HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Joerg.Plate@arbi.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de (Joerg Plate)
Subject: Problem: OFS and FFS on same disk
Organization: University of Oldenburg, Germany
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 09:50:02 GMT

Yesterday something strange happened. I changed by bootdisk and
then tried to boot from it. Result: GURU! I discovered that the system
thought the disk is a FFS disk and not an OFS (it was really an OFS).
So all data sectors were treated as FFS data sectors (512 bytes instead of
488). This means garbage in the files. But the system should give a message
like "not an object/executable file" instead of GURUing. Strange... Any
explanations?

MfG
J"org

-- 
EMail: Joerg.Plate@Informatik.Uni-Oldenburg.DE (should be mathematics...)
CompuServe: 100024,166  ReflexTest: 932!    "I'm working on it"  L.Holt
From: dobrien@sybase.com (Dave O'Brien)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: new features in CanDo 2.0
Date: 11 Dec 92 19:47:37 GMT
Organization: Sybase, Inc.
X-UserAgent: Nuntius v1.1

I just got my CanDo 2.0 upgrade. For those considering upgrading or
purchasing CanDo 2.0, here's what's new:

Script bookmarking - get to a marked script with a keystroke

SuperDuper command - auto-create rows/columns of buttons, fields, or
sliders

Layer tool - change the layering of objects

Bug Basher tool - tests and verifies scripts

ConfigCando command - set preferences and tooltypes with a nice interface

DOS Notify object - monitor changes to selected files (WB2 only)

New manual - three-ring binder with tutorials and reference, index, 400+
pages

Also:
- user-definable grids for placing/aligning objects
- better on-line help
- support for images up to 1700x2200 (like 200 dpi faxes)
- better memory management
- support for international characters (Spanish, German, French, Italian)
- 68040 copyback support
- better control for brush anims and audio
- scripts can be >1000 lines long (limited by memory)

I'm still waiting for other, more important improvements, but until then
I'm having fun with the new features...
From: Mats_Pettersson@p18.aiki.bbs.bad.se (Mats Pettersson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: OS 3.0 Manuals
Date: 11 Dec 92 03:55:38 GMT
Reply-To: Mats_Pettersson@p18.aiki.bbs.bad.se (Mats Pettersson)
Organization: Mackans Point, Falun, Sweden.
OD-Comment-To: All

Well! Since the Hardware manual doesn't seem to be released for OS 3.0, when 
and where does the other manuals (OS friendly) come out?? Or are they to be 
released at all?

Mvh Mats Pettersson
---
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: jfieber@sophia.smith.edu (John Fieber)
Subject: Re: Help a 1.3 programmer get started on 2.0
Organization: Smith College
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 16:04:01 GMT

In article <1992Dec15.173259.17370@ifi.uio.no> perod@ifi.uio.no (Per Christian \deg}rd) writes:
>> it, etc.  I have the 'Includes And Autodocs' with all the functions..
>> but I have no clue which functions to use to make these things.  Any
>> help would be great.. thanks.
>
>You don't really need more that 'Includes and Autodocs' if don't mind a lot
>of looking-up. Looking in the .h and .i files explains almost
>everything. However, buying 'Libraries' will probably help a lot.

I'd say more than a lot.  I would say it is essential.  While the
autodocs tell you about the individial functions, they do *not*
tell you how they are intended to be used together in the context
of a program you may be writing.  Only the RKM's do that.  

Sure, you might be able to piece it together from the includes
and autodocs, but the time it would take to get the correct
picture, you could have more than made enough money to buy the
RKM's just by panhandling.

Buy the RKM: Libraries (3rd edition).

>Getting underlined characters isn't hard at all. Just place a '_' before the
>character you want underlined, and hey presto! An underlined character.
>Example:	dc.b '_Help',0    will work in your example.

Not quite that simple.  You also have to indicate to gadtools that you
want the '_' character to mean that the following character is to
be underscored.  Otherwize, your gadget will say "_Help".

