Date   : Wed, 15 Jun 1983 22:54:52-EDT (Wed)
From   : helge@ucb-vax
Subject: T/MAKER III review

 
               T/MAKER III -- first impressions


       T/MAKER III consists of a number of programs (overlays)
and represents a sort of integrated business package, covering
list processing, graphics, data transfer and file management
in addition to word processing and electronic spreadsheet functions.
It is reasonably well documented (see below) and relatively
easy to use, partly thanks to the excellent 'Quick Refence
Booklet' that is included. All parts of the system are integrated
together and the editor is used for all data entry functions,
even to the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet works somewhat different
from most other similar programs in that respect, and no calculations
are done until a COMPUTE command is given at the main command
level. In my opinion it is not very useful for the typical
"what if" application, but will probably do fine for accounting
purposes etc. The editor and text formatter can handle most
types of documents, and although some of the text formatter
commands (for text justification in particular) are very different
from the 'mainstream' text formatter, it works ok. And the
text printing utility is very powerful, making it easy to handle
most types of printers, special characters/types and limited
(low resolution) graphics. However,
the documentation leaves a lot to be desired when it comes
to customization. Not only the printer interface section but also
the section on how to set up and change the various editor keystrokes
are too terse. I haven't spent enough time with the package
yet to be able to give it a fair judgement, but here are my
strongest points against it (some of these are actually bugs):
 
- The default tab settings can't be permanently changed
  (they are 8, 30, 40, 50, ...)
- I do not get a warning if I try to exit the program without
  saving my changes
- Tabs are always expanded.
- Files containing tabs cannot be edited (the line is discarded
  from the first tab)
- I strongly resent the way the destructive backspace works
 (it deletes the character under the cursor and moves the cursor
  one position to the left)
- Files larger than the available memory buffer cannot be edited.
  On this system with 61K TPA, this limit is ~26.5Kbytes.
  While this probably is sufficient for many word processing
  applications, it is useless for programming (the BIOS source
  for this system is 28.5k with embedded tabs).
- Insert mode (in the editor) does not apply to newlines (carriage
  returns). This means that if I want to insert more text into
  the middle of my document I will have to push the "insert Line"
  key to open up a sufficient window in the text to hold the
  additions. It is hard to believe that this limitation was imposed
  intentionally....
- when the program is started, it can optionally take a number
  of commands from the command line. This means that I cannot
  give the command "tmaker myfile", instead I must write "tmaker
  get myfile". I strongly resent this.
 
Documentation

       -> T/MAKER III Reference Manual, 300 pages (plastic) spiral bound.
       This manual is huge, not only because it contains a lot of
       information, but also because it have been printed on an Epson
       MX80 printer. In addition to describing the
       various tasks T/MAKER can take care of, it starts off with a
       tutorial which is quite useful. It also contains a section on
       how to customize the software to run in a particular hardware
       environment. The index (in the front of the manual) is useful
       but too brief.

       -> T/MAKER III Quick Reference Guide, 30 pages spiral bound.
       A nice booklet full of very useful information. It is nicely
       typeset and printed in full color on real thick paper, so it
       should last for a while even with extensive use.

Conclusion:
  T/MAKER III is a well documented, relatively bug-free, easy to use and
well integrated "business package", useful for limited text processing,
accounting and list processing as well as (very) limited low resolution
business graphics. The fact that data is easily passed between the
various parts of the package makes it even easier to use. Mailing lists
are easily handled as are "generalized letters" with macro fields
to be filled in from a data file a printing time.
  I will use T/MAKER for document editing and formatting and possibly
the spreadsheet for checkbook balancing. I will certainly stick to
VEDIT for program editing.