HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: paul@delfin.com (Paul E. Black)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Polled ports
Date: 22 Jul 92 20:08:13 GMT
Reply-To: paul@delfin.com
Organization: Delfin Systems, Sunnyvale CA

In article <115201@glidden.UUCP>, bill@glidden.UUCP (Bill Glidden) writes:
|> Sometimes when I first boot Coherent, my com2r port won't function
|> until I have accessed the port com2pl.
On some machines (I don't know which ones), the interrupts are
"activated" until a polled access is done.  I'm told that DOS is
always pooled, so this hardware difference is overlooked.  My machine
has the same problem, and I just permanently changed it to polling.

-paul black-
8-)K>
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
From: david@r-node.gts.org (Gerald Abshez)
Subject: Re: port problem
Organization: R-Node Public Access UNIX System (416-249-5366) - 24 hrs
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 08:54:23 GMT

In article <9207212123.04@citrus.SAC.CA.US> qumqats@citrus.SAC.CA.US ( Joel M. Baldwin ) writes:
>In article <9207211215.AA00212@csx.cciw.ca> "Coherent operating system" <COHERENT@indycms.bitnet> writes:
>>In article <m0m9AFt-0000KHC@r-node.gts.org> you write:
>>Are you including the serial number (of your copy of Coherent) in your
>>messages?
>>
>>When I first tried to contact support@mwc.com, I forgot the serial number and
>>I too wondered why they didn't respond.  Then I resent the message with my
>>serial number and received an answer the next day.
>
>No wonder I've had such poor luck with support@mwc.com!
>
>It would be nice if this were made clear!  This is the first time I've
>heard or seen anything that says anything about including the
>serial #!
>
I second the motion. MWC, if your listening, take heed. They *don't* mention
that you need your serial number inside the front cover of the Install
notes, and that is where I got my email addresses from. At least a bounce
message or a note saying that they could only reply further if you send
your serial # would be better then your mail disappearing to /dev/null.

Gerald

-- 
Gerald
david@r-node.gts.org

Insert annoying fundamental political statement here.
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
From: joachim@jr.rhein-main.de (Joachim Riedel)
Subject: Re: Interesting Modem Problem
Organization: The European Coherent Support BBS
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 11:45:47 GMT

kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I) writes:
> My modeminit is changed from the standard Coherent one somewhat, for
> starters it's actually /etc/modeminit rather than living in /usr/bin.
> Mine actually just calls a script called /etc/modemreset which does the
> work of spitting a command string to the port at the right speed, so
> /etc/modeminit is similar in concept to something like /etc/drvld.all.
> The misconfigured modeminit was initialising the modem and presumably the
> serial drivers to 9600 baud on com2, so later attempts by login (reading
> from /etc/ttys) to use the port at 19200 were causing speed mismatches.

Am not absolutely sure why you need something like modeminit at all.
I run my Coherent-BBS without modeminit.
I setup the modems ( 1 USR Dual Standard ) to a fixed baud rate of 19200 Baud.
I also setup the modem to reset whenever DTR drops.
When I want to place a UUCP-call then all info is in /etc/modemcap (former
times) or is now contained in /usr/local/conf/uucp/sys (Taylor-UUCP).

I think that a hardware reset (DTR drops, MODEM RESETS) is always better
than a software reset.
I tried it with several V32bis-modems (USR, ZYXEL, Telebit) and it always
worked fine.
With some cheaper V32bis modems (ie. SUPRA - ROCKWELL-CHIPSET) you will
have problems. Especially because you cannot set a fixed speed. Under
some circumstances it automaticly switches to a higher speed and then you
only get junk on the screen. 

CHeers,

Joachim

Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
From: scholten@esseye.si.com (David Scholten)
Subject: minicom status line
Organization: Smiths Industries
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 13:03:53 GMT


When I run minicom, I get a line at the bottom of the screen that doesn't
make sense.  Maybe someone can help with the meaning of this:

(I'm trying to recall this from memory)  The status line looks like
it has some meanings for function keys or alt-keypad keys or something.

It has a similar line to this, but in bold face:

1=BLK 2=Und_Blk 3=Add_blk  4=Tag  5=Untag  6=XXXX 7=XXXXX 8=xxxxxx 9=xxxxxx

(or some permutation of above)

It doesn't seem to do anything, and the archive from raven doesn't
discuss anything about it.  When I'm finished with minicom, this line
stays around forever.