-- 
=== jfieber@sophia.smith.edu ================================================
======================================= Come up and be a kite!  --K. Bush ===
From: kcd@cbmvax.commodore.com (Ken Dyke - Amiga Networking)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: MPEG on the Amiga
Date: 11 Dec 92 17:17:22 GMT
Reply-To: kcd@cbmvax.commodore.com (Ken Dyke - Amiga Networking)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

In article <1992Dec10.195928.5789@sol.cs.wmich.edu> 22black@sol.cs.wmich.edu (Martin Black) writes:
>kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) writes:
>
>>I have Dale's mpeg player running on my a4000 with his GDA-1 board in
>>1024x800 resolution right now. And it does run about 2fps. Right now it is
>>pulling from a file across NFS. It runs about the same speed if the file is
>>in ram. So, you are probably correct about the frame speed on an A500 :^)
>
>Somebody did port over that mpeg player from berkeley and it is in the
>aminet/gfx/show area in merlin.  It is for aga only and does about 4fps
>on an 040 amiga.  Possibly there could be a way to increase the speed of that.
>by optimizing it.
>
>Martin

I'll take a look at it.  If it has source, I may be able to add a couple of
the improvements to it that I've done (such as downcoding the reverse DCT
routines, and a couple of others).  

-Ken

-- 
Kenneth Dyke - Software Engineer            Internet: kcd@cbmvax.commodore.com 
Amiga Networking Group                      BIX: kcd     Phone: (215) 344-3014
"PPP?  You *must* be joking..."                      INCLUDE "stddisclaimer.i"
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: shulick@navajo.ucs.indiana.edu (Sam Hulick)
Subject: Sigh.. OKAY.  ReadArgs() is buggy?
Originator: shulick@navajo
Reply-To: shulick@navajo.ucs.indiana.edu
Organization: Vallen Software
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 06:21:45 GMT


(*&%(*@&(*&%!!  I've about had it with this fucking routine!  (If only I
had the money to buy a book...)

#define TEMPLATE "Files/M/A,I=Ignore/S,L=Learn/S,V=Verbose/S,Action=ToDo/K"

...
...

LONG arr[5];
struct RDArgs *rd;

    rd = ReadArgs(TEMPLATE, arr, NULL);  /* Let's assume success */

Ok, let's say the command line was:  "program blech.pic"
For some WEIRD reason, arr[1] == -1, arr[2] == 0 (this is ok), and
arr[3] == 32791839!!  What the HELL?  I checked someone else's source
code, and indeed, if it's -1, the switch (/S) was picked, and if not, 0.
What the hell is a 32791839 doing in arr[3]?  Arr[3] corresponds to
"V=Verbose/S".  Well, there's not much I can say about this.  I have no
idea what would cause this.  Again, please follow-up here, do NOT e-mail
me.  Thanks.

-- 
    // Amiga 3000   ___ \ Sam Hulick: shulick@indiana.edu (NeXTmail OK!)
   // 68030 25 MHz /__/\ \ My opinions wear combat boots.  Or whatever.
\\// OS 2.04       \__\/ / "Walk!  Not bloody likely.  I am going in a
 \/                     / taxi."  --George Bernard Shaw
From: heinz@edohwg.adsp.sub.org (Heinz Wrobel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: App(Icon|Window) and Style Guide.
Date: 9 Dec 92 19:33:44 GMT
Organization: Edotronik GmbH

In article <8765@orbit.cts.com> chucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Erik Funkenbusch) writes:
>Why doesn't the style guide define visual feedback for Appicons and
>Appwindows?  How do you know they are there?  How do you distinguish them from
>normal windows and normal icons?

You shouldn't. ;-) They should behave like any other WB window/icon. That's
the idea.

>| UUCP: {crash tcnet petrus quest}!orbit!pnet51!chucks | Amiga, IBM, and any  |

--
Heinz Wrobel, Edotronik GmbH (ECG018)
FAX +49 89 850 51 25 / TEL +49 89 850 25 20 (HOME!&VOICE, sometimes...)
"It's good to have a mouse, it's faster if you can do without one..."
"He who doesn't develop with an A2024 doesn't know about font independent
 user interfaces..."
Xref: sparky comp.sys.amiga.programmer:17635 comp.sys.amiga.misc:18887
From: fisherc@bohra.cpg.oz.au (Craig Fisher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer,comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: SAS C6.1 datecmp bug [Was: Re: Advice to SAS/C 5.10b users]
Date: 21 Dec 92 03:08:43 GMT
Organization: Computer Power Software

In article <@unx.sas.com> walker@twix.unx.sas.com (Doug Walker) writes:
> In article <>, shulick@shoshone.ucs.indiana.edu (Sam Hulick) writes:
> |> It would be rather safe to stick with 5.10b.  6.0 and 6.1 are too
> |> buggy.. But you can probably see that from all the posts(complaints) on
> |> c.s.a.p. :)
>
> I don't agree at all.  In anything the size of SAS/C, there are going
> to be bugs.  I believe the majority of V6 customers are not experiencing
> major problems - you just hear about the ones that are on the net 
> because they are reporting them.

