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From: james@uw-atm.UUCP (James M Synge)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Re: Problems with startup for BCPL programs
Message-ID: <33@uw-atm.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Oct-86 10:23:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: uw-atm.33
Posted: Thu Oct  9 10:23:30 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Oct-86 20:15:54 EDT
References: <8610080707.AA05528@cory.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, U. of Washington
Lines: 37
Summary: We NEED more AmigaDOS information!

In article <8610080707.AA05528@cory.Berkeley.EDU>, dillon@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Matt Dillon) writes:
> NOW LOOK C-A, You've helped us with most of the problems we've been having,
> but have consistantly refused to discuss BCPL startup requirements.  Could
> you *PLEASE* help me out?  All I want (and which is not discussed in any
> manual) is a description of what must be set up to get a BCPL program to
> go.  I'm positive I've got all the registers correct, but there are things
> in the CLI and PROCESS structure, and things in the file-handles, that
> must be set in a certain way for which I have not a clue.
>
> 					-Matt

  I couldn't agree more.  One of the MAJOR difficulties I've been having
is understanding AmigaDOS file handles.  I would like to be able to create
my own, but the documentation does not even live up to the classification
"skimpy" when it comes to AmigaDOS details.  I have sent several messages
to the folks at Westchester and Los Gatos, but have received very little
response (mainly a couple of messages saying that I had a hard problem).

  What pisses me off the most, is that Metacomco is able to sell their toolkit,
which contains AmigaDOS devices AUX: and PIPE:.  I can write the exec devices,
but because I am not able to get sufficient info, I haven't the ability
to hook my devices into AmigaDOS.  The major difficulty is with the PIPE:
device.  I want to be able to write a routine like popen() on unix, which
returns 2 file handles, one for each end.  This would be easiest if I where
able to create the structures myself, and fill in the values appropriately.

  It would probably be possible to glean all the neccessary info if I
disassembled some (or all) of the AmigaDOS routines which deal with file
handles.  I've already had to disassemble several Exec routines in order to
discover why my programs weren't working the way I understood from the RKM;
I don't want to have to do it again.  It is a PAIN!
-- 
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James M Synge, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
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