Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!apple.com!chewy
From: chewy@apple.com (Paul Snively)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Is multifinder or finder running??
Message-ID: <6075@internal.Apple.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 90 02:32:08 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 34
References:<51508@XAIT.Xerox.COM> <5897@umd5.umd.edu>

In article <5897@umd5.umd.edu> zben@umd5.umd.edu (Ben Cranston) writes:
> In article <51508@XAIT.Xerox.COM> dee@XAIT.Xerox.COM (Donald Eastlake) 
writes:
> 
> > To get back to the original question, almost everyone (including
> > myself) has suggested relatively complex methods (digging around in
> > the apple menu) or multi step methods (first, is system 7 running,
> > if not then test...);  however, the more I think about it the more
> > it seems like just testing for _OSDispatch should do it.  That
> > certainly works for systems pre-7 and _OSDispatch is hardly likely
> > to go away in system 7.  Testing for the existance of a trap is
> > even a recommended technique (in general) by Apple.  Anyone see a
> > problem with this?

No, but it doesn't do anything at all to tell you if you have 
context-switching or not.  Or rather, it does, now, under systems 6 and 7, 
as far as I know, but will it always?  It's hard to tell.

In article <5897@umd5.umd.edu> zben@umd5.umd.edu (Ben Cranston) writes:
> Anyone see a problem with just testing the long at $282 for being 
negative?

Yes!  Don't check low-RAM globals; some of 'em don't even exist under 
A/UX, and we're trying to get to the point where we have a procedural 
interface to everything down there anyway; ya never know when that stuff's 
gonna change or possibly go away for some reason (supervisor exceptions 
under VM, anyone)?

__________________________________________________________________________
Just because I work for Apple Computer, Inc. doesn't mean that they 
believe what I believe or vice-versa.
__________________________________________________________________________
C++ -- The language in which only friends can access your private members.
__________________________________________________________________________