HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Gavin.Flower@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Gavin Flower)
Subject: Re: A5000 serial port
Organization: Dept. of Comp. Sci., Victoria Uni. of Wellington, New Zealand.
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 23:20:04 GMT

In article <C0qozt.LFI@dcs.ed.ac.uk> gst@dcs.ed.ac.uk (George Taylor) writes:
>
[...]
>If this board go's wrong, it will be too late to get it fixed under warranty,
>so I'll have to fix it myself or use a prototype podule card and make my own.


Surely, whenever a machine is fixed, at least the repair comes with
it's *own* warranty period?  So if you get it back on the last day of
the warranty period, and it fails a week later, you should be able
still get it fixed for free?


Gavin
-- 
Tomorrow's Society                              | flower_g@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
    Depends on                                   ----------------------------
Today's Children  - help us raise them properly! 
*******  These comments have no known correlation with dept. policy!  *******
From: tytgat@esat.kuleuven.ac.be (John Tytgat)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: New Template format discussion document
Date: 6 Jan 93 11:39:46 GMT
Reply-To: tytgat@esat.kuleuven.ac.be (John Tytgat)
Organization: K.U.Leuven, Belgium
Originator: tytgat@queneau

In article <4897@svin09.info.win.tue.nl> wsinda@info.win.tue.nl writes:
>* Grouping icons
>  A very useful feature to build into a template editor. Is the current
>  format flexible enough to accomodate icon groups? It may be necessary to
>  add a 1-word prefix to an icon definition block. A value of 1 would
>  mean that an ordinary 32-byte icon block follows; a value of 2 indicates
>  an icon group (list of icons), 3 for meta-icons etc.

Very good idea.  But maybe we can have a look at the way Draw stores grouped
objects.  I think we can adopt the same way, something like :

Icon object definitions :
     0     4    Word specifing the kind of icon object definition block.
                What Dick suggested :
                1 = ordinary icon
                2 = group of icons
                3 = meta-icons
                ...
     4      4   Length of this icon object definition block
     8      ?   Icon object definition block, containing - ordinary icon, or
                                                         - group of icons, or
                                                         - meta-icons, or
                                                         - ...
     ?          Next icon object definition

As in Draw, group of icons can be nested.  However, there are certain
consequences if we are using this approach : the icon numbering could be the
order of apperance in the list of Icon object definitions.  And this puts a
restriction on grouping/ungrouping because this action can change the order
of the icon object definition block.

This restriction does not apply for the programmer because (s)he only needs
to remake the #define file but that's no solution for the user.

Maybe we should give each icon its own explicit number ?

>* Quo vadis?
>  Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an integrated programming environment,
>  in which you can
>    (1) design windows, icons and menus,
>    (2) write routines that are linked to the icons and menus, and finally
>    (3) let the environment build a wimp application from it
>  The plans for Glazier are a nice step into the direction of (1); StrongEd
>  supports the External Edit protocol so integrating (2) shouldn't be too
>  hard (after we have agreement on the data format); for (3) you'd need a set 
>  of make utilities, 1 for each programming language that is supported.

Yes, it would.  What about defining the menu format in the Glass file ?

John
tytgat@esat.kuleuven.ac.be
BASS
From: rjb12@unix.brighton.ac.uk (Titch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: ARM risc speed?
Date: 12 Jan 93 11:31:55 GMT
Organization: University of Brighton, UK

torbenm@diku.dk (Torben AEgidius Mogensen) writes:
> At the moment no ARM processor can compete speed-wise against a 68040,
> but the main aim of the ARM chipset is to provide cost-effective
> solutions for small to medium size computers. Acorn computers sell a
> home-computer with a 12MHz ARM250, 1MB RAM and 3MB ROM for less than
> 500 pounds. The integer speed is roughly comparable with a 30MHz 80386
> system or a 25MHz 68020 system.

This is slightly inaccurate. A 33MHz A5000 (alright, so I've fiddled with
my machine) gives me a MIP rating of around 17-18 on average, using the
fairly terrific !SI. A 25MHz 68040 delivers 10-11 MIPs - I don't know about
30+ MHz speeds.

