================================================================= = v2.00 WhyGuru 15-May-97 = ================================================================= (1) Introduction You certainly have already got one of this nasty red blinking bo- xes to inform you that your computer has crashed. This is the ti- me where you hate your Amiga. But what you perhaps don't know is that she tries to tell you something. Unfortunately, she does this by giving you the coded cause of the crash, coded in an 8-digit-hexadecimal. But who knows all these different codes in mind? So you have to use either a book where you look for the specified code or a program which does the same for you. Such a program is WhyGuru. Since the first version in February '96 I have tried to improve and to expand this program. Unfortunately :(( version 1.3 got the victim of a bad disk read/write error before I have been able to publish it. This version has been totally rewritten as the code of earlier versions has been (a) a little bit ugly and (b) a little (?) bit buggy and non-system-conform (except version 1.3). I would say you read the manual even if you are already used to an older version of WhyGuru since it isn't still the same. (2) How to start WhyGuru Running WhyGuru is an easy thing. Just double-click it's icon on the workbench or enter its name in a CLI-window. WhyGuru runs on any Amiga with at least 512kB RAM and KS1.3 (??), although I had not the chance to get it tested on other models than my A12oo. (I doubt that it runs any longer under OS1.3 ??? If anybody could test this and inform me I would be very pleased.) (3) The window You've either the choice to run WhyGuru in a window or a shell. By using an Intuition window, the layout looks a little bit better. The layout's been created with David Benn's ReqEd. Using a shell will give you the same informations (ooops, without s; if my English teacher would see this ;-), but just as text. In the former case you need the thinpaz.font in your FONTS: directory. (4) Options and tooltypes. I tried to make WhyGuru as comfortable to use as possible. As said above, version 1.3 has been "killed", so many functions have been gone again ;-( I will try to add them again in the next version if anyone is interested (font sensitivity, set window location, ...). At the moment there are only three options/tooltypes: (a) Only start if there has CLI : AUTO been a guru WB : AUTO=ON/OFF This option is for including WhyGuru in your StartUp-Sequence or in your WBStartUp drawer, since it will check whether there was an alert and if there has been none it won't start. Furthermore, WhyGuru overwrites the last alert code with zeros when finished (but _only_ when using "AUTO") since if you are going to do a reset via CTRL-LA-RA, the last code will still be in memory and Whyguru would explain it again. By overwriting the code this problem is fixed. (b) Toggle display CLI : WINDOW WB : - If WhyGuru has been launched from a shell, no window will be opened but a text will be printed. By using WINDOW WhyGuru will not do that but will open the same intuition window as if it has been launched from WB. (c) Sensitive mode CLI : SENSITIVE WB : SENSITIVE=ON It may be that you get regularly crashes you don't want to be shown (i.e. after having made a reset, guru 14041004 [trackdisk. device can't open a device] appears within WhyGuru, although EXEC didn't show this guru. This does happen on my 12oo.) So you have the possibility to create a file called WhyGuru.not in your S: directory where you can specify an unlimited number of guru codes which won't be displayed anymore when using the sensitive mode. The file's structure is easy. Lines starting with a # are comments. A guru number is specified by beginning a new line and typing the 8 numbers of it. There MUST be NO space after the number, otherwise it is ignored. Just save the file than as S:WhyGuru.not and it will be ready for use. P.S. : Make sure that there's a free line at the end of the data file. P.S.S. : When using the SENSITIVE mode and a guru appeared which is specified in s:WhyGuru.not, WhyGuru won't start (as if no guru occured and the ALWAYS mode is on). (6) Known bugs This bug is no bug (but could lead to misunderstandings): If you press the right mouse button or do a warm reset when your Amiga displays an alert, it might be that the guru number is lost !!!!! Do always "answer" an alert by pressing the left mouse button! I was told that the bottom lines of the bevelboxes are sometimes destroyed. This did NOT happen on my A5oo but since I am having my new 12oo :-))))) I have also been able to watch this -> fixed. Another problem could be the position of the guru number in memo- ry. It should be in ExecBase->LastAlert. Curious, but this is not the case on my A12oo. Here it is at $100 (interrupt vector). This version does read its value from $100 as I have not heard any complaint until now (1.x versions got it from $100 as well). If WhyGuru does not work on your machine, please, contact me! As to my knowledge there are no more bugs, but one can never be sure. So if you find one -> my address can be found below. (7) Future features Well, I'd like to hear YOUR ideas and I want your help. If you have any idea, suggestion or even bug reports, improvements