Sun-Spots Digest, v6n193
William LeFebvre
Sun-Spots-Request at RICE.EDU
Tue Aug 23 04:04:56 AEST 1988
SUN-SPOTS DIGEST Sunday, 21 August 1988 Volume 6 : Issue 193
Today's Topics:
Finding which process is accessing a filesystem
`bmx' - Bitmap Conversion
priority vs. niceness?
/usr/lib/calendar: determining if a file is NFS mounted?
automounting ... why bother?
Plot10 for Sun's?
how reliable is the Sony color monitor?
a WORM for the 3/160?
Transputer products on Sun?
Anti-aliased lines?
Trying to locate ibmtape and ansitape
Re: Format of a ".o" file
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Jul 88 20:16:27 EDT
From: dupuy at columbia.edu (Alexander Dupuy)
Subject: Finding which process is accessing a filesystem
Reply-To: dupuy at columbia.edu
After seeing Richard Tobin's find-fs program, I was inspired to add shared
text reference checking to my ofiles program, just so that it will do
everything that find-fs does, plus the whole lot more it already did. The
README describes it fairly well - it's at the front of the shar file. Now
who wants to port it to 4.0?
@alex
inet: dupuy at columbia.edu
uucp: ...!rutgers!columbia!dupuy
[[ The shar file has been placed in the archives under "sun-source" as
"ofiles.shar". It is 33998 bytes long, and it can be retrieved via
anonymous FTP from the host "titan.rice.edu" or via the archive server.
For more information about the archive server with the request
"send sun-source ofiles.shar", send a mail message containing the word
"help" to the address "archive-server at rice.edu". --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 88 13:03:40 PDT
From: gandalf at csli.stanford.edu (Juergen Wagner)
Subject: `bmx' - Bitmap Conversion
This is to announce the new release of `bmx' (previously called `bm' which
caused some naming confusion with the fast Boyer-Moore grep). I have
posted the new version to comp.sources.unix on Saturday, so if Rich Salz
approves the package, it will be available within the next couple of
weeks. The package is also available via anonymous ftp from
csli.stanford.edu (Internet#36.9.0.46) from pub/Gandalf/bmx* (do it at
night). For those of you who can neither ftp the files nor get them from
comp.sources.unix, I should point out that there are some mail-based
unix-sources servers around. In exceptional cases I will mail the package.
The program comes in three shar files, one README, and some man pages. I
am not going to mail any sample bitmap files because you should be able to
get some elsewhere. If not, I can point to pub/Gandalf/bits.tar.Z (again
on csli.stanford.edu). This file contains some sample bitmaps in some of
the formats I support. If you want to test the package, try two things:
o a Sun rasterfile,
o a X10/X11 bitmap in header file format.
Both should work fine on any machine I've tried the program on. The only
problems I've encountered is with some compilers which don't like the
typedef void Void;
in BM/include/gandalf/bitmap.h (line 19). You should just replace that by
# define Void void
and everything should compile fine. If you are compiling on a Sun4 with
SunOS 4.0 (i.e. have shared libraries), link everything -Bstatic.
Sometimes I get weird unexplainable errors if they are linked with
-Bdynamic.
I am still working on the package, extending it to support more formats
and operators. If you happen to have a weird format, let me know. Please,
include a format specification and some sample bitmaps, so I can try to
implement them. (FAX format is not ready yet, I am working on GRF and GIF)
Mail bug reports, suggestions, comments, etc. to gandalf at csli.stanford.edu.
Please, note that my package is not supposed to be a converter between
graphics languages (like PostScript, HPGL, ImPress, etc.) but just a mere
conversion program for pure raster images. I am not sure whether it is a
good idea to include fonts here. I may think about reading one character
out of a font, but generating one font from another is outside the scope of
`bmx'.
Note, that the package is not in the public domain. It is copyrighted, and
I don't want to have it included in any licensed software without my
consent. I hope the `bmx' package with its bitmap i/o library is of use
for you.
Enjoy,
Juergen "Gandalf" Wagner, gandalf at csli.stanford.edu
Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI), Stanford CA
PS: Here is an extract from the program's help message:
*** Bitmap Conversion program: `bmx' (Version beta-2.2) ***
[BitConv, Copyr 1988, Juergen Wagner (gandalf at csli.stanford.edu)]
The command line syntax is:
bmx [ operators... ]
where 'operators' is a list of operation names followed by some
optional arguments. Operation names are:
-in Read a bitmap file
-out Write a bitmap file
-info Print information about a bitmap
-list List all bitmaps currently loaded
-log Write an action log
-inv Invert all bits
-rev Reverse bits (word-wise)
-rev2 Reverse bits (byte-wise)
-swap Swap bytes (word-wise)
-frame Frame the bitmap
-concat Concatenate bitmaps
-help Print help information
The available input/output formats are:
gandalf (gandalf, g) Gandalf's favourite format
ascii (asc, a) ASCII representation
raster (ras, r) Sun Rasterfile
iconedit (icon, i) Sun Iconedit file
impress (imp, l) imPRESS format
dlionbm (dlion, d) Xerox-1108 InterLISP bitmap
laserjet (lj, h) HP LaserJet format
macpaint (macp, m) MacPaint documents
postscript (ps, p) (nano-)PostScript (images only)
printronix (ptx, t) Printronix printer format
sixel (six, s) Sixel format (LN03 printer)
ucbvax (ucb, u) Weird format of ucbvax:pub/xbackground/*
xbitmap (xicon, x) X bitmap (header file)
xwindow (xwd, w) X Window Dump format
ccittfax (fax, f) G3/G4 FAX Format (CCITT Rec. T.4/T.6, VII.3)
cvl (cvl, c) CVL Format
pppf (ppp, pp) Program Products Picture File Format
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 88 15:45:00 EDT
From: "Ruth Milner, Systems Manager x2746" <SYSRUTH at UTORPHYS.BITNET>
Subject: priority vs. niceness?
