Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!ucbvax!hoptoad!tim
From: tim@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Need info on multitasking capabilities on the mac
Message-ID: <9072@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: 24 Nov 89 04:54:20 GMT
References: <6391@tank.uchicago.edu>
Reply-To: tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Organization: Eclectic Software, San Francisco
Lines: 23

In article <6391@tank.uchicago.edu> gft_robert@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes:
>Sounds like it's your comm program, not the Mac OS.  I've never had any
>problems of that nature when downloading (using Versaterm).  I can choose
>menus, play games, etc.  Pretty good multitasking, as far as I'm concerned.

I wonder how they do that.  Can anyone provide any information?  My
first thought was to schedule your file transfer protocol off the
vertical retrace manager, but your tasks don't get called when you're
switched out.  Perhaps there's a loophole with the Time Manager that
allows that, but the Time Manager is broken in a number of OS releases
and really can't be relied on.  You can't patch traps to do it because
the patches only apply to your own application.  Hmm.  You could always
install your own clock interrupts or something similarly awful, but
forget compatibility!  Perhaps installing a driver in an empty unit
table slot would work, but I doubt drivers get any time when
applications don't.  Maybe if the driver installs the retrace routine,
it will get called in any context?

This is a very intriguing issue, and any answers would be appreciated.
-- 
Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com

"This signature is not to be quoted." -- Erland Sommarskog