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From: bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: RESIDENT
Message-ID: <8706020852.AA18103@cogsci.berkeley.edu>
Date: Tue, 2-Jun-87 04:52:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: cogsci.8706020852.AA18103
Posted: Tue Jun  2 04:52:54 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Jun-87 06:13:14 EDT
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[]
in article <> page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) insinuated:
>----
> ...etc.  First, Dan, you should not be condoning (directly or indirectly)
> the use of RESIDENT 
> ..Bob (Committee to Stamp Out Public RESIDENT Usage)

WOAHH!!!!  Don't abuse my goldfish!!! :-) :-).
I use and LOVE resident (more on that later)


>----
> you should not be condoning (directly or indirectly)
> the use of RESIDENT, as it is broken.
> PS Or do you CBM'ers have a new RESIDENT command that actually works?

RESIDENT is limited, but NOT broken.  It works *wonderfully* for what it was
designed for, BCPL.  It is true that it cannot make BSS hunks and it is true
that the code must be REUSABLE and REENTRANT; but these are irrelevant to the
commands that need to be made RESIDENT.
Limit yourself to the commands in c: and you will be fine.
(The standard C: directory, that is.  Mine is very nearly 100% foreign.  With
one exception they all are fully RESIDENT compatible)
Or, get the version of RESIDENT that KNOWS if a program is going to work.
(more on THAT later)

RESIDENT, for those with "enquiring" minds, is a command and associated CLI
that can load a executable, like "LIST" once and leave it in memory.  When
it is executed is is run IN PLACE.  When the command is used multiple times
the SAME code segment is used, in place.
This is superior even to a RAM disk.  Since no copying is done, it's faster and
takes up less memory.  (only one copy is needed at a time)

-> RESIDENT is the best thing since sliced bread (with goldfish garnish) :-) <-

Novice users especially should use RESIDENT, so they get addicted to how fast
it is.

>----
>Second, regallar (sic) Amiga owners don't
>have the RESIDENT command.  Not legally, anyway.

Well, gosh, I'm one of those 'irregular' Amiga owners who got it legal-like.
Perhaps C-A could say something official-like for the rest of the world's
conscience.  BTW:  resident was initially released on a disk with no
distribution restrictions printed on it, and it does not contain a 
copyright notice.

For reasons other that the one above I have been working on a "RESIDENT".
Beat on me hard enough and I will finish and release it.   Via the heavy
use of AI and Magic it can determine if a program is suitable to be made
RESIDENT and give a warning if not.
Some programs can even TELL my RESIDENT about themselves with the aid of a
hunk-extension that I have toyed with.  A programmer can define the minimum
stack and preferred stack sizes for an executable.  A flags long provides bits
for "REENTRANT" and "REUSABLE".

However;
This really skirts the issue, as the "RESIDENT" command needs the "cli-resident"
file to be meaningful.  That is probably imbedded heavily with BCPL magic,
not really possible to recreate without knowing what it does.
(Scott, break out the MCC dissassembler...)

-------------
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 {o O} .  bryce@cogsci.berkeley.EDU -or- ucbvax!cogsci!bryce
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