Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!ucbvax!CORY.BERKELEY.EDU!dillon
From: dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Enviroment
Message-ID: <8809010249.AA14274@cory.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 1 Sep 88 02:49:14 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 40


>[]
>
>They're doing an environment on the file system?! I always thought the
>main advantage of something called an "environment" over startup or
>configuration files was that it did NOT have to deal with the SLOW
>file system (i.e. the environment was memory-resident). Even MS-DOG
>saw that!

	No, MS-DOG didn't see that... they never thought of it, and then
screwed up their own implementation.

	Really... I am using it extensively and it works great!  Remember that
for most applications enviroment variables are not accessed extensively...
for instance, an application might get an enviroment variable to figure out
what FONT to use, or for some default or other.  Even if it took an entire
second to access the variable (which it doesn't.. about 1/20 sec from an HD,
faster from RAM:) it would still be acceptable. 

	Well, perhaps I am exaggerating a bit, but I have yet to experience
speed-related problems with ENV:... and damn it, it is *NICE* not having to
set them up every time I log in.. they're part of the filesystem.

			* Chit To Developers *

		       USE ENVIROMENT VARIABLES!

	For instance, future releases of DME will check ENV: for the 'DMEFONT'
to use, etc...  Maybe programs should save back their window arrangement
info to the ENV: under their own name so when we re-start applications they
come up where we left off (at least in arrangement, settings, etc...)!  That
is one thing about that Mac I really like, which is sooooo simple to implement
on the Amiga.

	And it makes sense too.  I like to think of 'resources' as being more
permanent than ENV:, and it makes more sense to save 'current settings' into
ENV: rather than back into the (yet to be conceived) resource... makes HD
backups more efficient.

					-Matt