Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!oliveb!amiga!cbmvax!mks
From: mks@cbmvax.UUCP (Michael Sinz - CATS)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: dos_stuff
Keywords: fast,faster,fastest
Message-ID: <8137@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 10 Oct 89 19:55:46 GMT
References: <5546@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Reply-To: mks@cbmvax.UUCP (Michael Sinz - CATS)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 43

In article <5546@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> rogers@iris.ucdavis.edu (Brewski Rogers) writes:
>Hi, I am working on a videogame that needs to load lots of data (~120-150k)
>periodically. (Every time a new map gets loaded.) My question: Is it possible
>to get AmigaDOS to approach the speed of simply using the trackdisk device?
>
>The 120K getting loaded usually consists of about 15 files (~8K each.)
>Would using AddBuffers help much? Are there any other things to try that
>might help?

It would help much if it was one file.  Via AmigaDOS reads, the fastest you
will see is about 9000 bytes/second when reading at 4000 bytes per gulp.

>I assume that writing the files out to a fresh disk in the order I plan
>to read them should put them as close together as possible. Is this true?

For the most part.  You may wish to look into a disk optimizer for your
distribution floppy.  It would organize the disk as best it could.  Again,
if the 15 files were all in one, things would be MUCH faster as the overhead
for Open() is rather large.

>I *REALLY* want to keep the game dos-compatible (Easier, hard-drive installable
>etc.) but there is a maximum to how long loading a new map should take...

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that feels this way.  (Both that it
should be AmigaDOS safe and should not take long...)  A little playing
with it will help.  (One thing to do, if you can not make the 15 files
a single file would be to open them all first and then read them.  This
will help since the directory information is usually right near the center
of the disk and thus the multiple Open()s would go a bit faster...

>2727 Eel                   Bruce (6502 RULES!) Rogers        |\  Duck  ( 0 0)
>Davis, Ca 95616            Quantum Duck Software,           |\ \______/ / \\\
>916-756-2684               rogers@iris.ucdavis.edu         |\ <  <     |   \/
>"It's better to be the real thing than the right thing."     \________/  Quark!


/----------------------------------------------------------------------\
|      /// Michael Sinz -- CATS/Amiga Software Engineer                |
|     ///  PHONE 215-431-9422  UUCP ( uunet | rutgers ) !cbmvax!mks    |
|    ///                                                               |
|\\\///          When people are free to do as they please,            |
| \XX/                they usually imitate each other.                 |
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