Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!milano!bigtex!texbell!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Shared IDCMP Ports--Proposal
Message-ID: <2859@sugar.uu.net>
Date: 19 Oct 88 02:00:47 GMT
References: <3031@amiga.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land Unix - Houston, TX
Lines: 45

In article <3031@amiga.UUCP>, jimm@amiga.UUCP (Jim Mackraz) writes:
>     At the request of developers, we've tried to develop a standard by
>     which users may use their Window IDCMP port for other Inter-Process
>     Communication (IPC).

First reaction... blech.

After reading further... hey, this is a cool idea!

> 	We are debating whether
> 	the ID should be 8 or sixteen bits.  If it is eight, then
> 	it can be put in the high-order byte of Code accompanied by
> 	a command code in the low order byte.  This would let people
> 	write programs with one fewer levels of switch statement.  The 
> 	downside is that it reduces the ID space to 256 simultaneous
> 	services.

	Since the ID is generated by the program that registers the port,
that's 256 simultaneous services per program. Should be more than ample.

> 	This could become, with an eight bit ID:

> 	/* ID is 8 bits, in high byte of Code field	*/

	Put it in the low 8 bits, so that services that don't have any ids
can do the job.

>     Is it worth it?

	Maybe, maybe not. It's pretty irrelevent, since the subcode can be
put in the Qualifier field. I would like to require that the structure
be the same size as the IntuiMsg structure, to allow for programs that do
a structure assign and replymsg immediately after the getmsg as a matter of
course.

How about this scenario: you register with Browser by passing it the address
of your IDCMP. From then on people can drag files into your window from
browser. You'll get an IntuiMsg with IAddress pointing to a struct WBStartup
containing the files dragged into your window in the WBArgs.

Question: can I depend on the IAddress being unmunged by Intuition when I
get the replymessage?
-- 
		Peter da Silva  `-_-'  peter@sugar.uu.net
		 Have you hugged  U  your wolf today?