Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU!JWANKERL%UTCVM From: JWANKERL%UTCVM@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU ("Josef W. Wankerl") Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Argh! That blasted StartUpTools()! Message-ID: <9007071530.AA09375@apple.com> Date: 6 Jul 90 00:37:10 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 52 prefix, 4 Jul 90 22:46:31 GMT David A. Lyons said: >(Stuff Killed) Technical notes guarantee that it's okay to >call MMStartUp whenever you feel like it, to get the ID of the memory >block you're in. A technical note coming out in the July batch by yours >truly talks about the Desk Manager calling SetCurResourceApp for you >when it calls your NDA routines. Okay, so now I'll call MMStartUp to get an ID for my NDA, and then MMShutDown when I no longer need my ID, right? > >>Has engineering given much/any thought to adding something to the >>Desk Mgr to coordinate the way that NDA's use tools? It seems that NDA & tool >>interaction is a source of a major amount of confusion, and, as such, a cause >>of problems. > >I believe this is an area where your input would be helpful. I am >interested in making it easier to use tools from NDAs, but I don't have >all the answers. Okay, here's my thought that I brought up to Matt D. at the last AppleFest, but he didn't like it too much. Maybe someone else will. Add another set of calls to the Desk Manager named NowNeedsTool() and NoLongerNeedsTool(). NowNeedsTool will take a list of tools that a NDA requires to operate and start them up if they aren't already. It will then return an ID to the program that NoLongerNeedsTool will take. By calling one central routine to start and stop tools, this will ensure that the tools are always there for the DA that needs them. NoLongerNeedsTool will take the ID returned by NowNeedsTool and check to see if another ID needs that tool. If so, it is left alone. If not, the tool is shut down. Simple and elegant, I think. Old NDA's that start and stop tools all by themselves should continue to work with this method, too. If they follow the rules, they won't start things already started or shut things down that they didn't start. So whatcha think? >-- >David A. Lyons, Apple Computer, Inc. | DAL Systems >Apple II Developer Technical Support | P.O. Box 875 >America Online: Dave Lyons | Cupertino, CA 95015-0875 >GEnie: D.LYONS2 or DAVE.LYONS CompuServe: 72177,3233 >Internet/BITNET: dlyons@apple.com UUCP: ...!ames!apple!dlyons > >My opinions are my own, not Apple's. -- ===> Josef W. Wankerl, college student | "I am a Viking" -Y. Malmsteen ProLine: jwankerl@pro-gsplus | BITNET: JWANKERL@UTCVM InterNet: jwankerl@pro-gsplus.cts.com | UUCP: ...crash!pro-gsplus!jwankerl ARPA/DDN: ...crash!pro-gsplus!jwankerl@nosc.mil | I'm employed by EGO, GS+!