INFO-MAC-REQUEST@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA (Moderator William J. Berner) (02/28/86)
INFO-MAC Digest Friday, 28 Feb 1986 Volume 4 : Issue 20
Today's Topics:
mac+ serial cable
JClock - a clock for the menu bar
Sort Menu
Crash Saver
CrashSaver application & source
TeX on the Macintosh
HFSOpen w/sources
Problem with Font/DA Mover 3.0
Apple Technical Notes
BITNET mail follows
Re: creation of sigs
Recovering RAM disks
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 27 Feb 1986 12:44-EST
Sender: RWATKINS@G.BBN.COM
Subject: mac+ serial cable
From: RWATKINS@G.BBN.COM
theres a bit of confusion to be had as you can tell, the modem cable
that follows was tested with a hayes, uds and a generic modem which doesn't
have a power-supply ground. it will also work with a DTE device such
as a terminal concentrator as long as its wiring has been null-modem'd
(2 and 3 swapped, 4-5 jumpered and 6-8-20 jumpered) a typical office
4-wire connection.
i got the old pinouts from page 88 of the imagewriterII manual...
thus the cause of a previous error
however this works and i think doesn't kill the ground situation.
DB25P Circ-8 connector (male) looking at the
solder side.
|---1------------------------------8
| 2------------------------------3
| 3------------------------------5
| 4--|---------------------------1
| 20--|
| 5
| 6
|---7------------------------------4
8------------------------------2
and using the technical notes #65 pinout
8 7 6
5 4 3
2 1
looking at it anyway you'd like...the pin in the middle out by itself is
pin 5. the short from 1 to 7 on the DB25P connector ties the grounds
together when pin7 of the DB25P is wired to pin 4 of the CIRC-8
RX+ is grounded by wiring pin 4 of the CIRC-8 to pin 7
i dont like having the jumpers on the CIRC-8 because its already crowded and
hard to solder to reliably. I've tested this cable on a hayes, a uds and
my tc line in my office (where the null-modem was already done earlier in
the building wiring)
ron
------------------------------
Sender: Platt@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 86 13:01 MST
From: <@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA:Dave-Platt@LADC>
Subject: JClock - a clock for the menu bar
This utility installs a small digital clock at the right end of
the menu bar. It's similar in many respects to "Menu Clock",
but I feel it's superior for a number of reasons:
1) The application is quite small - 4k bytes.
2) Run the application once only. It installs the clock driver as
an INIT in your System file. Subsequently, the clock will
appear whenever you boot from that disk.
3) The installer can be instructed to remove the INIT from your System
if you decide that you don't like it [would that all INIT-installers
were so complete!]
4) JClock is compatible with every application I've tried it with,
including Switcher. The clockface overwrites the portion of the
menu bar that normally holds the Switcher arrows... you can either
use the command-key equivalents (command-[ and command-]) to
switch between screens, or simply place the cursor over the clockface
and click steadily for about two seconds... the clockface will vanish.
The same technique can be used with any application that needs to use
the entire menu bar. The clockface can be recalled by repeating the
two-second click with the cursor in the appropriate place.
5) The clock reappears within one second whenever the menu bar is
redrawn, without any special processing by the application.
6) It's absolutely free!
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-MENUCLOCK.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Date: 27 Feb 86 16:29:56 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Sort Menu
[ From Delphi - Jeff ]
Name: SORT MENU INIT INSTALLER
Date: 23-FEB-1986 16:26 by JIMH
This program is a combination of Andy Hertzfelds HFSOpen INIT resource
installer and his SortMenu program, with some small changes made by me.
What the program does is install an init resource in your system whuch will
cause the apple menu and font menus to be sorted in alphabetical order.
[ This is a Binhexed PackIt file containing the installer and its sources ]
(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)
[ NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR: There were problems with the version of
UTILITY-MENUSORT.HQX on SUMEX, so i replaced that one with this one. The
two applications appear (from descriptions provided by the posters) to be
the same -BB]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 86 14:44 PST
From: Dave Platt <Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA>
Subject: Crash Saver
Well, I just checked Crash Saver... and my supposition about its patching
an INIT into the system was not correct. Crash Saver is an application
that must be run to install the patch... and if you have an auto-installed
ramdisk such as RamStart, you can't make Crash Saver the startup application.
