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From: awessels@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: How do we change the scheduler? (Was Re: Multitasking at home...)
Message-ID: <42609@ut-emx.uucp>
Date: 16 Jan 91 04:33:21 GMT
References: <42568@ut-emx.uucp> <91015.180746MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu>
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Reply-To: awessels@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin
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In article <91015.180746MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu writes:

>Simple enough. On a multitasking computer, there's no need to distinguish
>between applications, "INITs," "desk accessories," the CLI, the "desktop,"
>and so forth. All of these are just ordinary programs running concurrently.

Ok, that sounds neat.  You might be amused to find out that Apple is phasing 
out desk accessories and heading towards the "everything is just a program"
philosophy.

>If you want a program (any program) to be run every time you boot
>the machine, you put its name in the Startup-Sequence -- an ordinary text file
>on disk that lists programs that should be automatically run on startup.
>I suppose this is the equivalent of an INIT, but you really can't compare
>the two. (You could, for example, put DeluxePaint or WordPerfect in the
>Startup-Sequence...)
>
>The advantage is that no special programming tricks are required.
>Macintosh desk accessories must be programmed to keep handing control
>back to the main application "as often as possible," and INITs require
>a lot of special writing, installation, and maintenance. On the Amiga,
>whether you're writing a huge application or a menu-bar clock, you don't
>need to use different techniques.

OK, I think I probably prefer the Amiga way because it is more flexible, but
INITs have a couple of advantages.  For one thing, only certain kinds of 
programs are done as INITS and that helps distinguish among programs.  For
another, INIT code is often embedded in a CDEV which allows INITs to be 
configured through the control panel via a fairly uniform interface.

INITs also need no more tending that your Startup-Sequence.  All you need to do
to set them up is copy them to your System Folder and reboot.  Occasionally you
may get a conflict and need either to resequence them or figure out which ones
won't work together.  I've run as many as 50-60 together without a lot of 
trouble on a Mac Plus and still be able to run a WP and Telecomm program with
passable performance.

Awright, back to the Amiga.  Suppose you have a bunch of programs set in your
Startup-Sequence.  What determines priorities and how do you make sure programs
get the time they need to do their thing?