Seems to me thought that you could have used a few more beta testers.
The number of bugs in this release doesn't really seem reasonable or
excusable to me.

> 6.1 fixes most of the problems reported in 6.0, except of course that
> we broke the MATH=68881 option.  If you don't use that particular

What about the problem with the datecmp() function? I reported this
as broken via emits, but have not received any response (other than
a receipt acknowledgement). Can you confirm that it is broken? Has it
been fixed? Any idea when the next patch will be ready?

Regards,
-- 
=======================================================
| Craig Fisher                \ P.O. Box 686          |
| fisherc@bohra.cpsg.com.au    \ Woden, ACT 2606      |
| "Keep Yourself Alive" - Queen \ Canberra, Australia |
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: breese@monet.imada.ou.dk (Bjoern Reese)
Subject: Re: MY AMIGA GURUS,HELP!!!!!!!
Organization: Dept. of Math. & Computer Science, Odense University, Denmark
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 14:14:56 GMT

In article <1992Dec17.160709.11332@fwi.uva.nl> solorzan@fwi.uva.nl (Valik  
Solorzano (I88)) writes:
> Sometimes my Amiga gurus with this error message:
> 80000003.another number could someone tell me what for error this is I try
> to find it out, but without success, HELP ME
> 
> My system:
> 
> Amiga 2000+52MB Evolution 2.2+2MB Megamix III+1MB Chip+1085S Monitor
> I did put the new 2.04 ROM 

If I'm not mistaken it's an address error (not an error in your memory,
but just some program doing stupid things.) Does the gurus occur at
random or if a certain program is running?

--

Bjoern Reese                   |     Email: breese@imada.ou.dk
Odense University, Denmark     |     Voice: +45 65 932 182 (private)
From: stuart@lorelei.ece.drexel.edu (Stuart R. Harper)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Where can I get the 2.1 (3.0?) includes & AutoDocs?
Date: 12 Dec 92 16:58:46 GMT
Organization: CCD - E4 - Drexel University


   I think the title says it all. Is it included in any PD distrubutions? 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: Todd_Lewis@unc.edu (Todd M. Lewis)
Subject: Re: Does opening libraries require a fixed varname?
Organization: UNC Office of Information Technology
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 14:38:26 GMT

In article <BzDnFz.FM5@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> shulick@navajo.ucs.indiana.edu  
(Sam Hulick) writes:
>
>If I wanted, for instance, to open intuition.library, does the line
>*HAVE* to be:
>
>IntuitionBase = OpenLibr.......
>
>Can it be something like "IBase = OpenLibrary(.." or "blech = Open..."
>In other words, does it matter what you call the variable?
>GadToolsBase, ExecBase, GfxBase, etc.

It doesn't have to be anything in particular, unless of course you actually
want to call one of the routines in the library.  There is a little black
magic going on in the background which, once you understand it, will make
the variable names make sense.

Let's say you want to call the intuition.library function OpenWindow().
The autodoc synopsis for OpenWindow() says this:
    SYNOPSIS
   	Window = OpenWindow( NewWindow )
	D0                   A0

	struct Window *OpenWindow( struct NewWindow * );

What this means is that when the function is called, register A0
should contain the address of a NewWindow structure, and the result
of the function (a pointer to a Window) will be in D0. What the synopsis
leaves out is that register A6 is supposed to contain the address of
the library you are calling (in this case, the result of a previous
call to OpenLibrary("intuition.library",...);). 

That's cool, except that C doesn't normally allow any control over
specific registers.  In fact, it pushes function arguments onto the stack
and doesn't use register parameters at all.  Here's where the black magic
comes in.

The function you actually call when you say "OpenWindow(&mywin);" is not
in the intuition.library at all.  You actually call a function in one
of your linker libraries, which was written in assembler, and takes
the parameters off the stack and puts them in the right registers.
The it looks for your global variable (in this case IntuitionBase)
and puts its value in register A6.  Then it calls Intuition's
OpenWindow() function.  The important thing with respect to your
question is that this so-called stub function is looking for
a library base _by_name_.  So the name of your global variable
has to be right, i.e. it has to match what the stub is looking for.

The other method compilers use nowadays is to have a #pragma for each
system function that describes what parameters are supposed to go
into which registers so you can call functions with registerized
parameters without the stubs from your linker libraries.
The #pragma for OpenWindow tells your compiler that the
first parameter should be placed in A0, IntuitionBase's value
should be placed in A6, and the result should come back
in register D0.  Still, the #pragma is referencing your
global variable by name, so the name still has to be right.

