The MEWEL Window System MICROSOFT WINDOWS, PRESENTATION MANAGER, AND THE MACINTOSH....... WITHOUT THE GRAPHICS Magma Systems 15 Bodwell Terrace Millburn, New Jersey 07041 (201) 912-0192 (voice) (201) 912-0668 (24 hour BBS, 2400 & 1200 baud, N-8-1) (201) 912-0103 (fax for orders only) NEWS RELEASE Millburn, New Jersey -- June 1, 1991 --- Magma Systems, a firm dedicated to producing programmer productivity tools, has released version 3.31 of the MEWEL Window Library, the only windowing library on the market today which allows programmers using MS-DOS to create applications which resemble those of Microsoft Windows, Presentation Manager, and the MacIntosh, but without the overhead of graphics. WHAT MAKES MEWEL DIFFERENT? MEWEL uses the same kind of event-driven, message passing model which is used by windowing systems like X-Windows, MS-Windows, SunView, and PM. In fact, the internals of MEWEL were designed to be very similar to MS-Windows. The MEWEL API is compatible with Microsoft Windows, both at the function call level and at the message passing level. A person could even learn to program MEWEL by reading a book on Windows! IBM's Common User Access (CUA) component of their System Application Architecture (SAA) dictates how applications will look in future years. None of the other commercial PC-based windowing libraries implements all of the gadgets which are required by an SAA application, such as radio but- tons, checkboxes, dialog boxes, pushbuttons, and scrollbars along with mouse support. The latest version of MEWEL supports the new controls and messages found in Microsoft Windows 3.0. Certainly, none of the others have the message passing model which is absolutely necessary in today's window systems. MEWEL has been available since June of 1989. Our customers include Microsoft, IBM, DCA, Fifth Generation Systems, General Electric, GTE, AT&T, and others. Many developers of existing Windows applications have purchased MEWEL so they could give their programs the same look-and-feel in DOS text mode, thereby expanding their marketplace. Other developers are using MEWEL as a stepping-stone to an eventual port to Windows and PM. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRING YOUR APPLICATIONS INTO THE NINTIES!!! Graphical Window Systems!!! Microsoft Windows, Presentation Manager, The Macintosh, X Windows, SunView, NeWS, GEM.... It's no secret that everybody has suddenly jumped on the graphical interface bandwagon. With the introduction of Presentation Manager, Microsoft and IBM have basically stated that all future applications will contain the certain kind of look and feel which comes with these window systems. But what if you don't have an super-powered UNIX machine or a Mac? What if you don't want to have the overhead and slowness of graphics? Well, you're stuck in character mode under DOS! But what if you want your applications to have that modern looking in- terface? What if you want all of the gadgets that come in these window sys- tems? What if your plans dictate having your DOS apps eventually running under character mode AND Microsoft Windows/PM??? The answer is ...... MEWEL (Magma Extensible Window and Event Library) HOW DOES MEWEL DIFFER FROM OTHER WINDOWING LIBRARIES? Based on Message Passing. Object-oriented Architecture. Windows 3.0 compatible API. Unparalleled cross development between text mode and Windows. Multiple overlapping windows. Resizable and moveable with the mouse. Complex clipping between parent-child and sibling-sibling supported. All of the SAA-defined control windows supported : Dialog Boxes (modal and modeless) Scrollbars (horizontal, vertical, control) Push buttons, check boxes, and radio buttons List Boxes (single & multiple selection, multi-column, owner drawn) Static fields (text, frames, fill boxes, character icons) Edit Fields (single & multiline, mouse oriented selection) Pulldown menus (multi-level, system menus, floating popups) Combo boxes (simple, dropdown and dropdown-list) Windows compatible resource files. Supports dialog boxes, menus, accelerators, string tables, and character mode icons. Dialog Editor with complete source. and in the Magma tradition.... The complete source code for MEWEL is available!!! MESSAGE PASSING Most modern window systems use a message-passing, event-driven architecture for maximum flexibility. This includes Windows, PM, X WIndows, SunView, and the Macintosh Toolkit. MEWEL is the first and only character mode window library running under DOS to be message-based. You can tell a window to perform an action by posting or sending a message to it. The windows are "active" entities in MEWEL, not passive structures as in other windowing libraries. In addition, since all operations inside of MEWEL are done my passing messages throughout the system, you can alter the very behavior of MEWEL by intercepting any message and modifying it. The ultimate system of "hooks"!!! Most of the messages have equivalents in both Microsoft Windows and PM. In addition, most of the MEWEL API functions have corresponding Windows equivalents. This means that you will have an easy time porting your MEWEL apps over to these environments if and when the time comes. By the way, a message-passing architecture is absolutely perfect for implementing real-time systems. We should know!!! One of the nicest stock trader workstations on Wall Street was implemented using MEWEL!!! Using MEWEL's event-driven architecture, simultaneous asynchronous input from the comm port, network, keyboard, light pen, and mouse were handled with grace and ease! OBJECT-ORIENTED At the