Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!oliveb!amiga!jimm
From: jimm@amiga.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Mythological software ? (was: FixIntuition Patch)
Message-ID: <5193@amiga.UUCP>
Date: 9 Feb 90 00:41:21 GMT
References: <16715@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Reply-To: jimm@superman.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Organization: Commodore-Amiga Inc, Los Gatos CA
Lines: 51

)>I don't have access to any ftp sites. I believe the 
)>name of the program is FixIntuition or something close to it.

)Does anyone out ther actually HAVE this thing running on their system ?  
)I've been trying to track it down for quite a while now.. Personally, I don't
)think it really exists - the only responses I've ever got to questions of 
)this sort are "Well, I've never actually seen it, but I heard..."
)
)If you do have this mythological beast caged and cornered, PLEASE consider
)posting it to comp.binaries.amiga - there seem to be a fair number of us
)who'd like to get a hold of it..

FixIntuition is a horrible hack that somebody on bix wrote based on
a suggestion of mine.  I don't have a copy of the program, but I
can make the suggestion again.

The problem of screen copper lists not being remade for global view
interlace changes can be reduced (note the key word there) if completely
obscured (VP_HIDE) screens have their viewport DyOffset set to an
impossible value.  0 works.  Then, when the screen is brought to the
front, even if Intuition misses the test for remaking copper lists because
of interlace changes, it will catch the test for size changes and remake
the screens copper lists.  (It also recalculates DyOffset, so don't worry ;^)

Walking the screen or viewport list must be protected, and contrary to
one suggestion I made, there is no magic value that can be passed to
LockIBase() to insure this protection.  The best you can do is
Forbid(), which--coincidentally--doesn't appear to leave a window
of vulnerability.  (Yes, V.P., it's a nasty thing to have to do  ...)

There is also no reasonable trigger to initiate your processing, so
you probably have to do it on a timer.  The question then is "how often,"
since the processing is obnoxious, but the window between passes
is exactly when you can crash the system by bringing a screen to front
(twice).  

*CLEARLY* this technique should not be part of an application or utility,
but only as a standalone patch, or at best as part of a patch suite
with default value OFF.  Any implementation should also manaully
check for Intuition library version < 36, since the problem is fixed in V36.

I apologize for not producing the program myself, but we did want
to avoid little nasties like this in V36, didn't we?  So, back to it.

	jimm

-- 
--------------------------------------------------	- opinions by me
"This voice console is a *must*.  I press Execute. 
 `Hello, I know that you've been feeling tired.
  I bring you love and deeper understanding.' "		-lyrics by Kate Bush