FBlit 2.4 --------- 'FBlit' is © Stephen Brookes 1997-98 Blah ---- This software is experimental, incomplete and fundamentaly dangerous, so don't use it! I will take no responsibility for any undesirable effects resulting from the use of any software or information in this archive. Distribution ------------ 'FBlit' is freely distributable. Required -------- 020+ CPU, the faster the better. Fast RAM V39+ The GUI requires MUI, but the GUI itself is not essential. Indeed, you are advised not to go anywhere near it! Installation ------------ Put 'FBlit' and 'FBlitGUI' in 'C:' If you were using a pre v2.38 version of FBlit. Delete 'envarc:fblit.cfg' and reset after installing this one, otherwise you will not get the current task promotion list. Usage ----- Type 'run >nil: fblit', or launch from the workbench. For a permanent installation. Add the line 'run >nil: c:fblit' to your 's:startup-sequence' soon after 'env:' and 'envarc:' have been set up. See separate doc for GUI usage, or better still, don't touch it. If you ever see the GUI, pressing 'cancel' is probably the best plan of action. What's That? ------------ If you skipped the 'Blah' section, go and read it now! In case you still can't be bothered. This software is not complete. It is experimental and has only been released at this time due to pressure from people for whom it has worked, and the possibility that I may have had enough of developing it for now. FBlit patches some OS functions that normally use the blitter, such that they now use the CPU and consequently may function outside chip mem. The patched functions are also faster and will suffer less from colour flicker on non-interleaved data. In addition, FBlit allows non-displayable bitmaps to be allocated in fast mem for named tasks. The current version of FBlit with default config will do the following. - Minor OS rendering speed up. - Reduction in colour flicker. - Allow NewIcons to be stable in RTG mode on a standard Amiga (if you can live with corrupt icons while dragging them, or are running DopusMag) - Forces the following programmes to use fast ram for some graphics data. Voyager 288 IBrowse AWeb IPrefs (workbench/window backdrops) Note that FBlit must be run early in the startup sequence if default wbpatterns are to be promoted, and similarly if NewIcons is to be launched in its RTG mode. Trouble And Strife ------------------ FBlit appears to function perfectly on the majority of systems, but it can never be 100% compatible. There is much scope for other software to cause problems and some certainly does. Unfortunately, none has been identified at this time. If FBlit causes corrupt graphics on your system you will have to either forget about FBlit, or find the software causing the problems and then decide which is more important to you. Other software that patches the same functions as FBlit may also cause trouble. MCX, MCP, CPUBlit etc... though I run MCP here without problems. Short Tech Bit -------------- FBltBitMap is fully functional and the most complete/tested patch. FBltClear is also fully functional, but probably pretty pointless. FBltTemplate only intercepts and discards operations in Fast RAM. FBltPattern will only work in Fast RAM with JAM2 and no mask/area pattern. FBitMapScale is fully functional, but a very early version. FAllocMem and FAllocBitMap are of no interest. The fact that 'BltBitMap' is patched also effects a large number of other OS functions. I don't know exactly how much of the OS can now operate in Fast RAM, 'DrawGList' (BOBs etc.) probably won't, 'BltTemplate' (text) and 'BltPattern' certainly won't. 'BltBitMapRastPort', 'ClipBlit', 'BltMaskBitMapRastPort' and 'DrawImage' are useful ones that will. Super bitmap stuff also appears to work. 'FBLITPLANES' is a special default task name recognized by FBlit. If FBlit is running, and your task has that name during a call to 'allocbitmap' (for a non-displayable bitmap), you will get a bitmap with all planes in fast ram, or nothing. Of course, if FBlit isn't running, or is set up in certain ways, you will get a perfectly normal 'allocbitmap' call. FBlit also maintains a public message port 'FBlit', but since this version can be set up such that it does not process data in fast mem it is not advisable to take the presense of the port as a licence to keep all your intuition images etc. in fast ram. Have an RTG switch instead. More techy nonsense is in the GUI doc... Past ---- There has been loads of that, and I'm not going into it here. Future ------ Functional patches for 'blttemplate' and 'bltpattern' may make FBlit considerably more usefull, but I'm not sure I can be bothered. Built With Amiga? ----------------- Development machine is... A1200 040/40 V40 etc. Please Crash My Computer ------------------------ Thanks to some people who like corrupt displays so much, they tried this software... Evan Tuer et@enterprise.net http://homepages.enterprise.net/et (Endless Testing and icon) Gary Colville gary@empire.u-net.com 2:250/366.12 http://www.personal.u-net.com/~empire (Testing) James L Boyd jamesboyd@velvety.demon.co.uk (More testing) Colin Wenzel colstv@pronet.net.au http://www.pronet.net.au/~colstv (Yet more testing) Contact ------- Stephen Brookes 2:258/4.15 sbrookes@tpec.u-net.com