USING MY DOC FILES ================== The DOC files I've created from Libraries & Devices and other sources are in compressed format as used by PPMore on the Clubxxxx discs (no, I don't use awful American spellings unless forced to-this is England, for crying out loud!). I would suggest decrunching them using the gorgeous and utter- ly wonderful PowerPacker utility (lick boots, grovel etc., to all those responsible for coding & distributing this FAB utility) and reading them by loading them up into Devpac (partly because I used Devpac to create the files in the first place!). This will let you use the search & replace menu options to skip to section headings directly instead of having to scroll through them the hard way (the typed_exec.doc file is 113K uncrunched!) and also shows my tab settings correctly (PPMore doesn't always agree with the Devpac editor's way of displaying tabs). Should any masochists insist upon using PPMore on the compressed versions (or anyone else be forced to for memory conservation reasons) then you have been warned. Some of the files are HUGE. The file typed_exec.doc takes up something like 58 feet of paper when listed out, so imagine how many times you'll have to press "Next Page" to find section headings near to the end of the list! Apart from this, anyone wishing to add to the info I've provided (either sending me updated copies of these files or their own DOC files) on topics such as sensible requester handling, semaphores and other Exec delights can either send via Mark, or alternatively direct to the follow- ing address : Dave Edwards 232 Hale Road WIDNES Cheshire WA8 8QA If you send DOC files to me directly, PLEASE mark your envelope "DOC FILES" to distinguish them from the myriad other discs I receive, unless you're the kind of person who sends 58 feet of printer paper through the post, in which case I'll spot it right away... Some DOC files are not yet ready. My mega hardware file detailing the entire custom chip set (except for the ECS) is not quite ready (you try typing a 144K file by hand to a deadline, proofing out the spelling mistakes and collating the data sections!) so you will have to wait for that. At the time I wrote this README file I had just about finished documenting the CIAs and was about to describe the Copper (and in case you're wondering while you read this file, my documentation style earned me the nickname 'brackets' at one ex-workplace (then I got really nasty & did it recursively!)). The finished files I'm sending include: typed_exec.doc typed_graphics.doc typed_interrupts.doc typed_intuition.doc typed_math.doc typed_semaphores.doc typed_workbench.doc and I'm working on the files typed_console.doc typed_hardware.doc typed_regions.doc because I want the keymap resource stuff and the layers library stuff. If any kind soul out there can find which parameters to pass to the library call InstallClipRegion() I will be duly grateful (the Libraries & Devices book only tells you about it in C). Also, where I've made the effort, things such as the Amiga.Lib functions CreatePort() and DeletePort() which are given as C code (the programming equivalent of Sanskrit) have been translated by yours truly into 68000 assembler just to make life easy for the lazy ones out there. Yes, I can translate C to assembler without a compiler-something you get used to with university computers with bugs in the C compiler available because it's been written by a Lithuanian (don't ask for an explanation or you'll regret it). Actually, the C code for the Amiga isn't that hard to translate into assembler by hand when it comes to accessing the mass of data structures that the operating system uses, because there's ALMOST (with certain key exceptions) a one-to-one correspondence between stuff of the sort RastPort->TmpRas = &MyTmpRas; and assembler of the sort LEA RastPort(PC),A0 LEA MyTmpRas(PC),A1 MOVE.L A1,TmpRas(A0) Since this is the main type of C code that needs translating, it CAN be done by hand if you're willing to make the effort. Same goes for trans- lating C structures into RS directive lists for Devpac (isn't Devpac utterly wonderful?). Lastly, you may be wondering why I bothered doing all this. I give the following reasons: 1) I don't have £28.95 handy for Libraries & Devices because I'm in hock to Barclaycard for various other purchases; 2) The copy I have at the moment is on loan from my local library, and I might just have to give it back sometime; 3) I like having info on disc & taking advantage of multi- tasking to peek at the info files while coding (saves balancing three heavy books on my knee while I code, as my desk doesn't have the space, what with the area that the Amiga & monitor needs, the mouse and my disc boxes need etc.); 4) Doing this sort of thing allows me to pretend to the official snoopers monitoring my mail that I'm doing something useful with my time while living at the taxpayers' expense. Now that this preamble is over, have fun with the docs. THE SPECIAL OFFERS ================== I've included DOS-2-DOS and PowerWindows on this disc. DOS-2-DOS is a smart little utility for transferring files between our wonderful Amigas and those awful STs and PCs (sometimes needed if you're working on a project for a company & they insist upon you using the same set of graphics for PC, ST and Amiga versions-sigh). If you experience any trouble with viruses, it's also a neat way of saving important stuff in a way that no Amiga virus can get at while you use a virus killer on the little so-and-so, and then recovering it to put back on a clean Amiga disc. Any people out there with a 5 1/4 inch drive connectable to an Amiga will find this handy too-you can now read PC discs direct & find out what those crummy PC people do to while away the hours... I haven't provided a DOC file with PowerWindows, because it's so obvious what's going on when you use the menu items that I don't need to. This gem of a program allows you to create a complete Intuition interface, and then blast out an assembler source file full of DC's etc., containing your Intuition user interface data! It will even take IFF brushes for your gadget render & select imagery from DPaint etc., and you can use your IFF brush to configure the palette as well! Screens, windows, requesters, menus, gadgets, all are here. Want to design your own pretty interface? This takes the tedium out of it! Let your flair for design soar to unparallelled heights with this WONDERFUL program! **** BIG NEWS *** ANYONE WANT THE AMIGA DEVELOPERS DOC DISC FILES? YES, THE ONES COSTING AN ARM AND A LEG IF YOU GET THEM THE HARD WAY! SEND A BLANK DISC TO MARK OR DIRECT TO ME AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS (MARK YOUR ENVELOPE "AMIGA DEVELOPER FILES" IF YOU SEND DIRECT TO ME). DON'T FORGET AN SAE-LIKE MARK, I CAN'T AFFORD TO PROVIDE A FREEPOST SERVICE! ONLY ONE PROBLEM WITH THIS OFFER-THE "EXEC.DOC" FILE IS CORRUPT & SO YOU'LL NEED A DISC FILE SALVAGER SUCH AS THE MIRROR HACK PACK TO RESCUE IT. ANYWAY, THERE IS ALWAYS MY TYPED_EXEC.DOC FILE IF YOU CAN'T BE BOTHERED UNSCRABMBLING THE CORRUPTED FILE (AND TYPED_INTERRUPTS.DOC ETC).