Linux-Hardware Digest #84, Volume #10 Thu, 22 Apr 99 00:13:34 EDT
Contents:
Re: ATI Mach 64 ( Newbie ) problem ...... (Henrik Carlqvist)
Re: OnStream SC30 and Linux (Jeff McWilliams)
Help: RH5.2, 8-bit Soundblaster(2.1) and mpg123 ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Ideal Linux Box? (BL)
The Linux Store -- good stuff? ("Bert Douglas")
Re: Sony DVD (Frank Kuehnel)
Re: "mt" doesn't work on DDS-3 tape Drive - Solution found ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: The Ideal Linux configuration... ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: HW-accelerated OpenGL for LINUX (Lev)
Re: ATI Xpert 98 AGP problems in Xwindows (Dominic Hargreaves)
Re: Mouse problem in RedHat Linux 5.2! (I am sending this to multiple NGs) (Werner
Peters)
Toronto Based Linux Prebuilt Systems Forsale ("TorontoLinux")
Re: PLEASE HELP (Kendall S Hunter)
Re: Bad Experience With ComputerWarehouse.com (doole)
How to config this netcard? ("James Jiang")
Re: Kernal - IDE CDR Support needed (Kendall S Hunter)
imwheel (Eric Pascual)
Re: Programmers are gods (westprog)
Re: Programmers are gods (Brandon)
Support for EUMEX-404-PC ISDN box?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Henrik Carlqvist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: ATI Mach 64 ( Newbie ) problem ......
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 20:19:58 +0200
Tony wrote:
>
> Hi there, I'm having trouble with an ATI mach 64 VT.
> The problem is 1: the card doesn't auto probe.
How does auto probe work? I have always had to use xf86config or
XF86Setup. You could run SuperProbe to see which card you have before
running xf86config. If SuperProbe is unable to identify your Mach64 you
will probably have to upgrade to a newer version of XFree86.
> 2. When I start X the ( 2-button PS/2 Genius Easy mouse ) mouse goes
> all haywire, specifically:
>
> moving the mouse has the effect of clicking a mouse button in that a
> menu pops up and flickers erratically.
When running xf86config you will be able to tell X what kind of mouse
you have.
> I'd be really grateful if anyone could point me towards any resources
> that would help me resolve this.
There is a Busmouse-HOWTO if running xf86config isn't enough.
> Is there a general problem with ATI and linux, I have an old s3 that
> I'm going to stick in now and see what happens.
You will have to run xf86config anyway to tell X that you have an s3
card.
> Am I beating myself up trying to get the ATi to work?
I have an ATI Mach64 which works fine.
regards Henrik
--
spammer strikeback:
root@localhost [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jeff McWilliams)
Crossposted-To: comp.periphs.scsi
Subject: Re: OnStream SC30 and Linux
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 14:22:08 GMT
Dale,
I have the IDE version, on Windows NT using a Asus P5A motherboard with
AMD K6-2 300. I got close to 55MB/min copying raw files to the T: device.
Using the "Echo" software to backup with compression gave me about
half the performance.
Setup was a bit tricky. I had to remove the ALI Aladdin V specific
IDE busmastering drivers, and force the BIOS to use PIO mode for
that device. Now it works pretty well.
Here's hoping we get native Linux support soon!
Jeff
--
Jeff McWilliams - Advanced Development Engineer, ACE Technologies
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Help: RH5.2, 8-bit Soundblaster(2.1) and mpg123
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 20:51:53 GMT
Hello,
Could someone tell me if mpg123 is capable of playing MP3 files through
an 8-bit sound card?
I have correctly configured my 8-bit card (can play .au files using sox
and audio cd's). But when I play .MP3 files, all I hear is noise!
I made sure that the files were transferred in binary mode (contrary
to a previous suggestion).
Thank you kindly.
-Thas
============= Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ============
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
------------------------------
From: BL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Ideal Linux Box?
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 23:57:34 GMT
you left out hardware raid.
