Sun-Spots Digest, v6n154
William LeFebvre
Sun-Spots-Request at RICE.EDU
Sat Jul 30 02:44:11 AEST 1988
SUN-SPOTS DIGEST Wednesday, 27 July 1988 Volume 6 : Issue 154
Today's Topics:
Re: Error messages not appearing in console window on client
Re: Transferring files from Unix to IBM via tape
Re: Reading/Writing IBM tapes on a Sun
New Sun networking mailing list
4.0 CAVEAT: /usr/include/sys/core.h (and "undump")
Monitors and Eyestrain
Return of the Revenge of the 68881
SLIP?
Problems with Sun4 & OS4 & color displays
ASN.1 replacement for XDR?
tcsh on a Sun-4?
Looking for a Sun compatible phone dialer
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 10:25:09 CDT
From: Jim Knutson <knutson%sw.MCC.COM at mcc.com>
Subject: Re: Error messages not appearing in console window on client
I have had the same problem and it is definitely NOT due to multiple
console windows and removing the wrong one. I have only seen it happen
with a few st or si device errors usually closely associated with an error
saying that the scsi bus is continually busy. I was more frustrated by
the tape drive at the time so I can't remember exactly what the error
messages were or if they always came out splattered across the screen.
Jim Knutson
knutson at mcc.com
im4u!milano!knutson
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 10:48:14 PDT
From: levine at nsc.nsc.com
Subject: Re: Transferring files from Unix to IBM via tape
I have written a program which runs on an IBM mainframe which will read a
Unix 'tar' format tape and deblock the tape contents into IBM VM/CMS
files. The source code and appropriate execware (scripts for the
unfamiliar) are available for the asking. If there is sufficient
interest, I will submit the files to sun-spots for general access.
David LeVine 408-721-5317
Internet: levine at parns.nsc.com
Uucp: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,uunet}!nsc!parns!levine
Snail Mail: National Semiconductor Corporation
P. O. Box 58090, MS D3677
2900 Semiconductor Drive
Santa Clara, California 95052-8090
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 12:21:32 EDT
From: Bill Arbaugh <arbaugh at hqda-ai.arpa>
Subject: Re: Reading/Writing IBM tapes on a Sun
We have a PD program called ansitape that will read and write ASCII and
EBCDIC labelled tapes. It was written by David Hayes who use to work with
me here. Ansitape is availabe via anonymous ftp from: hqda-ai.arpa. The
program has been used for a few years here and has saved us a great deal
of time.
Bill Arbaugh Phone: (202) 694-6912
UUCP: *!uunet!cos!hqda-ai!arbaugh ARPA: arbaugh at hqda-ai.arpa
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 12:11:23 EDT
From: steve at umiacs.umd.edu (Steven D. Miller)
Subject: New Sun networking mailing list
This message is to announce the creation of a new mailing list devoted to
Sun networking issues. (For those of you at the December SUG Conference,
this is the list I was talking about then. My apologies for taking so
long to set things up.) The addresses associated with the list are:
Sun-Nets at brillig.umd.edu (submissions)
Sun-Nets-Request at brillig.umd.edu (additions/deletions/admin stuff)
Please address *all* requests for additions, deletions, and whatnot to
Sun-Nets-Request at brillig.umd.edu. Otherwise, everyone on the list will
see your junk mail, and many of them will be displeased...
So far as I'm concerned, this is an open, unmoderated forum for any
questions, issues, or concerns about Sun networking. Some sample topics
for discussion include:
NFS (note that there is a NFS list at, I think, nfs at bmc.com)
TCP/IP
RPC/XDR and RPC services
Sun networking problems
Sun networking bugs
Sun network configuration (i.e., how many diskless machines can
go on one Ethernet)
Mail
etc.
As stated above, the list is unmoderated. That could conceivably change,
though I might not have the time to serve as moderator. I will be keeping
archives, and I will make them available for anonymous FTP. (More on this
at some later date.) I do not at this time intend to bring up any sort of
archive server.
I hope this list can be useful for all concerned.
-Steve Miller
Networking Special Interest Group Coordinator, SUG
Sun-Nets-Request at brillig.umd.edu
Spoken: Steve Miller Domain: steve at mimsy.umd.edu UUCP: uunet!mimsy!steve
Phone: +1-301-454-1808 USPS: UMIACS, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 88 12:32:28 CDT
From: William LeFebvre <phil at Rice.edu>
Subject: 4.0 CAVEAT: /usr/include/sys/core.h (and "undump")
[ Sorry that I got so far behind in digests. ]
We just spent half of yesterday trying to get TeX and friends working on a
3/60 running 4.0. In the process we discovered that undump does not quite
work correctly when compiled under 4.0, even with the fixes posted here.
