Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!sco!brianm
From: brianm@sco.COM (Brian Moffet)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Unix on the Amiga
Message-ID: <524@viscous>
Date: 3 May 88 16:01:37 GMT
References: <517@viscous> <51577@sun.uucp>
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Lines: 42
Keywords: Unix SYSV 4.2 Amiga
Summary: Time is of the essence

In article <51577@sun.uucp>, cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) writes:
> In article <517@viscous> brianm@sco.COM (Brian Moffet) writes:
> 
> ->However, things that *NIX has (personnaly, I like SYS V)
> ->
> ->The devices for a *Nix system have a consistant interface
> ->	for basic work.  For the most part, almost all devices
> ->	can be treated as files.  This allows the ability to
> ->	do backups to almost any media your machine has a driver
> ->	for, without the backup knowing anything special about
> ->	your device (backup 0uf /dev/console :-) )
> 
> This is a function of the backup program and *not* UNIX* per se.
> All AmigaDOS devices have a consistent interface at the exec level.
> Therefore this problem reduces to a SMOP (simple matter of programming :-))

Yes, they all have the same command set at the exec level, except that
most have some additional quirky stuff.  I guess that could be classified 
similar to ioctl(S) calls in *nix.  However, 1 major point that I have
lamented silently over is not being able to call

fd = open( "df1:", O_RDWR );

and have it work.  I have tpo go in and lay down the data myself.  If
you have gotten this to work, then let me know by all means. :-)
I would like to be able to have a _any_ program read and write to 
_any_ device.  *nix is the only OS I have seen do this.   I do not want
to call opendevice() and all that other rot.  I guess I am a lazy
programmer, in that I want system calls to handle most of the work.

> 
> Time will cure this. 

But I want it now!! (pout and all that stuff ) :-)
I agree that time will cure a lot of things, but I like most
people am sort of impatient.  (even though it's taken me 
2.5 years to get beyond 512K ram and 2 floppies. )

-- 
Brian Moffet		brianm@sco.com  {uunet,decvax!microsof}!sco!brianm
The opinions expressed are not quite clear and have no relation to my employer.
'Evil Geniuses for a Better Tommorrow!'