Thanks,
Dave Scholten
From: pacific.uucp!mkh@overmind.mind.org
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Coherent 4.0 Release
Date: 23 Jul 92 02:16:00 GMT
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
X-mailer: Stadel 3.4a-227
X-Spam-content: irrelevant


> I just got off the phone with MWC, 4.0 startes shipping today.
> 
> Thought Inquiring minds would want to know....
> 
    That's funny... I called today (two days after the above was posted),
and they told me it started shipping this afternoon.  The phone operators
must have a handbook of responses to use...

    Not that I'm worried.  Apparently there are so many back orders
that they won't be able to ship *my* copy for a month!  By then 4.0 will
certainly be out.

----
michael hamilton
mkh@pacific.jpl.nasa.gov / oceanography from space
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Problems with 4.0
From: kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 12:01:25 GMT
Organization: ACME BBS - Public Access Usenet, Palmerston North, New Zealand

karl@dadoka.h.ni.schule.de (Karl Sarnow) writes:

> I just started 4.0 and had some problems, which you might have solved.

Waaahhhh! He's running 4.0 already!

Seriously though, it's okay. Nancy at MWC told me that the updates have
taken a bit longer than complete new systems, becuase they're trying to
cover more eventualities. They start shipping some time next week.

> 3) Soft reboot does not seem to work anymore. After a modem hangup, I could
> not get the modem to work until a cold reset.

I'm not sure about your other problems, and even with this one there's not
enough information there for me to do anything but guess, but I've seen a
similar thing to this when I've accidently tried to talk to my 2400 baud
internal modem at 9600 - it wedges and requires a hardware reset (cold boot)
to bring back to life.

							- k
-- 
Craig Harding            kilroy@acme.gen.nz             ACME BBS +64 63 3551342
"Jub'f Xvob?"
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
From: michaelv@iastate.edu (Michael L. VanLoon)
Subject: Re: Questions about Coherent.
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 20:54:55 GMT

In <1992Jul23.161913.12482@phillip.edu.au> t9114145@phillip.edu.au writes:

>1. Does it come with a C compiler? 
>I really want a UNIX at home because I want to be able to work on 
>C assignments at home, and I want ANSI C, not some Borland or Microsoft
>mutation.

1) Yes, it comes with a K&R compiler which is fast, but not ANSI
compatible.  GCC, which is fully ANSI compatible has been ported and can
be gotten from MWC (or you could compile it yourself, I'm sure).

2) Borland C is 100% ANSI compliant.  They are quite vigerous about
making this so.  Granted, they have added some things on, and don't have
some unix things (like signals) because of the limitations of DOS.  But
it is hardly a mutation.

>2. Can it be networked? i.e. can I pick up and read (then post) usenet
>with Coherent?

No and yes.  NFS and TCP/IP type networking won't make it til 4.1.  But
UUCP and all the capabilities needed for news have been there for quite
some time.

>3. If in the future I have the hardware for X-windows, will Coherent
>do it?

Not yet.  I'm sure everything required for X will be installed in
version 4.1 (if the net has its way, anyway ;).

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael L. VanLoon                                     "Ignorance is bliss..."
michaelv@iastate.edu      --       Computer Engineering, Iowa State University
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: albani@cadlab.sublink.org (Lanfranco Albani)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Virtaul Memory in 4.0
Date: 23 Jul 92 07:44:58 GMT
Organization: CAD.LAB S.p.A., Bologna, Italia

thigpen@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Keith Thigpen) writes:

:>Coherent 4.0 will NOT have vm nor sockets. Both are slated for 4.1
:I know this must seem premature, (esp considering that 4.0 is just now 
:shipping) but has there been any determination of when this might be,
:(temporally speaking)?


It would be a *wonderful* Christmas gift!


Bye, Lanfranco


-- 
Lanfranco Albani - CAD.LAB s.p.a., v. Ronzani 7/29, Casalecchio, Italia
Email: (work:) albani@cadlab.sublink.org, (home:) bob@allan.sublink.org
Phone: (work:) ++39 (51) 6130360, (home:) ++39 (51) 727372; 
Fax: ++39 (51) 6130294 (work only), Fidonet: 2:332/407.1138 (home only).
Xref: sparky comp.os.coherent:3381 comp.os.minix:4160
From: udo@umunk.GUN.de (Udo Munk)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent,comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: OS compare (Unix/clone)
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:44:17 GMT
Organization: umunk (private)
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