Cheers,

Rich.
-- 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rich Browning (rjb12@bton.unix)   * The Intel Plentium: Ethernet controller  
Department of Computer Science    * or fiendish knitting pattern?          
University of Brighton            * What!? It's a PROCESSOR???            
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: ssudavss@csug.cs.reading.ac.uk (Captain_Kwok)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: SCSI Disk Errors
Date: 10 Jan 93 13:54:10 GMT
Organization: University of Reading

Is it possible that someone could diagnose the following problems that I have 
been having with my SCSI disk.

It is a seagate 84Mb and I am using OAKs SCSI card on an A5000 with RO3.1
(although I was getting these errors before upgrading the OS)

When I turn the machine on, about 90% of the time the SCSI drive seems to
start up and then park itself. 

Sometimes I can CTRL-BREAK a couple of times and this fixes it. Other times
I have to switch off and on again.

When it does finally start up correctly, about 50% of the time that I try to
write to the SCSI disk I get Broken Directory errors, although if I switch
the A5000 off and then on again they seem to disappear (or I can fix them).

Verify does not show any disc errors.

Any Ideas (or should I bin my SCSI disk?)

Cheers, Steve
ssudavss@uk.ac.reading
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: davism@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mik Davis)
Subject: Internet on the Archimedes
Organization: Aston University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL241235]
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 15:53:03 GMT

  I know it is possible to set up an Archimedes to receive mail and news. I 
believe it is possible to arrange matters for this to happen where the arch. 
does not have a direct connection to the JANET/Internet e.g. over a dial up
line of some kind.
  Could someone please confirm that this is indeed the case and if so could
someone send me (or post here) the complete instructions for how to do this.
  I realise that various pieces of software are required but I don't know 
exactly which ones (KA9Q? RUCP?) or where I can get them from (I know some 
are on the Newcastle info-server).
  I'm sure this information would be of interest to others too.

   Mik

--
___________________________________________.
 Mik Davis at Aston University, Birmingham |   .  .  __          .
                                           |   |\/|  | \  _,_  _  _
E-Mail: davism@uhura.aston.ac.uk           |   |  |. |_/ |_| \/ |/_'
From: phuae@csv.warwick.ac.uk (Mr N S Kaijaks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: File format translation protocol
Date: 12 Jan 1993 14:59:40 -0000
Organization: Computing Services, University of Warwick, UK
NNTP-Posting-Host: clover.csv.warwick.ac.uk

In article <1993Jan11.212512.12588@infodev.cam.ac.uk> crj10@phx.cam.ac.uk
(Clive Jones) writes:
>I had a little idea whilst bored over christmas. Wouldn't it be nice
>if there was a protocol whereby applications could ask other
>applications to perform filename translations for it? For example, if
>!Paint were equipped with such a protocol, and so was !ChangeFSI, you
>could directly drag a GIF onto !Paint, for example. With a bit of
>luck, you could also just drag a GIF back out of the save as dialogue,
>too.
>
> [Stuff deleted]
>

Clive is right, a method of automatically converting files would be useful.
But quite why Acorn doesn't seem to have developed a consistent protocol for
all file handling is beyond me. The messaging system is versatile, but too
reliant on coders' discretion for the purposes for which it is used most. The
proliferation of suggestions for various new protocols on this group is
demonstrative of this. A unified and co-ordinated format for file dragging,
double-clicking, and object linking is necessary.

By the latter, I mean a system similar to that on Word for Windows (sorry),
where double-clicking on an embedded picture/graph/whatever launches the
application which created it (if available), and loads it in. The number of
times I have wanted this in Impression documents is ....big!

The Arc also needs some development in subscription software, to keep up
with other computers in business and multimedia applications. For years, Mac
Word documents can "subscribe" to graphs "published" by Excel. These can then
be automatically updated if the original spreadsheet is altered. Some Arc
programs use hotlinking (Impression links with a couple of programs using
Impulse, and I think Presenter talks to one of the databases), but this does
not update automatically, and the protocols are fairly application specific.

Perhaps this isn't very "tech", but the people who read this group are the
people who need to develop the software on the Arc to keep it competitive.
But this is starting to sound like it belongs on c.s.a.advocacy so I think
I'll throw it open to you....

