Re: MiNT goes UNiX, invitation for mailing list (MINTOS)

[walra%moacs11@relay.NL.net (Waldi Ravens)]

> > - Perhaps some standards for how to port software, such that rather
> >   than just using `#ifdef atari' when making some (unix incompatible)
> >   changes, one should use something like:
> >
> >     `#if defined(atari) && !defined(MINTOS)'
> >
> >   so that we unix freaks will not loose the unix way of doeing things,
> >   unless we insist.
>
> I think that
>
>       #ifdef __MINT__
>
> would look better, once it's clear that the MiNT library shall be used
> in the distribution.  We don't need another "MINTOS" libc, do we?

I'm afraid we do. Or at least we need quite a few changes to the MiNTlib,
some of those might make the MiNTlib incompatible with Gemdos (I wouldn't
care about that).

Just two examples::

- popen() does not work with a UNIX-style SHELL=/bin/sh or
  SHELL=/usr/bin/bash, it wants the Gemdos-style SHELL=U:\bin\sh.

- The MiNTlib insists on terminating each line in a textfile with CR+LF,
  quite a nuissance when one is running unshar, where sed has been
  compiled with the MiNTlib. You can never be sure whether the incorrect
  filesizes are due to the CRLF problem or if there is some real trouble.

> BTW, I don't like the name "MINTOS".  ;-)

Agreed! What about MiNTix :-)


Regards,
          Waldi  (walra%moacs11@nl.net)