From: udo@umunk.GUN.de (Udo Munk)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: Coherent 4.0.1; some bad things
Date: 14 Aug 92 20:01:58 GMT
Organization: umunk (private)
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

sje@xylos.ma30.bull.com (Steven J. Edwards) writes:
( lines deleted )
: 2) There was no registration card in my package.  Perhaps this is
: because it was an update.  Fortunately, I had long ago labeled my
: Coherent machines with the serial numbers of the operating systems,
: and so I had the valid number handy.  Still, there is a reference to
: "getting the number of the card" in the "install" portion of the
: notes.  The updater is instructed to use the install script ("begin"
: instead of "update") in certain circumstances.

That's normal, I'm using Coherent since release 3.0, and I didn't
get a new registration card for my updates. Also why I should get one?

( lines deleted )
: 5) The update procedere is nice, but it doesn't allow the resizing of
: the boot partition (this is clearly stated in the notes).  The install
: procedure is nice, but it doesn't allow the automated preservation of
: existing root partition files (also clearly stated in the notes).  But
: I needed to both to preserve the files and increase the root
: partition!  Take it from me folks, you want to have at least 20 Mbytes
: on that root filesystem for serious work.  If I had only known.
: Arrrgh!

That is not a problem of Coherent, there is no UNIX (like) OS out
there, where the size of the root partition can be changed without
installing new. Be happy, that you "only" have to reinstall Coherent
and not AIX 3.2 or SCO :-)

(lines deleted)
: 7) The binary of the elle editor failed spectacularly; I assume that
: this is becouse of IPC update compatibility.  Does anyone know for
: sure?  Microemacs worked, even on large files, but it no longer read
: my version of /etc/termcap.  (I prefer, nay require, that stand out
: "so" be set to "\E[1m" instead of "\E[7m".)  I assume that Microemacs
: was looking at terminfo, but I am not sure.

All 3.x binaries failed, which are using the IPC stuff, another example
is mtalk. This programs must be recompiled under 4.0, you may read this
elsewhere in the release notes.

: 8) The lack of hardware floating point support.  I had intended to
: bring over SCO produced character I/O binaries from work for testing.
: I can't compile these under Coherent because they all have ANSI
: prototyping.  But 4.0.1 won't have anything to do with these, even
: when the FPU is intregal to the CPU (486 DX).  #*&*$(%^)!!

Hm, hardware floiting point doesn't have any to to with ANSI prototyping.
The MWC K&R compiler is just fine, be happy to have it, otherwhise you
couldn't compile the Gigabytes of K&R stuff from the net. Whoever needs
an ANSI compiler should get gcc or buy an ANSI compiler from one of the
third party software vendors (see release notes).

: 9) CURSES failure; some PD software (chess from mwcbbs) that uses
: curses will run properly only if it is NOT recompiled under 4.0.1; the
: recompilation reports no errors but produces bizzare output.

This is not a curses failure. Unfortunately MWC translates the termcap
entrys to terminfo entrys and distrubutes this. Because terminfo has much
more capabilitys then termcap the terminfos are incomplete. Yesterday
I've posted a complete terminfo source for ansipc, which I wrote for
this package years ago. Please use this and all the nice terminfo using
programs looks much better.

: 11) The /dev/cmos device is introduced.  Sounds very interesting; I
: could have a lot of fun with this.  But where is the documentation?

Why you do ask us? :-) /dev/cmos points to the CMOS RAM, and the bits
of it should be documented in the motherboard or BIOS manual.

: 12) The terminfo subsystem is introduced; a good idea.  But where are
: the tic source files?  How can I modify the terminfo for ansipc if I
: can't find the source?

The terminfo sources aren't delivered with 4.0 because this needs disk
space, and the disks are full. Also there is no need to deliver the sources,
use the command infocmp to decompile the binaries back to the sources.

(lines deleted)
: 14) There are a lot of grammatical errors in the manual, subject/verb
: mis-agreements mostly.  Although minor, these errors appear there even
: more frequently as they do in my posts.

Come on, what really counts is the quallity of the informations and the
contents of the manual, or not? For me it's a really good documentation,
what do you think about the contents?
--
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