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From: bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: ASSIGN T: RAM:T, and write-protect you boot disk
Message-ID: <8705010930.AA15526@cogsci.berkeley.edu>
Date: Fri, 1-May-87 05:30:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: cogsci.8705010930.AA15526
Posted: Fri May  1 05:30:30 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 2-May-87 07:12:00 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: cogsci.berkeley.edu!bryce@cogsci.berkeley.edu (Bryce Nesbitt)
Lines: 47
Summary: Why EXECUTE needs a temp file

In article 4526P@NAVPGS.BITNET (LT Scott A. Norton, USN) writes:
>I wanted to [write-protect] my workbench disk [...]
>Unfortunately, I EXECUTE some things [...] so I need a T directory
>[I] Just ASSIGN T: RAM: in the startup, and I can write
>protect my Workbench disk.  A couple of questions for the net:
>     
>- Am I harming myself subtly by not having t/ on a non-volatile
>device?  I don't use ED, so I'm not worried about t/ed-backup
>- Why does EXECUTE need a t/ directory?

1> EXECUTE uses the T directory to expand command lines with the arguments
   given the command file.
   This information is very small, usually <100 bytes and could be much
   better served by just keeping it in RAM.  It is deleted after the
   EXECUTE finishes, so non-volatility is a non-issue.  Feel free to 
   protect your workbench.

2> Not all EXECUTE scripts open temps, only those with parameter substitution:

--------:This one does:-----------

.               ;Notice the period
echo "hello"    ;This does an echo

--------:This one does not:-------

echo "hello"	;This does an echo

----------------------------------
  The difference is the period.  If this (or any of the 'DOT' commands)
are present then EXECUTE assumes parameter
substitution will be used, and opens the temp file.  If parameter
substitution is not used in any of your scripts, remove the period from the
first line and things will go faster.

3> EXECUTE creates a T directory and temp file in the CURRENT directory.
   If you CD RAM: the temp file will be built in RAM:.  The name of the
   file is of the format "Command-0-T02" if you can freeze a EXECUTE in
   progress you can look at it from another CLI.  With V1.2 the T directory
   will be created if it does not already exists.  With V1.1 T had to
   already exist.
   So best for your startup-sequence would probably be a CD RAM: at the
   start.  No floppy will be written to, and things will be much faster.

    //  BCPL - Badly Coded Programming Language :-)
   //   BPTR - Batty-Pointer  _or_  Brain-Damaged PoinTeR :-)
\\//   AMIGA - Great except for the above two diseases. :-|