Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!princeton!twg.com!david From: david@twg.com (David S. Herron) Newsgroups: comp.unix.amiga Subject: Re: Tech Notes Message-ID: <8977@gollum.twg.com> Date: 25 May 91 07:44:15 GMT References: <415@netxcom.netx.com> Distribution: usa Organization: The Wollongong Group, Palo Alto, CA Lines: 50 In article <415@netxcom.netx.com> logan@netxcom.netx.com (Jim Logan) writes: >In article mmm@reaper.Chi.IL.US (Michael Marvin Morrison) writes: >I'm an owner and I don't get the Tech Notes. Why? What do I >have to do to get them?! Without proper documentation I NEED >them! Please respond! (Please, oh please, oh please!) I'm getting them. Somebody posted an e-mail address to which you would beg to be put on the mailing list. (There's also a SnailMail address & telephone number; if you trust those more). I don't even own Amiga UNIX (and won't, since I've decided to go with a SPARCstation instead, but I digress).. >*** FLAME ON! >Commodore: >I really wish you would provide a manual that allows me to use >the Commodore enhancements, rather than wasting my money by >making me pay for baby books about how to use "vi"! I have spent >a lot of time figuring out things that used to be a man-page >away. Like, where did "fmtflop" go? It took me quite a while to >figure out that there is a special device I have to write to! I >wasted my time looking for a command to do it! Calm down.. fmtflop is a Unix PC specific command. (to my knowledge) (Perhaps some other Convergent machines use that command?) Pure System V has, for a long time anyway, had you type a command like format /dev/rdsk/f0q15dt (That device name is specific (I think) to SysV/386 and refers to drive 0, and assumes it is a 5 1/4" HD floppy). This isn't very user friendly. But it is more specific than "fmtflop". Suppose you have more than one flopy? Suppose you have devices other than floppies? Are you going to invent a special command to format each of them? That requires the user to learn lots of very similar commands. This isn't a good idea, at least from a consistency standpoint.. David -- <- David Herron, an MMDF & WIN/MHS guy, <- Formerly: David Herron -- NonResident E-Mail Hack <- <- "MS-DOS? Where we're going we don't need MS-DOS." --Back To The Future