rat@ruth.UUCP (David Douthitt) writes:
: hcp@csx.cciw.ca (H.C. Pulley) writes:
: 
: | In article <michaelv.711923616@vincent1.iastate.edu> michaelv@iastate.edu (Mi
: 
: | >P.S.  You canNOT run _any_ real multiprocessing operating system on an
: | >XT.  It can't even be done well on a 286 (witness DesqView and Coherent
: | >3.X).  You need at least a 386sx if you want to do unix in any
: | >reasonable fashion.
: | 
: | Just where do you get off saying this???
: 
: | AND IF YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY THAT MY 12-MHZ 286 IS NOT MULTITASKING AT THIS
: | VERY MOMENT THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING!
: 
: Amen, brother!!
: 
: I've seen an Apple II+ running 4 tasks - and I've heard of Commie-64s
: doing similar things.

I think Harry is right. He's not speaking about 4 task an an Apple II,
this I've done in 1978 with my PET 2001 in 8KB memory to. Coherent 3.x
is a real multitasking/multiuser system, where one can run 100 processes
and more. The only problem is the 64KB segmentation, which is gone
with 4.0.

: Take a look at Forth some day.......
: 
: As long as I'm on this thread... is there a decent pd Forth for UNIX
: (like Coherent).  And DON'T give me CForth... yech.

I've ported CForth to Coherent, and I've done a little work on it.
You should take a look on it, it's available on MWCBBS.

: How about a FAST (NON-portable!) machine language based Forth?

There are FAST and NON-portable Forth implementations available for
*no* or *very small* fee from FIG for every CPU used today. I'm
more interested at a Forth written in C and running under UNIX
because of the portability. This is why I've ported the CForth.
--
Udo Munk     | voice:      +49 2131 275348             | uucp: +49 2131 278869
Oberstr. 21  | mail :      udo@umunk.GUN.de            |      2400/1200/300 8N1
4040 Neuss 1 | ...!{mcshh,smurf,unido}!easix!umunk!udo | MYNAME=bbsuser
Fed. Rep. of | CompuServe: 100021,2515                 | login: uucp
Germany      | at first connect get ~/info  and ~/files| pwd:   public
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent,comp.os.minix
From: kwfriber@mtu.edu (Kenberg Frieth)
Subject: Re: OS compare (Unix/clone)
Organization: Michigan Technological University
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 15:48:17 GMT

In article <PETRI.VIRKKULA.92Jul27231025@vipunen.hut.fi> Petri.Virkkula@hut.fi (Petri Virkkula) writes:
>On Fri, 24 Jul 1992 14:27:30 GMT, michaelv@iastate.edu (Michael L. VanLoon) said:
>
>
>Michael> I stand by my statement.  You can't do it on an XT.  And, you can't do
>Michael> it well on a 286.  Two important things that are missing: large address
>Michael> model and true virtual memory. This is why you'll never see a
>Michael> full-featured unix on a 286, and why the top of the line for the 286
>Michael> will be crippled OS's like Coherent 3.2.1 (which does a great job with
>Michael> what it has to work with) and SCO Xenix 286.  Heck, you can't even use
>Michael> all the features of MS-Windoze on a 286, and OS/2 doesn't even bother
>Michael> trying with version 2.0.  Because they can't do the things they want to
>Michael> do without a) flat memory addressing and b) true virtual memory.
>
>	But 286 has flat addressing and possibility for virtual memory
>	in protected mode. However none of operating systems that I
>	have used doesn't just take advantage of all 286's features.
>
>	Petri
The 286 has does not have flat addressing.  It is still segmented.  Also,
it does not support virtual memory directly (although, one could probably
do it in software).  The 286 does have some memory protection, and does
have protection levels for some instructions.

Ken Friberg

Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
From: messina@netcom.com (Tony Porczyk)
Subject: l lc lf lr ls lx confusion
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 19:08:01 GMT
Organization: Messina Software


Going through the Coherent flyer, I noticed the following commands
listed:

l	-	list dirs in a long format
lc	-	list dirs in a columnar format
lf	-	list dirs in a columnar format
lr	-	list subdirs in a columnar format
ls	-	list dirs contents
lx	-	list dirs in a columnar format

What in the world is this stuff?  Are these just aliased switches to ls?
There is a real ls with all the switches in there, right?
If these are just aliases, I don't find it too bright to list them in
"Coherent 386 Command Summary".

