=========================================================================

INFO-ATARI16 Digest         Fri, 11 May 90       Volume 90 : Issue  533
 
Today's Topics:
                            Linker formats
                      MASTER drive from Oceanic?
                           MMU on Atari ST
                       Phantom Typist and IKBD
               poolfix3, poolfix4; naming conventions.
                              Questions
                              Quick CIS
                     Splitting comp.sys.atari.st
             Tim Oren's Gem articles/ftp/lancaster.pdsoft
             What is wrong with Terminator's directory??
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Date: Fri, 11 May 90  19:13 BST
From: Vision Newspapers <SOCS18%vaxa.york.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK>
Subject: Linker formats
 
The GST linker format is well described in the manual for Metacomco's
Macro Assembler Version 12.0. Now Metacomco have left the ST market (the
company was shut down by one of its senior partners because he needed the
money for his expanding hotel business!), so you might find the assembler
going cheap somewhere.
 
Not much of a solution, I know, but it's the only place I've ever seen
the GST format documented.
 
Regards,
Mathew Lodge
 
(JANET: SOCS18@uk.ac.york.vaxa)
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 18:29:40 GMT
From: usc!snorkelwacker!paperboy!osf.org!dbrooks@ucsd.edu  (David Brooks)
Subject: MASTER drive from Oceanic?
Message-ID: <7973@paperboy.OSF.ORG>
 
I finally got a 2-sided drive when my old 1-sided went back home.  My
dealer sold me a:
 
        MASTER 3S drive from Konyo International
 
which is said to have a TEAC mechanism.
 
Prolem it, it doesn't seem to detect media change.  I take out a
write-enabled floppy, put in another, hit escape in the GEM directory:
nothing moves.  As far as I remember, this means the drive isn't
setting "write-protect" during the transition.
 
(a) Does anyone know this drive: is it a design flaw or a bad unit?
 
(b) Assuming I can stand closing and reopening the window, will
anything else go badly wrong?  In particular, should I beware software
disk caches?
--
David Brooks                            dbrooks@osf.org
Open Software Foundation                uunet!osf.org!dbrooks
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 17:38:27 GMT
From: agate!stew.ssl.berkeley.edu!ericco@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU  (Eric C. Olson)
Subject: MMU on Atari ST
Message-ID: <1990May11.173827.16571@agate.berkeley.edu>
 
In article <11977@netcom.UUCP> rcb@netcom.uucp (Roy Bixler) writes:
>
>I'm wondering if there are any possibilities of replacing the MMU on the
>ST with one that gives memory protection.
 
Humm, I`ve often wondered if the current MMU could be used for process
memory protection.  Imagine a process controler (PC) that starts up after all
the accessories have modified that high physical memory limit.  Each task
that is invoked gets a specfic hunk of memory.  The PC knows the high limit
imposed by the accessories, the low limit imposed by TOS, and each processes
memory area.  So instead of leaving the high and low memory limits fixed,
make them more restrictive.  The PC would set these limits before invoking
each task, and would catch the appropriate interrupts when the limits were
acrossed in user mode.
 
Humm,
Eric
 
ericco@ssl.berkeley.edu
 
 
Eric
ericco@ssl.berkeley.edu
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 13:31:20 GMT
From: otter.hpl.hp.com!hpltoad!ghiggins!gray@hplabs.hp.com  (Graham Higgins)
Subject: Phantom Typist and IKBD
Message-ID: <GRAY.90May11143120@ghiggins.hpl.hp.com>
 
I have noticed the PT using AlphaPop under Spectre.
--
 
Graham
======
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Graham Higgins                  |  Phone: (0272) 799910 x 24060
Hewlett-Packard Labs            |  gray@hpl.hp.co.uk
Bristol                         |  gray%hplb.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
U.K.                            |  gray@hplb.hpl.hp.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: My opinions above are exactly that, mine and opinions.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 19:15:37 GMT
From:
 usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!news@ucsd.edu
 (USENET Master)
Subject: poolfix3, poolfix4; naming conventions.
Message-ID: <23187@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
 
Followup-To:
Distribution:
Organization: UF CIS Department
Keywords:
From: cr1@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Anubis)
Path: beach.cis.ufl.edu!cr1
 
In article <1990May9.042912.22032@wam.umd.edu> dmb@wam.umd.edu (David M.
 Baggett) writes:
 
>My AUTO folder has poolfix3.prg in it.
>
>Dave Baggett
>dmb@wam.umd.edu
 
Well, MY auto folder has Poolfix 3 in it too, but only because I can't
get a copy of poolfix 4.  Can anyone send me a copy of poolfix 4?
 
