Newton Technology Journal: Volume 3, Number 1

7/28/2019 Newton Technology Journal: Volume 3, Number 1

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Inside This Issue

continued on page 3 continued on page

Volume III, Number 1 January 1997

New Products New Technology

New ProductsIntroducing MessagePad 2000andeMate 300 1

New TechnologyIntroducing Worksfor Newton 1

New Product FeaturesMessagePad 2000Screen Size andGrayscale Graphics 10

Newton TrainingDeveloper Training Update 11

Advanced TechniquesData Structures: Storing and Retrieving(part 1of 3) 12

Marketing StrategyNSGscommitment to Health Care 16

Newton TechnologyNewton TechnologyConference 1996

Technical Overview 18

IntroducingWorksfor

Newtonby Henry Cate, Apple Computer, Inc.A newapplication framework isincluded in the

newproductsfrom Apple. The framework,

called Works, isintended to provide a simple yet

powerful shell for productivityapplications,

much like desktop productswith similar names.

Four applicationswill be initiallyavailable in

the Worksframework: a word processor, a

drawing tool, a spreadsheet, and a calculator

with graphing capabilities. Thisarticle will give

you the necessarybackground to begin

developing additional applicationsfor the

Worksframework.

WORKSGOALS

Simple EnvironmentAn important requirement for the eMate

300 product wasa simple environment where

studentscould perform the kindsof tasksthat

currentlyrequire a desktop computer. The

Worksframework addressesthisneed. It uses

a document metaphor that clearlyseparates

individual projects.

When the eMate 300 device isset to thesimplified classroom mode, the title bar and

filing interface are hidden to prevent work

from appearing to be lost. Workskeepsthe

user data separate when in the multi-user

mode. Worksisalso tightlyintegrated with

the newclassroom connection server.

Unlike desktop productivityapplications,

Workson the Newton platform isextensible

through the stationerymechanism. Third parties

IntroducingMessagePad 2000

and eMate 300by Maurice Sharp and Bob Ebert,Apple Computer, Inc.

NEWPRODUCTOVERVIEW

In the fall of thisyear the Newton SystemsGroup,

part of the Information Appliance Division of

Apple Computer, Inc., will announce two new

productsbased on the Newton OS. The new

products, which will begin shipping in the first

half of 1997, are the MessagePad 2000and the

eMate 300. Thisarticle providesan introduction

to the hardware, OS enhancements, and new

applicationsthat are part of these products.

MessagePad 2000

The MessagePad 2000 isa cost-

effective, powerful, easy-to-use

hand-held computer than can

provide targeted solutionsin

both the horizontal and

vertical markets.

Based on the

latest StrongARM

RISC processor,

the newdevicerunsthe Newton OS up

to ten timesfaster than previous

devices. It further addsto the power of Newton

OS 2.0 byproviding sound in to the existing

sound out capability, a grayscale display, IrDA

interface support, auto docking, and improved

support for text editing. There are also two PC

Card slots, enabling solutionsthat require both

a memorycard and a communicationscard.


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January 1997 Newton Technology Journal

2

HAPPY NEWTON YEAR!!!

Whew! 1996hasbeen a landmark year for

the Newton Platform, and we've taken a giant

step forward, both asa technologyand asa

developer community. Hopefullymost of you

have had the opportunitybynowto test the

newNewton devices-the Newton

MessagePad 2000and the Apple eMate 300

at the Newton TechnologyConference last

November or at a seed site. Both models

were quite the hit at Comdex in LasVegas!

We had a record number of attendees

for the 1996 Newton Technology

Conference, and according to preliminary

reports, the feedback we've received is

overwhelminglypositive. It seemsthat

you appreciated the shorter conference

length (2.5 daysplusa dayof lab time) ,

and the General Technologysession

showcasing an arrayof technical talkswas

a hit. The "New to Newton" track wasa

sell-out, and the Businesstrack allowed

small businessownersto hear about both

marketing and technical information. Of

course, the highlight of the conference

waswho else but our own talent

extravaganza, the DTS Players("Read the

charges: $249 for a skit or $5 for a song!" )

If you have more feedback about the

conference, please let me know at

, andwe'll be sure to consider it when planning

for thisyear'sconference.

During Comdex, both the eMate 300and

MessagePad 2000took Byte'sBest of Comdex

Finalist honorsand were demonstrated tothousandsof people. Current MessagePad

ownerswere blown awaybythe sheer power

of the MessagePad 2000. In addition to speed,

other popular featureswere the extra PC slot

and grayscale display. And nearlyeveryone

who walked through the Apple or Newton

boothsand caught a glimpse of the Apple

eMate 300had to stop and take a closer look

at the unique and interesting design. Typical

observationsranged from, "It'scute!" and "It

lookslike the front of a car!" to "Can I get one

in [fill in the color]?" and "Mykid would love

this!" Camerasflashed, people "ooh"ed and

"ahh"ed, and nearlyeveryone asked where

theycould get one for themselves, especially

college students, parents, and mobile

businesspeople. Show-goersseemed most

impressed bythe eMate 300'sdurability,

projected price, and extraordinarybatterylife.

In thisfirst Newton TechnologyJournal

issue of 1997, we cover everything you need

to knowto port your applicationsto the new

hardware, and we've even boiled it down to a

convenient list in the "Updating Your

Application" checklist on page 23. The article

"NewProduct Overview" offersyou quick

accessto an understanding of the new

featuresof both products. You'll find in-depth

information on several topics, with

"MessagePad 2000 Screen Size and Gray-

Scale Graphics" and "Introducing Worksfor

Newton". Don't misspart 1 of the excellent

article "Data Structures Storing and

Retrieving".

It isan exciting time here in the Newton

SystemsGroup while we prepare for the

release of the MessagePad 2000 and the

Apple eMate 300. AsNewton developers, you

are the future of these products. Thank you

for your continued support, encouragement,

and firm belief in the qualityand future of

Newton technology. From all of usin the

Newton SystemsGroup, we wish yououtstanding successand a great year!

Jen Dunvan

Published by Apple Computer,Inc.

Jennifer D unvan Managing Editor

GerryKane Coordinating Editor,Technical Content

Gabriel Acosta-Lopez Coordinating Editor, DTS and

Training Content

Technical Peer Review Board

J. Christopher Bell,Bob Ebert, D avid Fedor,

Ryan Robertson,Jim Schram, M aurice Sharp,

Bruce Thompson

Contributors

Bob Ebert, M aurice Sharp, Jim Schram,D avid Fedor,

J. Christopher Bell, Bruce Thompson, Henry Cate,

Vernon Huang

Produced by Xplain Corporation

N eil T icktin Publisher

Jessica Courtney Production Editor

InfoG raphix Design/Production

1997 Apple Computer,Inc.,1 Infinite Loop,C upertino,C A95014,408-996-1010. A ll rightsreserved.

Apple, the Apple logo, APD A, AppleDesign, AppleLink,AppleShare, Apple SuperDrive, AppleTalk, HyperCard,LaserWriter,Light Bulb Logo,Mac,M acApp,Macintosh,MacintoshQ uadra, MPW, N ewton, N ewton Toolkit, N ewtonScript,Performa, Q uickT ime, StyleW riter and WorldScript aretrademarks of Apple C omputer, Inc., registered in the U.S. andother countries. AO CE, AppleScript, AppleSearch, ColorSync,develop, eWorld, Finder, O penD oc, Power M acintosh,Q uickD raw, SNA ps, StarCore, and Sound Manager aretrademarks,and AC O T isa service mark of Apple Computer, Inc.Motorola and Marco are registered trademarksof Motorola, Inc.N uBus is a trademark of Texas Instruments. PowerPC is atrademark of International BusinessM achinesCorporation, usedunder license therefrom. W indowsis a trademark of M icrosoftCorporation and SoftWindowsisa trademark used under licenseby Insignia from Microsoft Corporation. UN IX is a registeredtrademark of UN IX System Laboratories, Inc. D eveloper Centralis a trademark of X plain Corporation. CompuServe, PocketQ uicken by Intuit, CIS Retriever by BlackLabs, PowerForms bySestra, Inc.,AC T ! bySymantec,Berlitz,and all other trademarksarethe propertyof their respective owners.

Mention of products in this publication is for informationalpurposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor arecommendation.A ll product specificationsand descriptionsweresupplied by the respective vendor or supplier. Apple assumesnoresponsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use ofthe products listed in this publication. A ll understandings,agreements,or warrantiestake place directlybetween the vendorsand prospective users. Limitation of liability: Apple makes nowarrantieswith respect to the contentsof productslisted in thispublication or of the completenessor accuracyof thispublication.Apple specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied,including, but not limited to, the implied warranties ofmerchantabilityand fitnessfor a particular purpose.

Volume III, Number 1 January 1997

Letter From the Editorby Jennifer Dunvan

Editors Note


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Newton Technology Journal January 1997

3

The power and featuresof MessagePad 2000will appeal to newtypesof

customersin addition to existing fansof Newton products. I t will also allow

developersto create whole newclassesof solutions. Between the Appleproduct bundlesand these newsolutions, we can take the Newton platform

to the next stage of growth.

eMate 300

The eMate 300 isa rugged, low-cost computer with a large

grayscale screen and embedded keyboard and isintended for use in

the education market.

