[comp.os.minix] Things I'd like fixed before v2.0...

cgs@umd5.umd.edu (Chris G. Sylvain) (07/31/89)

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I've installed the NetMINIX v1.3d, and have obtained binaries for elle and
kermit. The whole mess lives pretty comfortably in a 7.5 Meg partition.

My modem lives on /dev/tty1, and a remote terminal on /dev/tty2.

I've tried to run elle on my remote terminal, but that results in a locked
tty2.

I've compiled v1.3 mined with -DUNIX, and get a mined that can use my termcap
entry for my remote termial, but the keyboard mapping uses useful printable
characters for commands like "2". This is very frustrating, to say the least!

Kermit runs mostly OK, with only the following qualifications:

1. An apparent (?) bit of missing code in the rs232 support routines where
   rs232_flush() is called in rs_read_int() -- the PIC does not get re-enabled
   if >= THRESHOLD characters have arrived. Symptoms exhibited in case I'm
   pointing at the wrong code: the tty2 output buffer does not get flushed
   when there are < THRESHOLD chars waiting to be read until a key is pressed
   on the console.

2. A warm reboot (CTL-ALT-DEL, then '=') fails when the rs232 interrupts are
   enabled. A hardware reset is the only method that causes DTR to be dropped,
   as obseved with my modem status LEDs.

3. In the case where I unfortunately connect to a sick modem, one that
   continually spits out garbage chars, I cannot return to the kermit command
   mode until the incoming deluge of chars ceases (when I go and pull the
   plug!). The minix state of health is generally pretty poor after such an
   episode -- tty2 dead, and tty0 only echoing chars (F1 and F2 still OK).

My free time lately has been a scarce commodity, so although I intend to fix
mined and the THRESHOLD problem myself, given time, perhaps a more expeditious
fix will get posted by some prolific Netperson ?

I have posted diffs to niggling details such as how to swap the console
attribute bits so that the colors are really reversed on _The Mars Hotel_
(swap only the lower three bits of the foreground and background parts of the
attribute, leave the MSB in place so reversal does not cause blinking text!).

I've also posted a "care package" of sorts for those who have v1.2 and are
going to upgrade to v1.3 via the bugs.nosc package on the _Hotel_, too.

On the whole, v1.3 is a big step up from v1.2, but still some small problems
remain to be worked on... for a better Minix, and perhaps a tomorrow....
-- 
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