dCL1P Review

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executed. All that has to be done is to type command code and see if it works as expected. If not, try a variation of the same command. The usefulness of this type of environment should be obvious. By allowing experimentation with “new” functions, without the necessity of developing specialty code programs, the need to edit, link, and “then” run the project is dramatically bypassed. Results are almost instantaneous!

The reason behind this effect is the fact that dClip doesn’t link objects in the traditional sense. It uses technology which dynamically binds the object files as they are read in. The major advantage to this approach is speed. The only drawback, in my opinion, is that an object file cannot be greater than 64K. This problem is somewhat reduced by allowing for the creation of dynamic libraries, via an enclosed utility program supplied by the author. Up to 10 simultaneous libraries can be attached to any single application. dClip even has a built-in editor to help in the development of this source code.

“Okay,” you say, “sounds interesting, but, I want to use my editor, not someone else’s.”

The product attempts to take the programmer’s individual preferences into account. dClip has the capability to allow the user to call up their own editor, utilize it and then return to the dClip environment when finished. This editing feature is extremely useful. For example, if the editor has a command line option for placement of the cursor on a specific line and if a mistake occurs, dClip can load the source

code, utilizing your editor, and place you on the line in which the error occurred.

Additional virtues of the software include the make feature, which checks to see which tiles have been modified and then automatically recompiles and readies them for use; ease of program integration into your own custom application, by means of the dClip function library included at no additional cost; and, third party support for several major third party libraries present in today’s marketplace.

Described above are some of the bare basics included in this application, but there are several other features I’d like to briefly review. Always available is an online help system, which assists not only with dClip commands, but with Clipper commands as well. I have personally found this reference scheme of major benefit in providing easily available syntax support, especially in the case of commands which are infrequently used. The HELP mode can be entered simply by typing “help” or “help <command>.” The flexibility of the system is demonstrated in the ease in which it can be modified to allow the programmer to add individualized topics and notes directly into the help module.

dClip can obtain access to other programs and utilities in two ways. One method is through means of the DOS GATEWAY, an on-line menu item, which is executed by typing, “GATEWAY" (minus the quotes) at the dot prompt. You are then presented with a new menu which can be customized to give ready access to the programs and applications that you commonly use. The alternative route is through “mapping dos commands

to the dot prompt.” With this technique, you can create an alias for the program to be activated. The alias is then placed, with the startup parameters, into the dClip configuration file called DCLIP.SYS. An example of this might be:

COMMAND=WS,WS,128,E:

This is a command sequence which can be used to start a Wordstar word processor program. The first parameter is the alias, recognized by dClip following programmer input, following this is the DOS command to invoke the executable file, the third entry defines the amount of RAM needed in order to run the word processing program and finally “E:” which represents the temporary swap disk for utilization. Other configuration parameters which can be contained within the DCLIP.SYS file are search paths, subdirectory information (telling the make utility where to put the *.obj files), the type of prompt to use within the interactive environment, plus a multiplicity of additional customization options.

“What about the output capabilities of this program?” Okay, let’s talk about dClip’s printer manager. The manager maintains a database of approximately 288 printer codes, completely set-up and ready to go, as well as a spool command for each printer and print output direction. This printer/output procedure especially shines in a network environment. Moreover, a full report and label form editor are also included to assist in smoothly creating output from within the software application.

A powerful source-level debugger is embedded in the program,

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The Newsletter of the Dbase Language Professional Developers Group, September 1990

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