Lisa computer retrospective - Part 6 of 7 from David Craig on 2001-01-04 (lisalist1)

Lisa computer retrospective - Part 6 of 7

From: David Craig <dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 17:30:16 -0700

THE APPLE LISA COMPUTER: A RETROSPECTIVEPART 6 OF 7REFERENCES: GENERAL-------------------------------------------------Many reference materials for the Lisa exist but, unfortunately,most have become difficult to obtain. Fortunately, the author ofthis paper appears to have almost everything ever written aboutthe Lisa, both in the general press and by Apple Computer. Allmy Lisa materials are available to others if they pay for thecopying and shipping.This discussion of Lisa references mainly covers reference workspertaining to the original Lisa, not to the "Macintosh version"Macintosh XL. The original Lisa ran its own operating system(called the Lisa OS) while the Macintosh XL ran the MacintoshOS.For general Lisa information I recommend the following books andarticles:* The Complete Book of Lisa (Kurt Schmucker, 1984)* The Lisa Computer System (BYTE magazine, Feb. 1983)* The Lisa 2: Apple's Ablest Computer (BYTE magazine, 1984)* A First Look at Lisa (Personal Computing magazine, Mar. 1983)* Apple's Lisa (The S
eybold Report on Professional Computing,		Jan. 1983)* Lisa Makes the Scene (Apple Orchard magazine, Mar. 1983)* Background Information: How Lisa Works (Apple Computer, 1983)* Introducing Lisa: Apple's Personal Computer for the Office		(Apple Computer, 1983)* Apple Introduces Lisa: A Revolutionary Personal Computer for		the Office (Apple, 1983)* The Apple Lisa (Officemation Product Reports, Apr. 1983)* Lisa/Mac XL Handbook (Michael Posner, Lisa Lives User Group,		1992)* How Apple presents Lisa (Softalk magazine, Sep. 1983)* Personal Computer Series: Apple Lisa 2 (Electronic Design,		Jul. 1984)* Lisa Owner's Manual (Apple Computer, 1984)Three books were written for the Lisa, but only Schmucker's bookmay be considered worth reading. Michael Posner's 123 pagehandbook is worthwhile for a decent overview of the Lisa'shistory and operational information. This handbook is alsonoteworthy for its recent publication date, which demonstratesthe longevity of the Lisa. To join Posner's _Lisa Lives_ usergroup write to him 
a
t 5170 Woodruff Lane, Palm Beach Gardens,Florida 33418.REFERENCES: NEWSLETTERS AND PRODUCT SHEETS-------------------------------------------------Several Lisa-specific magazines were also around for a while.* Semaphore Signal* ICON* The LisaTalk ReportSemaphore Signal was a very detailed Lisa newsletter whichproduced around 30 issues. ICON was also good. The LisaTalkReport was the newsletter of the Lisa NetWorkers, a group whichtried to breathe some life into the Lisa after Applediscontinued it.Many other general Lisa references exist, ranging from generalmagazine articles to press clippings. For information about theLisa's first operating system, Lisa Office System or Lisa 7/7,see the following:* Reviewing Lisa's Office System (St. Mac magazine, Mar. 1984)* Venerable Lisa Software Improved (Personal Computing magazine,		Mar. 1985)* The Lisa Office System (Apple Computer, 1984)* Lisa Product Data Sheets (Apple Computer, 1983-1984)* LisaGuide screen prints (David Craig, 1984)The Product Data Sheets are worth 
reading for their descriptionsof the programs Apple created for the Lisa, including LisaWrite,LisaDraw, LisaCalc, LisaGraph, LisaProject, LisaList, andLisaTerminal, as well as the Lisa itself. The screen prints area complete collection of the 126 screens shown by Apple'sinteractive tutor for new Lisa users, LisaGuide.REFERENCES: HISTORICAL/ARCHITECTURAL-------------------------------------------------For historical information about the Lisa see the following.* The Legacy of the Lisa (MacWorld magazine, Sep. 1985)* The Apple 32 Line: Past, Present, and Future (A+ magazine,		Jul. 1984)* Lisa Chronology (Orphan Support column, MACazine, 198?)* _Fire in the Valley_ (Freiburger and Swaine, Osborne-McGraw-		Hill, 1984)* _The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple_ (M. Moritz,		1984)The Lisa Legacy article is especially worth reading, since itwas written by one of the Lisa's main designers, who provides aconcise narrative of how the Lisa changed personal computing.Lisa development history and details are docum
e
nted in thefollowing references:* The Past, Present, and Future of the Macintosh Desktop		(Semaphore Signal, Mar. 1986)* An Interview with Wayne Rosing, Bruce Daniels, and Larry		Tesler (BYTE, Feb. 1983)* The Birth of the Lisa (Personal Computing magazine, Feb. 1983)* Lisa's Design (Popular Computing, Mar. 1983)* Lisa: A Vision for the Couch at Apple (Softalk magazine, Jul.		1983)* Racing to a Draw: How Apple Gets its Software out the Door		(St. Mac, Jun. 1984)* Apple's Second Try at UNIX (UnixWorld magazine, Mar. 1988)* A Death in the Family (ICON magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3)The BYTE article is an excellent interview with the main Lisadesigners. "Racing to a Draw" is worth reading for its fairlydetailed description of LisaDraw and MacDraw development. The"Couch" article is a good discussion of Mr. John Couch, theGeneral Manager for Lisa, who may be considered Lisa's "father".REFERENCES: TECHNICAL-------------------------------------------------Readers with technical aptitude can search out a smorgasbord ofLisa 
references that should satisfy the hungriest technophile:* The Architecture of the Lisa Personal Computer (Proceedings of		the IEEE, Mar. 1984)* Lisa User Interface Guidelines (Apple Computer, Nov. 1983)* Lisa's Alternative Operating System (Computer Design, Aug.		1983)* Lisa: Up Close and Personal (Softalk magazine, Sep. 1983)* Network Introduction Package (Apple Computer, 1983)* The Lisa Applications ToolKit (Apple Computer, 1983)* Lisa Workshop User's Guide (Apple Computer, 1984)* Lisa Development System Internals Documentation (Feb. 1984)* Lisa Desktop Libraries Interface Listings (David Craig)* Lisa Hardware Manual (Apple Computer, May 1983)* Guide to the OS (Apple Computer, Oct. 1982)The Lisa Architecture paper is a tremendous resource of Lisatechnical design and implementation facts, written by a primaryLisa designer, but it is extremely difficult to find. The LisaUser Interface Guidelines is a wonderful 100 page document thatdescribes the design behind the Lisa's user interface. TheDesktop Library in
t
erface listings describe the routines anddata structures developed to implement Lisa Technology. The LisaHardware Manual is a lengthy tome describing Lisa's hardware inextreme detail; if you are an electronic-hardware fanatic, thismanual is for you. The author also has a 1981 preliminaryversion of the hardware manual which runs to only 80 pages,versus 200 pages for the 1983 version. "Guide to the OS" is aninternal Apple manual describing the Lisa Monitor developmentenvironment, precursor to the public Lisa Workshop environment.This document should be of interest to those who yearn forinformation about the Lisa's early development years and thetools used for the programming effort.REFERENCES: LISA TOOLKIT-------------------------------------------------Shortly after Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983, an enterprisingcomputer engineer from Seattle started a programming groupcalled the ToolKit User's Group (TUG). This group centeredaround the Lisa ToolKit, which was based on the Pascal languagederivative Clascal
, as developed by Apple for long-term Lisadevelopment. Those with an interest in the ToolKit will find thefollowing resources beneficial.* Software Frameworks: The Lisa ToolKit (BYTE magazine, Dec.		1984)* Professor Overrider's Almanac (David Redhed, TUG's newsletter,		4 issues)* Save the ToolKit: A Call to Arms (Call A.P.P.L.E., Jun. 1984)* An Introduction to Clascal (Apple Computer, Jul. 1984)* The Lisa Applications ToolKit Reference Manual (Apple		Computer, 1984)* Object-Oriented Programming for the Macintosh (Kurt Schmucker,		1986)* ToolKit source code (David Craig)The Schmucker Macintosh book is recommended for its conciseintroduction to the Lisa ToolKit and the Clascal language.Though devoted to the Macintosh and MacApp, Apple's ToolKit son,this book does provide an excellent chapter on both the ToolKitand Clascal. The ToolKit source code is a wonderful collectionof well-written modules which any programmer could profit fromreading.END OF PART 6

> Regards,
> David T. Craig
>
> ###########################################################
> # David T. Craig -- CyberWolf Inc. -- ACI 4D Developer #5
> # Aspen Plaza, 1596 Pacheco, Suite 203
> # Santa Fe, NM 87505 USA
> # voice 505.983.6463 ext 15 -- fax 505.988.2580
> # dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden
> ###########################################################

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Host your mailing list for free at Maclaunch http://www.maclaunch.com/forms/list.shtml Received on 2001-01-04 16:28:42

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