Cancelling a sort is potentially dangerous in that the database will be
left in a partially sorted state. I think an API that allowed you to put
up a spinning globe, or any other sort of feedback, would be a good thing.
My $0.02.
Greg
At 04:51 PM 5/21/99 -0700, you wrote:
>>Right now, I think you're OK, but I can easily imagine an implementation in
>>which the sorting happened from a different task -- like the
>>synchronization task. In that case, doing UI from the comparison function
>>would be really bad.
>>
>>In general, your comparison function should be self contained and
re-entrant.
>>
>>Again -- that isn't a requirement right now, so you'll be fine if you do
>>this in existing implementations, but you might want to note it in your
>>source so you can easily find/fix it later, just in case.
>
>I liked Neil's suggestion, although it only addresses the "how to keep
>the beach ball spinning" problem, not the "how to abort the process"
>problem. Bob, if this routine is ever rewritten, it might actually be
>nice for it to put up its OWN UI (Cancel button), allowing the user to
>cancel out of a sort (which should leave the database partially sorted,
>but still perfectly functional). Of course this could be one more
>parameter in the call to the API, like true puts up a Cancel button and
>false doesn't or something. When you sort a 10,000 record database it can
>take a while (not nearly as long as installing it in the Palm to begin
>with!!!), and the fact that the unit appears frozen during that time
>isn't a good thing. Heck, while we're at it, maybe sort should do its own
>spinning beach ball. :-)
>
>To summarize - indications of activity and possibilities of cancellation
>are HIGHLY desirable for operations that can take 30 seconds.
>
>Steve Patt
>President, Stevens Creek Software
> http://www.stevenscreek.com/pilot
> The home of...
> PalmPrint && UnDupe && AreaCoder && Handy Randy
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>
Greg Winton
Bachmann Software and Services, LLC
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.bachmannsoftware.com
Software Development for Handheld & Mobile Computing, Windows and the Internet
Home of Bachmann Print Manager, the only graphical printing solution for
the Palm Computing Platform