The education market isa newone for the Newton OS. The US education

system alone consistsof one hundred thousand schoolswith 48million

students, 2.8million teachers, and nearlya million administrators. The US

government in Goals2000hasset a student to computer ratio for the

classroom of three to one. To achieve this, nearly12million computerswill

need to be purchased for schoolsin the next four years.

At lessthan half the price of a lowend desktop or one third the price of a

laptop, the eMate 300makesthese goalsmore achievable because it offers

nearlyall the productivityof a traditional computer. Long batterylife, durable

and lightweight hardware, and connectivityto traditional computersset the

expectation that the eMate 300will be extremelypopular with students,

teachers, and administrators.

COMMONFEATURESThe MessagePad 2000 and the eMate 300 are both built around the

same basichardware design and OS. Here are the featurescommon to

both products.

Based on Newton OS 2.0

The newoperating system isan extension of the 2.0release of the

Newton OS. Applicationswritten for existing Newton productswill work on

both the eMate 300and MessagePad 2000devices. Data can be freely

exchanged between the newdevicesand existing products.

Selected enhancementshave been added to the OS to improve support

for the newhardware. Support for the keyboard, larger grayscale display, and

additional communicationshardware isfullyintegrated. A basicviewclasstuned specificallyfor word processing hasbeen added, and a newset of

applicationsand a framework are also provided.

NewSilicon

In order to make it easier for Apple and itslicenseesto create devices

based on Newton technology, CirrusLogic, Inc. and Apple Computer, Corp.

worked together to produce a core Newton Technologychipset. The result is

the Apple Newton PDA Chipset. There are four basicchipsin the set: a

Digital System Controller (DSC), an Analog System Controller (ASC), an IR

Controller (IRC) and a PC Card Controller. AnyNewton device will add ROM,

RAM and I/O (ports, screen, speaker, PCMCIA, etc.) .

The eMate 300and The MessagePad 2000are the first Newton devicesto

be introduced using thisnewchipset. Although the unitsdiffer radicallyfrom

each other in physical appearance, thanksto the chipset their schematicsare

nearlyidentical.

Grayscale

Both eMate 300and the MessagePad 2000feature half-VGA sized four-bit

grayscale displaysthat will showsixteen shadesof gray. The Newton OS has

been extended to support both grayscale and color while still maintaining full

backward compatibility. All existing callsnowsupport both monochrome and

color objects, and APIshave been added to accessthe newgray/color features.

Color valuesare specified using an RGB triplet where the valuesare either

five or eight bits, for 16or 24-bit color. Color can be used for patterns,

drawing and text. The system can displaycolor PICTsand bitmapsthat have

one, two, four or eight bit depth, and there issupport for antialiasing

monochrome bitmaps.

Newton Toolkit and Newton Presswill be updated to seamlesslysupport

grayscale and color imagesaswell asthe larger screen sizes.

Keyboard

Extensive enhancementshave been made to improve support for

keyboards. Menusand buttonsallowkeyequivalentsand keyboard

navigation, and standard keycombinationsare handled bythe system.

Event handlerscan be added for command keys, or for anykey

combination, and like other NewtonScript structures, the keydefinitions

can use inheritance chainsto reduce memoryrequirements. Menusand

command keyscan use the same definition framesto further simplifydesign and coding.

In the newOS, anyviewmayaccept keyboard input, and viewsare now

notified when theygain and lose keyboard focus. All viewsalso get a chance

to preprocessanykeyinput, for fullycustomizable interfaces.

Sound

The updated Newton OS featuresenhanced sound output and hasadded

sound input. Most of the newfunctionalityisprovided to developersbya

newproto, protoSoundChannel, which makesit possible to: specifya

direction (input or output); queue up soundsfor playback or recording; and

continued from page 1

Introducing MessagePad 2000 and eMate 300


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4

pause or stop recording or playing. It isalso possible to specifythe channel

for the sound: line-in, or the MessagePad 2000sembedded microphone; or

speaker, line-out, or the eMate 300sheadphone jack. Another newproto is

(protoSoundFrame) can be used to accesssound data, such asfinding the

playing time of a sound, and there are newuser interface elementsfor

recording sounds.

There issupport for playback of up to four simultaneoussounds. The OS

will also support recording or playing 8-bit (Macstandard) or 16-bit linearencoded (CD quality) sounds.

IrDA

Existing Newton devicesuse the Sharp ASK IR communicationsprotocol.

The newdevicesuse the Infrared Data Associations(IrDA) standard for

infrared communication. Thisisa cross-platform standard supported on both

Windows-based and MacOS computers, aswell asother devicessuch asIR

printers. The newdevicesalso support ASK for backward compatibility.

The IrDA implementation in the Newton OS includesthe link access

protocol specification (IrLAP), the link management multiplexer protocol

specification ( IrLMP), and the hardware serial infrared interface specification

(SIR). SIR includescommunicationsratesup to 115kbps, and also supports

both primaryand secondaryroles(that is, the Newton device can be either a

client or a server.)

IrDA isfullyintegrated into the Newton endpoint communication

paradigm. Existing code can be easilymodified to take advantage of IrDA.

Unlike the ASK protocol, IrDA simulatesa full duplex connection.

Text Engine

A newviewclasshasbeen added to greatlyimprove performance with

large blocksof text. Text isdisplayed in a paged, WYSIWYG manner that can

scroll veryquickly. Text blocksup to the limit of available user storage can be

viewed and edited with no delays.

The text isfullystyled, including multiple font facesand sizesin various

styles. Picturesof anysize, in the form of Newton shapes, can also be

embedded in text.

Rulersallowformatting on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. Margins, line

spacing, indenting, and justificationsare all supported, asare left, right,

center, and decimal tabs.

Interfacesprovide developerswith the abilityto read and manipulate any

text attributes. Itsalso easyto convert between text positionsand screen

locationsuseful for determining when a word hasbeen tapped. Editing

commandssuch ascut, copy, paste, and clear are built in, and there are calls

for search and replace that work whether the text isdisplayed on screen or

stored in a soup.

The text engine isvirtuallya complete word processor, and can be used as

a base classfor other applicationssuch asHTML viewers, hypertext browsers,

email editors, reference engines, and so on.

Spell Checker

Using the built-in dictionaries, the newOS nowfeaturesthe abilityto

check spellingsand offer alternativesfor misspelled words. APIsallow

developersto integrate spell checking with their own applications.

NewtonWorks

A newextensible application framework hasbeen added to facilitate

classroom use. Designed for the eMate 300but also available on the

MessagePad 2000platform, the framework, dubbed NewtonWorks or simply

Works, isa shell for basicproductivityapplicationssuch asword processing,

drawing, math and graphing, and spreadsheets.

Worksusesa document metaphor. Each paper, drawing, graph,

spreadsheet, or whatever appearsasa single self-contained document. Works

providesthe framework for viewing and editing each document, and for

switching between documents.

Developerscan add newtypesof documentsto the Worksshell by

registering stationery, much like extending the Notesapplication on existingNewton devices. Works-specificfeatureshave been added on top of the

stationeryAPIsto allowfor application specifichelp and preferences, custom

data in title slips, Works-wide searches, and custom tools. Onlya single

viewer/editor needsto be provided, and multiple print or routing formats

mayalso be added.

Like the Notesapplication, Worksapplicationsmust be designed to store

document data in a single soup entry. The Worksframework managesthe

data storage so that applicationsdevelopersdont need to worryabout soup

design. The Worksframework also providesboth horizontal and vertical

scrolling, title bars, and a statusbar that can be extended with custom

buttonsand menus.

The Worksframework also allowsapplicationsto customize each other, by

providing a registryfor tools. The built in Worksapplicationsall support

variousformsof third partyextensionsusing thistoolsregistry, and some

allowadditional extensions.

Word Processor

A standard word processor application isprovided within the Works

framework. In addition to providing a ruler, button and menu user

interface to the Text Engine, the word processor featuresa spell checker

and quick sketch editor.

A spell checker and quick sketch tool are integrated with the word

processor asstandard Workstools, and other toolscan be added using

the same facility.

Drawing

Also provided within the Worksframework isa draw-style graphics

application. The application providesthe usual range of shape creation

toolsin a tool bar: lines, squaresand rectangles, circlesand ovals, curves,

and polygons, along with a shape recognizer tool. Each shape maybe

drawn with a varietyof line stylesor fill patterns, using the grayscale

capabilitiesof the devices.

Adding to these standard tools, the drawing stationeryalso provides

a set of picturesthat can be stamped onto a drawing. The set of

stamps, and the available fill patternscan easilybe extended through

draw application interfaces.

The Drawing editor supportsthe standard Worksfeature of an

extensible Toolsmenu, and APIsare also provided to allowdeveloperstoextend the tool bar with custom drawing tools, and provide custom editing

of the shapescreated.