Hope this clears things up for you.
--
 _/_/_/  _/     Todd_Lewis@unc.edu          You can lead a horse to 
  _/    _/     utoddl@guitar.oit.unc.edu   Mohammad, but you can't make
 _/    _/_/_/                             a mountain drink a mole hill.
Organization: Queen's University at Kingston
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 17:30:19 EST
From: <LEEK@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: Hardware...

In article <1h1bp1INNojf@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>, gujn@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (Jeremy
Nelson) says:
>
>>it that way.  (Okay, so there's _one_ guy out there with a 4000 who
>>lusts to play the hottest 3-d 8 bit plane parallax scrolling mega-game
>>while running a word processor, balancing his checkbook, and rendering
>>an object in 3-d.  Fine.  But most people can't do that.)

If anyone wants their program to be compatible with AGA (or above) chip
sets, then the OS has to be left alone to run graphics.library.  The
side effect is that the machine can also run other user programs or
device drivers. (like some high end graphics card, PC VGA cards or
whatever that will be available when RTG or DIG become available.)
>
>Of course, on the Amiga it is simple... every game loads of the floppy disk,
>turfs the OS... no worries.  Of course if your machine has a hard disk,
>or heaven forbid a non-standard device with it's own software driver,
>installing the software there is going to be a problem.  But why worry?

Yeap. :(  If only those game/demo writers can do something right about
timing loops and other bad practices.  The reason why they kill the OS
is because they AREN'T good enough as programmers to have their program
multitasks.  Even they lower PC games installs on a HD and returns to
the DOS prompt without having to reboot.

>Common guys, what sells computers is software which you plug in and
>it works.  Simple as that.  If you want a great machine you need to have
>a big installeed base, which needs great software.  If software isn't
>going to work on the new wonder machines, then people won't buy the
>wonder machines, and the hardware ages...

Agree.  Wish more people can see it that way.  Having the fastest
machine in the block with the the wiz-bang bells & gadgets are NICE
if and only if your software uses it (or can run without crashing).
Without that, no ones wants new hardware features.

>Jem.  Jeremy Nelson.  gujn@uniwa.uwa.edu.au       :\  =>  :)

K. C. Lee
Elec. Eng. Grad. Student
From: jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: Big mistake - A compromise (of sorts)
Date: 21 Dec 92 03:49:31 GMT
Reply-To: jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

cg@ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA (Chris Gray) writes:
>CBM has said they are working on two new chip sets/architectures. One is low
>end and one is high end. OK, so deliberately make the two sets as incompatible
>as possible! Then, release the full specs on the low-end architecture, but
>not for the high-end one.

	It's not too bad an idea, except for the problem that today's high-end
system has a good chance of becoming tomorrow's low-end system (or more likely
the basis for developing a low-end version).  There is (or should be) a steady
migration of technology from the high end to the low end as time goes by.
Your idea has a problem in that if we release the specs for chipset X, and
later make a derivative of chipset Y for the low-end, few games written for
X (and some non-games) will work.

>Aside from it not solving the problem for AGA, anyone see problems with this?

	If we wanted to do it this way, it might apply to AGA also - but the
next low-end chipset will face the problems above (and the next, and the next).

-- 
To be or not to be = 0xff
-
Randell Jesup, Jack-of-quite-a-few-trades, Commodore Engineering.
{uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com  BIX: rjesup  
Disclaimer: Nothing I say is anything other than my personal opinion.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: Hamish.Macdonald@x400gate.bnr.ca (Hamish Macdonald)
Subject: Re: Amiga 1 meg chip/pal
Organization: Bell Northern Research
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 18:15:02 GMT

>>>>> On 12 Dec 92 20:03:30 PST,
>>>>> In message <Alex_Topic.04ul@tvbbs.wimsey.bc.ca>,
>>>>> Alex_Topic@tvbbs.wimsey.bc.ca (Alex Topic) wrote:

Organization: Tunnel-Vision BBS!
              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

How ironic.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
From: jraja@vipunen.hut.fi (Jarno Tapio Rajahalme)
Subject: Re: Improved ByteRun algorithm for programmers.
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:56:46

In article <1992Dec14.160749.21777@imada.ou.dk> breese@monet.imada.ou.dk (Bjoern Reese) writes:

   In article <JRAJA.92Dec13191720@vipunen.hut.fi> jraja@vipunen.hut.fi (Jarno  
   Tapio Rajahalme) writes:
   > In article <1992Dec8.122757.27543@doug.cae.wisc.edu> pochanay@cae.wisc.edu  
   (Adisak Pochanayon) writes:
   > 
   >>    upb_copyit
   >> 	     bclr.b    d2,d0          ; Clear bit seven in d0
   > 
   > Wouldn't standard neg.b be faster than bclr.b ? 