 
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*     Christoper Roth                         *  "Machines have no
*     InterNet  :  cr1@beach.cis.ufl.edu      *   Conscience..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Post No Bills-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 15:42:36 GMT
From: cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve@ub.d.umn.edu  (Steve Yelvington)
Subject: Questions
Message-ID: <A1431442603@thelake.mn.org>
 
[In article <9005110710.AA01662@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>,
     S61304@PRIME-A.POLY-SOUTH-WEST.AC.UK ("Simon Chappell") writes ... ]
 
> OK, Here's some thought provoking stuff:
> Easy ones first!
>
> 1. How do get hold of stuff like SALAD and the PEXEC Cookbook?
 
So far as I know, the only way is to be a developer. I have not located
an comprehensive+comprehensible Line A document that can be distributed.
 
Bammi's Line A header file (for C) is available, but it's not a tutorial.
 
I don't know what's in the Pexec Cookbook.
 
> 2. Can you call line-a routines from within C? (Sozobon in particular)
 
Sure. Line A routines don't work with arguments passed on a stack, though.
They're more like GEM -- i.e., you put magic numbers into magic mailboxes
and then wave a magic wand. :-) See Bammi's header file.
 
Sozobon has an asm() feature for inline assembler that will allow you
to do something like this:
 
char *A000()    /* return address of the line A parameter block */
        
        asm("dc.w $A000"); /* put illegal opcode A000 into text segment */
        
 
... but it's simpler just to write the calls in assembler. Remember that
Sozobon assembler labels should have a leading underscore in order to make
them visible to C. Example:
 
        .globl  _A000
_A000:
        dc.w    $A000   * define constant.word $A000, which is illegal opcode
        rts
 
Note: Do not feed these to the Sozobon optimizer.
 
Some of the $A??? opcodes clobber important registers. I don't know which
ones.
 
> 3. Can you tap into interupts and have a C routine called x times per second
>    via a system interupt? In the Abacus internals (3rd ed) there was something
>    about a list of routine addresses that could be supplied to the VBL
 interupt,
>    am I mistaken, or seriously out of my depth here? Obviously this would
>    allow the start of a multi-tasking system.
 
Yes. I don't have any examples, though. I've seen a textfile on the
technique; if you're seriously interested I can track it down and mail it
to you.
 
If it's multitasking you're after, why not just use Micro RTX?
 
> 4. How much difference is there between GEMFAST 1.2 and 1.3 GEM libraries?
>    I have the 1.2 is it worthwhile my getting the new stuff?
 
There are some bugfixes. I think it's worth getting.
 
--
   Steve Yelvington at the lake in Minnesota
   steve@thelake.mn.org
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 17:33:13 GMT
From:
 usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watcgl!electro!ig
 nac@ucsd.edu  (Ignac Kolenko)
Subject: Quick CIS
Message-ID: <1771@electro.UUCP>
 
Before anyone starts to innundate Branch Always Software about
questions regarding the Quick CIS program in the binaries
newsgroup, I just want to say the Branch Always Software is in
NO WAY associated with this piece of software. Our software
line uses the prefix "Quick", and unfortunately so does this
program, so there may be some people out there that would assume
that we've wrote Quick CIS. We didn't.
 
(btw: we've actually had people write to us for the latest upgrade for
Quick CIS!!!! this proves that users out there DO NOT read accompanying
documentation!!!!!)
 
 
--
=====Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)=====watmath!watcgl!electro!brasoft!ignac======
     co-author of QuickST, and the entire line of Quick Software!!!!
  Branch Always Software Box 2624, Station B, Kitchener, Ont. CANADA N2H 6N2
=============================================================================
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 13:49:33 GMT
From: otter.hpl.hp.com!hpltoad!ghiggins!gray@hplabs.hp.com  (Graham Higgins)
Subject: Splitting comp.sys.atari.st
Message-ID: <GRAY.90May11144933@ghiggins.hpl.hp.com>
 
++   We need everyone we can get in this world, we ST owners are
++   not so numerous that we can ignore half of our retinue!
 