Cheers,
Nick
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Nick Kaijaks     phuae@csv.warwick.ac.uk     .sig? No thanks, I don't smoke
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jtn@ukc.ac.uk (J.T.Noble)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: ARM risc speed?
Date: 12 Jan 93 13:54:37 GMT
Reply-To: jtn@ukc.ac.uk (Jim Noble)
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

rjb12@unix.brighton.ac.uk (Titch) writes in article <1993Jan12.113155.29770@unix.brighton.ac.uk>
>This is slightly inaccurate. A 33MHz A5000 (alright, so I've fiddled with
>my machine) gives me a MIP rating of around 17-18 on average, using the
>fairly terrific !SI. A 25MHz 68040 delivers 10-11 MIPs - I don't know about
>30+ MHz speeds.
>Cheers,
>Rich.

Not really a fair test. Theoretically a 33MHz ARM3 can do 33MIPS, so long 
as there is no bus contention, yes? The speed of the '040 depends on what
the '040 is plugged into. Anyone know the average speed of a 'stand alone'
'040? 

Please, please, someone tell me what package the A5000 ARM3 is in!?! 
w.r.t. plugging in a 35MHz ARM3 instead (anyone done this?).

--
Jim Noble
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: chill@annas.mentorg.com (Chris Hill)
Subject: RiscOSLib txt objects, help 
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1993 08:55:38 GMT
Reply-To: Chris_Hill@mentorg.com
Organization: Mentor Graphics European Technical Centre
Keywords: riscoslib,txt, help
Followup-To: sender 

I am trying to port the game Xconq.  I have had it running from the
command line, without graphics as a single task.  Some time ago I got 
it running as a desktop task, with its stdout going into a txt object 
and being displayed. 

All this was many moons ago.  I have since changed jobs, moved house, and 
upgraded to RiscOS 3.1.  It has been about 10 months since I last had a 
look at it.  Over the Christmas holiday I tried to do a little bit more
work on it.  However it now crashes inside the call to txt_new.  I can't 
see what is wrong, I am initialising all the right things (heap, flex and
txt).  It is probably something simple though.

Can anyone cast any light on this for me?  It is driving me bonkers, 
although some would say I have been for a long time :-).

Respond by mail and I will summarise.

Thanks,
Chris.
-- 
   Chris_Hill@mentorg.com                       | 
   Mentor Graphics, European Technical Centre,  |  Remember, I said it,
   Hollybank House, Mount Lane, Bracknell,      |  not my employer,
   Berks, RG12 3BD, UK                          |  I only work for them,
   Tel +44 344 876555 x2252                     |  not speak for them.

Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: hobbs@rocks.enet.dec.com (Mike Hobbs)
Subject: Help with printer offsets please
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 18:30:06 GMT

cross-posted from
Article: 12819
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn

I recently spoke to a commercial software developer about this (and he
was not too ethusiastic about the quality of the Acorn printer drivers)
but I thought I'd address it to the world in case there is a solution,
and if not then maybe Acorn will be listening.

I recently got RO 3 and set up !Printers to drive my Citizen ProLaser
12, HP PaintJet, KXP1124 and ArcFax.

One of the first things I noticed was that there is a nice !PrintEdit
application and so I used it to try to set up the graphics printing
origin for the ProLaser because the default is far too far down the
page.  However, these x and y offsets seem to be totally ignored.

I dumped the output of a test print to a file before and after changing
the x and y offsets and both files were identical.  If I manually edit
the print file I can get the printer to start printing at a different
origin but the Acorn driver just doesn't do its stuff.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mike Hobbs
hobbs@rocks.enet.dec.com
From: okrumnow@mcshh.Hanse.DE (Olaf Krumnow)
Subject: Re: New Template format discussion document
Organization: Point of Presence & MCS Hamburg
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 10:07:13 GMT

TMOTA wrote:

>Argh! What about simply specifying that the text held in the icon is a
>messagetrans tag? Then the template-loading code can lookup the necessary
>text from the specified language-dependant messages file.

Just use the icon name as a tag to messagetrans.
The text inside the Glass file should only be used as a default if
no matching MessageTrans entry exist, or the Messages file got lost.

