Re: LYNX-DEV What is the difference?

[Nelson Henry Eric]

> >     slang
> >             is a screen package that (for our purposes) emulates bits &
[...]
> >             as experimental).
> 
> It is just an alternative, portable (Unix, VMS, OS/2, DOS) screen
> management library.  I would not call it experimental any more than I

I wouldn't call it experimental either.  It has proven very "solid" (not
buggy) for the past year and a half I've used it.

From this layman's point of view:
        1) slang is SMALL. = you can build it easily in your own account
           area.  No extra baggage.
        2) slang is EASY to build. just type ./configure => make => make
           install (personal experience on SunOS4.1.3, Solaris2.5, FreeBSD)
        3) slang is EASY to use. = just build Lynx using the slang
           library and then turn on color with the command line switch
           `-color'.  No need to fool with terminal settings.
        4) slang loves KANJI = who cares  (I DO!)

The only disadvantage I find with a slang build of Lynx is that if you
often switch terminals, or have a situation in which you do not know
the type of terminals your users will have, you have to set up two login
situations or aliases, one with color switched on and one in mono mode.

Curses, AFAIK, will give you color automatically depending on whether or
not your terminal description supports color.  If you're one of the lucky,
no problem.  But if you don't have standard terminals, oh, boy!  Plan
to spend hours (months!) learning how to write terminal descriptions.

You may download slang by ftp from `space.mit.edu' in `/pub/davis/slang'.
The latest version is `slang0.99-38', or perhaps a slightly higher number.
(If politicians can demand equal time, so can curses libraries!)

__Henry
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