How true. The UK magazine STWorld --- a "serious" ST-ers mag and unarguably the
best on the market, has recently been taken over. Guess what ... Despite the
protestations (on a UK-wide BBS) of the editor that everything *really was*
going to be OK, STWorld is now to be a **quarterly** magazine and the publisher
is putting most of the effort into STUser. STUser is currently about 50% games
reviews. Under the new regime, it will be upgraded into a "good" ST mag --- and
will "only" have 14 pages of games reviews. I think I can guess the kind of
features we will see ...
 
"How to insert a disk into the disk drive *and* get it right way up",
 
"BASIC made easy."
 
"'C' -- an esoteric systems programming language. (includes 'Hello world' demo)"
 
"GEM revealed: what those strange little window corner symbols are for."
 
"In-depth technical feature: adding a second floppy disk drive."
 
ad nauseam.
 
I am really p****d off about it, a very valuable technical forum relegated to a
quarterly (which will last all of two issues) in order to open the market for
another B****Y games mag, S**T! S**T!! S**T!!! S**T!!!! (You can tell that I'm
upset, can't you?)
 
Depressedly yours ...
 
--
 
Graham
======
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Graham Higgins                  |  Phone: (0272) 799910 x 24060
Hewlett-Packard Labs            |  gray@hpl.hp.co.uk
Bristol                         |  gray%hplb.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
U.K.                            |  gray@hplb.hpl.hp.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: My opinions above are exactly that, mine and opinions.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri,11 May 90 13:14:08 BST
From: M.A.Holloway%SYSE.SALFORD.AC.UK@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu
Subject: Tim Oren's Gem articles/ftp/lancaster.pdsoft
Message-ID: <11 May 90 13:14:08 A10570@UK.AC.SALF.E>
 
      There are 13 of Tim Oren's Professional Gem Programming articles at
Lancaster:
The issues currently online cover the following topics:
  1.   Windows, part 1
  2.   Windows, part 2
  3.   The dialog handler
  4.   GEM resource structure
  5.   Resource tree structures
  6.   Raster operations
  7.   Menu structur
  8.   User interfaces
  9. VDI graphics : lines and solids
 10.  VDI graphics : text output
 11.  GEM hooks and hacks
 12.  GEM events and program structure
 13.  A new form manager
 
 
 
If you can't FTP these using the JANET/pss FTP address given by Mathew Lodge
then you can use the server at the :
      archive-server%uk.ac.lancs.pdsoft@ukacrl (or try @edu.cuny.cunyvm)
To get all the articles send the message:
      send micros/atari/m06/*
To get a full list of the commands understood email:
      send help/server
There is also mac,amiga and ibm stuff there.  There seems to be a lot of
interesting stuff at terminator but can I get to it?  I ask as I don't know
anything about anonymous FTP and there doesn't seem to be a server there.
Anyone on JANET: Is it possible to FTP stuff from there?
      Thanks in advance for any help offered.
 
      Marc
 
------------------------------
 
Date: 11 May 90 12:48:45 GMT
From: otter.hpl.hp.com!hpltoad!ghiggins!gray@hplabs.hp.com  (Graham Higgins)
Subject: What is wrong with Terminator's directory??
Message-ID: <GRAY.90May11134845@ghiggins.hpl.hp.com>
 
>   Yes, I've had this problem.   The read bit is not set for others.  I just
>   noticed this about a week ago.  My ST was busted for a month prior to that
>   so I don't know when the change occured for sure.
 
>   I always checked the dates on the atari/new directory also to see if there
>   was anything "new" to get.  Kind of a bummer that I can't read it now.
 
>   Could the people who run terminator fix this?
 
One of the difficulties in having a world-writeable, world-readable "new"
directory for uploads is that otherwise, there's virtually no control over
what's uploaded --- and immediately made available for download.  Think about
all the fuss that there would be if someone (Hey, with the *very* best
intentions) uploaded some expensive, proprietary and unprotected DTP package
(for example). Having the read bit not set is terminator's only protection.
There are a number of people busy sorting out the terminator archives
(including adding comp.binaries/sources.atari.st volumes). I would imagine that
it won't be all that long before "Readme.new.uploads.received" (or near offer)
will be available, along with "Readme.the.definitive.index".
 
 
 
--
 
Graham
======
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Graham Higgins                  |  Phone: (0272) 799910 x 24060
Hewlett-Packard Labs            |  gray@hpl.hp.co.uk
Bristol                         |  gray%hplb.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
U.K.                            |  gray@hplb.hpl.hp.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: My opinions above are exactly that, mine and opinions.
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V90 Issue #533
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