Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!indri!lll-winken!claris!wombat
From: wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: CDEVs & Fast Fonts
Message-ID: <10099@claris.com>
Date: 7 May 89 11:04:21 GMT
References: <2720@puff.cs.wisc.edu>
Organization: Claris Corporation, Santa Clara CA
Lines: 29

From article <2720@puff.cs.wisc.edu>, by blochowi@cat28.CS.WISC.EDU (Jason Blochowiak):
> Parik Rao wrote:
>> o    graphic control panel.  A NDA look-alike.  Its a program called
>>      GS.OS.DEV in the SYSTEM subdirectory, and a entire subdirectory
>>      called CDEVS is devoted to it.
> 
> 	If this is right (and I'm assuming it is), why is there a subdirectory
> for CDEVs? I know that some people really don't like the way the Mac works
> with things like DAs (having to add/remove the resource chunks from the
> System file), but it seems there's a bit of a difference... Or is Apple

The last I checked, the Control Panel *was* an NDA.  CDEV's *do* live in the
CDEVS subdirectory of the system (continuing the separate file metaphor used
with fonts, tools, & DA's.  There is, though, a CDEV init file in SYSTEM.SETUP.
I don't recall what all it does.  CDEV's, like DA's, can be dropped in & out
of the directory.  Unlike DA's (and like the Mac CDEV's & RDEVS) this can be
done without rebooting (unless the CDEV depends on some initialization stuff).



btw, someone was asking about fast fonts.  As far as I know, there is only one,
currently: Shaston 8 (this is subject to change, obviously).  Fast fonts give
you (at the expense of memory & disk space) much faster text drawing.  It's
done (I think) by storing all 4 possible nibble offsets for the character
bitmaps, so that it just zaps the pre-shifted bitmap wherever it needs to go.-- 
Scott Lindsey     |"Cold and misty morning. I heard a warning borne in the air
Claris Corp.      |    About an age of power when no one had an hour to spare"
ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple,
wombat@claris.com |    StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or dead.