Sun-Spots Digest, v7n13
William LeFebvre
Sun-Spots-Request at Rice.edu
Tue Nov 15 07:03:48 AEST 1988
SUN-SPOTS DIGEST Sunday, 13 November 1988 Volume 7 : Issue 13
Today's Topics:
Re: SUN 386i dos windows problem, and fortran
Re: single user while dumping
Re: Memory for a Sun 3/50
Re: helios memory for SUN-3/50
Re: Postscript Interpreter (2)
Patch to fstat.c
sgi <-> sun 1/4" tape transfers
Appendix Examples from "Writing Device Drivers"
Sun Education January - June 1989 Schedule
Lurnix announces two Sun related classes
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 14:35:29 EST
From: shenkin at cubsun.bio.columbia.edu (Peter Shenkin)
Subject: Re: SUN 386i dos windows problem, and fortran
Reference: v7n2
>Does anybody know what is the status of SUN fortran for the 386i (as well
>as the status of decnet) ?
I just got a 386i with Sun Fortran. My number-crunching programs run just
twice as fast (actual measurements) on it as on a Sun 3-180 also running
SunOS 4.0. On the latter machine, there was no improvement over f77
running under SunOS 3.4. On the Sun 3, the times were VAX 11/780-like.
Peter S. Shenkin, Department of Chemistry, Barnard College, Columbia University
New York, NY 10027 NEW TEL !!: (212) 854-1418 (work); (212) 829-5363 (home)
shenkin at cubsun.bio.columbia.edu shenkin%cubsun.bio.columbia.edu at cuvmb.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 88 10:46:12 GMT
From: mcvax!ritd.co.uk!mr at uunet.uu.net
Subject: Re: single user while dumping
albert at mssun7.msi.cornell.edu (Jay Albert) asks whether it is safe to make
level 0 (or any for that matter any other) dumps whilst multi-user. I am
no expert in this area, other than 4 years practice.
We *always* perform large dumps on live servers. A level 0 dump takes us
1-2 working days; no way am I taking the net off-line 2 days a month (plus
1 day a week for level 0's). We have *never* had any problem restoring
files. I believe that in theory active files (i.e. being written to whilst
being dumped) may be munged. We don't care, as such files are generally
not important to us.
The manual is "correct" in that Sun cannot recommend a practice that could
theoretically result in (partially) defective dump sets. After many
hundreds of dumps, I conclude that we haven't just been running on luck
and the probability of problem is acceptably small.
When I *know* that I might have to restore a disk (e.g. moving a server
which might get damaged) then I become paranoid and dump single user.
Martin Reed, Racal Imaging Systems Ltd
uucp: mr at ritd.co.uk,uunet!ukc!ritd!mr,sunuk!brains!mr
Global String: +44 252 622144
Paper: 309 Fleet Road, Fleet, Hants, England, GU13 8BU
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 88 11:29:20 +0100
From: Jeremy Cook <mcvax!heops.cmi.no!jeremy at uunet.uu.net>
Subject: Re: Memory for a Sun 3/50
I would like to know whether Sun gives its blessing on expansion memory
for 3/50s. Most importanly would Sun refuse to service a machine if such a
memory card was installed?
-- Jeremy Cook
Chr. Michelsen Institite, Bergen, Norway
jeremy at kheops.cmi.no
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 09:21:35 CST
From: kusalik%SKLPL.USask.CA at cornellc.ccs.cornell.edu
Subject: Re: helios memory for SUN-3/50
>Each card is a daughter board that sits on top of the 3/50 mother board.
>The connecting cable must be SOLDERED (!) to the mother board.
What's effect will this have on SUN maintenance of that 3/50?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, Nov 88 12:02:14 EST
From: John.Myers at pie8.pie.cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Re: Postscript Interpreter (1)
(I would like to remind the moderator that ghostscript is not in the
public domain.) [[ Yes, okay, it's Gnu-ware. So shoot me. --wnl ]]
Crispin Goswell wrote a PostScript interpreter which is freely
distributable (though not public domain) It is available from the various
comp.sources.unix archives. The ones I know of are:
j.cc.purdue.edu, news/comp/sources/unix/volume12, v12i050.Z through v12i067.Z
uunet.uu.net, comp.sources.unix/volume12/postscript, part01.Z through part18.Z
There are a number of bug fixes and improvements available via anonymous
ftp to z.andrew.cmu.edu (128.2.30.8) in the subdirectory psdiffs. The
patches should be applied to an unpacked virgin distribution. READ THE
INSTRUCTIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH FILE BEFORE APPLYING THEM WITH
PATCH.