I use mylex at home (dac960) but DPT and others have linux support.
Paul Nevin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: I just built a new linux server for work and had free reign over what
: went in it..
: Asus P2B-DS Dual Pentium III motherboard with SCSI onboard
: 2x 500MHz PentiumIII chips
: 1Gb Registerd ECC RAM 4x256Modules
: Intel Server 1Gb ethernet card
: 3Dlabs Permedia II 8Mb graphics card
: 4x 18Gb Fast Wide Ultra SCSI II hard disks
: 24 Speed SCSI CD ROM
: 40Gb Sony DAT drive for backups
: Philips 201P 21" Monitor
: Iomega Jaz 2Gb internal drive SCSI
: Needless to say the machine is bloody fast.. wish I had one!
------------------------------
From: "Bert Douglas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: The Linux Store -- good stuff?
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 01:10:21 GMT
www.thelinuxstore.com
The $500 boxes seem really good.
Any gotchas?
Thanks,
Bert Douglas
------------------------------
From: Frank Kuehnel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Sony DVD
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 21:32:37 -0400
Two weeks ago I posted a similar question with no answer yet!
I found out that booting Linux from a CD is very possible and
the CD is perfectly detected then! Booting from a harddisk
produces only @[EMAIL PROTECTED] sequence with the consequence of
misdetection. I could imagine, that the specific DOS-driver
uses a "magic" keyword to initialize the DVD Rom. If you were
able to disassemble the DOS driver and to post your findings
I and many others would be grateful!
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: "mt" doesn't work on DDS-3 tape Drive - Solution found
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 00:30:20 GMT
Thanks to those who responded. Pierre's suggestion to use dd does
work for forward spacing over files.
I spent some time and debugged the mt program (mt-st-0.5 included by
RedHat v5.2). There is a bug in the program which appears to have been
introduced in this latest version. I sent mail to the author, Kai.
In the mt-st-0.5 version which is included in Redhat v5.2, the tape
movement commands do not always work. The command always returns a
success code, but if the tape drive is specified in the command, the
tape does not move. This is due to a bug in the code on Line 285.
Line 285 in mt.c assumes that the user will not specify the tape drive
on the command line (e.g. mt -f /dev/nst0 fsf 1).
i = comp->cmd_function(mtfd, comp, argc - 2, &argv[2]));
the &argv[2] should not be fixed at the second argument. This was
changed from the beta version which seems to operate correctly and used:
i = comp->cmd_function(mtfd, comp, argc - argn, (argc - argn > 0 ? argv
+ argn : NULL));
So the current version works if you use the default tape device or have
TAPE environmental variable set and issue the command like "mt fsf 1",
but doesn't work if you use "mt -f /dev/nst0 fsf 1".
Until the code is fixed, the easiest solution is to always set TAPE to
the tape device you want to use before issuing the mt command. (e.g.
TAPE=/dev/nst0;export TAPE;mt fsf 3)
Mike Stanton
Stanton Technologies, Inc.
Matthias Kilian wrote:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > Has anyone else had problems with "mt" command and tape drives?
> > I have a Dell 4300 PowerEdge server with their DDS-3 12/24GB
> > tape drive (Seagate's Scorpion tape drive?). I can't use mt
> > to move the tape over filemarks, so essentially I'm stuck with
> > a non-rewind version limiting me to one file on the tape. I don't
> > see the problem on an HP SureStor24 that I have, so I'm wondering
> > if Seagate's drive doesn't support or if I need to manually configure
> > the device driver for it (running under RedHat v5.2).
>
> Do you get any error messages when positioning the tape with mt?
>
> Did you try the special SCSI vesion mt-st (should be available at sunsite in
> /pub/Linux/system/backup or so).
>
> Kili
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: The Ideal Linux configuration...
Date: 20 Apr 1999 15:07:38 GMT
Richard Fleming <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: I'm planning on using a P2-350 with 64MB of RAM, along with a 3Com 3C90X
: 'Vortex' card but am unsure of what Video card to get to run the X-Windows
: environment.