Because the contentsof a drawing are based on standard

NewtonScript shapes, drawingscan be easilyintegrated with other

applications. Cutting and pasting between a drawing and a word

processor document isa simple operation.

Calculations

Another Worksdrop-in isstationerythat providesgraphing calculator

features. Userscan enter and evaluate variablesand equationsusing standard


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mathematical notation, and displaythe resulting functionsin a graph or a

table view. Polar and parametricgraphsare supported, and the interface

makesit easyto zoom in to look at detailsor zoom out to get a big picture.

Teachersor other expertscan easilycreate and distribute pagesof

pre-defined equationsor constants, or templatesfor homework.

Developerscan further extend the set of built-in functionsand constants

to provide custom functionsfor specialized financial, statistics,

engineering or science applications.The math environment, equation editor, and graph and table displaysare

provided asprototypesthat can be used in other applications.

Newton Interconnect

A major limiting factor in obtaining a thinner profi le for MessagePad

deviceshasbeen the DIN9 port used for serial and AppleTalk

communications. In order to facilitate thinner devices, Apple has

adopted a new standard connector for the Newton platform. The result

isNewton Interconnect.

The connector isa JAE 26-pin connector which requiresa JAE 26-pin

custom plug. The height of the connector ismuch lessthan a DIN9. In

addition to the serial/LocalTalk port, the pinsallow accessto power

in/out, audio line-in and line-out and another serial input that hasno

LTC Line Driver. There isalso an auto docking pin that tellsthe unit it

hasbeen connected.

MessagePad 2000 will come bundled with a DIN9-to-Interconnect

adapter, and eMate 300 includesboth ports, so current cabling doesnot

need to be replaced.

Value Series Flash

Advancesin technologyhave enabled much cheaper FLASH memory.

Thisnewtechnology, called Value Series FLASH allowsRAM PC cardsto be

productsfor about half the cost of current cards. The Newton OS supports

thistype of memory. The eMate 300hardware fullysupportsonlythe new

type of card, though it will allowread onlyaccessto older (12V) memory

cards. The MessagePad 2000will read and write both (5V) Value Seriesand

(12V) existing PC cards.

Serial Number Chip

Both eMate 300 and MessagePad 2000 come with an on board

serial number chip. Each device will have a unique serial number that

can be accessed through a secure NewtonScript API . Thisprovides

developerswith the abilityto easilyregister or copyprotect their

software, or track individual units.

MESSAGEPAD2000MessagePad 2000 isa major step forward in the evolution of the

MessagePad product line. It isa cost-effective, powerful, easy-to-use hand-held computer than can provide targeted solutionsin both the horizontal

and vertical markets.

MessagePad 2000Provides:

The fastest hand-held computer experience!

More memoryfor applicationsand capturing data.

Long batterylife.

Accessto networks, Internet and Intranet sites.

PC (Macand Windows) integration.

A wide base of developerswith powerful development tools.

MessagePad 2000 Markets

For the horizontal market, MessagePad 2000isa cost-effective hand-held

computer for highlymobile professionals. It combinesa powerful processor,

long batterylife, instant on, general businessapplications, and connectivityto

both the desktop and the Internet.

For vertical markets, MessagePad 2000isthe most extensible, mobile, and

powerful hand-held computer for businessenterprisesseeking a cost

effective solution to improve productivity, reduce costsand enhance theoverall qualityof service bycapturing information at the point-of-activity.

Apple isfocusing on the Home Health Care vertical market. We are

working with SIs, VARs, and ISVs/IHVsto ensure that a whole product

solution isavailable.

MessagePad 2000 Hardware

The processor isa DEC StrongARM SA-110, which isa 32 bit RISC

processor, running at 161.9MHz. The processor operatesat 1.7 volts.

The displayisa 480x320 non-glare transflective grayscale LCD display

with an electroluminescent backlight, covered bya touch-sensitive tablet

which isoptimized for use with the pen. Part of the screen isused for a

software button bar.

The unit hasan 8MB ROM on a replaceable card, 1MB of DRAM for

system use, and 4MB of Flash RAM for programsand data. There are two

Type II PC card slotsthat support 3.3or 5.5volt operationsat up to 500mA.

There isalso an internal serial connector that hasaccessto three serial lines.

The case haspunchoutsfor an RJ-11modem jack next to the interconnect

port and another punchout for a ribbon cable along the cover hinge. There is

also a small amount of room inside the unit for a modem or other serial card.

The unit hasa front-mounted microphone, speaker, and an AC adapter

and Newton Interconnect port along the top. The internal serial

connector can be routed to the Interconnect port. Also along the top is

the infrared transceiver. There will be an optional keyboard that plugsinto

the interconnect port.

The unit can run on 4AA batteriesor an optional NiMH rechargeable

batterypack. Batterylife isfrom 20to 62continuoushoursof use depending

on backlight and PC card power requirements. The NiMH batteriesfast

charge in about an hour.

MessagePad 2000measures8.25L x 4.7Wx 1.25H (210.3mm x 118.7mm

x 27.5mm) and weighsonly1.8lbs(0.82kg).

Additional MessagePad 2000 Applications

Available with MessagePad 2000 are a number of extra applications

and servicesto provide a whole-product solution for our customers.

Among these are:

Newton Connection Utilityfor MacOS and Windows .

NewtonWorksWord Processor (keyboard required).

Newton Internet Enabler 1.1. Web Browsing software.

Internet mail client software.

Spreadsheet software.

EMATE300

eMate 300 Market

The eMate 300hasbeen designed in cooperation with educatorsto meet

the specificneedsof students. It worksasa companion to MacOS and

Windows-based PCsin a Distributed Learning Environment.

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A Distributed Learning Environment isone that extendsthe reach of

learning, and of computing technology, beyond the classroom to libraries, labs,

homes, and the outdoors. The eMate 300srugged, portable design and long

batterylife make it well suited for these situations. Itsideal for taking notesin

a classroom or library, gathering data in the field, or getting on-line anywhere.

The Information Appliance Division plansto introduce eMate 300in a

varietyof areas. Building on Applesstrong presence in education, the first

productswill be sold directlyinto the K-12school system. Consumer andUniversityproductsare expected to follow.

eMate 300 Hardware

The eMate 300usesa clamshell design which protectsthe case and

keyboard when the unit isnot in use. Thick plasticswith reinforcing ribs, soft

rounded corners, a steel chassis, and a shock mounted displayprovide

protection against drops, twistsand other abuses. Field replaceable

componentsensure minimal downtime if the inevitable occurs. The display,

tablet, and backlight assembly, along with the keyboard and batteryare all

field replaceable, and the total weight with batteriesisunder four pounds.

The processor isan ARM 710a, which isa 32bit RISC processor clocked at

25MHz. The displayisa half-VGA 480x320transflective grayscale LCD display

with an electroluminescent backlight. The displayiscovered bya touch

sensitive tablet, optimized for use with the pen, and a 17mm sub-notebook

keyboard isbuilt in. The eMate 300doesnot use screen space for a software

button bar, instead using a groupsof keysabove the numberson the

keyboard asa button bar replacement. There are keysfor Extras, scrolling and

overview, undo, find, and assist, and newkeyshave been added for docking,

beaming, and closing slips.

The unit containsan 8MB ROM on a replaceable card, 1MB of DRAM for

system use, and 2MB of FLASH memoryfor programsand data. There isa

single standard Type II/III PCMCIA card slot that supports5V cardsdrawing

up to 500mA, and an internal RAM/FLASH upgrade slot. The device iscapable

of using existing (12V) FLASH RAM cardsin a read-onlymode.

The four AA cell NiMH rechargeable batterypack providesabout 28hours

of high usage between recharges, and fast-chargesin about an hour. The

batteryspace isdesigned to allowfor a larger four A cell batterypack, which

approximatelydoublesthe capacity. There isa power adapter plug on the

side in addition to charging contactson the base, and the Newton

Interconnect port can power the unit and charge the battery. A LED mounted

on the rear indicatesbatterycondition.

The unit automaticallypowersoff when the lid isclosed, and powerson

instantlywhen the lid isopened. There are also power and backlight control

keyson the keyboard. Slidersabove the keyboard control the displaycontrast

and the speaker/headphone volume.

A built in infrared transceiver isincluded that iscompatible with

existing Newton protocolsand also supportsIrDA at 115Kbps. A Newton

Interconnect 26 pin connector isavailable asan alternative to a standardDIN9 serial/LocalTalk port. The unit containsa speaker and a

headphone jack, in addition to audio line-out and line-in connectionsin

the Newton Interconnect port.

Simplified Interface for eMate 300

To simplifythe Newton experience for studentsand ease

configuration issuesfor teachers, a limited mode (Simple mode) is

available on eMate 300. In Simple mode, the Newton filing interface is

hidden, and the Extrasdrawer will show onlya teacher-defined subset of

the available applications. Third partyapplicationscan determine if the

unit isin Simple or normal mode, and adjust their interfacesaccordingly.