John Tytgat wrote:

>(5) A last point what I would like to raise is that there is no support for
>text (read : Indirected Data) in different languages.
>
>A solution for this could be different Indirected Data tables.  IMHO this would
>make the GLS_WIND chunk rather heavy.  Therefore I suggest to define a new
>chunk as :
>GLS_DATA
>========
[chunk details deleted ]

That's not the problem. See above.
That's much easier to translate, as the guy doing it needs no more than
a simple text editor.
Together with ResFind (on NewCastle server) there could be an automatic
language detection, adjusting the program to that language. No need to
hold all language-dependent text for templates in the Glass file, and
all other language-dependent text in another file.

It would be fine if the Glass -> Template/Header generator would create
a MessageTrans file as well.

Olaf.

------------------------------------------------------------
Olaf Krumnow                 e-mail: okrumnow@mcshh.hanse.de
                             snail : August-Bebel-Str. 102c
Headquarter of the                   W-2050 Hamburg 80
German Archimedes Group              Germany
------------------------------------------------------------
From: u2prh@ohm.york.ac.uk (Paul R Hedderly - H601/92)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: RO3 - wots up?
Summary: RO3 failuer - unplugged windowmanager and error %400f2
Keywords: RiscOs 3
Date: 12 Jan 93 12:23:26 GMT
Organization: Electronics Department, University of York, UK

I have a friend with an original A440. He recently bought the
relevant RO3 upgrade and also the extended board to run it. Howver,
every time he turns it on it unplugs the windowmanager, giving the
error &400f2 (I think it was that anyway).

Anyone any idea why? [He can use the desktop,m but it means rmreinit
the module everytime!]

Thanx - Bungle!!


-- 
I am: Paul Hedderly (vax - PRH6)	Please Any Advice Will
      (or u2prh@ohm.york,ac,uk)		Will Be Taken Seriously
      (or prhedder@nyx.cs.du.edu)		Thanx all:
							Bungle!!
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: jkh@whisker.lotus.ie (Jordan K. Hubbard)
Subject: Any State Machine / Computer Concepts graphics board owners out there?
Organization: Lotus Development Ireland
Distribution: comp
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 16:36:06 GMT

I've just ordered the G8+ and am wondering if anyone else is into
same.  I don't believe any other graphics solutions currently exist
for the Arch and the VIDC's inherent limitations seem to make the
prospect of 1024x768x24 frame buffers rather remote.  Did I make
the right choice, and do any other users out there care to comment
on their experiences?

I've heard about the VIDC-2 but that doesn't appear to be available
in finished, purchasable, hardware form anytime soon.

					Jordan
--
Jordan Hubbard		Lotus Development Ireland	jkh@whisker.lotus.ie
I DO NOT SPEAK FOR LOTUS - IT HAS PLENTY OF LAWYERS TO DO THAT FOR IT ALREADY
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: kelvin@thed.uk22.bull.com (Kelvin J. Hill)
Subject: Max sound frequency possible on A440?
Organization: Bull HN Informations Systems Inc.
Date: 12 Jan 93 12:14:49 GMT

Does anyone know what the MAXIMUM sound output frequency is on an A440 with
ARM3? I am trying to generate a sine wave output at about 100 KHZ and it
seemed that the Archimedes sound system might be able to manage this?

Any/All advice would be appreciated....

Kelvin.
--
Kelvin J. Hill - BULL HN Information System Ltd, Hounslow, England, UK.
Internet - kelvin@thed.uk22.bull.com   | UUCP - kelvin@cix.compulink.co.uk
   ""      kelvin@kelvin.uk22.bull.com | AMPRnet - kelvin@g1emm.ampr.org
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: burke@vxdesy.desy.de
Subject: Re: A5000 serial port
Organization: (DESY, Hamburg, Germany)
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:59:34 GMT

In article <C0qozt.LFI@dcs.ed.ac.uk>, gst@dcs.ed.ac.uk (George Taylor) writes:
> If this board go's wrong, it will be too late to get it fixed under warranty,
> so I'll have to fix it myself or use a prototype podule card and make my own.

