Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!claris!outpost.UUCP!peirce From: peirce@outpost.UUCP (Michael Peirce) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: A use for protected mode after all Message-ID: Date: 28 Nov 90 04:34:52 GMT Reply-To: peirce@outpost.UUCP Organization: Peirce Software Lines: 26 X-Mailer: uMail - Mac Release: 0.1.4 In article <2371.27539d74@waikato.ac.nz>, ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University) writes: > > I know I'm on record as saying that memory protection isn't a very important > thing to add to the Macintosh system. But, thinking about it, I've come > across an exception I'd like to make to this statement: MacsBug. > > It would be very useful if a resident debugger could protect itself > against other software running amuck (whether this be rogue applications, > or the system itself). It would also greatly improve the debugger's > ability to diagnose problems. And I think it can be done with minimal > impact on the rest of the system. > > It could very well be the single biggest contribution Apple could make > to the reliability of Macintosh software generally. > > How about it, Apple? I don't know about Apple, but Jasik's debugger has just added this sort of feature. In fact, it will detect when your program tries to write into another programs space! Really handy when you've got code running amuck. Of course you do need an MMU equiped Mac for this to work... -- michael -- Michael Peirce -- {apple,decwrl}!claris!outpost!peirce -- Peirce Software -- Suite 301, 719 Hibiscus Place -- Macintosh Programming -- San Jose, California 95117 -- and Consulting -- (408) 244-6554