On Tue, 3 Feb 2004 at 23:11:39, Witchy wrote:
(ref: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
>
> <snip>
>>
>> >Pffft :-) Because I don't know the full ins and outs of any of the
>> >machines I've got (other than as a user) I have to rely on
>> what people
>> >tell me or what I read on the web......somewhere out there is a QL
>> >document that says the multi-tasking wasn't 'real'.
>>
>> What do you define as 'real'.
>> I haven't seen such a document.
>>
>> It had pre-emptive multi tasking with processor support.
>> The only thing it couldn't do was manage screen refresh.
>
>Wherever I got that info from (suppose I should not my sources in proper
>publishing fashion) said that while the QL could have more than one app in
>memory at any point in time, given enough RAM, any background tasks would be
>paused. Now reading the 2nd paragraph leads me to think whoever wrote that
>about the multitasking simply noticed the background apps were paused when
>in reality all they were waiting for was a screen refresh.
Exactly.
If background tasks did not write to a buried screen or required input,
then they multitasked perfectly well.
Writing a multitasking clock for the QL was dead easy in superBasic:
10 OPEN#3,"<define small screen area>"
20 REPeat LOOP
30 PRINT #3,DATE$;:REMark or whatever part of date one wanted
50 PAUSE 25
40 END REPeat LOOP
compile it, EXEC it with priority 1 and use PIE.
If the value printed changes length, then it may need padding to a
constant length.
This program will occasionally fail to print for up to half second after
the change of time. If one wasn't worried, the PAUSE could be much
reduced.
This was the beauty of the QL - compiled basic programs took one
straight into multitasking.
>
><snip stuff which I should add to the QL page!>
>
>> He also gave a good front end for everything, which was very
>> much on a par with Windows 3.x
>
>Was this the ICE environment I've seen mentioned with the Thor? I haven't
>found anything on the web about this yet, but then I suppose google isn't
>'the web' yet :)
No. That was an earlier pretty bad attempt. It looked very good, but
performed badly.
This is the 'Pointer Environment' - a very different animal, as it was
written by Tony Tebby, the author of QDOS.
--
QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:252/67) +44(0)1442-828255
tony@<surname>.co.uk http://www.firshman.co.uk
Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255
TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG
