uSystem Version 4.3.3

[Peter A. Buhr]

Bug Fix ... I would like to announce, to any interested parties, the
availability of Version 4.3.3 of the uSystem (pronounced micro-system), a
library of C routines that provide light-weight concurrency on
uniprocessor and multiprocessor computers running the UNIX operating
system.

Version 4.3.3 has a bug fix from version 4.3.2, which was made available
on Mar 13, 1991. We should probably be releasing a diff or patch with the
changes but currently we are not set up to do this. We apologize for
clogging up the internet with large ftps.


Fix:

1. We had made major changes to the stream and file I/O routines in
Version 4.3.2 and we just found a nasty bug in the socket code: sockets
were blocking prematurely preventing concurrency. Since the next release
of the uSystem will be in late summer, we wanted to get this fix out now.

Version 4.3.3 of the uSystem can be obtained by anonymous ftp from the
following location:

   watmsg.waterloo.edu (129.97.129.9)   pub/uSystem/uSystem.tar.Z

The distribution file is in compressed tar format. Execute the following
command to unpack the source:

   % zcat uSystem.tar.Z | tar -xf -

The README file contains all the installation instructions. Good luck and
happy concurrency.

A postscript version of the uSystem manual is available in the same ftp
directory as the uSystem, called uSystem.ps.  It contains a copy of the
uSystem documentation that has been formatted for 8.5x11 paper using LaTeX
and then converted to postscript.  This has been made available because
some people have had problems LaTeXing the documentation that comes with
the uSystem distribution. Normally, it is unnecessary to retrieve this
file.

The uSystem runs on the following processors: M68000 series, NS32000
series, VAX, MIPS, Intel 386, Sparc, and the following UNIX operating
systems:

- generic BSD 4.{2,3}
- UNIX System V that has BSD system calls "setitimer" and a "sigcontext"
  passed to signal handlers which contains the location of the interrupted
  program
- Apollo SR10 BSD
- Sun OS 4.0
- Tahoe BSD 4.3
- Ultrix 3.0/4.0
- DYNIX
- Umax 4.3
- IRIX 3.3

The uSystem requires at least GNU C 1.37.1. For the Encore and Sequent
Balance, GNU C version 1.37.1 must be patched with the supplied patches.
The uSystem will NOT compile using other compilers. (Don't even think
about it!)

There is an Software-Practice and Experience paper about version 4.1 of
the uSystem in the Sept 1990 issue.

The uSystem is being used to build a highly concurrent post-relational
database here at Waterloo. It is also being used for teaching purposes here
and at:

University of Sydney, Australia, 
	contact Michael Wise, michaelw at cs.su.oz.au

Algemene Hogeschool Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
	contact Andre v.d. Vlies, andre at maestro.htsa.aha.nl