_.John G. Myers Internet: John.Myers at cs.cmu.edu
LoseNet: ...!seismo!inhp4!wiscvm.wisc.edu!give!up
[[ Ted Nolan sent me the README from the package. Here it is:
This is a virtually complete implementation of PostScript. Just type make
and it should produce a version for suns. Since the only complete driver
is for suns and since some driver writing will be necessary on any other
machine, I have not packaged everything up in an idiot-proof box. I am
not aware of any Gotchas in building this source. The X driver used to
work on X10 - It will need work for X11. The pixrect driver is very new,
and should be regarded as didactic, as it scribbles straight onto the
display. Persuading suntools to look after the bits would have taken too
long.
Writing your own driver involves merely hacking pixrect.c until it will
drive your display. There are only 11 routines to write, and they're all
quite short....
--wnl ]]
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 88 02:07:50 EST
From: Mark Moraes <moraes at csri.toronto.edu>
Subject: Re: Postscript Interpreter (2)
In Sun-Spots Digest, v7n3, you ask:
> Does anyone know if there is a public domain Postscript Interpreter
> running on SUN with full source?
>
> [[ There's "ghostscript" from the gnu project. Sorry, I don't know any
> more about it. --wnl ]]
Ghostscript doesn't run too well on our Suns. It dumped core on Sun4s, and
sort of worked on Sun3s, dumping core after a while. It only runs
reasonably for us on uVaxen. Apparently, it only runs well on IBM-PCs with
EGA. But it is still young...
An alternative is the PostScript interpreter posted by Crispin Goswell to
comp.sources.unix a while back - check your nearest archive site. You can
also get it from expo.lcs.mit.edu by anonymous ftp - See
oldcontrib/xps.tar.Z. That works somewhat better on Suns. Compile it with
-Dfloat=double if you want it to work on Sun4s. It has drivers for the X
Windows system (a fairly good X11 driver, a not-very-complete X10 driver)
and bare pixrect. It saves some paper for debugging PostScript code, and
is interactive, so you can do fun things like print your stack without
needing to go look in obscure log files for the output.
Neither of these will preview the output from dvi2ps, or psroff, and both
are very slow. (Not that we really want them to - the dvi/ditroff
previewers are much better, and faster) xps has a slightly better
collection of fonts - it uses the Hershey fonts for imaging. Still, it is
a far cry from a proper PostScript interpreter.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 15:12:40 GMT
From: Nick Holloway <alfie%CS.WARWICK.AC.UK at cunyvm.cuny.edu>
Subject: Patch to fstat.c
I hope this subject has not been mentioned before, which is possible
considering age of fstat.
I recently pulled fstat.c out of the rice archives, and compiled it up. I
did, however, find a couple of problems, but have managed to sort them out
for my needs. I did try to send mail to the author, but it didn't make it,
so I am sending the patches here, to sun-spots.
The first problem was the test for whether the filesystem was nfs didn't
work for me. The test was that the major part of device number was 0xFF.
For me it is 0x82. Can anybody supply a better test? It is now possible to
specify major device number to look for with -DNFS_DEV=0x82 (or whatever).
(Maybe the change is a side effect of 4.0?)
I also changed the printing of the permissions. If a file has mode 02700
(g+s,u+rwx), then it should be shown as rwx--S---, but fstat used to show
it as rwx------. (see manual entry for ls). From the entry for ls, I would
expect mode 01000 to be shown as --------T, and mode 01001 as --------t,
and this is the way I have modified fstat to work. However, ls in practice
seems to fail.
The final change I made was to teach it about fifo pipes. try
$ mknod fred p; fstat fred
Bye for now,
Nick Holloway
JANET : alfie at uk.ac.warwick.cs 16 Queens Rd
UUCP : ..!mcvax!ukc!warwick!alfie Hertford
BITNET: alfie%uk.ac.warwick.cs at ukacrl Herts
ARPA : alfie%cs.warwick.ac.uk at cunyvm.cuny.edu England
Here are the diffs for fstat (in a shar of course :-).
