[Coco] My Windows Readme

Sat Apr 4 22:27:22 EDT 2015

On Saturday 04 April 2015 20:05:40 Stephen H. Fischer wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I put my coding pad down decades ago.

Your choice. At 80 yo, I still have a byte or 3 of coding in me.
>
> My recent attempts have not gone anywhere near completion.
>
> http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-home-theater-computers/731457-hdhomer
>un-dual-atsc-qam-ethernet-box-66.html#post24078505

Off topic to this? I do not see the connection at all clearly.

> Urbane got a huge number of downloads but no indication that it was
> being used.

I wasn't even aware it was out there, what does it (Urbane) do?  URL?

> I attempted to look at installing my window descriptors into NitrOS-9.

For what I want to do, the existing ones have worked.

> Boy was I hit with a huge landslide that stopped that cold.
>
> Shellplus, a lost cause, throw it away and start over.

Possibly, but its been part of my arsenal for quite some time.
>
> After ROTROD I may go back to improving the ShellPlus documentation
> for OS-9. Maybe somebody will see if NitrOS-9 ShellPlus matches what I
> document.

I don't see why not, if we have command examples to test for function.
>
> How can I say that ShellPlus is broken on NitrOS-9 when there is no
> document saying what should work.

We're on the same page here.  Docs are horrible.  The /sys/helpmsg file 
needs to grow quite a few megabytes, and away from its absolutely 
simplistic format as it exists today.  It will not get it unless there 
is a solid set of formatting rules, it is broken into individual pieces 
per program or utility, and ideally, help itself is re-written not to 
scan a huge file to find the reference, but to open the /sys/help/name 
file directly.

An individual file can be fixed on the coco even if the full explanation 
is north of 20k.  A multi-megabyte helpfile has to be edited external to 
the coco world.  So unless we can make that huge file from the 
individual files as we build the repo on one of our linux boxes, or 
convert help to look for the name passed, in a scan of 
the /sys/helpfiles directory, an operation that might even be faster in 
some cases than scanning thru one big file.

If my view seems to have the flavor of a linux man page, it does because 
the man page on linux, while it does need more explanations, and more 
examples in particular, is still 1000x better than what we do have on 
the coco/Nitros9 planet right now.

> I put my hat in the ring to run as dictator. I got one vote.
>
> That was fine except no one else got any votes.

It's a thankless job.  And now you know it. :)

> So the position remains open as it has been since Tandy vacated the
> position.
>
> I see signs almost every day that we are paying a steep price without
> one.

We have one, he sleeps in the white house. :(

> I know that the Linux people think that their system is a great one
> and thus it should be used for the CoCo.
>
> I think that stinks to high hell.

Thats personal.  Explain why technically, so we're talking oranges to 
oranges here.  I personally, because the architectures are so similar, 
usually find myself right at home once I get over the keyboard 
differences.

> Someone please take over the dictator position and lead us out the
> huge mess we have.
>
> SHF
>
Thanks Steven. I had expected a much more defensive reply.  Thank you 
again.

Now all we have to do is break you from top posting. Please intersperse 
your replies so it reads like a normal conversation, as I have done 
above. Does "X-Mailer: Microsoft Windows Mail 6.0.6002.18197", disable 
the arrow keys to move the curser to where you should type a reply?  Or 
does it force you to type your reply in a box that it then assembles as 
Redmond sees fit?  In which case I'd recommend you investigate 
thunderbird for windows.  I am told the current version Just Works(TM), 
but I haven't used it in a decade so my knowledge is obviously dated.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gene Heskett" <gheskett at wdtv.com>
> To: <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2015 4:39 PM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Open Letter to those who will be attending the
> The24thAnnual "Last Chicago CoCoFEST April 25-26, 2015
>
> > On Saturday 04 April 2015 15:47:48 Stephen H. Fischer wrote:
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Gene Heskett" <gheskett at wdtv.com>
> >> To: <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> >> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2015 1:31 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [Coco] Open Letter to those who will be attending the
> >> The 24thAnnual "Last Chicago CoCoFEST April 25-26, 2015 ...
> >>
> >> >  No thanks to Kevin, I think he did
> >> > it intentionally.
> >>
> >> Just like you broke more by trying to steal a bit in the cluster
> >> map (sp).
> >
> > Yes I did. As far as I know, only Boisy and I got bit. I forgot to
> > take my own advice.  I had good motives to do so as without it we
> > still do not have a way to do any sort of an incremental, only
> > "whats changed" backup. But it would have been a zero problem had
> > people (including me) invoked my advice about the SAS setting in the
> > descriptor.  Or I should have waited until I could figure out where
> > to limit the segmnent table to 47 entries.  Even on a floppy, it
> > should never have been under $10, and preferably $20.  The default
> > of $08 has used up the segment tables 48 entries at a file size of
> > 98,304 bytes under the worst scenario conditions.  That, at some
> > point will be encountered on a 35Trk, SS disk. Best scenario would
> > be at 524,288 bytes, disk full before segment table on all but 720k
> > floppies.
> >
> > The repo's value has I believe been raised if Tormod had applied my
> > proposed commits.
> >
> >> PLEASE STOP bashing Kevin, As I said to Bosie, Kevin was not the
> >> person to be contacted.
> >
> > You brought the name up.
> >
> >> Please get back on topic!!!!!
> >
> > This is suddenly a closed list run by a dictator?  Your way or the
> > highway?  I do not believe that this is why Dennis supplies this
> > list.
> >
> >> What is being posted is not the discussion I intended.
> >
> > Probably not Steven, but you've either ignored me, or even said I
> > was wrong for quite a while on this list.  I am interested in the
> > betterment of Nitros9 in general.  Grepping the src tree, my name
> > falls out 45 times. Thats more than I actually have contributed
> > because I tend to add my name in a comment when I have fixed
> > something I consider to be important enough to note it.  Might be 6
> > or more hits in one file. So dilute that 45 accordingly.
> >
> > Yours?  I cannot get a hit.  Seems like I should ask why not?
> >
> >> SHF
> >
> > Cheers, Gene Heskett
> > --
> > "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
> > soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> > -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> > Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
> >
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>