Part of this may not be particularly a Sun question, but here goes anyway
(send those responses directly to me if you don't think they belong on the
list).
1. I have recently had occasion to bump our nfsd's (12) on our Sun 4/280
serving 10 diskless 3/50's (and exporting fs's to a few other Suns) up to
(down to?) a niceness of -5. The result of this was that a diskless client
running a very disk-intensive program to munge many files into a few files
dropped from 30 minutes elapsed time to about 3.5 minutes. Does anyone
know of any potential problems doing this? The Sun 4/280 is also used as a
number-cruncher for low-priority CPU-intensive jobs and, to a much lesser
extent, for interactive jobs (mostly editing, compiling, and reading
mail). The Sun 4 is at 3.2FCS; the 3/50's are at 3.5 (if this matters).
2. The non-Sun-specific question has to do with "priority" and "niceness".
The display from "top" (thank you, WNL, for a very nice utility) lists
both of these numbers, but I can't find any clear description either in
manuals (I admit I haven't gone through with a fine-toothed comb) or
verbally from some of the local UNIX gurus on the real difference between
priority and niceness. What is each used for? How exactly do they differ?
How is priority calculated (something to do with the niceness, whether the
process has a tendency to use up its CPU quantum - how long is that,
anyway? - etc. etc., I assume)? On our Sun 4, most system processes
(daemons, etc.) run with niceness 0 and priority 1-5. Interactive logins
have niceness 0 and priority 15 or 25 (root). CPU-devouring background
jobs run at niceness 19 and priority 102. How does the allocation of the
CPU work? Are lower-priority jobs guaranteed a given portion of the CPU
based on the priority level, or is it absolutely based on priority so that
lower-priority jobs only get CPU if there is *nothing* at a higher
priority wanting it? Does Sun do this any differently than the rest of the
UNIX world, or is it something defined by "if UNIX then schedule-
in-this-way"?
If you don't feel like explaining this, please let me know if there is a
*good* description of this in either the Sun manual set or someone's book.
I would really like to understand how this works.
Thanks a lot.
Ruth Milner
Systems Manager
University of Toronto Physics
sysruth at utorphys.bitnet sysruth at helios.physics.utoronto.ca
[[ Well, there probably isn't a very detailed explanation in the Sun
documentation. This is all deep Unix internals stuff. "Niceness" is
exactly the figure you set with "nice" and "renice". The lower the
number, the less "nice" you are being to other processes. In other words,
the lower the number the more preference your job is given. But niceness
is only one factor used in calculating the actual scheduling priority of
processes (and the only one directly settable by the user). "Priority" is
the final number that the scheduler uses to pick the next process to run.
Several facts are used to calculate the priority, and I'm not even sure
what they all are. If your process blocks waiting for input, its priority
(which will only matter once the read completes) depends on the speed of
the device it's waiting on (this includes waiting for text and data
pages). Again, preference is given to processes with a lower priority.
Further discussion and details about this is probably more appropriately
discussed on one of the Unix interest lists. --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 88 10:52:08 CDT
From: drl at vuse.vanderbilt.edu (David R. Linn)
Subject: /usr/lib/calendar: determining if a file is NFS mounted?
In trying to figure out why calendar(1) quit working when we took our YP
master to 4.0, I have discovered that /usr/lib/calendar now takes an
argument (a filename) and somehow determines whether the file is NFS
mounted or not. Using "strings -2 - /usr/lib/calendar", I fail to find a
"/etc/fstab" or a "/etc/mtab" so I don't think the program is using
getmntent(3). I am working on a program that needs to distiguish local
files from remote files. Can anyone tell me how /usr/lib/calendar does
it??
David
David Linn drl at vuse.vandebilt.edu ...uunet!vuse!drl
------------------------------
Date: Wed,17 Aug 10:29:32 1988
From: Mario Wolczko <mario%mushroom.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk at nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Subject: automounting ... why bother?
Under SunOS4.0, NFS filesystems can be either mounted in the normal way
(using mount), or dynamically mounted "on demand" using automount.
Apart from saving startup time when booting, why bother automounting? If
you have fewer filesystems mounted, is your system faster? Is access to
an automounted filesystem faster or slower than to a mounted fs?
Mario Wolczko
Dept. of Computer Science Internet: mario%ux.cs.man.ac.uk
The University USENET: mcvax!ukc!man.cs.ux!mario
Manchester M13 9PL JANET: mario at uk.ac.man.cs.ux
U.K. Tel: +44-61-275 2000 extn 6146
[[ One of the advantages to automounting is that the file system is
automatically unmounted when the last file on that system is closed. This
avoids unnecessary hanging problems on the client if the server were to go
down. There might also be a difference in overall system performance
since fewer system resources are used when the file system is not mounted.
--wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 88 09:18:46 EDT
From: (Tony Cardazzi) <@williams.edu:tony at cc.williams.edu>
Subject: Plot10 for Sun's?
We currently are running FORTRAN programs that use Plot10 FORTRAN
subroutine calls on Tektronix 4107 terminals on our VAX 11/785. The
Tektronix terminals produce color plots by dumping what is on the screen
to the Tektronix 4696 color printer.
We are looking for a similar package for the Sun's, contacts, or
directions to who may sell such a package.
The reason we are looking for such a package is that we already have
written many programs using the Plot10 library and don't have the time or
manpower to convert these programs to the Suns.
We have a 3/180 file server and 3/50 b/w clients all running under SunOS 4.0.
Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Anthony Cardazzi
Computer Center
Williams College
E-mail cardazzi at cc.williams.edu
Bitnet cardazzi at williams
Telephone (413) 597-3077
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 88 15:39:04 PDT
From: celeste at coherent.com (Celeste C. Stokely)
Subject: how reliable is the Sony color monitor?
I'm considering getting a Sony 16" or 19" color monitor for my 3/60. How
reliable are Sony monitors? I understand the 19" isn't even out yet, but
have you ever had the 16" monitor break? My Sony TV lived many many years
before it died, but my Sony walkman didn't last a month.
Testamonials and horror stories to me by email, please.
..Celeste Stokely
Coherent Thought Inc.
UUCP: ...!{ames,sun,uunet}!coherent!celeste Domain: celeste at coherent.com
Internet: coherent!celeste at ames.arpa or ... at sun.com or ... at uunet.uu.net
VOX: 415-493-8805
SNAIL:3350 W. Bayshore Rd. #205, Palo Alto CA 94303
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 88 11:59:01 EDT
From: reidar <reidar at cucard.med.columbia.edu>
Subject: a WORM for the 3/160?
We have a 3/160 and would very much like to hang a WORM on it. Has anyone
done this? If so, did you treat it like a disk (i.e. file system) or a
tape of some sort?
Thanks in advance,
Reidar Bornholdt
Columbia University,
College of Physicians & Surgeons
reidar at cucard.med.columbia.edu
cmcl2!cucard!reidar
------------------------------
Date: 17 Aug 88 06:01:46 GMT
From: mkkam at wael.cs.uh.edu (Francis Kam)
Subject: Transputer products on Sun?
If anyone has news/hints/pointers on transputer products which can plug
onto the VME bus of a Sun 3/280, or as an external box connected via SCSI
port or anything to a 3/[50,60], please forward me a copy. The only
company I know now is Niche, but I believe there should be more. Thank
you.
CSC-3475
Francis Kam Computer Science Department
Internet: mkkam at sun1.cs.uh.edu University of Houston
CSNET: mkkam at houston.csnet 4800 Calhoun
Phone: (713)749-1748 Houston, TX 77004.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 88 14:13:11 PDT
From: chaos%gojira.Berkeley.EDU at jade.berkeley.edu
Subject: Anti-aliased lines?
Does anyone have an anti-aliased line drawing routine for pixrect level of
SunView? That is fast? (Using put() pixel by pixel is slow).
Jim Crutchfield
Physics, UCB
(415) 642-1287
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 88 21:04:03 PDT
From: lim at isl.stanford.edu (Kelvin O. Lim)
Subject: Trying to locate ibmtape and ansitape
There was some recent activity about reading and/or writing IBM tapes.
Two public domain programs, ibmtape and ansitape, were mentioned. Could
someone give me leads as to where I can get them? Ftp would be preferable
but I'm sure other methods are possible.
Thanks,
Kelvin O. Lim
lim at isl.stanford.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 88 23:01:39 EDT
From: Don Hopkins <don at brillig.umd.edu>
Subject: Re: Format of a ".o" file
> From: attcan!utzoo!henry at uunet.uu.net
> Danger! Your Sun software license (if it's like ours) specifically forbids
> decompiling or disassembling!
>
> (I suppose if you can sight-read 68020 binaries that's okay! :-))
Speaking of which, does anybody have a PostScript font for sight reading
SPARC binaries? (Can you say "cat core"?)
-Don
------------------------------
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