   Yes it would, but unfortunately it wouldn't give the same result.
   neg.b does a 2-complementary negation while bclr.b just clears a
   single bit.

I just thougth if it would be possible to avoid using d2 (for
_marginal_ speed increase :-), but using neg leads to an unbalanced
algorithm, since the end value would be -128 (instead of zero, could
be detected after neg with bmi), but as stated the branch with
negative codes would be lenghtened by one instruction (while the other
branch would be shorter). Driving some statistics would tell if this
would be slower or faster.

	Jarno
From: Joe_L_Martin@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: What difference 68881 vs Motorola FFP routines?
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 07:12:28 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)

>
>Please, does anyone have an idea of how fast math operations can be done with 
a
>68881 as compared to the Motorola fast floating point routines?  I'm
>only seeing about a 20% speed increase which hardly makes it worthwhile
>to buy a co-processor unless precision is necessary.  Please reply via email.
>ron@vicorp.com or uunet!vicorp!ron
>
Ron,
    I to saw the same sort of speed increase when I first compiled with 881
cpu option. Sorry to say that's about all yu can expect, I thought it was
going to be blazingly fast but well you know. 881 code is the way to go for
precision only when IEEE would have to be used otherwise. This goes  to show
you how fast FFP is cmpared with IEEE.
Xref: sparky comp.sys.amiga.programmer:17548 comp.sys.amiga.hardware:21788
From: dsr@lns598.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Attn Commodore: You are making a Big Mistake (Hardware
Date: 18 Dec 1992 17:49:33 -0500
Organization: Wilson Lab, Cornell U., Ithaca, NY  14853
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: lns596.tn.cornell.edu


In article <0P5VVB4w165w@lakes.trenton.sc.us>,
rock@lakes.trenton.sc.us (Rockerboy) writes:
> > No, in fact the cache only helped one game, and that game was SimCity.
> > The copy protection used self-modifying code, and the caches seemed to
> > put a kink in that scheme.

> C= very specifically says not to do this.  Kind of interesting that Sim 
> City, which some people have claimed as a well behaved OS game, violates 
> such a simple thing as the rule against self modifying code...;)

Note that this was in the copy protection code, which often seems to
be written by someone other than the author of the program (and very
often does lots of illegal things--copy protection is a prime source
of compatibility problems).

Also note that this was fixed in the second release, by removing the
copy protection.  As far as I know, the current release of SimCity
has no problems with the A4000, A1200 or 3.0.

-- 
-Dan Riley                          Internet: dsr@lns598.tn.cornell.edu
-Wilson Lab, Cornell University     HEPNET/SPAN: lns598::dsr (44630::dsr)
	      "Distance means nothing/To me." -Kate Bush
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
From: pochanay@cae.wisc.edu (Adisak Pochanayon)
Subject: Re: Attn Commodore: You are making a Big Mistake (Hardware
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
Date: 11 Dec 92 14:47:28 CST

In article <qkckVB5w165w@lakes.trenton.sc.us> rock@lakes.trenton.sc.us (Rockerboy) writes:
>eas3714@ultb.isc.rit.edu (Ezra Story) writes:
>
>> If I open up a screen, attach a bitmap, and query its attributes, I can
>> make certain assuptions about that screen and bitmap.  If the bitmap is
>> shown to be a normal amiga interleaved bitmap in chip memory, nothing
>> prevents me from using the blitter directly to write to the bitmap...
>> Remember we're not talking about PageStream here... we're talking about a
>> demo or a game.
>
>How can you do it if you have no information on how the blitter works?  
>_The lack of data on the hardware_ prevents you from safely using the 
>blitter, or any other chips, for that matter.

    In OS 1.3 and OS 2.0, CBM provided users with several mechanisms for
directly accessing the blitter.  These include using OwnBlitter() and
QBlit().  They also provided specifications for programming the blitter
directly (although you are supposed to access the blitter as an offset
to a value the system will give you, not a direct hardware address).
Using these constructs, you can write a system friendly application
which makes direct use of the blitter.  Assuming CBM wants backwards
compatibility, they provide the same constructs under 3.0 and AGA.
There may be enhancements that are undocumented but the documented
core operations remain the same (they may be much faster or slightly
changed but should always produce the same results).

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer