Re: The apropos-dialog

[cfry@MIT.EDU (Christopher Fry)]

> Date: Fri, 28 Feb 92 10:55:31 EST
> From: cornell@unix1.cs.umass.edu (Matthew Cornell)
> To: info-mcl@cambridge.apple.com
> Subject: Re: The apropos-dialog
> 
> Version 1.1 of CCL included a fancier apropos dialog as an example
> file (smart-apropos-lisp).
Yes, this is my fancy apropos!
 (It pays to keep those old disks,
> sometimes!) Perhaps bringing this file back from the dead would
> involve the least amount of work for people. I'd include it here but I
> don't want to step on Apple's toes, and I'm sure they have it too :-)
> It shouldn't be too hard to convert (defobfuns, etc.). If no one has
> it I'm glad to redistribute it.
Guillaume Cartier has offered to convert it to System 7.
Grteat! Go ahead and convert it. Send me a copy and I'll verify that it 
works like it use to plus pass on any other ideas I've had since.
Then we can hand it over to Straz for CD-ROMing it. OK Straz?

As I implied in my last note, apropos is really a functionality of the 
inspector. It would be nice to integrate it in. The easiest way I can 
think of is just to put an item on the top level inspect menu
called "Symbols" that brings up the apropos dialog.

There use to be a way to call apropos on the symbols of a package that 
you were inspecting.
But if you don't know what package the symbol is in, its better to have 
an apropos that can look over > 1 package. It still could be 
under package inspection and come up by default inspected the package 
that you are inspecting, yet let the user choose additional packages. 
That kind of buries the functionality though. 
Whadda ya think, Bill?