1/89 DIRK v2.0 -- Tune workbench colors to system performance ----------------- Copyright (C) 1989 by Daniel Elbaum This software is freely redistributable provided that: the four files which comprise it (dirk, dirk.doc, dirk.h, adjust.c, main.c, sys, window.c) remain intact; all copyright notices contained in any of the aforementioned files remain intact; and no fee beyond reasonable remuneration for collation and distribution be charged for use and/or distribution. ----------------- New Features: Pressing the right mouse button while the `Dirk' tinywindow is active will now expand the window, presenting numerical displays of the information Dirk uses. Clicking the right button again while that window is selected will shrink the window back to a tinywindow. Thanks to Steve Tibbett for the idea (from later versions of VirusX). While either the tinywindow or the display window is active, Dirk will update constantly. Just select any other window to reinstate the timing interval. The '-bN' option (background intensity) has been replaced with six new optional arguments: three sets of color intensities which determine the color of the screen when memory is full and empty; at other times, the screen color is taken from an interpolation between the two. See the '-erN ...' and '-frN' discussions. Basically, you specify red, green, and blue intensities for the case wherein all memory is free and for the case wherein all memory is allocated. The default detail pen color is now a faint yellow, which provides better contrast with a wider range of backgrounds. The detail pen color arguments (+rN, +gN, +bN) must now be preceded with the letter 'd', and the '-' is used instead of the '+' to introduce arguments: -drN, -dgN, -dbN. ----------------- Syntax: run Dirk [-t|m] [-gN] [-hN] [-lN] [-iN]] [-drN] [-dgN] [-dbN] [-erN] [-egN] [-ebN] [-frN] [-fgN] [-fbN] ----------------- Parameters: Option Default Effect --------------------------------------------------------------------- t track tasks only m track memory only g 4 granularity of task mapping (small for few tasks) h 12 maximum detail intensity l 8 minimum detail intensity i 180 interval in ticks (60 or 50 per second) dr 2 tweak value for red component of detail pen dg 2 tweak value for green component of detail pen db 0 tweak value for blue component of detail pen er 0 amount of red when memory is empty eg 0 amount of green when memory is empty eb 14 amount of blue when memory is empty fr 14 amount of red when memory is full fg 0 amount of green when memory is full fb 0 amount of blue when memory is full If you like the program, you may eventually want to start it from your startup-sequence, so you might want to dirk around with the options before deciding on a command line to use. My startup-sequence uses this line: arun dirk -fr12 -er0 -fb0 -eb12 -i20 -h11 pri -5 where `arun' is the ARP version of Run, which would work just as well, but for which one would discard the `pri -5' part. Here are all the options explained. The -t option enables task tracking only. The background color is not affected. The -m option complements the -t option; only memory tracking is turned on. The detail pen color is not affected. The following command line options require counts. The valid range of the count varies from option to option. All color counts should be between 0 and 15; other counts must be between 0 and 65535. Granularity, set with -gN, is the sensitivity with which detail pen color responds to the instantaneous number of ready tasks. Workable values lie between 1 and 8. Maximum detail intensity (-hN) is a limit on the brightness of the detail pen. A value of 8 to 14 (14 brighter) can keep detail from glaring. The valid range is 0-15. Minimum detail intensity -lN (ell not one) is a floor on the brightness of the pen, to maintain good contrast to the background. For a light background, l should be at least 8. The interval (-iN) is the number of ticks to wait between data retrieval expeditions. A tick is 1/60th of a second in the US, and 1/50 in Europe. If N is given as 0, the research and reporting are done constantly, and system performance slows slightly but noticeably. 180 corresponds to ~3 seconds, and is probably a good functional maximum. The -d arguments specify the detail pen colors. As the number of tasks increases, the pen becomes dimmer, and as the proportion of active tasks increases, the pen becomes yellower. -drN sets the red component (0-15), -dgN sets the green, and -dbN sets the blue. It's worth experimenting to find a combination which provides good contrast. The -e and -f arguments specify the colors at the ends of the spectrum. Values specified with -erN, -egN, and -ebN determine the color of the screen when virtually no memory is allocated, and values specified with -frN, -fgN, and -fbN determine the screen color when memory is full. The greater the difference between the two, the finer the correlation between screen shade and memory usage. The defaults (-er0, -eg0, -eb14, -fr14, -fg0, -fb0) cause the screen hue to range from blue (no memory in use) to red (all memory allocated). It all sounds confusing but once you run the program and see what it does, the meanings of the command line options will no doubt fall into place. ----------------- Description: The purpose of this program is to present key system information to the user without cluttering up the display. The workbench background color changes from blue through purple to red as the amount of free memory decreases. The workbench detail color (the color of text and Workbench window borders) changes from bright white to gray as the number of system tasks increases. Further, the yellow content of this color is increased according to the number of active tasks. On a newly-booted vanilla system, borders are white and the background is close to the standard Workbench blue. As you use the system, calling up programs and creating files on the RAMdisk, the screen takes on an increasingly reddish hue. When memory is nearly full, the background is completely red. Similarly, as tasks are added, the borders and text dim slightly. In other words, after you set up dmouse, conman, snipit, or whatever to run in the background, the detail color fades, eventually to grey. If many background tasks are active rather than just waiting around for an interrupt or message, the grey will be tinted yellow. With Dirk running in the background, you always have a rough idea of how much memory is available and how busy the system is, without hunting around for the window of your favorite resource-tracking gizmo. If you need more precise information, just select the Dirk window and press the right mouse button. ----------------- Bugs: Nary a one, I declare. Dirk won't function properly if your workbench screen is fewer than 115 pixels tall. But then, not many programs will. ----------------- Signature and self-promo: If you want to send me money for Dirk, then by all means do so--many projects are in progress and I need financing. $5.00 is recommended. Make checks payable to: Daniel Elbaum 4816 SE Bybee Blvd. Portland, Ore. 97206 Send comments, suggestions, and unmitigated praise to: Daniel Elbaum Portland bbs: Amigaboard!, NAG UUCP: ...!tektronix!reed!elbaum ARPA: elbaum@reed.EDU