Re: [MiNT] design question: gemdos/vdi/aes

["Konrad Kokoszkiewicz" <draco@obta.uw.edu.pl>]

> A process opens a VDI workstation. When the process is dead, is this
> VDI workstation automatically closed or may be automatically closed
> (by some garbage feature) ? In other words, is there a link between
> VDI handle and process ID ?

There is probably none, AFAIK, but you should take it as if it was.

> Other question: is it possible for a
> process to draw something in a workstation opened by another process,
> even if the process that created the VDI workstation no more exist ?

It is probably possible, because the VDI has no clue about processes (I
think).

> Same question for AES: a process initialises an AES application
> (appl_init), and this AES handle (aes_global[] array) is used by two
> processes : the one that has called appl_init, and another one using
> mt_aes functions.

I don't know if this is possible at all, since the "process that uses mt_aes
functions" also has to call the appl_init() before, hasn't it? I don't think
that appl_init() can safely be used twice in a row with one array. I think
that I made such experiments once and some AES functions looked very
confused.

> When the 1st process ended (WITHOUT calling
> appl_exit), is the AES handle automatically closed by the AES ?

I have an impression that it is even more: the application remains on the
AES list of running applications even after appl_exit(), until the real
termination. At least in the N.AES. So a conclusion may be made that the AES
is somehow able to detect the termination and cleanup.

> The
> 2nd process can keep using this AES handle or not ? In other words,
> is there a link between AES handle and process ID.

Yes, there is a link, as AES is able to convert pid into apid and vice
versa.

> Is a process able
> to open 2 AES handles (with mt_appl_init and 2 differents
> aes_global[] arrays) ?

Yes, it is probably able to do it (I didn't try), but there may be problems
with conversions between AES apid and GEMDOS pid. I.e. I am not sure, what
the appl_find() is supposed to do, when requested to convert the GEMDOS pid
in AES apid then.

PS. sparemint.atariforge.net is down. What happened?

--
CVV
Konrad M.Kokoszkiewicz, http://draco.atari.org

** Ea natura multitudinis est, aut seruit humiliter, aut superbe dominatur.
** Taka to juz natura pospólstwa, albo sluzalczo sie plaszczy,
** albo bezczelnie sie panoszy. (T. Liuius XXIV, 25).