Depending on your applications, it may be better to increase
Memory, instead of CPU-Power.
As you normaly should only work faced directly to a server when
something is broken with the network-interface, you may
put in any VGA-Card, but don't use an XServer.
(Better remote login to the machine and export the display
to your workstation, if you realy need a GUI).
But if you want to use the server as workstation, too,
then you may virtualy use any 2D-Card older than a year.
With you cards, you may have a look a the support-database
from suse.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Bernhard Kuhn (kuhn[at]lpr.ei.tum.de) O|||OO||OO| |
| Laboratory for Process Control and Real-Time Systems O|||O|O|O|O |
| Technische Universit�t M�nchen Tel.+49-89-289-23732 O|||OO||OO| |
| 80290 M�nchen, Germany Room 3944 Fax -23555 OOO|O|||O|O |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
From: Lev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.graphics.api.opengl,comp.os.linux.x,de.comp.os.linux.hardware,de.comp.os.linux.x
Subject: Re: HW-accelerated OpenGL for LINUX
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 23:07:41 +0200
use Mesa, it has HW for voodoo (and other are planed i think)
Ekkehard Beier wrote:
> Hello anybody,
>
> I'm looking for a hardware-accelerated OpenGL for LINUX
> SuSE 6.0/6.1.
>
> The supported graphics card should be an Elsa Gloria Synergy
> or another board with Per media 2 chip set. However, I could
> use another chip set (VOODOO) if necessary.
>
> - Where can I get a corresponding OpenGL implementation?
> (commercial or free, does MESA support HW?)
>
> - Do I need special X servers (commercial or free)?
>
> [In case of commercial tools, German distributors are preferred.]
>
> Please respond by email to:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> I will post a summary if necessary.
>
> Thank you very much in advance.
>
> Yours,
> Ekki.
>
> --
> Ekkehard 'Ekki' Beier
> Technical University of Ilmenau, Dep. of Computer Science
------------------------------
From: Dominic Hargreaves <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.x
Subject: Re: ATI Xpert 98 AGP problems in Xwindows
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 15:26:24 +0100
Thanks for your, help, setting up the custom monitor solved the problem.
Stijn Opheide wrote:
>
> Dominic Hargreaves wrote:
> >
> > Ok, here is a complete description of my problem. I don't think it can
> > be due to faulty hardware because I have had the same problem with two
> > different PCs from the same supplier.
> >
> > The following occurred at startup and again when I subsequently ran
> > XConfigurator:
> >
> > Message: PCI probing found
> >
> > PCI entry: Mach64 GB
> > X Server: Mach46
> >
> > I selected Generic monitor from the list (I don't feel confident setting
> > up a custom monitor from my manual, it's an unbranded one and I couldn't
> > understand all the parameters. Is this a possible cause?
>
> I don't think this is the cause, but your monitor will function better
> when you set up a custom monitor. It's not hard to do. You just have
> to know the horizontal and vertical sync rate.
>
> >
> > It then probed the video card and said:
> >
> > There was an error detecting the video card.
> >
> > I responded that there were 8 megs of ram, and no clockchip setting
> > (recommended)
> >
> > It the probed for checks, and the clock probe failed, so the next time
> > round I chose skip.
>
> I have the same video card and I know that you mustn't probe anything.
>
> The program then wrote to the config file and
> > exited. I selected 8 bit, 16 bit and 24 bit color in 640 by 480 and 800
> > x 600
> >
> > When I run startx I get a 640 by 480 screen even if I have selected
> > higher modes.
>
> If you want to run your X at a higher resolution you have to 'escape'
> all the settings you don't want to use in the XF86Conf file. Escaping =
> putting a # before each line you don't want to use.
> So you go to the section 'Accelerated Servers' (because Mach64 is an
> accelerated server). Then you only keep the subsection of that
> resolution and bpp you want to use.