present time, interest in object-oriented programming is at an all time high. MEWEL supports various "classes" of windows, including scroll bars, check boxes, push buttons, radio buttons, edit fields, and static fields. These window classes "inherit" most of their properties from the base window class. You can send messages to any window; these messages will be acted on by the window class' default message handler. Any message which the default hand- ler does not process is passed on down to the message handler of the base window class. You can use this technique to create your own customized win- dow classes; you merely "subclass" an existing window class. An example of this would be the creation of a non-echoing edit field. This kind of window would be used when the user had to input some "secret" information, such as a password. MEWEL already comes with an edit class, so most of the work is already done for you. To implement a non-echoing field, you merely need to create a window class, intercept all WM_CHAR messages (sent when the user types a character), and store the keystrokes in an internal buffer. All other messages would be passed on to the message handler for the normal edit class! MOUSE SUPPORT If you have a Microsoft mouse, or a mouse which has a Microsoft-compatible driver, your users will have an even greater ease-of-use in their applications. You can change the input focus of any window merely by clicking on the window. You can use the mouse to select pulldown menus from the menu bar, select entires from listboxes, click on buttons, and move through scrollbars. Messages are sent when the mouse is moved, when a button is pressed, released, or double clicked. And since the MEWEL source code is available, you can also integrate your own customized mice or input devices, such as light pens, tocuh screens, and tablets. SAA and CUA The Common User Access (CUA) component of IBM's System Application Architecture (SAA) dictates a style of how applications should look. Many companies (such as Microsoft) are striving for SAA complience for their ap- plications. Presentation Manager is an example of such a program. Using MEWEL, you can put an CUA-complient front-end on your application. Use the scrollbars, listboxes, and dialog boxes which CUA requires your programs to have. SOURCE CODE AVAILABILITY As with our ME Text Editor, the full source code for MEWEL is available. You can enhance MEWEL in any way you like, and see how modern message-passing windowing systems are written as well. Add your own customized input, event, and display handlers. Or just hack away!!! The source code is mostly in ANSI C, and is compilable immediately under Microsoft C 5.1 or greater and Borland's Turbo C++. Versions also available for Zortech C++ and JPI TopSpeed C. ROYALTIES OR RUN-TIME FEES There are none!!! PRICES MEWEL with $295.00 Libraries for Microsoft C and Turbo C (medium and large models) Sample applications Dialog editor with full source As above with full source code. $595.00 OS/2 Protected Mode $595.00 (includes full source code). Special - DOS and OS/2 versions with source $895.00 UNIX and VMS versions call.... Please include $5.00 for shipping and handling within the United State, $25.00 elsewhere. Payment Terms : Visa or Mastercard, personal or company check accepted. COD upon request. Payment must be made in US dollars and the check must be drawn on a US bank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C++ for Windows and MEWEL Magma Systems and Inmark Development Company, developers of the MEWEL Window Library and the zAPP class library for Microsoft Windows respectively, are pleased to announce that the zAPP classes have been ported to MEWEL. This means that applications written under C++ using the class libraries supported by zAPP can run under Microsoft Windows 3.0 and in DOS or OS/2 character mode without any source code changes. All you need to do is to relink your application with either the Windows or the MEWEL libraries. zAPP will be available soon from Magma Systems or from Inmark, or from quality distributors such as programmer's Shop and Programmer's Connection. For more information, call Magma Systems at (201) 912-0192, or dial the free public access BBS at (201) 912-0668, 2400/1200 baud, N-8-1. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magma Systems and Millennium Software are pleased to annouce a MEWEL version of Millenium's WM_CONTROL forms package for Windows. WM_CONTROL gives the MEWEL and Windows programmer the formatted data entry fields which Windows sadly lacks. No source code changes are required to the application program in order to support both Windows and MEWEL under WM_CONTROL. For more information, call Magma Systems at (201) 912-0192, or dial the free public access BBS at (201) 912-0668, 2400/1200 baud, N-8-1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Sampling of the Commercial Products Using MEWEL FastBack 3.0 - Fifth Generation Systems Notes (OS/2 server) - Lotus Development Charge - Solutions Systems Sourcer's Apprentice (installation) - Solution Systems Intel/Lan Systems - Reference Point SoftCost Cost Estimator - SoftCost USA Paragen (Paradox App Generator) - Innovative Data Solutions Home Lawyer - Overdrive Systems Nova (formerly the Galaxy wordprocessor) Plus ... one of the top selling utilities of all time (you'll know it when you see it!). Other companies using MEWEL : Novell, Microsoft, Ungermann-Bass, 3Com, Exxon R&D, American Airlines, MECA, Coca Cola, General Electric, GTE, and many more. There are several thousand users of MEWEL.