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From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Another 1.3 wish.
Message-ID: <434@sugar.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 26-Jul-87 11:29:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: sugar.434
Posted: Sun Jul 26 11:29:01 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Aug-87 10:13:52 EDT
References: <8707190424.AA10158@cogsci.berkeley.edu>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 60
Summary: We just had a discussin of why that wouldn't work.

In article <8707190424.AA10158@cogsci.berkeley.edu>, bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU (Bryce Nesbitt) writes:
> In article <397@sugar.UUCP> Peter da Silva typed:
> > How about a system calls "DisableRequestors();" or even a
> > "DisableRequertors(FindTask(0))" to disable any requestors
                                                ^^^
> > caused by your actions...
> 
> I posted the equivalent of DisableRequestors() a while back to this very
> newsgroup.  It took about 80 bytes of code.  A newer version of that program
> is forthcoming.

Please. As long as it's not something like:

> > "DisableRequertors(FindTask(0))" 
> 
> This is even easier, in 68000:
> 
> [change your pr_WindowPtr to 0]

That's nice, but it won't (as has been explained a thousand times) disable
system requestors (bad disk, disk full, etc...) caused by your actions.

[Flame-throwers on "stun", captain]

And why explain in 68000 code?

	MyProcess = FindTask(0);
	WindowSave = MyProcess->pr_WindowPtr;
	MyProcess->pr_WindowPtr = 0;

I bought this machine because the operating system requires an absolute
minimum mucking about in assembly. Ther's no reason on god's green earth
why that code had to be in assembly.

> Conversion of this routine to C is quite easy.

Right. da Silva's rule #0x7FFE: if conversion of some example from assembly
to some high level language is easy, then it should have been expressed
in high level language in the first place.

Fear not, you're in good company. Donald E. Knuth (yes, that Knuth) is one
of the worst offenders. His "Art of computer programming" is almost useless
for day-to-day use because of "MIX". I use Horowitz and Sahni, myself,
simply because I save the time it would have taken to convert from MIX to
anything real. Not to mention the fact that they are capable of actually
getting books published at a reasonable interval.

> > Might even be able to do an Amiga based mini
> > SCADA system. Pretty good sized market.
> 
> What's a SCADA system??? Please explain.

SCADA: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It's real-time control with
no super tight response time requirements. Oilfeild, energy management, power
plant and chemical process control. Where you can wait half a second or so
without causing problems. Also known as soft real-time, to contrast it with
tight real-time tasks like jet engine controllers. AmigaDOS is a pretty good
soft real-time operating system.
-- 
-- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!seismo!soma!uhnix1!sugar!peter (I said, NO PHOTOS!)