Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Too many devices?  Was: Proposal for device hackers: REXX:
Message-ID: <3040@sugar.uu.net>
Date: 2 Dec 88 04:51:47 GMT
References: <3039@sugar.uu.net> <6457@netnews.upenn.edu>
Organization: Sugar Land Unix - Houston, TX
Lines: 48

In article <6457@netnews.upenn.edu>, ranjit@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Ranjit Bhatnagar) writes:
> This is a nice idea, but I'm starting to worry about the
> proliferation of handlers, devices, and libraries.

It's a problem.

> I've done a bunch of
> thinking about how to automate the process of installing
> and REMOVING software that requires support files - and I
> haven't come up with anything worthwhile.  Any thoughts?

Well, for devices a 'mountlist editor' that could also read the sample
mountlist provided with each device and figure out where to put stuff
would be workable. Some sort of generic installation tool that took a
template file and handled the installation would help. Something like
this (in a sort of RFC-822-like format):

Title: Recoverable RAM Disk.
Name: VD0:
Type: device
File: asdg.ramdisk.device; devs:
Mountlist: {
	Device = asdg.vdisk.device
	Unit   = 1
	Flags  = 0
	Surfaces  = 1
	BlocksPerTrack = 16
	Priority = 5
	Reserved = 2
	Interleave = 0
	LowCyl = 0
	HighCyl = 255
	Buffers = 5
	BufMemType = 5
}

Multiple file: entries are possible. This should have enough info to
install and de-install files. The tool that does the de-install should
be able to tell (say) that two devices use the same handler and so
it shouldn't remove the file unless both are removed. If these guys are
stored in a file (s:templates?) with blank lines between them...

Maybe they can be stored in mountlist itself as special comments?
-- 
		    Peter da Silva  `-_-'  peter@sugar.uu.net
		     Have you hugged  U  your wolf today?

	          Disclaimer: My typos are my own damn busines#!rne