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?????????????????REVIEW: SHOWRIP v3.01 by Chuck Warrix?????????John Kwasnik
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a stand-alone RIP file viewer/debugger
Finally got a hold of this gem, even though I had to phone long
distance to do so. SHOWRIP is a command-line RIP file viewer like
DEADVIEW and VIEWRIP. As such, it can be patched into offline mail
readers that support shelling to external programs.
But it is distinguished by its ability to display ANSI text in
the defined text window ... so far, this has only been possible
with a RIP terminal online. Limitations are that only the 8x8 text
font is supported; the other 4 fonts are noted by increasing the
inter-character spacing. Horizontal and vertical scrolling are also
lacking. But at least you can get an idea of a text window's
contents.
SHOWRIP also includes command-line switches that can be used to
debug a screen. One can step-through a screen one RIP command at a
time, and optionally display that command at the bottom of the
screen, or choose a text-only, verbose command listing that
translates each RIP command into English.
Bugs include the omission of a couple of graphics primitives:
the RIP |V elliptical arc and |l polyline don't display at all ...
which can lead to leaked fill in a RIP screen that uses them ...
like the copy of Art Deco graphic artist Paul Colin's Josephine
Baker poster I did a few weeks ago.
Annoyances include a VERY slow Bezier curve routine, and the
famous 15-second delay for each screen in the unregistered version.
Also, only the first 5 of the 11 graphics fonts are included in the
program. SHOWRIP can use the standard RIP *.CHR font files for all
11 fonts, but they must be in the current directory ... and the
target filename must be in the current directory as well (no
pathnames allowed!). This makes it somewhat awkward to use as a
mail reader shell; one must do a batch file to change directories
and copy files.
Still, SHOWRIP 3.01 shows lots of promise. I am eagerly
awaiting new releases that clean up some of the bugs, and maybe
speed up the drawing routine.
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Copyright (c)1994 John Kwasnik