[Coco] Broken Syntax (Was: Weird errors)

[Gene Heskett]

On Tuesday 12 September 2006 15:33, Joel Ewy wrote:
>Another way to think about it is that hard coding the syntax of a
>particular utility in a binary perhaps doesn't completely embody the
>OS-9 toolbox philosophy.  Perhaps it's a forgivable expediency and may
>improve performance somewhat over reading the syntax from a
>configuration file.  But my opinion would be that if you need to mess
>around with system utilities, you probably should be wrapping the binary
>in a shell script, which is easily editable.  Hard coding such details
>in the BASIC-09 program module seems a little ham-fisted to me.
>
>As I think about it more, why is BASIC-09 (is it the runb module we're
>talking about here?) calling tmode in the first place, instead of just
>doing an appropriate setstat?  Why should it assume there is a tmode
>utility available at all?  I wouldn't be too hard on Boisy here.  I
>think BASIC-09 is at fault.
>
>JCE
>
Remember Joel, that not ALL basic09 users inherited the syscall utility, 
which is required to do that setstat IIRC.

>Boisy Pitre wrote:
>> I knew the tmode change would eventually cause grief.  Let me explain
>> the reasoning for changing tmode's syntax.
>>
>> The new tmode has roots in Bruce Isted's enhanced "exmode".  exmode,
>> which came with the SACIA driver, was a better xmode utility with more
>> options and a simplified syntax (albeit different from xmode).  The
>> decision to move from xmode to exmode necessitated in my mind the need
>> to also change tmode, since both are very similar.  In fact, tmode is
>> built from the same xmode.asm source as xmode is.  The only difference
>> is an assemble time command line switch.
>>
>> My philosophy of NitrOS-9 is that compatibility with OS-9 is
>> important, but so is the evolution of the operating system.  The OS
>> lends itself to extensibility by allowing for the addition of system
>> calls, file managers and drivers which can modify the personality of
>> the system.  Utilities are also susceptible to enhancements and
>> modifications.  That can mean introduction of new "standard
>> distribution" utilities (ded, megaread, etc) or, when there is a
>> compelling feature, changes to existing utilities.
>>
>> There is the dilemma of breaking existing software.  As Robert and
>> others have pointed out, using the old tmode would fix the syntax
>> problem for older programs.  However, I am personally not opposed to
>> adding "-echo" and "echo" in the existing tmode/xmode to accommodate
>> these programs, and add other "backwards compatible" options as they
>> arise.
>>
>> Does this sound like a good compromise?
>> --
>> Boisy G. Pitre
>> 337.781.3570 mobile
>> email: boisy at boisypitre.com
>> Website: www.boisypitre.com
>>
>> "If there is truth to the proposition that knowing the past helps us
>> to understand the present, I believe there is at least as much truth
>> to the proposition that what we know of the present is crucial to our
>> understanding of the past.  What we have not ourselves experienced or
>> observed we can at most only partially and imperfectly comprehend; and
>> I suspect that there is much in history that is so remote from our own
>> experiences or observations as to be largely beyond our
>> understanding." - Kenneth M. Stamp
>>
>> On Sep 12, 2006, at 6:25 AM, Robert Gault wrote:
>>> Willard Goosey wrote:
>>>> <snip>
>>>> Or, as Rob Gault advised me (crankily) when I complained about this,
>>>> download the source for tmode and add the old style options back in.
>>>>
>>> ><snip>
>>>
>>> That's not my call. Try talking Boisy out of making these changes
>>> some time. :)
>>>
>>> --Coco mailing list
>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>>
>> --Coco mailing list
>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

-- 
Cheers, Gene
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Copyright 2006 by Maurice Eugene Heskett, all rights reserved.