Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!atari!apratt
From: apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: To Fix or Not To Fix (Really: applying patches to OS)
Message-ID: <1138@atari.UUCP>
Date: 29 Aug 88 20:57:10 GMT
References: <635@ihnet.ATT.COM> <383@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM> <1224@netmbx.UUCP> <530@nikhefh.hep.nl> <169@obie.UUCP>
Reply-To: apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt)
Organization: Atari (US) Corporation, Sunnyvale, California
Lines: 14


The other point that Gert and others miss when they talk about replacing
OS routines is the close coupling WITHIN THE OS between, say, Malloc and
the process handler.  You can't just rip out Malloc and change it
because other parts of the OS depend on it being exactly as it is.  That
doesn't mean the OS is a monolith; it's not (much).  But some crucial
data structures pervade the whole thing, and others are tightly coupled
among a few modules.  Somebody else asked this same question about
Pexec, and the answer is the same: it's tightly coupled with other parts
of the OS (not just Malloc). 

============================================
Opinions expressed above do not necessarily	-- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp.
reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else.	  ...ames!atari!apratt