ROL publish Select docs for free - RISC OS News, Software and Information

ROL publish Select docs for free

Published: 17th Oct 2006, 21:45:00GMT Source: drobe.co.uk
By the Drobe news desk

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Select docs no longer for select few

RISCOS Ltd. published for free online today its Select documentation for programmers. The material, in HTML format, details how software developers can make use of features provided by Select, and a description of how the lower levels of the operating system work. Coders have been crying out for freely available documentation from RISCOS Ltd since the launch of the RISC OS 4 subscription scheme in 2001 - the files were previously available to paying subscribers only.

The move comes after ROL uploaded to its website a copy of the Programmers Reference Manuals, the bible for third party developers. The documentation covers ways in which programmers can optimise their software for Select users, how to make use of the much updated desktop and graphics system with accelerations, how to use ROL's new debugging system, and much more.

The new site reads: "These documents cover the changes that have been made to [RISC OS 4] since the release of Volume 5a of the Programmers Reference Manual. Only those areas of the operating system that have altered are documented here. These documents should be read in conjunction with the full set of Programmers Reference Manuals."

ROL are understood to be nearing towards unveiling Select 4 after the company earlier apologised to its customers for its product's "protracted" development.

Links
Select documentation website

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AMS (+8.3) 17/10/06 10:03PM	Well what can I say other than full marks Mr Middleton & ROL, nicely done. This will be a major boon to developers seeking to support Select - additionally it is not a bad means of advertising ROL's wares. Yep, a good sensible, pragmatic move that I think will lead to good things.
7thsoftware (+6.3) 17/10/06 10:06PM	Better late than never. Hopefully all this can be merged into the StrongHelp manuals and some online versions of the PRMs on day.
timephoenix (+2.1) 18/10/06 1:36AM	Well done ROL. Let's hope that this release, in addition to the SSI work by ROOL, will help encourage new development for RISC OS. It sounds like Paul's company is getting itself back on track, so excellent news. Btw, is Adjust32 for the A9home out of Beta yet?
druck (+3.1) 18/10/06 9:33AM	A very welcome move. The documentation appears to be fairly complete and of a good standard. Now all we need is a version of Select that runs on the machines most developers are using - the Iyonix.
hubersn (+4.0) 18/10/06 1:49PM	Very good news. Better late than never. And perhaps the only reliable source when it comes to customers deciding whether Select is worthwhile or not - after all, ROLs feature lists are useless for new customers. Hopefully the clear structure of the "PRM" part of ROLs website will be used as a model for the rest of the Select stuff on the website (including the dead links).
jamesp (+1.0) 18/10/06 7:35PM	This is a good development. *In reply to 7thsoftware:* Yes, updating then stronghelp manual would be useful so there is one central place to see what works on what. Can the manual be updated by CVS or SVN I wonder? I've sent minor updates by email, but dealing with a pile of them would be a fair bit of work for the maintainer.