Runtime / Virtual Machine Enhancements
Widget Event Blocking in Runtime and
Virtual Machine Modes
Beginning with IDL 6.1, the XMANAGER procedure honors the value of the NO_BLOCK keyword in Runtime and Virtual Machine modes. This makes it easier to develop IDL widget applications for distribution.
Because XMANAGER did not honor the NO_BLOCK keyword in previous releases, widget applications that worked properly (not blocking) when run in a licensed full version of IDL behaved differently when run in Runtime or Virtual Machine mode. This difference in behavior has been removed; widget applications should behave identically (with regard to blocking behavior) in all IDL licensing modes.
Other differences between IDL's Virtual Machine mode and full licensed mode, such as the fact that programs that call the IDL EXECUTE function will not run in the IDL Virtual Machine, are still in effect.
If you have modified your widget application to work around the old blocking behavior by removing the NO_BLOCK keyword from calls to XMANAGER or by substituting the JUST_REG keyword, you may need to reinsert the NO_BLOCK keyword to achieve the desired behavior.
Additional Virtual Machine Enhancements
Other Virtual Machine enhancements include:
- When no SAVE file is supplied, the default browse directory for the Virtual Machine is now !DIR.
- When a SAVE file is supplied, the working directory is set to the location of the SAVE file. (This is true for IDL Runtime as well.)
- The IDL Virtual Machine can now be run directly from the Windows CD.
- The CREATE_STRUCT function NAME keyword and new SCOPE routines alleviate the need to use the EXECUTE function.
- Under Microsoft Windows, you can create a CD-ROM that contains all the files necessary to run a Virtual Machine application directly from the CD. See Distributing Your Application on a CD for details.