or adding or better explanations for alert codes please contact me. And what I really need are texts for a ¹ function. So if you can explain an alert code in no more words than fitting on a HiRes screen with Topaz 8, perhaps with some typical examples which cause such a guru in ACE, Assembler and/or C PLEASE!!! tell me! ¹ I thought of a button which will deliver more! than one line of explanation. When I have enough texts, I'll add this feature. (8) History version date description ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 16-02-96 first try 18-02-96 finished 1.10 20-02-96 removed 2 awful bugs : in the developed source I forgot a } and all hexadecimal codes in the data lines were handled as decimal :( 1.20 12-03-96 created window layout with ReqEd1.11s by David Benn, so that WhyGuru can now be launched from the workbench. 1.21 16-03-96 How could that happen!? I have just found out that there is _again_ an awful bug: instead of the subsystem the detailed explanation code is printed :((( Fixed. 17-03-96 Added feature to change the font for display- ing the explanation texts 1.22 13-05-96 Added 39 (!) new explanations. Found in books' 14-05-96 appendices and in other guru programs. 1.30 15-05-96 Created new layout 19-05-96 added the "new alert code" gadget but had some 20-05-96 problems converting the input 26-05-96 fixed also some problems with the graphics 27-05-96 optimizing 28-05-96 wrote manual 29-05-96 lost the whole source -> the only survivors were the manual and the ReqEd file :-( Perhaps I should not have used NoName disks ? I am happy to have a harddisk now :-)) 2.00 28-03-97 Rewrote the whole source 31-03-97 After having had a nice Easter weekend I fixed some bugs and wrote the manual. Furthermore I added some more (30) alert codes ;-) 04-04-97 Added the AUTO function 05-04-97 Fixed a bug when reading the tooltypes 03-05-97 Fixed a bug. 05-05-97 Fixed a bug (actually a bug in NAP but this lead to some unprocessed defines and ACE just put some random value in these "variables") 08-05-97 Added the sensitive function. 15-05-97 Fixed a bug in the sensitive function. (9) Copyright / Disclaimer This program is fully copyrighted by the author (see below) and NO changes are allowed to made, neither in the program itself, in the source code or in any further file belonging to the official program package. It is allowed to copy the program freely² but you are not allowed to sell it alone or together with other programs on a disk for more than 5,00 DM or the same in any other currency (20 SEK or 3 US$ or £2 or ...). The author of this program is reserving the right to forbid special persons or even firms to sell or to dis- tribute this program in any form and in any way (as of now: military organisations and non-democratic persons / firms, ... do NOT have the right to use WhyGuru [although I can not image why they should like to do this ? ]) ² before that I'd like to hear from you how you like WhyGuru, if possible. Furthermore, this program is distributed without any warranty. If you lose datas or get anything damaged, ... by the direct or in- direct influence / activity of this program the author cannot be made responsible in any kind. Even as the program has been tested detailed as it has been possible you use it on your own risk !!!! As of version 2.0 the source code is no longer included. Dis- assembling is of course strongly forbidden. If anyone is interes- ted in the source code s/he can send me 5,00 DM (20 SEK, 3 US$ or £2) in cash and I'll E-Mail the code. (A) Thanks ... My thanks goes to ... ... David Benn for having developed ACE and ReqEd 1.11, as well as the WBarg submodule ... Herbert Breuer for his advanced help in programming the Amiga. ... all the people who invented and developed the Amiga. Great work! (B) Contacting the author My name is Daniel Seifert and I'm born in 1978. At the moment I'm studying at the "1st Grammar School Hellersdorf" (Leonard- Bernstein-Gymnasium) whereas Hellersdorf is the eastermost suburb of Berlin, which is the capital of Germany, as you probably know, don't you? ;-)) My favourite subjects are Maths, English and, of course, compu- ting. If you want to contact me, there are three possibilities: (a) E-Mail (preferred) You can reach me at my school: dseifert@hell1og.be.schule.de Please give me some time to answer -> holidays, exams or problems with the school computer (no Amiga :-( After June '98 this EMail address might have gone (hm, well, if not I'll have a little problem ;-) so use the snail mail address instead to ask for my new address (or look out for new programs by me ;-) WWW Well, as of now I do not have my own home page :-( But if you are interested in a (German) math corner, which I helped to create, take a look at : http://members.aol.com/fuzzymathe/index.htm (b) snail mail Please do only expect an answer if you enclose some money for my costs (postage, ...). I am a little bit out of money (aren't student always ? ;-)) so I just don't want to spend my money on this. (Err, I almost forgot my address ;) Daniel Seifert Elsenborner Weg 25 12621 Berlin GERMANY (c) telephone Well, I cannot imagine that anybody wants to contact me this way. But anyway: call (+49) ([0]30) 5669471 and ask for Daniel. ^ Berlin ^ Germany (check this!)