papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) (09/15/88)
In article <630@myrias.UUCP> cg@myrias.UUCP (Chris Gray) writes: >There seems to be two sides to the argument about what to do when a library >use-count goes negative. One side wants a GURU (possibly recoverable) so that >the offending program will be found quickly and fixed. The other side wants >no more GURUs, because they make the machine look bad. [omitted text] >Part of the problem is a difference in philosophy, I suspect. Some people >want a perfect world with no bugs; others just want things to usually work. >I lean towards the former, personally. There is no such thing as a "perfect world with no bugs". That's a utopistic ideal. Bugs are here and will always be here. No matter whether you write software for UNIX or AmigaDOS. I sincerely believe that making the Amiga OS more "recoverable" to application errors doesn't imply that all of a sudden I'll start writing sloppy code. In fact, if I know that the system will show a flashy thing saying "Task A-Talk closed library too many times", I'll be even more motivated to make sure that such a thing does not happen. While the "Guru Meditation" might have HAD some Zen meaning to the original Amiga Developers/Designers, it clearly gives the End User and potential purchaser of the Amiga a pretty sloppy image. You see, if you are running PC DOS and the machine crashes, you know which program did it. On the Amiga, it could be ANY of the programs currently running. The end result is that the system software often gets blamed when in fact it was an application (as in the case of the negative library count) that screwed up. Resource tracking would be great, but with the current CBM software resources it is out of the question. On the other hand, there are a few things (like the recoverable library closing) that should not entail great changes and still have a considerable effect on the "image" of the Amiga as a computer one can "rely on". Now back on to the reproduction business. Gee, I've been married 7 years and still have no children. I guess I am programming too much :-) [only 160 bytes] -- Marco Papa 'Doc' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= uucp:...!pollux!papa BIX:papa ARPAnet:pollux!papa@oberon.usc.edu "There's Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Diga!" -- Leo Schwab [quoting Rick Unland] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
disd@hubcap.UUCP (Gary Heffelfinger) (09/15/88)
From article <12177@oberon.USC.EDU>, by papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa): > > While the "Guru Meditation" might have HAD some Zen meaning to the original > Amiga Developers/Designers, it clearly gives the End User and potential > purchaser of the Amiga a pretty sloppy image. You see, if you are running Agreed, to a certain extent. I think it was cute and clever in its day, but I feel it should be shed so that the Amiga ceases to be the butt of Atari's and Apple's jokes. Hope I haven't offended any of the Amiga originals, I approve of the fact that the OS attempts to tell me what has gone wrong. > PC DOS and the machine crashes, you know which program did it. On the Amiga, Gotta disagree here. I don't know how many times I've had to systematically remove TSR's until I found what was causing me to lock up. Now I know that if you use TSR's you takes your chances, but after falling in love with the nature of the Amiga, I have to take my "multitasking" any way I can get it. I'd much rather be given *some* indication of what went wrong (even if it is via an obnoxious guru meditation alert) than have the machine lock tight and give me no clue. Oops! Sorry I don't really mean to argue with you about Pee Seas. I just don't think that PC-DOS's method of just giving up is any better than the guru meditations. > out of the question. On the other hand, there are a few things (like the > recoverable library closing) that should not entail great changes and still > have a considerable effect on the "image" of the Amiga as a computer one can > "rely on". I fully agree here. -- Gary Heffelfinger --- Employed by, but not the mouthpiece of Clemson University. ---=== Amiga. The computer for the best of us. ===---