Warranties are irrelevant; if a product is faulty when supplied you have a
right (against the supplier) to have it replaced foc.

e----><----p | Stephen Burke           | Internet: burke@vxdesy.desy.de
 H   H   1   | Gruppe FH1T (Liverpool) | DECnet:   vxdesy::burke (13313::burke)
 H   H  11   | DESY, Notkestrasse 85   | BITNET:   BURKE@DESYVAX or SB2@UKACRL
 HHHHH   1   | 2000 Hamburg 52         | JANET:    sb2@uk.ac.rl.ib
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: m_sattle@informatik.uni-kl.de (Matthias Sattler)
Subject: CPU clock of A540
Organization: University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 12:49:29 GMT

A few days ago, I tried to increase the CPU clock of my A540. But I encountered
a strange phenomenon. The computer boots until the message RISC OS .... then
the cursor stops flashing and the A540 obviously crashes. BUT when I press
reset now the computer enters the desktop happily and works fine??!!!
I can't even run the ARM at 30 Mhz without having this problem......
But ALL A5000 I know run fine at 30 Mhz or even more and they only have the 
'bad' ARM3 (as the A540 have the selected good ones..).

(At the moment I use a 74F74 on the processor card to get the CPU clock, maybe
this is important. By the way, what is the 68ohm resistior between the 7474
and the ARM3 good for?)


Matthias Sattler
email: m_sattle@informatik.uni-kl.de
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: tb@liszt.thorn-emi-crl.co.uk (Tim Browse)
Subject: Glass files
X-Status: NS
X-Mailer: Aster*x 2.0 (360)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 10:50:31 +0000



I guess this route to c.s.a. works then.

A quick note to say that a number of people have commented on 
adding menu templates to the Glass format.  Someone even posted 
a suggested format (thanks!).  However, I'm going to stick to my 
decision not to include more than windows and icon names in the 
first version.  The reason is that although the proposed menu 
extension was good, it didn't go as far as it could.  I've seen some 
ideas from TMOTA re: configurable menus, configurable hot-keys 
for menu items etc, and I'd rather do it in one clean sweep, than 
add a half-hearted attempt and bodge it later on when more time 
is at hand.

To sum up, hopefully a menu chunk isn't too far away, but it won't 
be in the first version.  Of course, once the chunk has been 
defined, someone's got to write the SWIs to handle it... <shuffles 
feet and looks around hopefully>


As to the Glass relocatable module (I'm liking this idea more and 
more) I should point out that the module will be PD, i.e. anyone 
can do what the hell they like with it. More importantly,  the 
*complete* source for the module will be Freeware, i.e. freely 
distributable but if you want to use the code in your own 
programs (as opposed to just being a SWI client) you have to get 
permission of the author (via the moderator i.e. me).   


Hence I suggest anyone not happy with letting their code go out 
under these conditions does not bother starting to write any code 
for the Glass module.  The reason the source will be available is 
because it's very useful when tracking down bugs or determining 
just *exactly* what a function does when the documentation is 
less than clear (as I found with DeskLib - this is supposed to be a 
compliment, Jason!).


Initial versions of the Glass module will be in C, but hopefully 
speed critical parts of it will be translated into ARM by me, or 
whoever wants to do it.  BASS seem to like wading waist-deep in 
registers and condition codes so maybe they'll do it :-)

Also, I think I'll back down on icon-decoding at run-time - the 
overhead of having the feature *available* in the Glass module 
will probably be so small as to make deliberately not including it a 
bit dumb.  Of course, it's up to the programmer whether they use 
it or use constants...

Apologies for formatting; I'm using a proportional font and have to 
guess.

Tim
From: jwil1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (TMOTA)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: RISC OS 3.1 WIMP Message...
Date: 6 Jan 93 00:54:37 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept. University of Auckland

pmoore@cix.compulink.co.uk (Paul Moore) writes:
>Message_MenusDeleted (&400C9). It is sent when a menu is deleted, without a
>selection having been made (mouse click outside the menu, another task pops
>up a menu, this task pops up a different menu). Message block+20 contains
>the menu pointer for the menu tree which was deleted.
> 
>Not too sure why you would use it, the draft PRMs don't suggest a use...

If you've ever tried hanging a non-permanent dialogue box off a menu tree
you will be most pleased to hear about such a message - normally the WIMP
closes (but doesn't delete) your window without telling you *anything*
about it. The only way (previously) to detect this was to continuously
poll the window to see when it is shut... Argh!
-- 
_________________  "I'd like to answer this question in two ways:
  /____ _ _/_ __       First in my normal voice, and then
 // / //_//_ /_/       in a silly, high-pitched whine." (Monty Python)