Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!killer!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter From: peter@sugar.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: How do I read the Joysticks? Message-ID: <1145@sugar.UUCP> Date: Mon, 30-Nov-87 08:41:00 EST Article-I.D.: sugar.1145 Posted: Mon Nov 30 08:41:00 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 4-Dec-87 02:55:34 EST References: <760@hubcap.UUCP> <816@sdcc18.ucsd.EDU> <2073@umd5.umd.edu> <817@sdcc18.ucsd.EDU> Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX Lines: 25 Keywords: joysticks Summary: Why POOKing is a bad idea. cs162ffl@sdcc18.ucsd.EDU (John Schultz) writes: > (Reading joydat is harmless. If anyone can *prove* otherwise I'm > all ears [not just hypothetical situations]. If the hardware is > changed, then will my programs compiled today that access joydat via > the gameport.device still work? I seem to have heard somewhere that > even that device does not follow the so-called rules) Even if gameport.device doesn't follow the rules (what rules would those be? It's a low-level device driver), any new hardware will come with a new version of gameport.device. That's what the device is *for*. That's what the rules are, basically. Use as high-level an interface as you can. That's why it's a bad idea to go to the hardware directly. If everyone uses gameport.device, then there's only one place that has to be changed. As for speed, I'm working on a video game. On the Amiga. I'm doing EVERYTHING through the high level drivers. I still haven't seen ANY perceptible slowdown no matter how fast I run the game. I've cranked it up so fast it's totally unplayable, and I've still got gobs of CPU time available. The Amiga is a fast enough machine you don't need to PEEK, POKE, and POOK 99% of the time. And even if you do, do it as a last resort. -- -- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter -- Disclaimer: These U aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.