Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!ames!oliveb!amiga!jimm
From: jimm@amiga.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Enviroment (was Re: Yea, but can an Amiga Shell do this....)
Message-ID: <2793@amiga.UUCP>
Date: 24 Aug 88 19:57:49 GMT
References: <8808220455.AA27577@cory.Berkeley.EDU> <6889@well.UUCP>
Reply-To: jimm@cloyd.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Organization: Commodore-Amiga Inc, Los Gatos CA
Lines: 40

In article <6889@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes:

)	Shouldn't ENV: be part of the standard start-up assigns, like LIBS:
)or L: or C:?  Or am I getting in on this game too late?

It will be part of the standard.  Especially after a few "Please insert
ENV:" requesters.

)>The only plausable assumption one can really make is that 
)>enviroment variables contain ASCII (can we even do that?).
)>
)	Since the variables are, indeed, files, I don't think you can assume
)anything about a "variable's" contents.  Binary environment variables could
)be fun, you know...

Preferences is being reworked to be something of a combination of
it's current form and ENV:.  ENV: will have its place.  It will probably
be text, by convention.  There will probably be no notification when
ENV: is changed, but can be when PREFS: is changed.

This is probably one standard that will have to wait until the PREFS:
spec if released.

One problem is avoiding the block overhead for very small files.  This
doesn't happen in RAM:, though.  There are several approaches under
consideration.

There will also be recommendations regarding non-shared configuration,
such as the phone book for a term program, so that different users on a
network can set personal configuration but share a copy of the executable,
and work on projects in the same directory.
(Guess where I read about THAT issue!)

)Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape	INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU

-- 
	Jim Mackraz, I and I Computing	  
	amiga!jimm	BIX:jmackraz
Opinions are my own.  Comments regarding the Amiga operating system, and
all others, are not to be taken as Commodore official policy.