Sigh.
CrashSaver was originally published in The Macazine. They have given
full permission to distribute it, as long as all of the auxiliary files
(such as the order form for The Macazine) are included.
With the moderator's permission, I will post a .hqx file containing
a PackIt document which can be unpacked to give you:
The CrashSaver application
The Crash application, which deliberately bombs
The assembler source for CrashSaver
The Macazine order form
An "About CrashSaver" document
The "Bomb Recovery" resource file [aka SYSALERT.BIN]
I don't imagine that it would be particularly difficult for someone to
code up an INIT resource containing code equivalent to that contained
in CrashSaver... and I know that there's a generic INIT-installer
program running around someplace that could be used to install & remove
the CrashSaver. Anybody want to be a philanthropist and implement
such a boon to Mackind?
------------------------------
Sender: Platt@HIS-PHOENIX-MULTICS.ARPA
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 86 16:13 MST
From: Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: CrashSaver application & source
This file should be converted with BinHex, and the resulting
.PIT document should be unpacked via PackIt. The result will
be: the CrashSaver ramdisk-recovery program (assembler source,
application, and documentation); the Crash program (which can
be used to test CrashSaver); an order form for The Macazine
(publishers of The Macazine); and a file called Bomb Recovery
that contains a resource that can be pasted into your System file
to give you a "return to finder" button in the standard bomb box.
The inclusion of an order form for The Macazine in this posting
should not be taken as an endorsement by me, or by Info-Mac, of
this publication; the form is included to comply with the
permission-to-distribute-CrashSaver granted by The Macazine.
However... it wouldn't hurt to pick up an issue and check it out!
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>UTILITY-CRASHSAVER.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
Date: 27 Feb 86 15:45:00 PST
From: Craig Rasmussen <cer@SU-STAR.ARPA>
Subject: TeX on the Macintosh
Reply-to: Craig Rasmussen <cer@SU-STAR.ARPA>
This is in response to an earlier request for information about TeX on the
Macintosh. We are a beta test site for a version of TeX from Kellerman & Smith
and although I haven't pushed it too hard, what I have tried works rather well.
Some of the features include:
1. DVI files can be previewed on the screen at variable magnification so that
small fonts can be easily resolved. The screen scrolls both horizontally
and vertically so you are not trapped in the one-dimensional world of
MacWrite. One can select from four standard magnification settings (Actual
size, ImageWriter, LaserWriter, Fit in Window), type in a value, or scroll
to select a value. From what I can tell, the printer magnification
selections give roughly the appearance of the text on the Macintosh (except
for size), as when printed on the given printer.
2. DVI files can be printed on either an ImageWriter or a LaserWriter, although
I haven't actually tried the LaserWriter.
3. Not surprisingly the program requires 512K of memory and two disk drives.
The TeX program itself takes 384K of disk space while the font file takes
353K.
4. The program is not what I would call a speed demon. It took roughly two
minutes to produce a DVI file consisting of 6 lines of text (3 different
fonts) and two lines of equations. The system was constantly reading from
the TeX program disk so I imagine that extra memory would help immensely.
Also, this is version v0.0 so the final version could be faster.
To give an indication of the user interface, I have included the menu options:
File Edit Typeset View Windows
------ ------ --------- ------ ---------
New Undo Typeset Next Page clipboard
Open Text Cut Typeset File Prev page file
Open Typeset Copy Tracing Page select file.dvi
Save Paste Trace Mag select
Revert Search Status Font
Close Mark
Print One Goto
Print Wrap
Page setup
Quit
I called Barry Smith of Kellerman & Smith and found that the program will be
available June 15 from Addison Wesley ($495). Although he said if anyone
wishes it earlier, they could get a prerealease version directly from Kellerman
& Smith after March 15.
Kellerman & Smith
534 SW Third Avenue
Portland Oregon, 97204
(503) 222-4234
I have used TeX for about five years and I wasn't expecting much. When I tried
it I was pleasantly surprised. Except for the speed, this is a nice package.
