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From: andree@uokvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm
Subject: Re: zcpr2 bugs - (nf)
Message-ID: <4349@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Dec-83 00:11:43 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.4349
Posted: Tue Dec 13 00:11:43 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Dec-83 01:13:57 EST
Lines: 17

#R:sri-arpa:-1415300:uokvax:7900003:000:692
uokvax!andree    Dec  4 13:34:00 1983

On fixing your BIOS to recognize magic control characters: DON'T!!!

I run the Ithaca Intersystems Caching BIOS (a truly NICE thing to have,
but ugly as sin on the inside). This BIOS comes with options to make
various things happen - xon/xoff, ^P, reboot the system, modem emulation,
report on cache status, etc. All great stuff - until I told MINCE to
go down one line, and the system cold booted itself.

A BIOS should NEVER, EVER do ANYTHING to characters on the way in. I even
turned off the *&^#@%$ parity stripping so the META key on my terminal
would work. I've used systems where I COULD NOT make mince work because the
BIOS did this nastiness, and I didn't have source to it.

	<mike