Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!jhunix!barrett
From: barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: How to improve Workbench 2.0!
Message-ID: <7553@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 12 Feb 91 20:32:33 GMT
References: <1991Feb11.113601.1338@sugar.hackercorp.com> <9474@uwm.edu>
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University - HCF
Lines: 35

>From article <1991Feb11.113601.1338@sugar.hackercorp.com>, by peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva):

>>There's already an "execute" bit. A file with the execute bit set but not
>>in Amiga load format should be treated as a script. No reason to blow
>>another bit on the same thing. Too late *now*, of course, but why compound
>>the mistake?

In article <9474@uwm.edu> gblock@csd4.csd.uwm.edu writes:
>> Well.....  Not necessarily.  If not loadable, and execute not set, it's a
>>script, yes.  Fine.  If execute set, make it a script that runs like a
>>command.  But set the SCRIPT bit if you'd like to make it an AREXX script.

	But what do you do when (suppose) Commodore decides that AmigaBASIC
programs can also be executed from the CLI by typing their names?  Add
another "AmigaBasic" bit??

	Peter is making a good point.  On UNIX, there is only 1 bit for this
(execute).  If the file is a text file, it is automatically fed to an
interpreter program.  By default, the interpreter is the shell (specifically
the Bourne Shell), but you can make it ANY interprer by specifying the name
of the interpreter as the first line of the file.

	Commodore's idea is a compromise between your and Peter/UNIX's.  The
execute bit is for binary executables.  The script bit is for CLI scripts
and AREXX scripts.  (The Shell figures out whether the file is a CLI or
AREXX script.)  Commodore can add more interpreters later, but it involves
changing the shell to add one.

                                                        Dan

 //////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
| Dan Barrett, Department of Computer Science      Johns Hopkins University |
| INTERNET:   barrett@cs.jhu.edu           |                                |
| COMPUSERVE: >internet:barrett@cs.jhu.edu | UUCP:   barrett@jhunix.UUCP    |
 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////