Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncar!ames!haven!adm!cmcl2!rna!amms4!hjg
From: hjg@amms4.UUCP (Harry Gross)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Future of Minix
Message-ID: <556@amms4.UUCP>
Date: 14 Jul 89 14:43:57 GMT
References: <19654@louie.udel.EDU>
Reply-To: hjg@amms4.UUCP (Harry Gross)
Organization: Eagle Clothes, Inc., New York, NY
Lines: 40

In article <19654@louie.udel.EDU> V61%DHDURZ1.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (Ronald Lamprecht) writes:
>Another idea of mine is to introduce debugging stuff into all library modules.
>This stuff should check all arguments and everything that is possible and
>print appropriated error messages and warnings. The additional code should
>be included in #ifdef DEBUG -- #endif so that it is possible to generate
>a fast run-time library and a debugging library version. THe reason I want
>to introduce this stuff is that the most problems that occur in porting
>sources to Minix are wrong arguments in library calls (besides compiler bugs).

I _LIKE_ it.  Alot.  In fact, if the consensus is that this is a good thing to
do, I would be willing to tackle some the routines myself (not all - I don't
have enough time for that :-).  If Andy likes this idea and ok's it (or if the
MINIX population in general likes it and wants it) then let me know.  I would
be able to start on such a venture almost immediately, but would like to
converse with others who would be interested (able) to help, so we don't
duplicate efforts.

Just for info's sake, I run PC-MINIX 1.3 on an (original 4.77 MHz 256k
Motherboard) IBM-PC, modified to handle a hard disk.  (No, it is NOT an XT :-).
If the keepers of the info sheet are reading this, 1.3 for the PC, XT and AT
(640K version) worked on my hard drive/controller right out of the box.  The
drive is a Seagate ST225 (20Meg - 65ms access) and the controller is a
WD-1002-???  (I can't recall right now - if you want it, send me e-mail :-).  It
took me all of an evening or two to split my disk between MINIX and MS-DOS, and
if it weren't for the fact that I need to write DOS stuff for some clients, I
don't think I would keep the DOS partition around.

By the way, I seem to recall a line in The Book remarking that if someone had
a spare decade, it would be possible to hook in DOS support into MINIX.  Has
anyone seriously looked at this?  It might be a real nice thing to add.  After
all, if UNIX and XENIX can have a DOSMerge capability, why can't MINIX?

Anyway, that's my $0.02 for today :-)


-- 
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