6 Installing rTc

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This is a source distribution that will need to be configured and compiled for your specific machine. The program was developed on my Linux toaster (with MetroLink"s Motif 1.2.2 and OSF Motif 2.0), I have personally tested it on SGi Irix 5.2, HPUX 9.0, SunOs 4.1.n and Solaris 2 using IXI Premier Motif (1.2.4), and have reports of it working on SCO ODT 3.0. Version 1.3 also ran on Irix 4.0 (ie. X11R4/Xm 1.1), but I have since moved jobs, and no longer have access to any X11R4/Xm 1.1 machines, so I can"t verify whether this is still true. I you have an R4/Xm 1.1 environment and are having problems with compiling rTc, then please feel free to contact me and together we can probably sort it out.

6.1 Advanced X-Resources Configuring rTc before Building

The main configuration parameters are in the file include/rtc-config.h, which is spit into two sections: the first sets default values for several parameters (each has a name starting with SITE_); the second states which of the optional features are to be built into the program (each starts with WANT_). Other configuration parameters are generated automatically (ie. the version of Motif and X installed on the system)---these are prefixed with HAVE_.

If you change any of the variables in include/rtc-config.h, you must remake the Makefiles (make Makefiles) before they are recognised.

Site Dependent Defaults

The following variables are used inside rTc:

SITE_USER_FILE

The name of the file to contain the users menu descriptions, a sensible value would be .rtcrc. This preovides the default for the X-resource userFile

SITE_ICON_PATH

The default for the X-resource iconFilePath, used to locate the icons (X bitmaps, and WANT_COLOUR_ICONS has been set, X pixmaps). This is a colon separated list of directories to search, each directory must include the trailing `/". This is the default for the X-resource iconFilePath.

SITE_INIT_MSG

A string that is displayed in the status window as soon as rTc is started. This is only used if the MsgStyle is StatusArea. The default as distributed includes the version number and a copyright date, change this as you see fit, except put your name as the copyright owner :-) (one suggestion would be to put a local contact name).

SITE_SYSTEM_FILE

The name of the file used for the system menu descriptions. This is used as a default for the X-resource systemFile.

SITE_REMINDER_FILE

The name of the file used to store any reminders between sessions. A typical filename would be .rtc-reminders. This is used as a default for the X-resource reminderFile.

SITE_HELP_PATH

A colon separated list of directories to use when searching for help files. This has the same syntax requirements as SITE_ICON_PATH. It is used as a default for the X-resource helpFilePath

SITE_MAIL_SEPARATOR

This string is used as the split between messages in any mail-spool. My system uses "From ", but your mileage may very.

SITE_SUPPORT

This string is displayed in the help panel, the default holds the rTc email address and WWW page. If you don"t want anything shown, set it to an empty string, you can"t simply remove the line.

Site Dependent Defaults Optional Features

The following symbols are used to select which optional features are to be included in the compiled program.

WANT_MULTI_SCREEN

Adds support for machines with more than one display (ie. my machine at work).

WANT_COLOUR_ICONS

rTc supports colour icons via the XPM library (which must be installed). If this is set, then the src/Imakefile may need to be edited to include the locations of the XPM library and header files. If your version of Motif supports Xpm files directly (ie. Metrolink 2.0), you should still set this as otherwise some icons may appear to have white (rather than transparent) backgrounds.

WANT_SYSTEM_FILE

Provides an easy way of loading menu descriptions from two files (a system file, and a user file). The system file is read first, then the users personal one.

WANT_CLOCK

Provides a digital clock that can be embedded in the menu-bar. Along with the clock, simple reminders can be set (these are now remembered across sessions).

WANT_MAILBOX_WATCHER

Provides a mailbox watcher (ala biff) that displays the number of messages currently in the (user specified) mailbox. More than one mailbox can be specified, and when new mail arrives the users attention is attracted visually.

WANT_DISK_WATCHER

Provides visual feedback of the availble disk space in (user specified) disk partitions, The amount of (free) disk space is shown, and this can be coloured coded depending on user specified ranges.

WANT_HELP

A basic help system that uses plain formatted text can be obtained by setting this variable. For a more advanced help facility see WANT_HTML.

WANT_HTML

If this is defined, then support for the HTML widget in Mosaic is included. This means that the help files can be in HTML format, complete with images (only GIF format is currently supported). This is not meant to replace Mosaic and as such can only access files via NFS and not any of the numerous transport protocols Mosaic supports. Note, WANT_HELP must be defined as well.

WANT_PANELS

Extends rTc to allow commands to be configured before being executed. The configuration is via a panel, comprising a number of user interface objects (text entry, toggles, scales, lists, file selectors) described in simple terms in the description files.

WANT_FILE

This version of rTc sees the first release of the file-selector as a widget (previously it was implemented as a convenience function---it is now a true Motif widget). If you have any problems with the new implementation of the file selector, then it can be removed pending its fixing.

WANT_LIMIT_EXEC

Some commands may be limited in the number of times that they are executed (ie. only one copy of a word processor may be run at any one time). This option adds extra handling to allow this, however there is no easy (and efficient) way of doing this, so a brute force approach has had to be adopted. This will slow down the execution (all be it, very slightly) of all commands, whether they make use of the facility or not. For this reason to obtain this feature you have to explicitly ask for it (by setting this variable).

WANT_EDITRES

Adds support for the editres protocol, so that the internal structure of the program"s X-resources may be examined while it is running.

WANT_BROKEN_FORM_WORKAROUND

Some implementations of the form widget are broken in their geometry management, there is no real solution (except not to use the form), defining this may work---but don%quot; hold your breath.

6.2 Porting to Other Platforms

rTc has been ported to the following platforms:-

The most recent of ports was the SCO ODT, some of the things to watch out for in porting are :-

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