Technical Note TE26

Inside Macintosh Text and Life Before 7.1

CONTENTS Introduction New Features in System 7.1 New Features in System 7.0 Acknowledgements Some References References Downloadables

Inside Macintosh: Text documents the text handling functionality in System 7.1. This Technical Note gives you some additional information that lets you design software using Inside Macintosh: Text and make it work on system software before System 7.1, going back to System 6.0.7. [Jun 01 1993]

Introduction

Inside Macintosh: Text is the best documentation on Macintosh text handling (especially its international aspects) that you've ever had, but it focuses on the functionality available in System 7.1. Many of the features documented in the book were newly introduced in System 7.0 or even in System 7.1. If your software has to be able to run on System 7.0 and System 6.0.7, you will have to use some older, now obsolete routines, that are no longer documented in Inside Macintosh: Text, or fill in some gaps by writing your own code.

This technical note gives you an overview of the trouble areas. The idea is that you design or internationalize your software using the information in Inside Macintosh: Text (which, after all, is the most coherent documentation available), and then check this Technical Note to find out where you have to add code in order to be able to run on older system software.

If your software already makes use of the old Script Manager and International Utilities calls, you may want to check the appendix "Renamed and Relocated Text Routines" in Inside Macintosh: Text to find out which new routines you can take advantage of in System 7.1.

Back to top

Some References

This technical note may refer you to the following documentation:

• IM: Inside Macintosh - if a name follows, we are talking about a volume of the second edition, if a Roman number follows, about a volume of the first edition; published by Addison-Wesley.
• TN: Macintosh Technical Notes - available on the Developer CD and from many other sources.
• WWD: Macintosh Worldwide Development: Guide to System Software (beta draft); available from APDA.

Back to top

New Features in System 7.1

Managers

The Text Services Manager and the Dictionary Manager are new in System 7.1. Before using them, make sure to check for their existence using Gestalt.

Routines

The following table shows the routines of other text managers that are new in System 7.1, which earlier routines can be used instead of them, and where to find documentation for the precursors:

Script Manager Constants

The following constants for Script Manager routines are new in System 7.1 and cannot be used in earlier systems:

• Selector for GetScriptManagerVariable and SetScriptManagerVariable: smKeyDisableState.
• For bits in the long word accessed by GetScriptManagerVariable and SetScriptManagerVariable with the smGenFlags selector: smfUseAssocFontInfo.
• For bits in the word accessed by GetScriptVariable and SetScriptVariable with the smScriptFlags selector: smsfUnivExt, smsfSynchUnstyledTE.
• Codes for KeyScript: smKeySwapKybd, smKeySetDirLeftRight, smKeySetDirRightLeft, smKeyRoman.
• Return values of CharacterType: smCharContextualLR, smCharNonContextualLR, smCharBopomofo.

International Resources

itlc: The field itlcSysFlags was added to this resource type in System 7.1.

itl2: A new format of the script run table was defined for System 7.1. Both the old and the new format are documented in IM Text B-40 to B-43, and both continue to be supported.

trsl: This resource type is new in System 7.1 and cannot be used in earlier systems.

Back to top

New Features in System 7.0

Routines

The following table shows the routines that are new in System 7.0, which earlier routines can be used instead of them, and where to find documentation for the precursors:

TextEdit Constants

The following constants for TextEdit routines are new in System 7.0 and cannot be used in earlier systems:

• Feature codes for TEFeatureFlag: teFInlineInput, teFUseTextServices. Actually, these feature codes are supported in versions of System 6.0.7 that have nonroman scripts installed.
• Hook code for TECustomHook: intTextWidthHook.

Script Manager Constants

The following constants for Script Manager routines are new in System 7.0 and cannot be used in earlier systems:

• Selectors for GetScriptManagerVariable and SetScriptManagerVariable: smDoubleByte, smKCHRCache, smRegionCode.
• Implicit script codes for GetScriptVariable and SetScriptVariable: smSystemScript, smCurrentScript.
• Selectors for GetScriptVariable and SetScriptVariable: smScriptMonoFondSize, smScriptPrefFondSize, smScriptSmallFondSize, smScriptSysFondSize, smScriptAppFondSize, smScriptHelpFondSize, smScriptValidStyles, smScriptAliasStyle.
• Codes for KeyScript: smKeyNextKybd, smKeyDisableKybds, smKeyEnableKybds, smKeyToggleInline, smKeyToggleDirection, smKeyNextInputMethod, smKeySwapInputMethod, smKeyDisableKybdSwitch.
• Field masks for CharType: smcOrientationMask.
• Return values of CharType: smCharBidirect, smCharHangul, smCharJamo, smPunctRepeat, smPunctGraphic, smJamoJaeum, smJamoBogJaeum, smJamoMoeum, smJamoBogMoeum, smKanaSmall, smKanaHardOK, smKanaSoftOK, smCharHorizontal, smCharVertical.
• Source mask and target values for Transliterate: smMaskHangul2, smMaskJamo2, smMaskBopomofo2, smTransHangul, smTransJamo2, smTransBopomofo.

International Resources

• itlc: The field itlcRegionCode was added to this resource type in System 7.0. In general, you don't need to access "itlc" resources, because all relevant information is available through the GetScriptManagerVariable and SetScriptManagerVariable routines.
• itlb: Several fields were added to this resource type in System 7.0. In general, you don't need to access "itlb" resources, because all relevant information is available through the GetScriptVariable and SetScriptVariable routines. If you need to access resources directly, and run on system software before System 7.0, you should use the data type ItlbRecord instead of ItlbExtRecord to access the content of "itlb" resources.

• itl1: The optional extension that can contain additional month and day names as well as abbreviated month and day names is new in System 7.0.
• itl2: The length information for code and tables is new in System 7.0. The break tables use a new format, NBreakTable. If you need to define break tables for earlier systems, or need to access older break tables, use the BreakTable data type. See WWD 209-216 for more information about the old break table format. The optional script run table was added in System 7.0.
• itl4: The length information for code and tables is new in System 7.0. For systems before 7.0, you should use the data type Itl4Rec instead of NItl4Rec to access the content of "itl4" resources. In the untoken table, the following tokens were added in System 7.0: tokenEllipsis, tokenCenterDot. The white space table is new in System 7.0.
• itl5: This resource type is new in System 7.0 and cannot be used in earlier systems.
• itlm: This resource type is new in System 7.0 and cannot be used in earlier systems.

Font Resources

• sfnt: This resource type is new with TrueType and supported only if TrueType is available. TrueType became generally available with System 7.0, but may also be available on machines running System 6.x, for example, if StyleWriter software is installed. If Gestalt with the gestaltFontMgrAttr tells you that outline fonts are available (bit gestaltOutlineFonts is set), "sfnt" resources are supported.

Back to top

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Jeannette Cheng, Peter Edberg, and Kenny Tung for reviewing this document and providing me with some historical information.

Back to top

References

Inside Macintosh: Text

Inside Macintosh, Volume I, The International Utilities Package

Inside Macintosh, Volume V, The Script Manager

Inside Macintosh, Volume VI, The Font Manager

Inside Macintosh, Volume VI, Worldwide Software Overview

Inside Macintosh, Volume VI, TextEdit

Macintosh Technical Note: TE 12 - Script Manager's Pixel2Char

Macintosh Worldwide Development: Guide to System Software (beta draft)

Back to top

Downloadables