DrDialog

Doctor Dialog, more commonly referred to as just DrDialog, is a REXX graphical user interface builder that allows you to create simple interfaces for REXX programs based on dialog boxes. It was written by David Morrill when he was working for IBM and was included for free with the IBM Developer Connection. It allows developers to build windowed 32-bit applications using the Classic REXX language and with some modifications can be made to work with Object REXX as well.

DrDialog is a very good tool to develop PM applications in REXX. You can use DrDialog to develop event driven REXX programs with PM GUI.

Version

• Latest version: Version v3.27, 10.04.1994

Preresiquites

• Older version of IBM's recource editor - Needed if you want to ship DrDialog programs as .exe's or use the ResToRexx tool.

Fix for Object REXX

• Fix for DrDialog and Object Rexx - Corrects a problem with the DrsAide tool and Object Rexx.

Add on packages

• CWHelp Class - Adds a simple help system.
• DrDialog Control - Add on for Dr. Dialog that makes the dialogs more flexible and adds flyover help.

Known issues

• Software created with DrDialog will only work on OS/2 Version 4 or higher or eComStation system if you use Version v3.27, older versions of DrDialog will run under OS/2 2.x and 3.x but have problems with later systems.
• The slider controls of DrDialog are known to be buggy, as a workaround you can use the scrollbars instead. Thanks to Klaus Staedtler for this information.

DrDialog & Object REXX

"There is a problem running DrDialog programs under Object REXX if they use DrsAide (as shipped) controls. Because Object REXX parses the entire file before running, many times syntax errors which would go undetected under "Classic" REXX are in fact detected. There is just such a syntax error in the DrsAide utility.

To fix the problem, open the DRSAIDE.RES file from the DrDialog File Menu option. Double-Click the ICONBUTTON (the only control visible other than the DIALOG). The DrRexx Code editor should appear with the ICONBUTTON section open. Click the "Drop-" tab and use the spin-button under the edit window to bring up the Class code. At the very end, on its own line, type END. Save the file. And now everything should work."

Source: Thos Davis

Links

• Dr. Dialog info and install instructions - from Ecosoft/2.
• The DrDialog documentation in PDF format.

Publications

Local articles

Tutorials

• DrDialog, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love REXX by Thomas Klein
  • Part 1 (September 2002)
  • Part 2 (October 2002)
  • Part 3 (November 2002)
  • Part 4 (December 2002)
  • Part 5 (January 2003)
  • Part 6 (March 2003)
  • Part 7 (April 2003)
  • Part 8 (May 2003)
  • Part 9 (July 2003)
  • Part 10 (September 2003)
  • Part 11 (January 2004)
  • Part 12 (April 2004)
  • Part 13 (June 2004)
  • Part 14 (June 2005)

• Douglas Clark: RAD Development with DrDialog

Review

• Dr. Dialog Review by Paul Floyd (January 1998)

License

Discontinued freeware. Author David C. Morrill indicated that the source code of this program had been lost over time (2012-11-13). DrDialog was written in a system called IBM Oberon-2 that never got distributed outside of IBM anyway so would be of a limited use.

Author

• David C. Morrill