Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!enuxha!martin
From: martin@enuxha.eas.asu.edu (Ross D. Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
Subject: Re: Telebit and Amigas
Summary: serial.device needs more improvement than that
Message-ID: <2148@enuxha.eas.asu.edu>
Date: 25 Jan 91 16:08:25 GMT
References: <57523.664074953@atronx.OCUnix.On.Ca>
Organization: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Lines: 31

In article <57523.664074953@atronx.OCUnix.On.Ca>, rwm@atronx.OCUnix.On.Ca (Russell McOrmond) writes:
> 
>    I don't know if you have noticed, but I have put an almost all out
> attack on Commodore in regards to DTR support within the serial.device.  
> Currently,
> I am forced to break a personal, and Commodore rule and go directly to
> the HARDWARE in order to control the DTR line.  I have bought, for the purpose
> of support, an internal Supra 2400ZI (I also have an external supra 2400).  
> It too fails to have the ability to properly control the DTR line.  With 
> my ASDG
> Duel-Serial board, there is a very easy, and documented (With source
> examples in the manual) way to control the DTR.  

Commodore deserves your all out attack, but your attack does not go far enough.
The serial device also lacks the ability to have multiple programs connected to
the serial device simultaneously.  A user should be able to run a terminal
program and run a separate file transfer program (such as sz or rz) and be able
to switch between them.  Only one would have access to the serial device at a
time (no shared mode!), but there could be others on "standby".  The need to
do this could partially be alleviated if you could close the serial port
without dropping DTR, but a pop-up application which controls who has access
to the serial port and has an arexx interface is more along the lines of what
is called for.  XPR libraries are nice, but they do not do everything and they
would be *much* cleaner if they could be implemented in a way completely
separate from the terminal program.

It would be nice if Commodore would release their serial.device code so that
people trying to improve it would have a starting point.

--Ross Martin
martin@enuxha.eas.asu.edu