Re: [MiNT] Shutdown() discussion

[Petr Stehlik <joy@sophics.cz>]

On Wed, 2003-12-10 at 13:15, Odd Skancke wrote:
> > we would be able to copy even the code that invokes the
> > NatFeats physically (which are currently illegal opcodes) into process'
> > private memory. So basically there would be no pointers outside of the
> > process memory.
> 
>  I thought only the cookie jar was moved to process private memory.

No. I'd copy even the code itself that is available at the place where
the pointers point to. So the cookie would point to private memory,
there would be the structure with two pointers pointing again to the
private memory. Everything perfectly VM safe, hopefully.

> > As I explained above NatFeat cookie need not to point to global memory
> > (thanks to the private copy of a cookie).
> 
>  Again, am I confused?

Slightly, yes. But if you re-read my post (or the important bits I left
quoted above) you'll get it.

> And I have to say that adding code to our OS to make emulators happier
> makes me angry. So angry and scared that I dont know if I'll release oVDI.

This is an interesting reaction. We have started the ARAnyM project to
support the Atari/TOS/FreeMiNT world and to allow everyone to
participate in the development of new exciting software by giving them
powerful (virtual) machines for basically ZERO price. This should have
been the original Atari motto ("Power without the price") extended to
absolute perfection.

After almost three years of development of ARAnyM we face your fear.
Why? That just does not make sense.

I think that everybody here agrees that without fast machines with
plenty of RAM and disk space you cannot really develop modern
application software. Take just the time needed for recompiling the
whole FreeMiNT CVS tree on a Falcon or MegaSTE, for example. Since it's
almost impossible to buy real TOS compatible hardware that would address
todays needs (multimedia, internet) it made perfect sense to develop a
virtual machine like we have done (and still are doing). The other
option was to let the platform die.

This question (whether ARAnyM or death) we resolved three years ago and
I thought everybody understood it - not necessarilly agreed with it, but
I would never expect fear as a reaction in December 2003 (ten years
after last Atari computer was developed and sold).

Petr