Even the ImageWriter comes through with a readable and attractive (well
interesting at least) print at 10 points, although not publication quality by
any means. The screen preview is nice but I could kill for a larger tscreen
size.
(I have no connection with Kellerman & Smith, business or otherwise.)
------------------------------
Date: 27 Feb 86 19:59:00 EST
From: Jeffrey Shulman <SHULMAN@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: HFSOpen w/sources
[ From Delphi - Jeff ]
Name: HFS OPEN
Date: 23-FEB-1986 17:24 by CJET
[ Updated 23-FEB-1986 16:22 by JIMH to include the sources ]
HFS Open by Andy Hertzfeld.
This program installs a new INIT resource in your SYSTEM FILE which
modifies the way _OPEN works under the HFS. With this resource
installed, all subdirectories are searched if the file you select is
not found. This makes many older incompatible programs work (like
EDIT) work correctly under the HFS.
[ARCHIVED AS [SUMEX]<INFO-MAC>HFSOPEN.HQX
-BB]
------------------------------
From: stew%lhasa.UUCP@harvard.HARVARD.EDU
Date: 27 Feb 86 22:15 EST
Subject: Problem with Font/DA Mover 3.0
I just got
Sorry, there has neen a serious problem.
ID = 200, 78192
+--------+
| Finder |
+--------+
from Font/DA Mover 3.0 on a Mac Plus when trying to copy a bunch
of fonts. Anyone ever seen this?
Stew
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 86 9:12:07 EST
From: "Robert E. Yellen" (IMD-TSD) <ryellen@ARDC.ARPA>
Subject: Apple Technical Notes
I noticed that you are missing TN 05 in your files. Here is a copy
of it. Since there are a few TN's missing a compilation of the missing
notes, may get other people to post them so you'll have a complete set.
[NOTE FROM THE MODERATOR:
I thought we had Technical Note 5 in the file TN1-10.hqx.
I downloaded it fine. I'll check this again, and if it is
indeed there, will remove TN5.hqx.
Also, here is a list of the Technical notes that we do not
(as yet) have:
2,6,7,8,9,14,17,22,25,27,30,31,33,35,37,38,39,40,47,48,49
If someone has any of these, and posts them I'll see (time
permitting) that they get in the archives --BB
END OF NOTE FROM MODERATOR]
------------------------------
Date: 28 feb 86 15:20-GVA
From: BGT.WB%GEN.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
Subject: BITNET mail follows
------------------------------
From: Bruce Taylor <BGT.WB@GEN.BITNET>
Subject: MacVEE update
Following the announcement of MacVEE Plus, numerous information requests
have been received from parties new to the list since MacVEE was described
back in INFO-MAC Volume 2. I am therefore posting the following updated
outline.
Subject: Macintosh-VMEbus and Macintosh-CAMAC interfaces
VMEbus and CAMAC interfaces for Macintosh and Macintosh Plus have been
developed by CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research). The
system is called MacVEE (Microcomputer Applied to the Control of VME
Electronic Equipment).
VMEbus (IEEE-P1014) is an international system supported by Motorola,
Philips/Signetics, Hamilton/Mostek, Xycom and many other manufacturers.
CAMAC (IEEE-583) is an older modular electronics standard used mainly by
the high-energy physics community.
A MacVEE system consists of a Macintosh or Macintosh Plus equipped with a
special interface which allows it direct memory-mapped access to single or
multiple VMEbus or CAMAC crates interconnected by a ribbon-cable bus. The
bus is driven by an electronics plinth called MacPlinth, which attaches to
Macintosh and becomes an integral part of the computer. The installation
of MacPlinth requires a few hour's work by a person with technician or
electronics hobbyist skills.
The total external address space accessed via MacPlinth can exceed 100
Mbytes, in up to 8 VMEbus crates, or up to 7 VMEbus crates and up to 8
CAMAC crates, in any mix. In a VMEbus system, Mac can execute programs in
VMEbus RAM or EPROM, and programs resident in one crate can access
facilities in any of the others.
