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From: slosser@fugitive.berkeley.edu (Eric Slosser)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: HELP!!! MultiFinder EXPERT NEEDED!!!
Message-ID: <1989Dec4.210645.13266@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 4 Dec 89 21:06:45 GMT
References: <328@hermix.UUCP> <9161@hoptoad.uucp>
Sender: usenet@agate.berkeley.edu (USENET Administrator;;;;ZU44)
Reply-To: slosser@fugitive.UUCP (Eric Slosser)
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Why bother asking Multifinder?  Set up a semaphor in the form of
a file.  Have the contents of the file be updated by the program
whose exsistence you wish to confirm.  Update the contents 
appropriately quickly.  The inquirer looks for the file, and
checks the contents.  If the first program crashes, the contents 
won't be current (I suggest the contents reflect the system time).
If the first program exits normally, it should delete the file.

You can do all the tricky stuff you want with walking the DA menu,
deciphering MF internals, patching traps, but you'd only be shooting
yourself in the foot (as acknowledged by those who offered these
approaches)

Please note, if the file is accessible over the network, then 
you could easily (depending on which network, of course) 
check to see if a program is running on another machine.

Even if that machine is an IBM-pc.

(I don't read news often, so it's better to send (e)mail)
Eric Slosser, SciComp Software, 
2912 Claremont Ave, #21 Berkeley CA 94705