[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Microport V/AT & patch 2.0

brandon@tdi2.UUCP (12/29/86)

Quoted from <275@cpro.UUCP> ["Microport V/AT notes (also patch 2.0)"], by asgard@cpro.UUCP (J.R. Stoner)...
+---------------
| O.K. I have recompiled the system with 200 inodes, 200 buffers, and 64 proc
| stuctures.  Now let us see the system crap out with a table overflow :-)
| Seriously, though, will the open(2) call just fail, returning an error
| condition which rnews can pick up gracefully, or will the process just abort
| and drop everything on the floor (uucp seems to be sending me mail every
| time that happens saying an LTMP file could not be opened).
+---------------

open(2) will fail, return -1 and set errno to ENFILE.  Unfortunately. it is
then up to the program in question to trap the error.  UUCP obviously doesn't.
MANY programs don't, which means many programs will bomb on an inode table
overflow.  (My gripe:  the LP scheduler doesn't handle it correctly!)

+---------------
| Here is a different case which is even more frustrating.
| I have compiled patch v2.0.  Both small model and big model.  Both times
| lint does not find anything wrong with it, but the big model usually
| finds segmentation violation right away and core dumps.  The small model
| version gets much further before dying, with the following symptoms:
| [test case - patch kit number two for 2.11 news]
| some of the files get patched, but inevitably, the message:
| 
| assertion failed: fillsrc==p_end+1 || fillsrc==repl_beginnin, file pch.c,
|   line 636
+---------------

Dunno about large model, but this is a bug in patch, NOT in Microport UNIX.
Look for patches 1-4 for patch 2.0 on the net, or contact lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP.

+---------------
| >   This is fixed (I know, because I did the work).  cu and uucico now use
| >the dial(3) library posted to the net, which uses a finite state machine
| >specification in /usr/lib/uucp/dialinfo.  It handles multiple modem types,
| >and is even powerful enough to do full login scripts.  Very flexible.
| 
| If the documentation for the dialinfo file and how it is used is in the
| books it would be a Revelation to me if you can point it out.  I *hate*
| having to put ATDT in the L.sys file.  Very messy.
+---------------

This is probably because dialinfo didn't come with any reasonable docs on the
net!  A major gripe for me, since I've been trying to use it on a Plexus
running vanilla sys5 and finally had to write a C program to do the things I
needed.  And I can't blame Microport if (like me) they couldn't figure it out
from the code.

Remember that stuff coming ultimately from the net isn't guaranteed, whether
you get it through a company like Microport or from your news feed.  Most net
programs are only as good as their authors, and not even Microport can help it
if the docs aren't there.

++Brandon
-- 
``for is he not of the Children of Luthien?  Never shall that line fail, though
the years may lengthen beyond count.''  --J. R. R. Tolkien

Brandon S. Allbery	           UUCP: cbatt!cwruecmp!ncoast!tdi2!brandon
Tridelta Industries, Inc.         CSNET: ncoast!allbery@Case
7350 Corporate Blvd.	       INTERNET: ncoast!allbery%Case.CSNET@relay.CS.NET
Mentor, Ohio 44060		  PHONE: +1 216 255 1080 (home) +1 216 974 9210