>
> > Ctrl-Alt-+ doesn not change this. When I exit X I get the following
> > messages:
> >
> > PCI (92) and CONFIG_CHIP_ID (124) don't agree on Chiprev, using PCI
> > value
> > Card type: AGP
> > Memory type: 4
> > Clock type: Internal
> > Maximum allowed dot-clock: 230.000 MHz
> > Mode "640 x 480": mode clock = 25.175
> > There is no mode definition named "800 by 600"
> > Removing mode "800 x 600" from list of valid modes
> > Virtual resolution 800 x 600
> > Video RAM: 8192k
> > Using hardware cursor
> > Using 16MB aperture @ 0xe4000000
> > Using 4KB register aperture @ 0xe6000000
> > Ramdac is internal
> > Ramdac speed: 230 MHz
> > Using 8 bits per RGB value
> > Pixmap cache: 0 256x256 slots, 0 128x128 slots, 0 64x46 slots
> > Font cache: 0 fonts
> >
> > waiting for X server to shut down mac64ProgramClkMach64ct: Warning: Q <
> > 16.66666667
> >
> > I have a PII 400 MHz, 64 MB RAM, and a P2XBL/e Rev A+ System board.
> >
> > I am running Red Hat 5.2 with 2.0 kernel and XFree86 3.3.2.3-25.
> > Please can someone help me on this, I want to get stuck into KDE
> > installation and configuration, but I want to get this sorted first. In
> > 640 x 480 my monitor chops off a bit of the screen at the right, so I
> > can't see some stuff.
> >
> > I would appreciate a copy to my email if you are replying from a
> > newsgroup.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > --
> > Dominic Hargreaves
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > http://fly.to/dominic
> > "If at first you don't succeed, you must be a programmer"
>
> I hope this can help you a little bit,
>
> greets,
>
> Stijn.
--
Dominic Hargreaves
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://fly.to/dominic
"If at first you don't succeed, you must be a programmer"
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Werner Peters)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.setup,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.x
Subject: Re: Mouse problem in RedHat Linux 5.2! (I am sending this to multiple NGs)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 14:44:42 GMT
On Mon, 19 Apr 1999 22:54:53 -0500, "Tim McDonough" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>If it's the M$ IntelliMouse, you might try this:
>http://www.inria.fr/koala/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/
Nope. I have just a plain jane MS mouse. It won't work.. yet.
------------------------------
From: "TorontoLinux" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Toronto Based Linux Prebuilt Systems Forsale
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 14:58:01 -0400
We are a Toronto base Linux system builder, currently we have the following
preconfigured Linux systems forsale with:
Optimized Stable kernal
X Window login system
Fully graphical KDE desktop system or NextStep desktop, your choice!
RedHat 5.2 Linux distribution
Corel WordPerfect 8.0 for Linux, shareware version.
Dell D233
Solidly built workstation with high quality
Intel PII233 CPU 512k cache
Intel LX motherboard
64MB SDRAM RAM
4Gig UDMA hard drive
Riva 128 4MB AGP video accelerator
PCI 10/100mbps ethernet adaptor
High speed CD-ROM
1.44MB floppy drive
Switching power supply
PS2 keyboard/mouse
6 monthes of warrenty
Only $750CND
Dell PowerEdge 2200 Server
Solidly built server system with high quality
Dual Intel PII233 CPU 512k cache
128MB ECC(Error Correcting) RAM
Adaptec 2940UW controller onboard
4Gig Seagate UltraWide hard drive
3COM PCI 10/100 Parrallel Tasking ethernet adaptor
SCSI High speed CD-ROM
1.44MB floppy drive
Switching power supply
PS2 keyboard/mouse
6 monthes of warrenty
Only $1450CND
Dell V350
Intel PII350 CPU 512k ECC cache
Intel BX motherboard
128MB RAM
8Gig UDMA hard drive
ATI RagePro 8MB AGP video accelerator
High performance Intel PCI 10/100 ethernet adaptor
High speed CD-ROM
1.44MB floppy drive
Switching power supply
PS2 keyboard/mouse
6 monthes of warrenty
Only $1550CND
Will preconfigure them to your environment such as Windows file/printer
sharing, internet gateway server, DNS/PPP/NFS/WWW server for a small fee.