It would pretend to work, but the resulting executable would core dump
before doing anything.
In the process of tracking down the problem, I discovered that the
executable from a 3.5 system worked just fine (much to my surprise). This
got me suspicious. I resorted to comparing the ".s" files produced by a
"cc -S". Most of the changes were in the label names. So I decided to
assemble and link the 3.5 ".s". It *worked*! "AHA! A compiler bug."
Well, that was a hasty conclusion. Closer inspection of the ".s" diff
revealed a vastly different constant: the size of a struct core.
The problem is in the difference between the systems' <sys/core.h> files,
specifically the definition of a "struct core". Under 3.5, the last few
lines of the definition are:
#ifdef sun
struct fp_status c_fpstatus; /* External FPP state, if any */
struct fpa_regs c_fparegs; /* FPA registers, if any */
int c_pad[CORE_PADLEN]; /* see comment above */
#else sun
But under 4.0, those lines are replaced with:
#ifdef FPU
struct fpu c_fpu; /* external FPU state */
#endif
And where is FPU defined? Not in <sys/param.h> where you would expect it,
but in <machine/reg.h>. That's not too bad, except that the #define is
inside a #ifdef KERNEL! So, FPU was not defined when I compiled undump.
Now this strikes me as a little odd. Technically, I cannot get a reliable
definition of "struct core" from the include files unless "KERNEL" is
defined. I'm not sure I like that. I'm tempted to report this as a bug,
but I'm not really sure it is.
Anyway, thought you net-folks would appreciate the warning. I "fixed" the
problem with a kluge: I added -DFPU to the flags given to "cc".
William LeFebvre
Sun-Spots moderator
Department of Computer Science
Rice University
<phil at Rice.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 12:07:15 EDT
From: ric at rioja.cc.umich.edu (Richard Campbell)
Subject: Monitors and Eyestrain
In v6n140, Jeremy Isserlis writes:
> The only other problem [with monitors and eyestrain]is that the height
> of the screen above the desk, being raised some seven inches,
> is uncomfortable, particularly as one's paper work is not that high!
> I suppose the answer is to put the machine on a lower table?
I have noticed similar problems with the awkward placement of workstations
on my desktop. Not only does the height above the desktop seem to result
in a strain on the eyes and the neck, but it takes up a large volume of
space.
Also, after a recent visit to my eye doctor, I was told that due to
differences in visual acuity between my right and left eye, I should
really get bifocal glasses. While sound medical advice, I had to reject it
and purchase "reading only" glasses; trying to view a large screen through
the lower, small "reading" half of bifocals would have caused *extreme*
strain on my eyes and a good deal of muscle fatigue from the odd angle of
my head such viewing would cause.
I do, however, have a solution to the problem. It is a relatively simple
carpentry project to hack together a desktop that has a surface which
slopes away from you. Onto this surface you can place either the monitor
or even an entire workstation. The point is to place the surface of the
monitor at a more natural and convenient angle for reading. (You must, of
course, be careful of the monitor's center-of-gravity and make sure that
it won't tip over.) The first release of this desk quickly confirmed that
my posture was better and typing was easier due to the keyboard appearing
closer to the screen images. It was also more conveniant for me to place
papers and manuals nearer the screen for reference. And visitors to my
desk could much more easily read the screen while standing up. The only
problems were that the screen reflected overhead flourescent lighting
(which should be turned off anyway) and that if the workstation itself is
placed on the sloping desktop it is much harder to manipulate the cables
in the rear (the next revision will put only the monitor on the slope and
place the workstation on the floor).
