AW: [Oberon] re. Need -/Aos.Par

Tue Jan 26 11:10:47 MET 2010

I changed the link to http://bluebottle.ethz.ch/downloads/Aos.Par

Boot problems: On http://www.ocp.inf.ethz.ch/wiki/Documentation/Installation#toc11 you find a quite comprehensive A2 startup troubleshooting documentation.

>>>But the following test for 'Init=xxx' failed:----- [...]

All modes designated with "TEXT" won't work because the A2 display driver expects a linear framebuffer.
To get an idea whether the system boots properly (but display does not work) try the following:
1. Delete the Init configuration string by entering Init= followed by enter.
2. Replace Boot=DisplayLinear.Install by Boot=DisplayNull.Install
3. Set TraceMode=1

With this setting, you can see whether A2 startup is working.
(1) prevents the Oberon boot loader from switching to graphics mode, (2) prevents DisplayLinear.Install from trapping (since it expects graphics mode) and (3) will cause the trace output shown on the display.

>Does the fact that I can't exit-to-reboot with Ctrl/Alt/Del tell anything?

Yes and no: If you could exit-and-reboot, it would be a "good sign". But the fact that you can't does not give a guarantee that A2 has not started correctly. To see whether A2 starts correctly, try the Init/TraceMode-settings described above.

>From my brief test of Aos the 'change screen magnification'
seemed the most useful. Can this be used while running the 
old-proven N-O apps under Aos ?

Yes (but only one instance of N-O can run on A2).

>IMO the simplicity of S3 was a great achievement, which now 
seems to have been lost - since Wirth's oversight is missing ?

Hmm... I'm not familiar with N-O, so I cannot really provide an answer, but nevertheless some comment on this:

- Kernel: Multiprocessor/Preemtive Multitasking/Active Object Synchronization do add complexity, but (I think) not accidentally
- The fact the N-O run on top of A2 does have negative impacts (obsolete interfaces just for N-O compatibility, about a half of all files in the release are just for N-O and could be removed without even touching A2). This is actually a sad story since it reminds me very much on the "industry way" of developing software (being compatible at almost any cost)
- Packaging: A lot of modules/files can be omitted for particular application domains (it IS possible to build very lean A2 systems, although they are very specific then)
- Things as native Unicode support/CJK font rendering/thread-safe text system require more memory/complexity, 32-bit color at 2560x1280 pixels requires "some" memory, too. Windows are double-buffered...

But I have to admit that the low memory footprint / CPU requirements of N-O (in particular the Gadgets system) are impressive.

Best,
Sven Stauber

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: oberon-bounces at lists.inf.ethz.ch [mailto:oberon-bounces at lists.inf.ethz.ch] Im Auftrag von Chris Glur
Gesendet: Dienstag, 26. Januar 2010 01:00
An: oberon
Cc: crglur at gmail.com
Betreff: [Oberon] re. Need -/Aos.Par 

>>http://bluebottle.ethz.ch/Current/Aos.Par
>>                                                                                               
>>  HTTP 404 - File Not Found

Sven Stauber wrote:
> The link was broken (fixed).
No still 404 now.

>You will find more information on 
>http://www.ocp.inf.ethz.ch/wiki/Documentation/Configuration

Thanks; since the CD boots OK on other people's newer PCs
I suspected the VDU-system.

I can't sacrifice my 'main' PC for testing Aos, which also 
previously failed to run Aos, and my spare PC runs N-O with 
a mono-display when I need it. 

But the following test for 'Init=xxx' failed:-----
   VESA mode numbers   <-- try for mono-box
   Mode Number (hex) Resolution Colors
   100               640x400    256 <-- OBL3>c  remains visible
   101               640x480    256   == same
   102               800x600    16    == same
   103               800x600    256   == same
   108               TEXT       80x60 == same
   110               640x480    32K     == same
   111               640x480    64K     == same
   117               1024x768   64K   <-- default ?
========= end of test results =====

Does the fact that I can't exit-to-reboot with
Ctrl/Alt/Del tell anything?
AFAIK if N-O didn't display, Ctrl/Alt/Del would
still respond ?

>From my brief test of Aos the 'change screen magnification'
seemed the most useful. Can this be used while running the 
old-proven N-O apps under Aos ?

IMO the simplicity of S3 was a great achievement, which now 
seems to have been lost - since Wirth's oversight is missing ?

Thanks,

== Chris Glur.

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