Please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for furthur details, thanks.
------------------------------
From: Kendall S Hunter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: PLEASE HELP
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 19:35:00 -0600
> I just installed RH 5.2 on a Pentium 400 with 64 MB of RAM. I have a Matrox
> Millennium G200.
Phil: The SVGA server that ships with RH 5.2 doesn't support the G200. You
will have to go to the
RedHat errata page:
http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/rhl/rh52-errata-general.html#XFree86
and download the newest version of X. It will support your video card.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (doole)
Crossposted-To: alt.comp.hardware,comp.os.linux.misc,alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: Bad Experience With ComputerWarehouse.com
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 15:45:19 GMT
I've had a couple of similar experiences.
Not that it makes any real moral or legal difference, but I'm not so
sure it's a sign of disreputable retailers as it is a sign of
disreputable software. Many of these on line things are ludicrously
flaky. IOW they may not be TRYING to rip you off necessarily,
althought you're getting ripped off, just the same.
That's my guess, and if I'm wrong, forget I said it.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (David E. Fox) apparently said this:
>In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> JimmyD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
>> new). It's time to start slamming these slugs. Report bad vendors
>> here:
>>
>> http://www.resellerratings.com/
>>
>> We can make a difference and we don't need the government to do it!
>
>If the reseller is defrauding the consumer (and your examples do
>seem like it) then the government *should* get involved; after all
>fraud, deceptive business practices, etc., are *crimes*. These
>entities are businesses (at least some are, or pretend to be) and whether
>they exist on the Internet is irrelevant.
>
>Also there are agencies like the Better Business Bureau and the
>Federal Trade Commission.
>
>>
>
>--
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>David E. Fox Tax Thanks for letting me
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] the change magnetic patterns
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] churches on your hard disk.
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
From: "James Jiang" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: How to config this netcard?
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 23:58:16 +0800
AcctonEN1207D-TX PCI fast ether card,how to config it?
thanks!
------------------------------
From: Kendall S Hunter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Kernal - IDE CDR Support needed
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 19:43:38 -0600
> I have a HP writer+ 7200 Cdrw that I want to get running in
> my Redhat 5.2 system. I have read alot of posts on what I
> have to do
>
> - Put in Scsi emulation
> - Take out ide cdrom support
> - ect...
>
> However, Being new to Linux Im not quite up on changing my
> kernal. So, I looked through the "How to's" and such and
> still havent found anything that really addresses the
> problem. I realize that I have to recompile my kernal but I
> dont exactly know how to do it to make the correct changes.
> Also, I dont feel like trashing my setup as it is.
>
> Does anyone know of a site that will explain what I need and
> how to do it for ide cdr's?
>
> Any help sure would be appreciated.
Coffee:
Try this site -
http://metalab.unc.edu/Linux/HOWTO/Kernel-HOWTO.html
to obtain kernel build information. Basically, install the kernel source under
/usr/src, then cd to the
kernel tree. The basic steps are...
make xconfig
make dep
make clean
make zImage
make modules
sudo make modules_install (if you don't have sudo, do this as root)
move arch/i386/boot/zImage to /boot/vmlinuz-2.x.x
more System.map to /boot/System.map-2.x.x
modify /etc/lilo.conf to see the new kernel (make sure to leave the old kernel
in there too, just in case)
run lilo
reboot
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 22:42:39 +0000
From: Eric Pascual <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: imwheel
Hi,
I guess my quesion is stupid, but I'm just discovering Linux (redHat
5.2).
