Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!think!ephraim
From: ephraim@think.COM (ephraim vishniac)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: DeskCheck and LaserWriter (was Re: Problem copying files ...)
Keywords: DeskCheck, LaserWriter FREF
Message-ID: <27629@think.UUCP>
Date: 13 Sep 88 13:13:06 GMT
References: <3625@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Sender: news@think.UUCP
Reply-To: ephraim@vidar.think.com.UUCP (ephraim vishniac)
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 33

In article <3625@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> djlinse@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Dennis Linse) writes:

>Now, a question. [concerning results from DeskCheck]

>1.  Why does the LaserWriter file give an error when run through
>DeskCheck?  It says that BNDL resource 128 refers to FREF resources
>-8185 and -8186 which do not exist.  I checked our working copy and the
>copy on the System 6.0 distribution disk (I had to break the seal on our
>copy to check, so I know I didn't do anything.) and both gave the same
>thing.

Answer: because Apple's developers and QA don't always use the simple,
foolproof, automated tools which are available and widely used by
other people.  Very likely, somebody built or modified the LaserWriter
bundle by hand and botched it.  Nobody in QA checked to see if it was
right, even though they've got DeskCheck.  (I sent a couple of people
at Apple the whole program, with source code, about a year and half
ago.)

To Apple's credit, recent releases have been much better.  I was
amazed when I first wrote DeskCheck to find that many Apple programs
(including Disk First Aid!) had grossly defective bundles.

The LaserWriter driver is not updated in the 6.0.1 update, so unless
the distributed version is different from what developers got last
week, it's defective there too.


Ephraim Vishniac					  ephraim@think.com
Thinking Machines Corporation / 245 First Street / Cambridge, MA 02142-1214

     On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put
     into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?"