-----------------------C U T H E R E-------------------------------
#! /bin/sh
# This is a shell archive, meaning:
# 1. Remove everything above the #! /bin/sh line.
# 2. Save the resulting text in a file.
# 3. Execute the file with /bin/sh (not csh) to create the files:
# fstat.c.diff
# This archive created: Thu Nov 3 15:01:09 1988
export PATH; PATH=/bin:$PATH
if test -f 'fstat.c.diff'
then
echo shar: will not over-write existing file "'fstat.c.diff'"
else
cat << \SHAR_EOF > 'fstat.c.diff'
*** fstat.c Thu Nov 3 10:59:59 1988
--- fstat.c.old Thu Nov 3 15:01:38 1988
***************
*** 36,49 ****
** Daniel Trinkle - really want to use major(st_dev), this seems
** to be 0xff on all systems we have. minor(st_dev) is NFS type
** mntent index.
- **
- ** Modified - November 3, 1988
- ** Nicholas Holloway - found that major device may vary - made it
- ** possible to specify as -DNFS_DEV=?? [ I found it to be 0x82 --
- ** really need a 'isnfs(major(pst->st_dev))' macro/fn ].
- ** - Also added "fifo pipe" to mpfmtsb[].
- ** - Modified printing of mode to show set[ug]id bits correctly.
- ** - To reverse these changes compile with -DORIG
******/
#include <stdio.h>
--- 36,41 ----
***************
*** 59,69 ****
/* file type messages */
char *mpfmtsb[] = $
- #ifdef ORIG
"unknown",
- #else ORIG
- "fifo pipe",
- #endif ORIG
"character special",
"directory",
"block special",
--- 51,57 ----
***************
*** 75,89 ****
#define FMTTOSB(fmt) mpfmtsb[(fmt) >> 13] /* BEWARE hwc! */
#define CCHMAX 128
#ifdef NFS
- #ifdef ORIG
#define NFS_DEV 0xFF /* may be bogus, but it works for Mt. Xinu, Sun and
Sequent */
- #else ORIG
- #ifndef NFS_DEV
- #define NFS_DEV 0xFF /* may be bogus, but it works for Mt. Xinu, Sun and
- Sequent */
- #endif !NFS_DEV
- #endif ORIG
#endif NFS
time_t tNow;
--- 63,70 ----
***************
*** 159,165 ****
pue = getpwuid((int)pst->st_uid);
pge = getgrgid((int)pst->st_gid);
printf("Mode: %c%c%c%c%c%c%c%c%c %9s(%3d) %9s(%3d)\n",
- #ifdef ORIG
mode & 0400 ? 'r' : '-', mode & 0200 ? 'w' : '-',
mode & 0100 ? (mode & S_ISUID ? 's' : 'x') : '-',
mode & 0040 ? 'r' : '-', mode & 0020 ? 'w' : '-',
--- 140,145 ----
***************
*** 166,185 ****
mode & 0010 ? (mode & S_ISGID ? 's' : 'x') : '-',
mode & 0004 ? 'r' : '-', mode & 0002 ? 'w' : '-',
mode & 0001 ? (mode & S_ISVTX ? 't' : 'x') : '-',
- #else ORIG
- mode & S_IREAD ? 'r' : '-', /* user */
- mode & S_IWRITE ? 'w' : '-',
- mode & S_IEXEC ? mode & S_ISUID ? 's' : 'x'
- : mode & S_ISUID ? 'S' : '-',
- mode & S_IREAD >> 3 ? 'r' : '-', /* group */
- mode & S_IWRITE >> 3 ? 'w' : '-',
- mode & S_IEXEC >> 3 ? mode & S_ISGID ? 's' : 'x'
- : mode & S_ISGID ? 'S' : '-',
- mode & S_IREAD >> 6 ? 'r' : '-', /* other */
- mode & S_IWRITE >> 6 ? 'w' : '-',
- mode & S_IEXEC >> 6 ? mode & S_ISVTX ? 't' : 'x'
- : mode & S_ISVTX ? 'T' : '-',
- #endif ORIG
pue ? pue->pw_name : "<unknown>", pst->st_uid,
pge ? pge->gr_name : "<unknown>", pst->st_gid);
--- 146,151 ----
SHAR_EOF
fi # end of overwriting check
# End of shell archive
exit 0
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 14:43:40 EST
From: kc at rna.rockefeller.edu (Kaare Christian)
Subject Problematic 3/50
This is just a brief note describing a long-term problem that I've had
with a 3/50, and the solution. Over the past 18 months I have had repeated
problems with one of our 3/50s. It has failed in numerous ways, and at
various times the monitor has been replaced (3x or 4x), the main board (2x
or 3x), and the power supply (2x). All "repairs" were by Sun maint.