+
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
---------+ / \
/ keyboard| / \
+-------------+ / \
| | \ +
+-------------+/\ \ /
| |\/ \ \ /
| | \ \ \ /
| | \ \ / \ /
| | \ \ / / \ /
| | \ \ / \ /
| | \ \ \ /
| | \ \ ^
| | \ \
| | \ \
| | \ \
| | \/
| | \+-+
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
+-+----------------------------------+-+
Richard Campbell
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 12:43:34 EDT
From: valdis at sun.mcs.clarkson.edu
Subject: Return of the Revenge of the 68881
OK, Ok already.. Thanks for all the mail concerning the -f68881 flag. It
didn't take me long to figure out that you need the -f68881 flag on the
LINK step as well. I finally ended up bagging the idea, and used -fswitch
instead - that's still faster than -fsoft, and doesn't require a flag
EVERY TIME you link against the library. (Too bad 'csh' doesn't provide a
facility similar to 'sh's "/etc/profile" where I could park a SETENV (and
no, I don't need a patch - we don't have source :-( ))
The only part of the whole thing that threw me for a loop is that a casual
reading of the Floating Point Programmer's Guide seems to indicate that if
you only specify one floating-point option, that it can figure out which
to use.
I guess there's a world of difference between getting a diagnostic if two
are used, and it being able to figure it out for just one....
Valdis Kletnieks
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 02:55:45 EDT
From: sunvice!cordis!gls at sun.com (Gls Gary_Schaps_2157)
Subject: SLIP?
I would appreciate any leads to a public domain version of SLIP.
Gary L. Schaps Voice: (305) 551-2157 / 800-327-2490 ext. 2157
Cordis Corporation
P.O. Box 025700 ML7A E-mail: sun!sunvice!cordis!gschaps
Miami, FL 33102-5700 gatech!uflorida!novavax!cordis!gschaps
[[ Try the sun-spots archives! Under "sun-source" there is a shar file
called "slip.shar". 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, send a mail message containing the word "help" to the
address "archive-server at rice.edu". --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: 15 Jul 88 09:19 PDT
From: Stanley's Tool Works <Lanning.pa at xerox.com>
Subject: Problems with Sun4 & OS4 & color displays
I've recently "upgraded" my Sun4 w color display to OS4. I use quotes
because I'm not sure this is an improvement. The first thing I noticed is
the nice new alert windows in Sunview. Only problem is that the cursor is
invisible when the alert window pops up. Well, not quite -- it (the
cursor) actually punchs a hole in the alert window, letting you see the
window below it (the alert window), or just white if there's nothing under
it. Makes it kind of hard to figure out where you're pointing.
The other problem is with X: I recompiled Xv11 from scratch, and it's
given me nothing but grief. Most tools die immediatly; xterm works unless
I try to add a scroll bar. I'm no C hacker, and I really don't want to
try to debug this myself.
At least GnuEmacs works.
Does any of this sound familiar? More to the point, what can I do to fix it?
---smL
[[ Hmmm....On a black and white monitor (a 3/60), the alert window works
"normally". That is, the cursor stays black. I won't say that it works
"correctly" because I don't like the fact that it is instantly transported
to the default button and then instantly transported back to its original
position when I click. I don't like it bouncing around like that. --wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 09:37:27 EDT
From: wang!ellison at decvax.dec.com
Subject: ASN.1 replacement for XDR?
I am looking for a public domain implementation of ASN.1 which can replace
the XDR and RPCGEN pieces of RPC.
Can anyone help?
Mark Ellison
Wang Labs 014-590 ..!decvax!wang!ellison
One Industrial Av (617) 967-2583
Lowell, MA 01851
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 11:55:54 edt
From: trevor at grasp.cis.upenn.edu (Trevor Darrell)
Subject: tcsh on a Sun-4?
Has anyone had any sucess bringing up tcsh under SunOS 4.0 on a Sun-4? I
have used the 4.3 tcsh diffs distributed recently on comp.sources.unix,
applying them to BSD 4.3 csh source. No Luck.
Are the SunOs 4.0 csh sources different then the BSD 4.3 source?
Anyone have any tips about tcsh and SunOS 4.0?
--trevor
trevor at grasp.cis.upenn.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 88 10:22:05 PDT
From: (Lorenzo Aguilar) <aguilar at tsca.istc.sri.com>
Subject: Looking for a Sun compatible phone dialer
I will appreciate information about vendors offering Sun (specifically
3/50) compatible phone dialers. I want a dialer that converts an ASCII
string (a phone number) into dialing tones that can be fed into a phone
via an standard modular jack (do not want the kind that produces tone
sounds). Probably the dialer will take input from a serial port.
If I find such a thing, I will write a little problem that will let me
type a name on my keyboard, lookup the corresponding phone number in a
file and then pass it to the dialer.
Thanks
Lorenzo Aguilar
SRI
aguilar at tsca.istc.sri.com
415-859-4118
------------------------------
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