C90562JM%WUVMD.BITNET@wiscvm.ARPA (05/01/86)
I have been using the Greenleaf Functions general library for over 2 years and have in general been quite happy with it and have recommended it to others as a reasonable general purpose library for PC-DOS environments. I now must modify that recommendation as it appears that the vendor is unwilling to support the code which they distribute. In version 3 they added a sound function which is rather rudamentary in nature (give it frequency and duration and it produces the sound for that length of time and then returns). Unfortunately their routine commits one of the cardinal sins of programs, in that it leaves the machine in a different state than it found it. Specifically, it leaves the speaker port enabled so that a subsequent program which does something as simple as sounding the bell, the tone will continue until you reboot the system. Greenleaf supports a BBS and from looking on it, it was clear that this had previously been reported, and in fact one user was offering a fix to people who would send him a stamped, self addressed envelope. This fix was simply a small MASM routine to reset the speaker port. After a number of notes on the BBS, I finally had a telephone conversation with Greenleaf. They had never even sent off for this fix! I promised to send it to them. I did send it to them, along with a public domain c version of sound which left the speaker enable bits as they were found. This was over two weeks ago and the greenleaf folks have neither acknowledged what I sent them nor fixed the routine. Since source is supplied with the Greenleaf Functions, I can fix it for myself, but other potential buyers should be aware of the apparent lack of support by Greenleaf for their library.
bright@dataio.UUCP (05/09/86)
In article <479@brl-smoke.ARPA> C90562JM%WUVMD.BITNET@wiscvm.ARPA writes: >I have been using the Greenleaf Functions general library for >over 2 years and have in general been quite happy with it and have >recommended it to others as a reasonable general purpose library >for PC-DOS environments. I now must modify that recommendation >as it appears that the vendor is unwilling to support the code >which they distribute. > [description of bug] >I sent a fix to them. This was over two >weeks ago and the greenleaf folks have neither acknowledged what >I sent them nor fixed the routine. >Since source is supplied with the Greenleaf Functions, I can fix >it for myself, but other potential buyers should be aware of the >apparent lack of support by Greenleaf for their library. I think you should give the people at Greenleaf a break. Expecting them to fall over dead when a minor bug is found in their code is unreasonable. All significant software has bugs. Normal practice for a company is to wait until a sufficient number of bugs have been found to warrant issuing an update. If a company released revised versions of their software every time a bug was reported, and worked overtime to release it as soon as possible, they would go out of business.