riscos-wimp-app

Use this skill when creating or restructuring a RISC OS desktop application. Use riscos-wimp as well for the underlying Wimp protocol, SWI contracts, event block layouts, and generic icon rules. Use riscos-wimp-templates as well when the application needs to create or revise Templates,fec content such as the baseline proginfo window.

Read these references

Choose only the references needed for the task:

• references/application-structure.md: startup, shutdown, SWI-wrapper, and event-dispatch structure
• references/baseline-iconbar-application.md: the default behaviour and packaging for a new iconbar-based application
• references/iconbar-icon-creation.md: concrete application defaults for iconbar icons
• references/naming-and-package-structure.md: package naming, !Run/!Boot, and related application-structure updates
• references/timed-events-with-pollidle.md: regular timed callbacks driven from the main Wimp poll loop

For raw Wimp behaviour, also read the relevant riscos-wimp references rather than duplicating them here. In particular:

• riscos-wimp/references/icons.md
• riscos-wimp/references/interactions.md
• riscos-wimp/references/initialisation.md

Default workflow

1. Confirm whether the task is an ordinary desktop application, a module task, or another Wimp-integrated form.
2. Read references/application-structure.md first.
3. If the user is asking for a new ordinary iconbar application, also read references/baseline-iconbar-application.md unless they explicitly want a different shape.
4. If the application uses an iconbar icon, read references/iconbar-icon-creation.md and the matching riscos-wimp icon references.
5. If the application needs regular background work such as animation, status refresh, or network polling, read references/timed-events-with-pollidle.md before editing the poll loop.
6. If the application name or package layout is being changed, read references/naming-and-package-structure.md before editing.
7. Keep the application split into plumbing, business logic, and narrow SWI wrappers.
8. For packaged applications, check the built absolute size and keep Resources/!Run slot settings in sync with it, rounded to whole 4K pages with a minimum of 24K and at least 32K headroom over the built absolute.
9. Verify install-oriented applications with riscos-amu install INSTDIR=install.

Review checklist

When reviewing a desktop application structure, check these first:

• iconbar icons using the wrong side or wrong text/sprite form for the intended application type
• iconbar bounding boxes using unsuitable vertical co-ordinates
• click handlers that do not filter by both source window and source icon
• button decoding that mixes up button-event values with generic bitfield masks
• timed background work implemented as busy polling instead of scheduling the next idle wake-up
• timeout callbacks doing too much work or calling blocking operations inside the poll loop
• Resources/!Run slot sizes left at skeleton defaults, not rounded to whole 4K pages, or left below the 24K minimum
• application renames that updated COMPONENT but missed !Run, VersionNum, help/messages, or task-name strings
• SWI calls leaking directly into business logic instead of being isolated behind helpers
• proginfo windows created from templates but not given open-window handling, so they cannot be moved correctly
• window work areas, side panels, status bars, or proginfo templates sized too narrowly for their contained text, causing text clipping or truncation against borders (ensure width >= max_text_width + margins)
• application main windows or canvas windows created with a close icon but missing the back icon (wimp_WINDOW_BACK_ICON)
• application windows using raw VDU 5 bitmap text for desktop UI or data display instead of the antialiased font system (Wimp_PlotIcon or Font Manager Homerton.Medium/Corpus.Medium)