I'm trying to install imwheel to support my Intellimouse. I've
downloaded latest archive from Jon Atkins web pages, and tried to do a
make. I get compile errors complaining that some X relative include
files are not found. I've looked on my system and /usr/X11R6/include/X11
contains only 2 subdirs (bitmaps and pixmaps) and no .h file. I've
searched requested header files via a find command but they are not
available. During installation I've selected C/C++ development tools and
libs.
I have certainly forgot to selct something, or I need to retrieve some
additional archive from one of my RH CDs, but I can't figure which.
Thanks a lot in advance for any suggestion
Regards
Eric
------------------------------
From: westprog <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Programmers are gods
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 15:50:09 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
John Burton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> root wrote:
> >
> > Leslie Mikesell wrote:
> >
> > > In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> > > Chris Costello <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > > >In article <7ffjuv$k85$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Leslie Mikesell wrote:
> > > >> And by the way, comments really have nothing to do with making
> > > >> code understandable and when the code is broken there is no
> > > >> reason to trust the comments.
> > > >
> > > >char achar, bchar, cchar, dchar, echar, fchar, gchar, hchar,
> > > > ichar, jchar, kchar;
> > > >
> > > >int dsiz = M_SIZE;
> > > >
> > > >int
> > > >func(int a, char b, char *c, char **d)
> > > >{
> > > > if (a == b == *c == (d[0][0]+d[1][a])) {
> > > > c = malloc(sizeof(a+b+c+(*d)));
> > > >
> > > > memccpy(c, *d, kchar, dsiz);
> > > >
> > > > return strlen(c) + d[0][a] % (a + (b*2));
> > > > } else
> > > > memcpy(c, *d, dsiz);
> > > >
> > > > return *d[0][a % 3];
> > > >}
> > > >
> > > > This is broken code, but it's hard to figure out the real
> > > >purpose of it. Wouldn't comments help here?
> > >
> > > Only to the extent that if the code and the comments disagree
> > > you can assume that they are probably both wrong. Otherwise
> > > if it is the comment that is wrong you will be mislead. Given
> > > a limited amount of time, I'd rather see the effort going into
> > > making the code understandable. I do find it helpful to put
> > > the data into structs and comment the struct declarations though.
I disagree here to the extent that no matter how well written the code is, it
can't indicate what you want it to do. The function name "func" is the
problem. If it had a name like
ConcatanateArrayOfStringsIntoASingleStringWithASeperator, this would give us
enough of a clue to decipher the code. As most people find function names
this long rather cumbersome, it is essential to have a comment to say what
the function is meant to do. This is in a way more important than the code -
if the comment is totally accurate, you can throw away all your bad code and
put in a good function. If you don't know exactly what the function is
supposed to do, knowing what it actually does may not help.
> > All data is valid in the solution of a problem -- if nothing more than
> > to tell you the original author was a idiot and not to trust anything
> > that they did. No comments means half the information is missing.
> > Even if the code does something correctly, how do you know what
> > the author intended it to do if they didn't bother to write it down?
> Ummm...different school of thought...write the code so the algorithm is
> understandable *without* comments. Use identifiers & function names that
> are concise, yet provide enough information to understand what is going
> on. The purpose and function of the code should be immediately apparent
> to another programmer. Comment only as much as necessary. Since it is
> difficult to grasp what a hunk of code does if it is longer than 1 page,
> try to keep functions short.
Keeping functions short, and their purpose simple, allows you to get away with
less comments without losing important information.
> Compare coding to writing a report... use whitespace to set off
> logically organized sections of code and use enough verbage to get your
> point across, but not so much that it puts the reader to sleep...
