I posted the following to SIGVPLUS-L a few weeks ago, and heard nothing since!
I'm forwarding it to this group for comment.
 
>I've been thinking about the enhancements that we've recently requested
from HP, and I have a comment, and a suggestion.
>
>Comment:
>
>Most of the enhancements center around the ability to put up a form
(=window) on the terminal screen, with many fewer restrictions than in the
past. For example, the ability to put up a form somewhere other than the
bottom of the current form, or the top of the screen, or the ability to put
up a form which has a width less than that of the terminal screen. When we
couple this core need with additional functionality we end up with pop-up
menus, scrollable pick-lists etc.
>
>Suggestion:
>
>In order to maximize the likelihood that HP will carry out the
enhancements, >how about making the main thrust towards providing this
specific >functionality? We can always decied what to do with the form once
it is on the >screen. This is, after all, what provides the additional
capabilities. >However, without the ability to put the form on the screen in
the ways I've >described, none of the functionality will be of any use.
Furthermore, if we >don't bundle the enhancements together in this way, the
engineering effort may >be more than HP wants to commit.
>
>I'd appreciate any comments. (Starting with sigvplus-l, and moving on to
others!)
>Tony
 
Starting with sigvplus-l did not bring any fruit at all!
My point is that by focussing on the enabling technology (a form of
arbitrary dimension at an arbitrary location), we may get something. It also
provides an easy 'single-vendor' method of introducing COBOL type
programmers (such as myself!) to the problems involved in windowing
environments, and would allow them to construct a mental model of what a
different platform might be able to do for them.
 
The core enhancement would, I guess, be phrased something like this:
 
Provide the ability to support forms of less than the terminal width
located at places other than Column 0, Row 0. Support would include the
ability to specify the origin of the form at run-time, to return the
origin/location of the current form, and a new method of specifying how the
next form should overlay/replace the current form. Options for this should
include:
 
Clear screen, append                         ; Existing capability
Append to current form                       ; Existing capability
Freeze current and append                    ; Existing capability
Overlay current form, starting at (col, row) ; New capability
 
Tony "I'm a dinosaur and I'm proud of it" Furnivall