Recently it failed again, so I decided to play around. I discovered that
the main (only) board fit very tight, and that when in the machine its
center was bowed down. I surmised that it was touching the bottom of the
chassis, inserted some cardboard to act as an insulator, and since then I
haven't had a problem.
Kaare Christian
kc at rna.rockefeller.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 09:53:26 PST
From: Al Kossow <aek at apple.com>
Subject: sgi <-> sun 1/4" tape transfers
SGI tapes appear to be byte-swapped. Just do a "dd" with conv=swab on the
input
------------------------------
Date: 12 Sep 88 22:37:15 GMT
From: tekbspa!tss!joe at uunet.uu.net (Joe Angelo)
Subject: Appendix Examples from "Writing Device Drivers"
We made a service call requesting the electronic copy of the
appendix/examples in Sun's "Writing Device Drivers" section of the SUNOS
3.X documentation distribution.
The following shar file is what Sun mailed me. Please save in the
comp.sys.sun archive *only* if you feel that Sun won't get upset...
[[ The shar file have been placed in the archives under "sun-source" as
"drivers.sun.shar". It is 32950 bytes long. 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 ]]
Thanx much,
& Thank Sun,
Joe Angelo -- Senior Systems Engineer/Systems Manager
at Teknekron Software Systems, Palo Alto 415-325-1025
**Temporarily in Boston 617-570-6953,570-2614
joe at tss.com - uunet!tekbspa!joe - tekbspa!joe at uunet.uu.net
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 88 17:58:20 PST
From: susan at sun.com (Susan Morin)
Subject: Sun Education January - June 1989 Schedule
The course catalog and schedule for January through June 1989 has been
completed and is being printed. Hard copy will be mailed to all customers
and Sun sales offices within the next 6 weeks.
We do have the ASCII version of the catalog available now. To assist you
in scheduling your training for the next six months, we can e-mail you the
online version immediately. If you would like to receive a copy, please
send your request to customer-training at sun or sun\!customer-training.
Here's what's new:
-Expanded Calif. and Mass. training facilities
-Clearer, easier to use course descriptions
-Video-based training courses
-Improved programmer's curriculum
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Sun Educational
Services looks forward to continuing to serve you in 1989!
Thank you.
Susan Morin
Course Development Manager
Educational Services
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(408) 276-3150
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 88 17:42:52 PST
From: shipley%WEB.Berkeley.EDU at lilac.berkeley.edu
Subject: Lurnix announces two Sun related classes
Lurnix, the Unix education company, announces two new classes: Sun
Installation and Sun System Administration. Both classes are offered
on-customer-site only, and can be taken together or separately.
The Sun Installation class lasts 2 or more days, depending upon the
number of workstations, students, and software packages involved. The
client should provide the workstations to be installed; they should be
unpacked but need not be connected or unconfigured. The course teaches up
to 6 students how to install a Sun workstation. Installation of the
workstation on a local area network is included if applicable.
Significantly, at the conclusion of this course, the customer will have up
to 6 Sun workstations fully installed and running. Student materials for
up to six students are provided by Lurnix, the same company that created
"Unix for People".
The Sun System Administration course lasts three days and is designed to
be taken in conjunction with the Sun Installation course or by itself. It
is limited to 10 students and teaches the students how to back-up,
maintain and restore the file system, add and remove users and
peripherals, use system administration utilities, including NFS and Yellow
Pages, and troubleshoot problems.
Lurnix is a firm based in Berkeley, California that has been providing
education and training for the Unix marketplace for the last five years.
It was founded by the same people that wrote "Unix for People." Lurnix
offers a wide spectrum of courses in both their Berkeley training center
and on-site for larger customers. Other services they offer include
curriculum and course design as well as documentation and project
management.
For more information please call Scott Anderson, Director of Marketing, at
800-433-9337.
email:
scott at lurnix.lurnix.com
uunet!lurnix!scott
lurnix!scott at uunet.uu.net
------------------------------
End of SUN-Spots Digest
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