On a separate subject - anyone knows when GNU C++ will be available and
the pricing? 

Tx,

Tony
From: edi@edefix.han.de (E. v. Pappenheim)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Multi-port boards under coherent
Date: 24 Jul 92 00:09:39 GMT
Organization: Private

X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

adye@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Alan Dye) writes:
: What multi-port boards are supported under Coherent 4.X?  I am looking
: into a BBS, but want 4 lines in, and 1 line out...

The new async-driver of COH 4.0 is highly configurable. For up to 32 ports
you can define quite a lot of options including IRQ and portbase. So
quite a lot of different multi-port boards may run.

Cheers, Ecki
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eckebrecht von Pappenheim 	Eleonorenstr. 17        3000 Hannover 91
UUCP: edi@edefix.han.de			     Tel: (Voice) +49 511 443755
      ...!unido!horga!agsc!edefix!edi
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: A review of the 1992.08 _Byte_ Coherent 4.0 review
Date: 30 Jul 92 22:31:48 GMT
Distribution: comp
Organization: The College On The Other Side Of Route One

In article <SJE.92Jul22154606@xylos.ma30.bull.com> sje@xylos.ma30.bull.com writes:
=The 1992.08 issue of _Byte_ magazine has a "First Impressions" review
=of Coherent 4.0 by regular contributor Ben Smith.  The article is
=found on pages 37 and 38 and is based on Smith's evaluation of a beta
=copy of the just released version of the operating system.
=
=Overall, the author gives a reasonable description and a conditional
=recommendation of Coherent 4.0.  Let's hope that there is a full
=follow-up review in an upcoming issue.

I saw the same article an was also concerned about it. Have you tried
contacting Ben?

Pete
From: system@coldbox.cojones.com (Bryan Lockwood)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: RE: Coherent / BBS use
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 14:37:12 PDT
Organization: The Generation Gap

You may want to watch comp.bbs.waffle for info... word has it that at least
one person is getting ready to try running Waffle under Coherent.

If this has been done already, could someone please post info about the
attempt?

-----
Author: Bryan Lockwood (system@coldbox.cojones.com)
Coldbox=  Usenet: system@coldbox.cojones.com | WWIVnet: system@501
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Info about coherent 4.0
From: rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly)
Organization: The Man With Ten Cats
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 02:30:26 GMT
Reply-To: rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly)

In article <2568208@glidden.UUCP> bill@glidden.UUCP (Bill Glidden) writes:
>udo@umunk.GUN.de (Udo Munk) writes:
>> 
>> 4.0 comes with a System V compatible cron.
>
>By this, do you mean that there will be separate crontab files
>for each cron user? And that the uid of the process will be set
>to match the name of the crontab? I.e. /usr/spool/crontabs/root entries
>will be run as root and /usr/spool/crontabs/bill entries will be run 
>as bill?? (Hope so!)


Yes.

-- 

Rick Kelly	rmk@rmkhome.UUCP	unixland!rmkhome!rmk	rmk@frog.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Questions about Coherent.
From: kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 19:57:05 GMT
Reply-To: kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I)
Organization: ACME BBS - Public Access Usenet, Palmerston North, New Zealand

t9114145@phillip.edu.au writes:

> 1. Does it come with a C compiler? 
> I really want a UNIX at home because I want to be able to work on 
> C assignments at home, and I want ANSI C, not some Borland or Microsoft
> mutation.

It comes with a C compiler, but it's the K&R mutation of C, not ANSI (:-)).
Coherent 4.0 has just been released, which is a true 32-bit version of the OS
and can run GCC which is ANSI.

> 2. Can it be networked? i.e. can I pick up and read (then post) usenet
> with Coherent?

Via UUCP, yes, providing you can get a UUCP newsfeed. Anything flasher (TCP/IP
and NFS) isn't available for Coherent yet.

> 3. If in the future I have the hardware for X-windows, will Coherent
> do it?

In the future :-). It's not capable of it yet, but people are working on it.

