Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!rochester!cornell!batcomputer!pyramid!voder!apple!rmh
From: rmh@apple.UUCP (Rick Holzgrafe)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Init Manager, please
Message-ID: <7028@apple.UUCP>
Date: 16 Dec 87 18:20:49 GMT
References: <338@spectrix.UUCP> <22163@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <3184@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Reply-To: rmh@apple.UUCP (Rick Holzgrafe)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, USA
Lines: 27


Writing proper INITs seems to be one of the blacker of the variously-colored
magics needed to program a Mac.  (I'm writing my first INIT myself at
the moment - it's coming along, but slowly.)

I agree with Mr. Oster (et al) that an Init Manager is unnecessary.  (See
disclaimer below - I don't get to make these decisions for Apple, I'm
just giving you my opinion.)  The only real difficulty in using the Finder
as your "Init Manager" is when something bombs so bad you can't boot.

So here's some simple advice from one whose own INIT does this to him
regularly: keep a bootable floppy handy.  Put NOTHING on it or in it that
didn't come on the released system disk, and NEVER change its contents.
All it has to do for you is boot, launch the Finder, and let you access
the volume with the bad INITs.

Here at Apple, I have three hard disks and uncountable floppies lying around
my desk in various states of organization.  The first time my development
system wouldn't boot, it took me quite a while to locate a floppy that
would.  Now that floppy is sacred, and I keep several copies!

==========================================================================
Rick Holzgrafe			 | {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!rmh
Communications Software Engineer | AppleLink HOLZGRAFE1 (I don't look often)
Apple Computer, Inc.		 | "All opinions expressed are mine, and do
20525 Mariani Ave. MS: 27-Y	 | not necessarily represent those of my
Cupertino, CA 95014		 | employer, Apple Computer Inc."