Multiple Users on eMate 300

To allowmultiple classesto easilyshare hardware, the eMate 300 now

supportsmultiple users. Thisfeature isavailable in Simple mode only.When enabled, the unit requestsa name and optionallya password when

the unit ispowered on. Once signed on, the user onlyworkswith their

data; other users data ishidden.

Teacherscan pre-define setsof users, or allowstudentsto create their

own accounts, or the unit can be configured to require a password. A special

teacher password unlocksfull accessto the machine.

Applicationsmust be updated to support multiple users. We recommend

that applicationsstore data for each user in a separate soup. Each application

can find out the current user, and use the appropriate soup or otherwise

adjust the visible data accordingly. Applicationsare notified when the user is

changed or an account isdeleted.

eMate 300 ClassroomConnectionTo ease integration into a classroom environment, Apple iscreating a

specialized connection server intended to allowa classroom full of students

to quicklyretrieve their work at the beginning of classand move it back to

the server at the end.

Unlike existing connection products, the server will support multiple

connectionsat once. The user will connect via serial, IR, or LocalTalk and

either upload the contentsof the eMate 300device to the server, or

download data on a document-by-document basis.

On the server, each Worksdocument will appear asa separate streamed

object file. Developersmayuse desktop interfacesfrom Apple ( part of the

Desktop Integration Librariesor DILs) to read and write filesin thisformat on

the server. For example, XTND translatorscan be created to integrate these

fileswith a varietyof desktop applications. Translatorsfor the built-in word

processor and drawing applicationswill be included.

Data from Newton applicationsthat are not integrated with Workswill

also be available on the desktop, in a slightlydifferent file format. Each

application soup will exist asa separate file on the desktop, and the same

DILsinterfacescan be used to read and write those files.

Conclusion

The two newApple-labeled productsare nothing short of amazing.

Besidesthe incredible hand-held computing power and gee whiz appeal,

theyalso deliver newcapabilitiesfor growth in marketswhere Newton

devicesare alreadypresent, and open up tremendousopportunitiesto

expand into newmarketslike education and home health care. These newproductsin combination with the updated Newton OS will provide a solid

foundation for future growth of the Newton platform.

Copyright1997 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.

Additional information about the Infrared Data Association can be

found on-line at.


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will be able to add toolsto existing stationery, and register whole newtypesof

stationery. Newstationeryshould tryasmuch aspossible to maintain easyto

understand interfacesand use established patternsfor user interfacessuch ascommand keyequivalentsand menus.

About WorksLike the existing Notesapplication, Worksiswritten around the NewtApp

framework for Newton applications. Those who have written stationeryfor

the Notesapplication will find that writing for Worksisverysimilar.

Worksitself issimilar to the Notesapplication in manyways. The

headers, title slips, menus, statusbar, and overvieware all stock elements.

There are some differences; however, for example Workshasscroll bars.

Because documentslike papersor drawingsare commonlylarger than even

the larger screen of the newdevices, usersneed scroll barsto navigate their

work. A find and replace feature isalso newto the Worksframework.

UsingWorksWorksisthe default backdrop application on the eMate 300 platform, so

itsalwaysreadilyavailable. A common classroom scenario might have a

student opening the eMate 300 to start work. A couple of keystrokes

createsa newword processor document, and the student beginswriting

their paper.

When graphicsneed to be added, there are a couple of options. A quick

sketch tool integrated with the word processor stationeryallowsa student

to easilyinsert sketches. For more detailed drawings, a newdrawing

document iscreated and edited. (The student can also use the drawing

stationeryto create drawing documents.) When the drawing isdone, the

student copiesthe result to the clipboard, switchesback to the paper, and

pastesthe drawing in. Common clipboard formatsare used to aid in dataexchange between Worksapplicationsand other applicationsin the system.

When the paper iscomplete, it can be printed from within Worksand

turned in. It could also be beamed to another machine, either to hand it in

to the teacher or hand it off to another student for collaborative work.

If additional work isrequired to finish the document, it can be moved

to a desktop computer via the classroom connection server. The document

will appear on the desktop asa separate file, and translatorswill allowit to

be opened in ClarisWorksand other popular desktop applications. Once on

the desktop, additional finishing work such asadding color graphicsor

incorporating multimedia content can be done.

With the classroom connection server, documentscan be moved off the

eMate 300 unit when work iscomplete. Rarelywill studentsin the classroom

have more than a fewdocumentsat a time in Works, so the file management

tasksin that scenario are minimal. Of course, Workswill be used outside the

classroom and on other Newton devices, and the filing user interface is

available in those casesto help with document management.

Since the eMate 300 unitswill typicallybe more readilyavailable than

desktop machines, more studentswill be able to do individual work more

quickly. Worksisthe vehicle for thistype of productivitywithin the Newton

OS.

INSIDEWORKSThissection getsinto the technical detailsof extending Works. It provides

a starting point for developersinterested in creating Worksapplications.

When to use WorksSince Worksisa NewtApp application, deciding to add stationeryto

Worksissimilar to deciding if you want to add stationeryto Notesor some

other NewtApp application. Additionallya good candidate for Worksisany

kind of document editor. If you can structure your stationeryso it allowsthe

student to viewand modifysome type of document, then you maywant to

use Works. Thisdocument can be anyunit of electronicdata, for example it

might be a spreadsheet or a sheet of music. Also remember that though

Workswill be available to anyone running N2 or eMate 300, itsprimaryfocus

isthe education market. So consider the target market; will theyoften be

using Works, or will theybe more often in another NewtApplication?

Stationery with some extensionsTo add an application to Works, the DataDef & ViewDef need all the

methodsand slotsnormallyused in stationery, plusadditional methods

and slots. Note, Worksisdesigned to onlyuse one ViewDef, the default

ViewDef. Other ViewDefsare allowed for routing.

To take advantage of the additional featuresWorksprovides, the

DataDefsand ViewDef needssome additional slotsand methods. In

addition there are some APIsfor registering and un-registering toolswith a

particular DataDef. Well walk through some typical actionsstudentswould

do with Works, and explore the APIsinvoked.

NewDocument

When a student tapson the New button, Workschecksto see whatstationeryisregistered. To provide stationeryto Works, the standard

stationeryAPIsare used. These are the global functionsRegDataDef,

UnregDataDef, RegisterViewDef, and

UnregisterViewDef. Check the Newton ProgrammersGuide

(NPG) -System 2.0 for general information about these functions. Note, the

DataDefssuperSymbol must benewtWorks.

After a user selectsa particular piece of stationery, the title slip comes

up. You can put information in thisslip. Worksmakesa conditional call to

the DataDefsmethodInfoBoxExtract. Thismethod ispassed the

target, a boundsframe, your ViewDef, and should return a shape. The shape

can be anything. I t might be a small sketch of a drawing, or the result of

calling MakeShape on some text summaryof the document. The shape will

be appended to the bottom of other content that appearsin the infoBox.

PreferencesOne of the next thingsa student might do istap on the information

button and bring up the preferences. Additional preference information can

be added bysetting aprefsslot in the DataDef. The frame in the

prefsslot issimilar to a frame passed intoPopupMenuas

documented in the NPG 2.0. Thisframe must also contain a

prefsTemplate. Thistemplate containsthe viewtemplate needed

for the user to set the DataDef specificpreferences. For example the

continued from page 1

Introducing Worksfor Newton


8/24


9/24


9

The ViewDef hasa method,UpdateStatusBar, which iscalled

when there isa change to the auxiliarybutton registry. Thiscan occur if a

package installsor removesan auxiliarybutton for Works. The

UpdateStatusBarmethod should update the two statusbar arrays.

There isalso a newtAppBase method calledUpdateStatusBar

which can be called when there isa need to recreate the statusbar. It will

check for a currentlyactive ViewDef, and call the active ViewDefs

UpdateStatusBarmethod.

ProvidingHelpIf the student tapson the information button, and then selectsHelp, the

first thing Workswill tryisto call the optional ViewDef method,DoHelp.

DoHelpcan do anything special which needsto be done. IfDoHelp

returnsloadHelp, Workswill also tryto load the help book.

IfDoHelp isnot implemented, or ifDoHelp returns

loadHelp, Workswill use two ViewDef slotshelpManual and

viewHelpTopic to open a help book. ThehelpManual slot

should have a help book frame. Check the Beyond Help DTS sample for

information about howto create a help book. TheviewHelpTopic

can be set to specifywhat topicto open to when the help book appears.

Data StorageThe saving of the current entryisdone byWorks. Before saving the

entry, the ViewDef methodSaveData iscalled. There are two times

SaveData will be called. FirstSaveData iscalled periodicallyby

Works. Secondlyif you want the entryto be saved call the method

StartFlush, thiswill cause the methodEndFlush to be

called after a period of time. The methodEndFlush will call the

ViewDefsmethodSaveData.

The methodSaveData ispassed the current entry. It can update

slotsin the entry, and return a value indicating if the entryshould be saved.

