Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!forty2!poole
From: poole@forty2.UUCP (Simon Poole)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: where is gem desktop resource?
Message-ID: <585@forty2.UUCP>
Date: 11 Jan 89 13:05:51 GMT
References: <12375@hall.cray.com> <1274@atari.UUCP> <374@cmpfen.UUCP>
Reply-To: poole@forty2.UUCP (Simon Poole)
Organization: Exp. Physics University Zuerich
Lines: 30

In article <374@cmpfen.UUCP> bob@cmpfen.UUCP (Bob Breum) writes:
>In article <1274@atari.UUCP> mui@atari.UUCP (Derek Mui) writes:
..........
>>    There is no function call to get the resource of the desktop.  When an
>>application makes a wind_set(WF_NEWDESK) call, it doesn't need to reset it
>>back when it exits.  When control returns to the desktop, the original 
>>background will be restored.
>>
>This is correct as far as it goes.  But there is a legitimate need to reset
>the revised desktop when the program has been called from a shell.  Otherwise,
>the AES will attempt to redraw the specified desktop, but the resource for 
>that desktop will have been released at the time that the program terminated.
>It is my understanding, although I haven't tried it, that wind_set(WF_NEWDESK)
>with an address of 0 will reset the desktop.

One rather well known program which did not reset the the desktop in early
versions was the Kuma Resource editor. There was no problem in using as the 
offically sanctioned way to crash the system (see above quote from mui@atari)
just by starting it from one of the many GEM-menu based shells (the AES really
likes drawing non-existant resource trees).

This information, plus the fact that there was/is an undocumented workaround
(using an address of 0 to reset) and a suggestion that Atari document this
behaviour was posted by me to this newsgroup in early 1987/late 1986.

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UUCP:   ...mcvax!cernvax!forty2!poole			Simon Poole
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