Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!mace.cc.purdue.edu!ajq
From: ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: MacII system crashes
Message-ID: <1743@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 16 Feb 89 19:40:23 GMT
References: <418@salgado.stan.UUCP> <2282@unmvax.unm.edu>
Reply-To: ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 37

In article <2282@unmvax.unm.edu> mark@sleepy.cs.unm.edu () writes:
>
>The question I have is: Is the Mac II really that incompatible with other Macs?
>And is there any hope for my running these [public domain] programs?
>
>Mark A. McLaughlin
>mark@sleepy.cs.unm.edu

No, the Mac II isn't incompatible ... for up-to-date, supported programs.

I'm not a programmer (but I play one on TV :-), but I know that Apple has
a rather strenuous set of guidelines for Macintosh programs.  When these
guidelines are followed, programs should be usable on just about any
modern Macintosh.  They should also not need modification when new versions
of System Tools are released.

When these guidelines are broken, programs crash.  We've seen this happen
with dozens of commercial programs ... MacPaint is a good example.  Ever
tried to run MacPaint 1.5 on a Mac II that's setup for color?

The problem with public domain software is that quite a bit of it is written,
released, and forgotten.  Programmers who release PD stuff don't get any
profit from spending the time to upgrade their programs.  Also, quite a bit
of it was written to work with the then-current System/Finder and hardware
without following those guidelines from Apple.

Thus, if it was written for a Mac 512 with old 64K ROMs using some ancient
compiler under some early System/Finder (Megaroids is an example), it'll
likely not work or bomb big-time on a Mac Plus, Mac II, Mac IV, and Mac
VII using Tools 6.0.2, 7.0, 9.0, 15.0 ... you get the idea.


If this is wrong, I hope someone corrects me ... but I'll bet I'm close.


John O'Malley           / Macintosh  / Purdue University / (317)
mace.cc.purdue.edu!ajq / Specialist / Computing Center  / 494-1787