SaveDatashould returnnil if there isno reason to save the entry, or

return the symbolNoRealChangeorTRUE to save the entry. If

there have onlybeen lightweight changes,NoRealChangewill causethe entryto be saved, but the modification time stamp will not be updated.

UsingTools in WorksToolscan be added for a specifictype of stationery. A ViewDef hasthe

responsibilityfor displaying the toolsinstalled for that stationerytype, and

correctlycalling the tool when it isinvoked.

There are two Worksmethods, RegNewtWorksTool and

UnRegNewtWorksTool to handle adding and removing tools

from a type of stationery. The first ispassed a tool symbol, and a tool

frame. The frame issimilar to the framesdocumented for

PopupMenus, check the NPG 2.0 for more information. The

toolsFrame hasa slot, dataTypeSymbol, which specifiesthe

stationerytype it isregistered to. For Paper and Drawing a second key

part of the toolsFrame iscmdFunc, the method ispassed a

viewDefView (the main ViewDef view), and thenewtAppBase.

There are a fewmore slotsneeded in the tool frame; check the WorksAPI

documentation for more information.

These methodswould typicallybe used in the install and remove

scripts, and would be called like

GetRoot().newtWorks:RegNewtWorksTools (toolSym, toolsFrame);GetRoot().newtWorks:UnRegNewtWorksTools(toolSym);

There are two additional Worksmethods. The first,

GetNewtWorksToolswhich returnsan arrayof the toolsbelonging

to the specified stationerytype. The second,GetNewtWorksTool,

takesa tool symbol and returnsthe tool frame.

To be notified when toolsare added or removed, add a

ToolsChanged method to the viewDef. If the viewDef isthe

current view when there isa change in the toolsregister, the

ToolsChanged method ispassed the action and the tool symbol.

ViewChangesWhen the viewboundschange, for example if the horizontal scroller is

no longer needed, or if the icon bar in N2 ismoved from the side to the

bottom, Workswill call the ViewDef methodviewChangedScript.

ThisViewDef method isalso called anytime a SetValue isdone on the view.

Check the NPG 2.0 for more information.

Two help slotsThere are two helpful slotsin the Worksbase view. The first is

newtAppBase which containsthe Worksbase view. The second is

viewDefView which containsthe current ViewDef view. Thiscan

be nil if there isno currentlyactive ViewDef, for example when Worksisin overview mode.

CONCLUSIONWorksisa built-in application framework that takescare of manybasic

programming tasks, allowing developersto focuson the core work of

creating a document editor. Works usersare guaranteed a consistent

meansof creating and managing their work. Worksisreadilyavailable,

making it the framework of choice for document-centricapplications, and

especiallythose intended for the classroom.

For more information on WorksFor more information on adding an editor to Works, check the

reference document on the developer CD. A Workssample showsabarebonesframework needed to add an editor to Works. Thisisa good

starting place for your development. You can change the name, the symbol,

and then plug in some functionality.

For more information on NewtApp & StationeryA good place to start for learning NewtApp isthe NewtApp overview

article in the June 1996 Newton TechnologyJournal. The Newton

ProgrammersGuide hasa chapter on NewtApp and a chapter on

Stationery. Since adding to Worksisdone bycreating stationery, the

chapter on Stationerywill be frequentlyused; however, the Stationery

chapter buildson conceptsin the NewtApp chapter so read the

introduction of the NewtApp chapter. The sample WhoOwesWhom is

found on the developer CD and showshowto add stationeryto the

Notepad. The sample Cardfile Extensions also showssome stationery

techniquesin adding additional functionalityto the Namesapp.NTJ


10/24

ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHEMESSAGEPAD2000 SCREEN

The MessagePad 2000 platform providesa new screen for Newton

applications. The new screen isone quarter VGA size (320x480 pixels)

and provides16-level grayscale. Thisnew screen resolution provides

exactlytwice the screen real estate over the MessagePad 120 and 130.

Asa result, applicationsnow have greater freedom in their choice of

how to present information.

Along with the increased screen size comesgrayscale. The MessagePad

2000screen providesapplicationswith a palette of 16graylevels. Where

imagesonce had to be shown using dithered graylevels, the MessagePad

2000screen providesreal graytones. In anticipation of possible future

devices, the MessagePad 2000screen isactuallyworking with color values

internally. The graylevelsare simplya mapping from color valuesto gray.

The button bar haschanged aswell. Gone are the silk-screen buttons.

Gone are the arrowbuttonsthat dont quite make sense when the screen is

rotated. Gone isthe restriction to onlyrotate to a single portrait or landscape

orientation. The MessagePad 2000screen can nowrotate to anyof the four

possible portrait or landscape orientations. The orientation that worksbest

can be used. Dont like the button bar at the left of the screen in landscape?

Nowyou can put it on the right side. With the demise of the silk-screen

buttonscomesanother handyfeature. Anyapplication can be put on the

button bar. Simplydrag the iconsyou dont want on the button bar into the

ExtrasDrawer and drag the iconsyou do want onto the bar.

What it looks like

Hereswhat the newscreen lookslike in landscape mode with the icon

bar on the right.

< < Insert picture of MessagePad 2000screen

here, call out notable features: Arrowsrotate with

the screen, Assist off the button bar, Formulas

on> >

Howto look good

There are a fewissuesthat developersmusthandle properlyin order to have their applications

look good on the MessagePad 2000display. The

main issue isdealing with the increased screen size

and the soft button bar. Depending on howan application sizesitsmain view

it mayend up using onlyhalf the screen, or it mayend up using the entire

screen with interface elementsin strange places.

Aslong asapplicationsfollowthe recommended techniquesfor sizing the

base view, most problemscan be avoided. A naive wayof sizing your base

viewisto set the viewBoundsto hard numbersand to assume that the

screen will be the right size to accommodate the view. When the MessagePad

110wasreleased, the screen size changed. Thiscaused anyapplication with

hard viewBoundsto look odd on the newscreen size. Putting a

viewSetupFormScript in your applicationsbase viewisthe right wayto avoid

problemswith the screen size. Heresan example.

func()begin

local maxWidth := 200;local maxHeight := 300;local params := GetAppParams();self.viewBounds := RelBounds(

params.appAreaLeft,params.appAreaTop,Min(maxWidth, params.appAreaWidth),

Min(maxHeight, params.appAreaHeight));end

Byusing a maximum size that isreasonable for your application, you

can be sure that all your careful layout wont be ruined bya suddenly

increased screen size.

Viewjustificationsalso need to be carefullyplanned so that increased

screen size doesnt cause sub-viewsto suddenlychange position.

Workingwith Gray Scale

Letsnowturn our attention to the grayscale capabilityof the MessagePad

2000screen. Grayscale isone of those featuresthat can differentiate a run-of-

the-mill application from one thatsgenuinelypleasing to the eye.

The newgrayscale screen allowsapplicationsto displaygrayshapes,

picturesand text. Along with the grayscale capabilitiescome several new

featuresfor Newton QuickDraw. These newfeaturessupport anti-aliased

bitmaps, Clipboard support and several newshape manipulations.

GrayQuickDrawcan directlydisplay1, 2or 4-bit color images. Picturesor

shapesthat use 8, 16or even 32-bit color can also be drawn byinterpolating

the color valuesasgrays. One thing to keep in mind isthat sizesgo up

dramaticallyaslarger bit-depthsare used for pictures.

The Platform file for MessagePad 2000 will be able to directlyimport

color picturesinto packagesto be displayed asgray. In the case of

bitmaps, multiple versionsof the bitmap at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 bitsper

pixel can be included in the picture. The appropriate image will be

displayed to match the displaycapability.None of the built-in protoshave been changed to take advantage of the

newgraycapability. There are a couple of reasonsfor this. The first and most

obviousreason isspace. Protosthat use graywill simplytake up more space

than the current versions. More importantly, existing applicationswont know

that grayisbeing used. The resultscould be visuallyodd if the grayareas

didnt blend reasonably. There isnothing preventing an application from

defining itsown protosthat use grayto good effect.

All shapescan now include predefined color valuesfor the gray

tonesor graypatternsthat will be tiled into the shape. Fill and pen

patternscan be defined.


10

MessagePad 2000 Screen Size and Grayscale Graphicsby Bruce Thompson, Apple Computer, Inc.

New Product Features


11/24


11

with a mask. Thisallowsbitmapsto have odd shapesbut to still occlude the

background (more or lesslike Macintosh icons).

Ink isnoweasier to handle. First of all, you can get the list of point in

either X,Y order or in Y,X (previouslythe onlywayto get the points),

whichever suitsyour use of the data. Also, the number of pointsobtained can

be tuned byspecifying a distance between points.

Selection handlesare nowsupported through the stylesframe for a

shape. You can also determine whether a point hitsthe selection handle. Thishelpsapplicationsthat support direct user manipulation of shapes.

Summary

The MessagePad 2000 screen providesa lot of newscreen real estate

for applicationsthat need larger areasto work with. The newgray

capabilitiesand drawing function open a number of newarenasfor

application and user interface design.