							- k
-- 
Craig Harding            kilroy@acme.gen.nz             ACME BBS +64 63 3551342
"Jub'f Xvob?"
From: bob@allan.sublink.org (Lanfranco Albani)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Virtaul Memory in 4.0
Date: 25 Jul 92 23:00:45 GMT
Organization: Allan: where felines dance

bob@dalek.mwc.com (Bob Hemedinger) writes:
> Coherent 4.0 will NOT have vm nor sockets. Both are slated for 4.1

Ok, another upgrade on the path... :-)

To be serious, how to handle disk partition with virtual memory?
For example (this will be my situation when 4.0 will come):
170 Mb hard disk
32 Mb for Ms-Dos (don't throw me rock, please), just for Fidonet point software
and a few (old) games
40 Mb for Coherent root partition (with /usr/spool/*)
16 Mb as swap area
82 Mb for Coherent /users partition

Virtual memory need a separate partition (as in other unix), or Coherent will
swap on a file-system?

Bye, Lanfranco

--
_______________________#include <std_disclaimer.h>____________________________
Lanfranco Albani                                         bob@allan.sublink.org
Via Piretti 13                                       albani@cadlab.sublink.org
40012 Calderara di Reno (BO) Italy                      FidoNet 2:332/407.1138
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Installation Oddities
From: kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 11:56:09 GMT
Organization: ACME BBS - Public Access Usenet, Palmerston North, New Zealand

rogue@anableps.berkeley.edu (Brett Glass) writes:

> I just installed Coherent 3.2.1 (you may remember that I tried to
> do this some time ago, but was thwarted because the hard disk was
> too large). The installation went smoothly this time, except for
> one problem: when the system encountered a minor, soft error when
> reading from one of the distribution floppies, it immediately
> aborted the entire installation and then asked for all the floppies
> again. There was no way to short-circuit this process, or to tell
> the system that I'd already copied all the other disks.

Yeah, I had this same problem recently with a system upgrade - for a
while there I was wondering if the soft errors on the boot disk would
mean I'd never get the system running. The only thing I can suggest is
either to make copies of your original distribution as soon as you get
them and store the copies in a nice place (good sense anyway), or get
hold of the *oldest* 1.2M drive you can. I grabbed the old 1.2MB of my
Wyse 286 and it read the disks nicely - modern HD drives have slightly
different tolerances (my Wyse can *format* a 360k disk that a normal 360
can read!). This may not work if you use 3.5" disks of course, I don't
have as much experience with those.

> But the big shocker, from my point of view, was the lack of default
> security -- coupled with an undocumented "back door" that could only
> be considered an open invitation for system crackers. After creating a
> few users, I discovered that all of their mail files were publicly
> readable. 

Yeah, that's something in the /etc/newusr script which I discovered here
and changed in my copy - you need to use chmod 700 for user's directories
and 600 for mail files.

>               What's more, the password file -- as created during the
> installation process -- had an undocumented account called "xmail"
> (name: "Secret Mail") with NO PASSWORD! This means that if a new
> Coherent user were to put his system online and did not notice these
> "holes," ANYONE could log on as "xmail" and read all of that user's
> e-mail (as well as any other files that were publicly readable).
> I wonder how many Coherent systems still have this back door open now?

Even worse, if you left the remacc user in /etc/passwd, but weren't using
a remote access password (ie the password field in the entry for remacc
was blank), then someone could have logged in as remacc without needing a
password. But I think these are things you need to check when you setup a
new system - I don't know if MWC can second guess everybody. After all,
on a new system *all* the user accounts have no password - shock horror!

						- k
-- 
Craig Harding            kilroy@acme.gen.nz             ACME BBS +64 63 3551342
"Jub'f Xvob?"
From: messina@netcom.com (Tony Porczyk)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Memory configuration on a Coherent host
Date: 26 Jul 92 18:57:14 GMT
Article-I.D.: netcom.23kmz_.messina
Organization: Messina Software


kilroy@acme.gen.nz (earthbound misfit, I) writes:
>messina@netcom.com (Tony Porczyk) writes:
>> I would like to connect four (or more) dumb terminals to one 386 running
>> Coherent.  Can it be done?  Inexpensively?  Is there a support for it?

>It's quite straightforward. Just get 4 standard serial ports in your
>machine, configure them as the unofficial "standard" for the second two (COM3
>[...]

Thanks for the info.  On a related note:  Since Coherent doesn't have
virtual memory, I was thinking of installing 16 Mb of memory for each
machine supporting four dumb terminals (Each terminal would run
editors and occassional compiles).  Is it an overkill?  Can I run more
terminals on a machine with 16 Mb of memory?  Would the CPU handle it?
Any recommended quantities of memory for particular setups?  Does
anyone have a pet setup they would like to share with us (in terms of
memory, ramdisks, cache, etc)? 

Tx,

Tony