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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!dayton!viper!john
From: john@viper.Lynx.MN.ORG (John Stanley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Correct use of _shell_p  (Csh-like shell, fast editor, make...)
Message-ID: <1019@viper.Lynx.MN.ORG>
Date: Tue, 19-May-87 14:24:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: viper.1019
Posted: Tue May 19 14:24:51 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 04:13:26 EDT
References: <276@nikhefh.UUCP>
Reply-To: john@viper.UUCP (John Stanley)
Organization: DynaSoft Systems
Lines: 30
Keywords: _shell_p, shell

In article <276@nikhefh.UUCP> gert@nikhefh.UUCP (Gert Poletiek) writes:
 >
 >I think that if everybody sticks to the rules as outlined by Atari, shells
 >and user programs could easily be integrated.
 >
 >If needed, I will post source code explaining exactly how to use _shell_p
 >in user programs.
 >

  Thanks for this information Gert.  One "small" problem.  We need a way
of checking to see if this pointer is functional.  The sample code you
gave as part of your message should only be called if a command shell
has been installed.  We can't expect lots of people to write software
that uses _shell_p unless they have some way of checking to see if it
is functional or not.  Is _shell_p initialized to anything at boot 
time?  At re(warm)boot???  If not, this could be pose a serious
problem/limitation...

  Aside to Neil Harris, 
if the current roms don't initialize _shell_p to something that is 
either (a) something safe to jump to, or (b) something that can be 
tested reliably, then would it be possible to get this added to the 
new roms?  It would only require sticking a pointer to a known RTS 
instruction in there durring a warmboot and would make using this
as a good functional enhancement to the ST that much easier...

--- 
John Stanley (john@viper.UUCP)
Software Consultant - DynaSoft Systems
UUCP: ...{amdahl,ihnp4,rutgers}!{meccts,dayton}!viper!john