Monochrome bitmapscan be anti-aliased byshrinking and gray

interpolation. Thisisespeciallyuseful for fax or other scanned image viewing.

If the bitmap being interpolated isnot a bitmap (it hasmore than one bit per

pixel) then anti-aliasing isnot performed.

A number of functionsare nowprovided for working with RGB data. A

drawing application can pretend that it isrunning on a color displayand the

color valueswill be interpolated into graylevels. Byworking with RGB values

an application can be readyfor color in the event that future Newton devicesprovide color support.

There have been a number of capabilitiesadded that have nothing directly

to do with the newgrayscale screen. These newcapabilitiesmake life a little

easier for applicationsthat are doing a lot of graphicswork.

Clipboard data can nowbe converted into Shapes. Thismakesit easier for

applicationsto allowusersto transfer shapesbetween applications.

Shapescan nowbe directlyflipped or rotated to allowapplicationsmore

freedom in howshapesare manipulated. Bitmapscan nowbe displayed

Developer Training Update

Newton Training

OUREXCELLENTTIME-SAVINGCOURSESAREMOVINGTOWHEREYOUARE!

Asof January1st, 1997, Newton Developer Training hasexpanded to offer

two courses Newton EssentialsAND Newton Communications and is

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for registration information, including newlinksto earlier versionsof our

FREE on-line Newton Programming: Communications2.0 and Newton

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Newton Programming: 2.0 Essentials

Learn howto develop applicationsfor Newton devicesusing the state-of-

the-art development environment, Newton Toolkit for Macintosh and

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language, Newtonscript. The use of Newton Toolkit letsyou interactively

develop your applicationswithout having to execute sequential edit, compile

and link cycles. In addition, human interface guidelinesfor developing on

PDAsare discussed.

Instructors: Neil Rhodes, Bill Worzel, or Adrian BrowneDuration: 5 days

Tuition: $1500

Newton Programming: 2.0 Communications

Learn the fundamentalsof Newton Communications. Using a self-paced

mentored approach, we cover information for Newton programmerswho

want to add communicationscode to their applications. Studentswill have

accessto code, articles, referencesand labs. A qualified instructor isavailable

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addition, a module on the Newton Internet Enabler will be presented.

Instructors: Neil Rhodes, Bill Worzel, or Adrian BrowneDuration: 5 daysTuition: $1500

SCHEDULEClass Location Date Cost/Student Registration

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Arroyo Software and Calliope Enterprisesare both long-time providersof

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who are experienced Newton programmersaswell asexpert trainers. Arroyo

Software authored the Newton CommunicationsCourse and Calliope

Enterprisesauthored the Newton EssentialsCourse, both for Apple

Computer, Inc. Educational and group discountsare available.

Onsite training can be arranged both within the United Statesand

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Arroyo Software214West Main Street

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sobel@ arroyosoft.com

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http://www.pobox.com/~ neil/training.html

NTJ

NTJ


12/24

INTRODUCTION

These articlesfocuson information useful to those who have mastered

the basicsof Newton data storage APIs. Theyassume that the reader is

alreadyfamiliar with NewtonScript and Newton data storage conceptsin

the Newton ProgrammersGuide (NPG) and hassome experience

writing Newton applications.

The seriesconsistsof three articlesentitled, Data Structures, Entry

Caching, and VBOs. The articlesinclude some implementation-level

detailswith which you can optimize and design your own applications.

The first article in thisseriesfocuseson internal soup data structuresand

howto use them.

Under the HoodBynow, you have alreadyused soup methodslike

soup:AddXmit(entry) and

unionSoup:AddToDefaultStoreXmit(entry) .

However, you maynot knowwhat goeson under the hood in the

Newton OS to store and retrieve soup entries.

Without anyextra data structures, finding an entryin a soup would be as

inefficient assearching for a specificbusinesscard after a fan blewyour

businesscardsaround your office. You might not be happyif you had to

look at almost everycard before finding the right one.

The pick itemsin a random order algorithm would be especiallyslow

in the Newton OS because reading a soup entryfrom the store hasa high

overhead. While writing a NewtonScript frame to a soup, the frame is

flattened into a binaryobject, similar to the processused in the

Translateglobal function. While reading in a soup entry, the system

readsthe flattened frame from the store and un-flattensthe frame into

NewtonScript memory. Because of the un-flattening code and the memory

management required to create the NewtonScript objects, reading in a soup

entryisslow. The EntryCaching article later in thisserieswill discussthe

detailsof reading in entries.

The high overhead for readingin soup entrieswouldnt be asmuch a

problem if we read in an entryonlywhen it wasthe next item we wanted. You

might be wonderingwhywe cannot read in all the entriesinto memoryand

sort them in place, like you might do on a desktop computer. Due to cost andmobilityrequirements, current Newton devicesdont have enough memoryto

hold all the data of an average-sized soup. Instead, creatinga cursor findsonly

the first entry. If you send cursor messageslikecursor:Next() and

cursor:Prev(), the system searchesfor adjacent entries.

In order to help your application minimize reading in entries,

Newton soupsmaintain separate data structures. The system stores

these data structuresin additionto the entries, and these data

structuresdo not order or modifythe entriesthemselves. These data

structuresare called indexesand tags.

Indexes: fromAA to zzThe most useful soup data structure isthe index. An index provides

quick accessto soup entriesaswell asa meansof retrieving entriesin a

defined order. A designated value from each item, called the index key,

definesthe itemssort ordering. For soup indexes, the keyvalue could

be derived from a slot value or multiple slotswithin the entry. Your

code can use the index to find individual soup entriesquickly(if you

know the keyvalue) or iterate through entriesin a sorted order without

reading in unneeded entries.

Most Newton applicationscreate indexeswhen the soupsare created. For

instance, a bank check application might specifyan integer index on a

checkNumslot. Thismeansthat the soup entryscheckNumslot

containsan integer that providesthe keyvalue for that index. Thisindex allows

the application to retrieve the entriesin check number order (ascendingor

descending) or quicklyfind a check with a specificcheckNum.

The system maintainseach index assoup entriesare added, deleted or

changed. Or, you could add or delete indexesto soupswhen entriesare

alreadyin the soup. If you create indexesfor soupsthat alreadyhaveentries, the system must iterate through all the entries, examine the key

values, and place them in the index.

Note that some applicationsthat add manyentriesachieve better

performance if theydo not set up indexesin advance. If an application

receivesdata from a remote server and must add manyitemsto a soup,

updating the index information when adding everyentrycan slowdown the

connection with the server. If connection time isexpensive, an application

could set up a soup with no indexes, add manyitems, and then add the

index after the connection iscomplete. Even without expensive connection

times, adding manyentriesto an emptysoup will be faster if you create

indexesafter adding all the entries.1

Because the system storesindex information separate from the entries

themselves, we maycreate multiple indexesto represent different sortorders. Multiple indexesare useful if you want to retrieve the data in two

or more different sort orders.

If you wanted a single sort order based onmultiple slots, youd use a

multi-slot index. For example, you could retrieve employee namesin


12

Data Structures: Storing and Retrieving part 1 of 3by J. Christopher Bell , Newton Developer Technical Support, [email protected], http://www.doitall .com

Advanced Techniques

1If the soup alreadycontainsentries, based on the number of entriesalreadyin the soup, it mayor maynot be faster to 1) remove the index 2) add many

entries, 3) re-add the index. Or, you could add newentriesto a temporarysoup (with no indexes) during connections, and move the entriesto the indexed

soup afterward (thismight take longer overall, but it might allowshorter connection timesif that wasimportant for your application)


13/24


13

alphabetical order bylast name (the primarykey), but use the first name (the

secondarykey) to decide ordering of employeeswith the same last name.

Multi-slot indexesdo not define multiple indexes. Instead, the index

extractsthe keyvalue for the index from two or more slots. Although thisis

oversimplifying the implementation, you can think of it ascreating

concatenated valuesfor use asthe keyvalue for that entry. For instance, if

the entriesuse separate slotsfor last namesand first names, the system

extractsboth slotsfrom each entry, creating single index keyvalueslikeSimpson*Bart which define the sort order.2

A common misconception isthat thisisequivalent to multi-index queries,

which are not currentlysupported. Multi-slot indexesdefine a single sort

order. When you use a multi-slot index, you must create the entire index with

the proper sort order specification before querying with that index.

An example of thismisconception istrying to make an efficient query

with the last-name-first index described above, retrieving all people withfirst

namesbeginning with the lettersA through C. You can think of the names

aslisted on a sheet of paper sorted bylast name and then first name.

Because there isonlyone sort order, the people with first namesbeginning

with D through Z are interspersed throughout the sort order. The many

undesired entriesmust be examined and then skipped over using a filtering

method (which we will discusslater in thisarticle), which isinefficient.

Indexes are B-treesIndexesare implemented in a balanced tree structure called a B-tree.

The important thing to knowabout B-treesisthat finding an entrybased on

a keyvalue isdescribed asO(log n) in big oh notation (pronounced order

log n) , where n isthe number of indexed entries. Moving from one item to

the next item in sorted order can be done in O(1), or constant time. For

more information about big O notation and B-trees, see the cross-references

section for more information (Baase, Sedgewick).