MacPlinth also provides an external video signal for remote monitors, and
can accommodate 32 - 128 Kbytes of local EPROM for library enhancements
such as the IEEE standard CAMAC subroutines. It handles user-vectored
interrupts from VMEbus sources, merging them with Macintosh internal
interrupts. The vector numbers acquired from VMEbus interrupters are
offset to reference RAM addresses which are not used by the Mac operating
system.
The MacVEE VMEbus master module incorporates a release-on-request DTB
requester and a 3-level interrupt handler. It includes slot-1 functions
(system clock, bus arbiter, global watchdog timer) and can be employed as a
system controller, or as a normal DTB master in a multi-processor system.
The companion Macintosh dedicated CAMAC crate controller (Mac-CC) is also
memory-mapped. It is equipped with an IEEE-675 auxiliary controller bus,
supporting multiple controllers in a CAMAC crate with either R/G
arbitration or ACL, and is compatible with external IEEE-596 LAM graders.
In a MacVEE or MacVEE Plus system, selected VMEbus or CAMAC crates simply
appear within the address space of the Mac's 68000, so that no special
software drivers are required to access them. There is no address
translation, so that MacVEE is not limited to the execution of
position-independent code, and VME-resident software has direct access to
all Macintosh resources and the toolbox.
MacVEE allows the Macintosh direct access to a growing range of VMEmodules
including ADC's and DAC's, parallel I/O registers, large RAM and EPROM
modules, colour graphics drivers, Ethernet and IEEE-488 controllers, and
interfaces for peripherals ranging from 9-track magnetic tape to optical
disk storage devices.
Acknowledgment: The system was developed with the support of Carlo Rubbia
and numerous members of the CERN UA1 collaboration.
The latest version of the MacVEE User Manual is available to professional
researchers from:
B.G. Taylor, EP Division, CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland.
Bitnet: BGT.WB@GEN
Arpanet: BGT.WB%GEN.BITNET@WISCVM
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 86 10:36:06 EST
From: Mark Nodine <mnodine@BBN-LABS-B.ARPA>
Subject: Re: creation of sigs
One of the things that I like about INFO-MAC is that it allows me to keep
track of a diverse variety of developments/problems/successes of the
MacIntosh without having to be enrolled in a lot of mailing lists. The
digestified format keeps my mailbox from getting too clogged up. Sure, some
of the stuff that goes by isn't immediately relevant, but at some later point
if it becomes so, I will think "Gee, I saw that on INFO-MAC somewhere..."
and be able to look it up. I really don't get bored even with those messages
which have no immediate pertinence.
Keep up the good work! I appreciate it.
--Mark
[NOTE FROM MODERATOR
I agree that there is a lot of information that goes through
Info-mac that many readers would not take the time to look
through a SIG for, but nevertheless find interesting. Any
implementation of SIGS, however, would include summaries of
most discussions being sent to Info-Mac (I hope).
Any other thoughts?
[END OF NOTE FROM MODERATOR]
------------------------------
Date: 09 Aug 85 08:30 EST
From: CML5A9%IRISHMVS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
Subject: Recovering RAM disks
As many people who are writting programs realize, there is a
simple way to save your RAM disk if the application YOU are
developing bombs out. Suppose I am writting in C:
int saveram()
{
exittoshell();
}
main()
{
-- normal inits go here --
initdialogs(saveram);
-- rest of buggy code goes here --
}
When a crash occurs, the resume box will be highlighted,
pressing it returns you to the finder.
Fine, you may say, for the developer running on a RAM disk,
but what about all us poor souls out here with copies of
commercial applications that DONT do this? What I am
suggesting is that future authors of applications could
install a restart proc such as this as an option (read
in as a resource, i would guess) that could be modified...
Or you could always have it be active. It's such a boon
during development, why bother to remove it?
By the way, its just as great when you are using a cache...
My development time probably got cut by 1/3 during early
stages when i used this.
Also, if your program totally freezes, reach for the int
switch instead of reset and then click resume.
- Tom Dowdy
"If it jams, force it, if it breaks, it needed fixing anyway."
------------------------------
End of INFO-MAC Digest
**********************