Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!natinst!uudell!mustang!jrh From: jrh@mustang.dell.com (James R. Howard) Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386 Subject: Re: wangtek retensioning problems -- tapecntl included Keywords: Dell UNIX, tapecntl Message-ID: <1933@uudell.dell.com> Date: 13 Feb 90 01:59:58 GMT References: <292@comcon.UUCP> <1467@eutrc3.urc.tue.nl> Sender: news@uudell.dell.com Reply-To: jrh@mustang.dell.com (James R. Howard) Organization: Dell Computer Corp. Lines: 35 In article , gemini@geminix.UUCP (Uwe Doering) writes: [ semi-infinite amounts of quotation deleted ] > >The real and simple solution is to use the tapecntl(1) command: > OK, but this doesn't help me right now. And you should know that it > doesn't matter so much what brand the streamer itself is, but what > device driver you have in your UNIX. This is the one the tapecntl(1) > command has to cope with. And I'm quite sure that the ISC wt driver > won't understand the tapecntl(1) ioctl-calls. This should be the > reason why this utility isn't shipped with 386/ix. > > After all, writing device drivers is the main task the UNIX vendors > do, and as long as there is no standard how things should be done > every vendor will invent its own driver interface to the application > programs. > > But of course this doesn't explain why ISC doesn't ship its own utility > for the wt streamer. Maybe I've looked at the wrong places. If someone > (hello ISC) knows better please tell us. > > Uwe Actually, the ISC wt driver, DOES support the tapecntl calls. How do I know this? Because Dell UNIX 386/ix (Which is ISC based, with enhancements) has tapecntl, and it works with the wt driver. I have a Wangtek 150MB TBU, and it works fine with it. -------------------------------------------------------------- James Howard ..cs.utexas.edu!dell!mustang!jrh or jrh@mustang.dell.com "I've got a firm policy on gun control, if there's a gun around, I want to be the one controlling it." -- Clint Eastwood --------------------------------------------------------------