exactly the utilities you've been looking for, others may give you a
starting point to create your own custom utilities, while the rest
may be useful just to learn from. This ever-growing library is
maintained on the internet at anonymous ftp site ftp.std.com in the
/vendors/CEnvi-Cmm directories. The library is also maintained at
the Nombas BBS. Nombas continually adds new files to these
libraries, and also encourages other CEnvi users to upload helpful
scripts to the CEnvi-Cmm libraries: in this way we can help each
other.
The CEnvi-Cmm libraries also contain information for CEnvi and Cmm
users.
CMM: THE LANGUAGE WITHIN CENVI
The language that CEnvi interprets is called Cmm. Cmm
(C-minus-minus) is 'C' without the hard stuff. Cmm packs the power
of C without C's dangerous and time-consuming data worries.
Although Cmm is familiar and immediately useful to hundreds of
thousands of professional C programmers, Cmm is also easy to learn
and easy to teach to people who have never programmed anything.
Nowhere will you find a more straightforward syntax, fewer keywords,
and such simple, well-defined rules as in the Cmm language. Three
features--power, safety, and simplicity--make Cmm ideal for
scripting/macro uses. Developers: Contact Nombas to learn more
about seamlessly incorporating Cmm as a macro language for your
application with the Cmm API Toolkit.
NOMBAS
The goal of Nombas is to unleash the power in every computer, and to
make that power available to everyone who is stuck with one of these
infernal machines on their desk. Nombas may be reached at any of
the following addresses:
MAIL: PHONE: INTERNET:
Nombas (617)391-6595 bsn@world.std.com
64 Salem Street
MEDFORD MA 02155 COMPUSERVE: BBS:
72212,1622 1(617)391-3718
