Lines and Outlines
SetLine
Interface instruction: set the style of a line
SL pattern;
This is identical to the SET LINE command, and is used to design the style of all future line drawing. The pattern for the line style is set by the combination of "dots and dashes" in binary format. For example, this example would set a line style of equal solid and blank components:
X> SLine %1111000011110000;
GraphicLine
Interface instruction: draw a line on the screen
GL x1,y1,x2,y2;
This command draws a graphical line from coordinates x1,y1 to x2,y2, like the normal DRAW command. As usual with Interface commands, the starting coordinates are measured from the BAse position. For example:
X> GLine 0,0,100,100
GraphicEllipse
Interface instruction: draw an ellipse or circle
GE x,y,radius1,radius2;
This simple Interface command is used to draw hollow ellipses or circles. The centre of the figure is set by coordinates x,y relative to the BAse location, and then the height and width of the figure are set by specifying the length of the appropriate radii in pixels. To draw a circle, simply specify the same value for both radii.
Displaying text
Once the surroundings of the requester have been generated, the following commands will be
needed to display text in these dialogue boxes. The PRint command is examined in Chapter 9.1,
here are some more instructions to affect the way text is displayed.
PrintOutline
Interface instruction: print hollow text with outline
PO x,y,'text',outline colour,text colour;
The PrintOutine command is used 'to call up outlined or stencilled text. This is achieved by pasting the same text at slightly different positions, and is most effective with larger typefaces. The parameters are self-explanatory, and consist of the starting coordinates for the text on screen, the string of text enclosed in single quotation marks and the index numbers of the outline and text colours.