For instance, let uscompare it to a hypothetical brute force index

designed to minimize reading in entries. Imagine we created a simple index

bystoring each entryskeyvalue and the soup entryunique identifier

(unique ID) in elementsof an unsorted array. We could iterate over the

unsorted arrayfor a particular keyvalue but we might search most of the

unsorted arrayfor the desired keyvalue. In comparison to thisbrute force

index search time of O(n), a real soup index requirestouching onlya small

fraction of nodesin O(log n) time, and subsequent searchesfor the next or

previousentryin sorted order are O(1) time.

Note that for multi-slot indexes, search speed isapproximatelythe

same asfor single-slot indexes. Multi-slot indexesuse the same structure

asfor single-slot indexes, except that the system takesthe keyvaluesfrom

multiple slotsin the entry.

When Entries Participate In Indexes

For single slot indexes, if the keyvalue isnon-nil, the entrywillparticipate in the index. I f the keyisnil or not present, that index will not

reference that entry.

For multi-slot indexes, the entrywill participate in the index if anyof the

sub-keysare non-nil. I f an entryisin a multi-slot index but a sub-keyis

nil, it will sort before anyotherwise identical item with a non-nil value

in that sub-key. For instance, in the multi-slot index for the employeessoup

described above, the following entrieswould appear in thisorder.

{last: nil, first: Madonna} // nil value for primarykey

{last: Simpson, first: Bart}

{last: Smith}// nil value for secondary key

{last: Smith, first: Abigail}

Urban Legends About IndexesHere are fewcommon misconceptionsabout indexes.

1) Indexes do not order the entries themselves. Soup entriesthemselvesare

stored asflattened framesin no defined order. The system copiesthe

keyvaluesfrom the entriesinto the index structure separate from the

soup entriesthemselves.

2) Indexes are not free. Indexestake time to maintain when entriesare

added, deleted, or changed. Indexestake space on your internal or PC

Card store. Indexesare not automaticallyadded for all slotsin soups;

you must add one index for each desired sort order.

3) Indexes do not provide instant access to soup entries. Finding an entry

based on itskeyvalue takesO(log n) time (although it takesO(1) time

to find the next/previousentryin the index). Note that if you are not

filtering out unneeded entriesin the index (see the next section), index

operationsare veryfast, low-level operationsin comparison to calling

NewtonScript functionsor reading in entries.

4) Multi-slot indexes are not multi-index queries. A multi-slot index must

alreadybe created for a particular set of slotsbefore querying the index.

When querying that index, there isonlyonesort order and onlyonekey

value derived from multiple slots.

Filtering: All You Ever Think About is SetsSome applicationswant to queryusing an index but retrieve entriesonlyi

theysatisfycertain criteria. You might saythat you are looking for a certain

set of entriesin the index. For instance, you might want to find the set of all

employeeswho are married, dont have children, have the ABC health plan,

but dont have a dental plan. You could add an index for everypossible set-

based query, but it would cost both speed and store space to maintain those

indexes. Instead of using indexesto filter out unwanted itemsanddefine an

order, you can use an index to define a sort order ( and a range) and then

filter out unwanted itemswith one of the queryfiltering methods.

When used on their own, filtering methodstake O(n) time to find the

next entry, since the system might examine and reject 999 out of 1000 items

in the index before finding the first item in the desired set. Filtering

methodsdo not create a sort order. If you want to retrieve the entriesin a

sorted order (or limit the range with querylimiterslikebeginKeyand

endKey), youmustcreate an index.

The simplest and least efficient filtering method isavalidTest. AquerysvalidTest function must determine whether the entryisor is

not in the appropriate set. It isthe most powerful filtering method because

it can run an arbitraryfunction to determine whether the item should be

filtered out. However, it isslowbecause the functionsexecute a

2You can also define directionalityfor multi-slot indexes. For instance, you could retrieve employee data sorted bylast namesalphabetically(ascending), and

when there isa tie, showthe employee salarysorted reverse alphabetically(descending).


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NewtonScript function and usuallyrequire the system to read in everyentry.

Reading in entriesisslow, so use thisasa last resort.

A faster filtering tool istheindexValidTest. Thisissimilar to a

validTest, except that the NewtonScript function usesthe index

key(s) instead of the entryitself. Thisisfaster because the system will not

read in the entry. However, it islessflexible because the

indexValidTestcan onlyuse the index key(s). Also, because index

keysmaybe truncated after 80 bytes, theindexValidTestmust beprepared for sub-keysto be truncated or missing.

Tags: Not Just For LuggageAn even better solution for filtering entriesisto use tags, Boolean flags

you can attach to soup entries. Tagsqueriesprovide a wayto test these

Boolean flagsusing a simple syntax. Instead of providing a NewtonScript

function to determine whether the item isin the set, the system checks

the tagsand determineswhether to filter out the item. A queryjust using

tagstakesO(n log m) time to iterate through an index looking for

appropriate tags, where n isthe number of indexed entriesand m isthe

number of entriesin that soup with at least one tag. However, it isvery

fast ( the constant islow) due to the help of an extra low-level data

structure created especiallyfor tags.

If we added the appropriate tagsto the soup entries, we can create a

tagSpec to search for the example employeeswho are married, have

no children, have the ABC health plan, but dont have a dental plan.

myQuery := unionSoup:Query({tagSpec: {all: [isMarried, hasABCHealthPlan],none:[hasChildren,hasDental]

});

Since all the tagsare Boolean, the tagsmechanism can store tagsfor

each entryusing compact bit fields. The system storesthese bit fieldsin a

data structure called a tagsdata structure3. The tagsdata structure uses

an entryidentifier asthe keyvalue for a B-tree, with the tagsbit fieldsas

the data within each node.

Asyou might guessfrom our earlier discussionsof B-trees, the system

requiresO(log m) time to find the tagsfor the entryand O(log n) time to

find the first entryin the current index. Note again that n isthe number of

indexed entriesand m isthe number of entriesin that soup with at least

one tag. In a querythat just usestags, the system must repeat thisprocess

for potentiallyeveryentry(O(n) time) until yourtagSpecmatchesthe

tagsfor an entry. Thismeansthat the system takesO(n log m) time to find

the first match for a tagsquery. You might note that thismaysoundslower

thanvalidTests. However, a tagsquerydoesnot need to execute

NewtonScript code, read in entries, or manipulate NewtonScript objects,

and the system usesefficient index and tagsdata structuresto test entries.

Overall, the result ismuch fasterin comparison to anyother filteringmethod we have discussed so far because of these extra data structures.

Textual QueriesBecause it issimilar to the other filtering typesalreadydiscussed, I want

to brieflymention textual queries. Like the other filtering methods, textual

queriesdo not define an order. If you want to retrieve the entriesin a sorted

order (or limit the range with querylimiterslikebeginKeyand

endKey), youmustcreate an index.

The most important thing to note about textual queriesisthat stringsare

not flattened with the rest of the soup entry. Theresa separate data

structure for storing strings. Unlike the other soup data structuresusing for

retrieving data, thisdata structure iscreated for all stringsand requiresno

extra store space nor explicit creation.You can think of the stringsstored asone long concatenated string for

each soup entry. While writing entriesto the store, the system writesstring

data (from anywhere in the entry) to a separate place on the store.

During textual queries, the system need not examine individual frame

slotsnor read in the entry. Because of this, the system can perform textual

queriesat a lowlevel using thisstructure. Textual queriesmight potentially

search all indexed entries, but the text-searching speed isveryfast in

comparison to filtering mechanismsthat use NewtonScript functionsto

evaluate whether an item should be filtered out.

If Speed Matters: Some RawDataTo compare different filtering methods, here issome speed data with

multiple methodsand a similar search. The test isbased on a 1000 entrysoup with about 700 bytesof data in each entry, including 200 bytesof text,

and string searchesare performed on a 40 charactermyStringslot.

Each search answersthe question: howmanyentrieshave itsmyString

slot start with the stringblah?

Note that all searcheswere designed to search the entire soup asthe

worst case scenario and these timing samplesapplyonlyto thisparticular

set of test data. Speed of particular filtering methodswill varybased on your

data, the complexityof your searches, and on each Newton device. These

testswere performed on a MessagePad 120 with Newton 2.0 OS.

AvalidTest querytakes2225 ticks. ThevalidTest read

in everyentryand tested themyString slot with the

BeginsWith function.

AnindexValidTestquerytakes354 ticks. The

indexValidTest tested the indexedmyString keyand tested it

with theBeginsWith function.

3Youll see other documentation that callsthese tagsindexes, but theyare not indexesin the wayweve been discussing them. You cannot use them to

retrieve itemsin a sorted order. However, to use tagsyou must treattagSpecsasindexSpecswhen used with

store:CreateSoupXmit(...) orsoupOrUnionSoup:AddIndex(...).

The most important thing to

note about textual queries is

that strings are not flattened

with the rest of the soup entry.