> Ideally, you sholdn't need *any* comments in the body of a
> function/procedure. You give a 1 sentence prologue which contains a
> description of the function (if you need more than one sentence, perhaps
> your function is not cohesive enough and needs to be redesigned), a
> description of the interface, and a definition of each of the
> parameters. Do all of this *before* you write the code. Then write the
> code as clearly as possible remembering that in *most* cases, coding
> "tricks" are not necessary because the compilers can figure out its own
> efficiency "tricks", but clear, understandable coding can save the next
> programmer hundreds of hours and thousands of grey or yanked out
> hair...;-)
I would go along with this. Sometimes you need to do something esoteric - in
which case, you can explain it. Most code is simple enough - and if it isn't,
it should be. While I would never stop somebody adding comments, the effort
involved in making code comprehensible without comments probably makes the
code more robust and reliable as well.
> *ALWAYS* code for the *other* programmer, because someday *you* may be
> the *other* programmer...
I sometimes find I'm the other programmer the same afternoon.
J.
============= Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ============
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 12:05:26 -0400
From: Brandon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: Programmers are gods
Matthias Warkus wrote:
>
> It was the Mon, 19 Apr 1999 12:59:40 +0200...
> ..and Osvaldo Pinali Doederlein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > gus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > > Just as an aside, these are some things you DON'T want to see in some
> > > code .... ;-) (And I have personally encountered some ...)
> > > "Shit, this SUX"
> >
> > What about this one:
> >
> > // I hate this hack, but I fucked up and didn't set the default to 100
> >
> > Should companies do a "policitally correct" clean-up of sources that they
> > "open" all of a sudden? Or should we respect programmers and not do that?
> > ;-)
>
> Have a look at some result lines of
> find "*.[ch]" | xargs grep -3 "[Ff]uck" | tee ~/bar
> in audrey:/usr/local/src (slightly edited):
>
> XScreenSaver source:
>
> /* I don't believe this fucking language doesn't have builtin exponentiation.
> I further can't believe that the fucking ^ character means fucking XOR!! */
>
> ..
>
> It would be better to not remove it at all, but that's harder
> because Xlib has such a non-design for this kind of crap, and
> in this application it doesn't matter if the events end up out
> of order, so in the grand unix tradition we say "fuck it" and
> do something that mostly works for the time being.
>
> ..
>
> int qwad; /* fuckin' C, man... who needs namespaces? */
>
> ==
>
> Enlightenment's modified CPP, called epp:
>
> /* OK, now bring us back to the state we were in before we entered
> * this branch. We need #line b/c the newline for the pragma
> * could fuck things up. */
> output_line_command(pfile, 0, same_file);
> *(obp++) = ' '; /* just in case, if comments are copied thru */
> *(obp++) = '/';
> int i, size;
> AFfilehandle file;
>
> long fuck = 99;
> char *dick;
>
> ==
>
> Audiofile library:
>
> double fuckstick;
>
> ..
>
> AUpvgetval(list, 0, &fuck);
> printf("AUpvgetval: %d\n", fuck);
>
> AUpvgetval(list, 1, &fuck);
> printf("AUpvgetval: %d\n", fuck);
>
> AUpvgetval(list, 2, &fuck);
> printf("AUpvgetval: %d\n", fuck);
>
> AUpvgetval(list, 3, &fuck);
> printf("AUpvgetval: %d\n", fuck);
>
> mawa
> --
> Q: What do the letters D.N.A. stand for?
> A: National Dyslexics Association.
shouldn't that be Association of National Dyslexics?
Brandon
--
"Bill Gates?, I dont know any Bill Gates. Oh, you mean 'by putting
every conceivable
feature into an OPERATING SYSTEM, whether you want it or not, is
innovation' Bill
Gates? Yeah, I know the monopolizer"
http://web.mountain.net/~brandon/main.htm
For Beginners in Linux, Emulation, Midis, Playstation Info, and
Virii.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ()
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Support for EUMEX-404-PC ISDN box?
Date: 20 Apr 1999 16:08:54 GMT
Hi, The german Telekom offers the EUMEX 404 PC
as a cheap start into the ISDN era.
It is said to be "AVM Fritzcard compatible" whatever
that may mean.
Does anybody know if/how it can be run under Linux (Pentium II)
Thanks
Jacob
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