Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!rutgers!dayton!mecc!sewilco
From: sewilco@mecc.UUCP (Scot E. Wilcoxon)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Re: Changing sysname and nodename dynamically.
Message-ID: <670@mecc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Nov-86 16:02:35 EST
Article-I.D.: mecc.670
Posted: Thu Nov 20 16:02:35 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Nov-86 23:41:27 EST
References: <464@cdx39.UUCP> <1279@hoptoad.uucp> <478@cdx39.UUCP>
Reply-To: sewilco@mecc.UUCP (Scot E. Wilcoxon)
Distribution: na
Organization: Minn Ed Comp Corp, St. Paul
Lines: 21
Summary: The kernel source might not supply a tool which is needed.

> Writing to /dev/kmem is like using peek and poke in micro Basics.
> You know it works, but you know damn well that this program will not
> work on a different brand of computer.

The reason PEEK and POKE are used in micro BASICs is because there
sometimes is no other way to do the job on that machine.  I had to write
the first downloader to our APPLE IIs in BASIC because it was simply much
easier than doing it in mini-assembler.  Then downloaded the hex of the
downloader from the cross-compiler on the Cyber and that was that.

Back in the UNIX world, one of my first experiences with 'adb' was to
change the name of the nodename in the kernel.  SCO didn't think anyone
would want to relink the XENIX kernel on the Apple Lisa, so I got to discover
adb bugs on the kernel.  This little program would have helped (as it was,
I got four revisions of the kernel and wrote an equivalent program so
my site would stop becoming "xenix").
-- 
Scot E. Wilcoxon   Minn Ed Comp Corp  {quest,dayton,meccts}!mecc!sewilco
(612)481-3507           sewilco@MECC.COM       ihnp4!meccts!mecc!sewilco
   "Can you stop yourself from hitting the dashboard unbelted at 30 MPH?
    Can you fall off a three-story building and land safely? 32 ft/sec."