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CONCLUSIONHere are the thingsthat are the most important to remember.

1) Indexesare required to retrieve data in sorted order.

2) Indexesare stored asB-treesand take O(log n) to find an entry.

3) Multi-slot indexesdefine a single sort order and use a single B-Tree.

4) Tagsare important for retrieving sets, but are not indexes. Tagsdo not

define a sort order.

5) Tagsare used in conjunction with an index, even if it isthe default index.6) Indexesand tagsdata structuresarent free. Theytake time and storage

space to maintain, so decide carefullywhat you need.

I want to reiterate that if you are ever in doubt of howto optimize your

application for speed and/or size, experiment with several different

implementations. In the wordsof the composer Cole Porter, Experiment.

Make it your motto dayand night.

Thanks to Bob Ebert for his help with this article.

Cross-references

Apple Computer, Newton Programmers Guide(NPG) 2.0 andNewton Programmers Reference 2.0, 1996. Apple Computer, Inc.Available on-line on Newton Developer CD-ROMs. The NPG 2.0 will also be

published in hard copy by Addison Wesley.

Baase,Sara,Computer Algorithms, 1988. Publisher: Addison-Wesley.Find more information on-line at http://heg-

school.aw.com/cseng/authors/baase/compalgos/compalgos.html and

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN= 0201060353

Engber, Michael,Lost In Space articleandLostInSpace code, 1995.Publisher: Apple Computer, Inc. Find them on Newton Developer CDs.

Porter, Cole,Experiment.Copyright 1993 (Renewed) by Warner Bros.Find more information about Cole on-line at my Cole Wide Web,

http://www.doitall.com/cole

Sedgewick, Robert,Algorithms,1988. Publisher: Addison-Wesley. Findmore information on-line at http://heg-

school.aw.com/cseng/authors/sedgewick/algo-in-c/algo-in-c.html and

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0201066734

Agreat deal of our developersare involved in health care applications. TheNewton Group recognizesthis, aswell asthe natural fit, for Newton

technologyin health care and the size of the health care market. Add to thisthe political pressureson health care to improve or to maintain the qualityof

care while cutting costs; and you have a compelling argument whythe

Newton OS hasa chance at reallymaking a positive contribution to the way

health care isdelivered.

In order to establish the Newton OS asthe premiere Operating System

for mobile computing in health care, the Newton SystemsGroup hasformed

a health care group comprised of full time resourcesaswell asmarketing and

salessupport. In thisarticle, I will outline the eventsthat lead to the

formation of the health care group, the groupsplanned activitiesfor thisyear,

and howwe plan to collaborate with developers.

Focus On Home Health CareThe majorityof the health care groupsfocus, in the remainder of 1996

into 1997, will be on the home health care market. Thisisa sub segmentof the overall trillion dollar health care market that isgrowing at a

remarkable rate. Currently, home care comprisesapproximatelythree

percent of the overall health care budget. Bythe year 2000, thisshould

reach ten percent. The home care market hasbeen growing at an annual

rate of more than 25% over the last five yearsand isanticipated to growat

15%+ annuallyuntil the year 2000.

In the United States, home care isthe health care that istypically

delivered in the home setting bynurses, technicians, and therapists. It can be

in the form of wound care, physical therapy, infusion (IV) therapy, dialysis, or

assistance in activitiesof dailyliving; such asbathing.

NSGscommitment to Health Careby Vernon W. Huang, M.D., Apple Computer, Inc.

Marketing Strategy

NTJ


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17

These nursesand allied health personnel, generallydo all of their record

keeping on paper and perform a great deal of redundant data entry. A

typical nurse might spend two and a half hoursper dayon paperwork.

Some attemptsto automate these mobile professionals, have been made:

using laptops, slate type computers, or proprietarydevices. However, there

iscurrentlyno clear leader in the industry. Thus, there existsa unique

opportunityfor Newton developersto deliver a whole product solution

comprising of Newton OS devicesremotelyconnected to a back end server.Asin most dispatch applications, a real time connection isnot usuallya

requirement. Data can be exchanged in batch sessions, usuallyvia modem.

In order to achieve our goal, to be the recognized force in health care and

home health care, the Newton SystemsGroup hasallocated significant

resourcesto the Healthcare SolutionsGroup. Manyof these activitiesinvolve

co-marketing or collaborating with our developers.

NewHealth Care Solutions Guide

We are currentlyputting the finishing toucheson our,Newton in Health

Care Solutions Guide. Unlike the previousyears, our newguide will be

professionallyproduced byan agency. It will be printed in four colors. The

SolutionsGuide will cover successstories; home health care; medical

education, reference and research; general medical software and developer

toolsand SIswith healthcare experience. Revisionswill be made in the

second and fourth quartersof 1997. Developersinterested in receiving copies

of the Health Care SolutionsGuide or inclusion in future editions, shouldemailand place the wordssolutions guiderequestorsolutions guide entr y in the subject of their email.

DistributingYour MarketingMaterials

The SolutionsGuide will be onlyone piece of printed material that

we will be sending to our potential customers. We are also creating a

health care folder which will contain the SolutionsGuide, white papers,

and developer supplied materials. If your companyhasa medical product

or providescustom programming servicesfor health care, we can help

you distribute your marketing materials. To participate in thisprogram,

mail a sample of your letter size glossyproduct sheetsto

Dr. Vernon HuangNewton Systems GroupOne Infinite Loop MS 305-3ACupertino, CA95014

Well do our best to include your materialsin our mailings, but cannotmake anypromisesuntil we see the content.

Industry and Trade Shows

In addition to the showsthat the Newton SystemsGroup traditionallyhas

representation at (Comdex, MacWorld) , the Health Care SolutionsGroup will

be participating in four showsthisyear beginning with the Annual Meeting of

the National Association of Home Care (NAHC) in Nashville, TN. Developers

interested in participating in our booth space at these shows, should make

sure that we knowof the statusof your current products. In addition, your

productscan be demoed at these showsand at other salesopportunitiesif

the Health Care Group hasa sample copyof your application, even if your

companycant participate in person.

Assistance EngagingCustomers

Often timeshaving a representative from Apple along can help assuage

fearsthat a potential customer mayhave about the Newton Groups

commitment to the health care market or Apple Computerscommitment to

Newton. Please be certain to let usknowif you have an opportunityto make

a high level presentation to a qualified health care customer. With Time and

resourcesbeing what theyare, we cant alwayspromise to be able to go in

with you in person, but well do what we can to assist your efforts.

On-Line Marketing

Asthe Newton Web page getsoverhauled, we plan to launch a Newton in

Health Care web page. At thissite, customerswill be able to read about

successstoriesand viewan on-line version of the Health Care Solutions

Guide with linksto the developershome pages. Staytuned on howto

participate in thisopportunity.

Were Here For You

Aside from our commitment to home health care, we are determined to

make the Newton OS the standard in all aspectsof health care deliveryand

education. Our Bookmaker and our Presstechnologieshave alreadystarted a

revolution in electronicmedical references. Several of our developersare

achieving significant first or second round financing and are growing at a

tremendousrate. I f there isa segment of the health care market that you feel

we are neglecting, or if you have additional ideasin howwe can co-market

solutions, please send email to.

NTJ

In order to achieve

our goal, to be the

recognized force in health

care and home health care,

the Newton Systems Grouphas allocated significant

resources to the Healthcare

Solutions Group.


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This article summarizes the technical informationthat was presented at the Newton TechnologyConference 1996.Additional information on each ofthese topics is provided elsewhere in this issue.

TEXTENGINE

The Newton "edit view" viewclasshasbeen part of the standard Newton user

interface since Newton 1.0. It wasextended in Newton 1.3to handle deferred

recognition, and then extended in Newton 2.0to handle pictures. However, it

islimited assimplya container for unrelated viewchildren, not easily

extensible asa complex word processor.

In Newton 2.1, we introduce a newtext-editing engine called

protoTXView. Thistext engine allowsembedded graphicswithin text,

paragraph formatting featuresfound in desktop word processors, and

increasesthe maximum size of documents(stored in Virtual BinaryObjects).

The new text engine allowsparagraph-by-paragraph style

information like left and right indents, complex tab stops( left, right,

and decimal) , and lineSpacing. An optional " ruler" user interface allows

modification of these settings. Thisparagraph-by-paragraph information

iscalled "ruler information."

Methodsare provided for getting and setting information about styles

(bold, italic, underline), ruler information, and text. These APIsare based on

the conceptsof rangesand runs. Rangesrepresent placeswithin the text,

represented bycharacter offsets, like { first: 0, last:5} . Runsrepresent style or

ruler information with arraysof valuesrepresenting pairs: numbersof

charactersand the value. For instance, [3, fontSpec1, 5, fontSpec2]

representseight charactersof style information, with three charactersof

fontSpec1and 5charactersof fontSpec2. Run arraysare used to get and set

style and ruler information.

To use a basicprotoTXView, just add the required viewslots(viewFlags,

viewJustify, and viewBound

Newton Technology Journal: Volume 3, Number 1

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