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The CLIX Workstation User's Guide

Intergraph uses MicroStation with the Clipper RISC processor, hence the name CLIX: Clipper and UNIX.

CLIX has its own commands, but uses UNIX utilities such as vi, Elm, and mailix. The operating environment is geared for CAD-CAM, mapping, and the like. This book is designed for those new to CLIX workstations, or who have an intermediate level of knowledge. It covers the common CLIX commands, use of vi and MicroEMACS, printing, plotting, networking, and the use of DOS files with CLIX. A disk, in DOS format, comes with the book and contains utilities and examples.

Pro/ENGINEER Quick Reference

The book is what it says, a quick reference; the program is a high-end CAM/CAD package and the reference lists all the commands and shows where they appear in drop-down menus. A comprehensive index provides an extra dimension that should enable any command or function to be located. A handy size and well set out.

GIS Book

Geographic Information Systems are important to government planners and policy makers at all levels, federal, state, and local government utilities, geography students, environmentalists, civil engineers, and surveyors.

If you thought CAM is an acronym for Computer Aided Manufacturing you are right, but wrong in the GIS environment where it means Computer Aided Mapping. CAD is still short for CARD: Computer Aided Design and Drafting.

Both CAD and CAM have an important place in the production of maps, but GIs is a system for the analysis of geographic data. If you have an interest in the subject - even a more-than-idle curiosity - this book is a good place to start. It deserves a place in any library catering for tertiary students of geography as well as computer science.

Intergraph produces Modular GIS Environment, which will also run on MAC and VMS operating systems.

Five Steps to HP-UX

HP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's UNIX operating system that runs on heavyweight hardware. The book is designed for beginners and intermediate users and the five steps are: systems security and logging in; file structure and data management; creating and using text files; e-mail; and customising the system.

There is an accompanying disk - in UNIX format - with tools and other material. It is essentially for new HP system users. My impression is that it would be a good introduction at that level.

One Minute SunSoft Solaris Manager

This is not a technical book. The introduction describes it as "a fast paced book for anyone seeking or being pushed into a system management role". So, if you want to become an effective network manager here is your guide. It will take more than a minute to read, but the ninety-six pages should not take you too long. For those into motivation, team playing, and contributing to corporate success the One Minute Manager should be of interest. An ideal gift for those who really need it - a quick browse is sure to bring suitable recipients to mind.

The Adventurer's Guide to Interleaf Lisp

Originally known as Interleaf Publisher, Interleaf 5 is claimed to be "the world's most powerful document tool" and runs under DOS or UNIX. Desktop Publishing packages fall into two broad divisions: page and document layout. However, it can be difficult to decide which belongs to which. Page-layout software is concerned with complex page design-newspapers, magazines, posters, leaflets - and is built around the concept of frames.

Document-layout packages are intended for longer publications - books, journals, technical manuals - and typically provide for tables of contents, indexing, bibliographies, automatically-numbered footnotes and endnotes, and editing.

Interleaf is a document-layout program that can run on either a DOS or UNIX platform and is written using Interleaf Lisp. The Lisp connection makes Interleaf 5 quite different from any other DTP package. A programmer can use Interleaf Lisp to modify it. The interface can be changed, hypertext-type links can be created, the program, can be turned into a display engine, active documents created, and new functionality can be added. It's a bit like Leggo; components can be modified and reassembled to make something quite new. Interleaf 5 is not designed for casual users.

Active documents are ones programmed to acquire and evaluate information, and then execute some predetermined function.

This book is likely to be a valuable aid in programming and using the software. It is not a beginner's guide. The disk comes with some utilities and all the examples that appear in the book - each is in formats for DOS and UNIX.

Reprinted from the October 1994 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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