home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
- Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!news.univie.ac.at!hp4at!mcsun!sunic!seunet!pop!bjst
- From: bjst@sth.frontec.se (Bjorn Stenberg)
- Subject: Re: New hardware reference guide?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov23.132227.8784@sth.frontec.se>
- Nntp-Posting-Host: pop.sth.frontec.se
- Organization: IDK/Frontec - System Design Group
- References: <92325.151947K3023E2@ALIJKU11.BITNET>
- Date: 23 Nov 92 13:22:27 GMT
- Lines: 46
-
- <K3023E2@ALIJKU11.BITNET> writes:
- > People, have you ever understood the difference between a demo/game and an
- > application program???
- [...]
- > Demos are NOT meant to be compatible ||||
-
- You don't get it, do you?
-
- a) The world couldn't care *LESS* if your new great vector demo doesn't work on
- the full range of Amigas.
-
- b) A hardware specification is not only used by demo programmers. Lots of
- others do so too in order to mess with the hardware directly. Many without
- actually needing to.
-
- c) This results in lots and lots of (real) programs that don't work as they're
- supposed to when they're run on different machine configurations.
-
- d) The fact (and the mere rumour/reputation) that programs are having trouble
- running on different machines is a chiller for Amiga sales.
-
- e) Naturally, CBM wants to keep Amiga sales up.
-
- f) One good way to keep up Amiga sales is to face d) and try to make programs
- compatible with future machines.
-
- g) To make programs compatible with future machines, one has to face b) and c)
- and realize that a good solution to those is to -not- release hardware
- specs.
-
- h) Live with it.
-
- > I need just one reason WHY a hardware reference affects applicative programs
- > to be coded not compatible ?
-
- CBM has done research on the matter. LOTS of research. They found that the
- single most common reason for programs to crash on new versions of the OS or
- new machines is that they go directly on the hardware.
-
- In my eyes, that's a pretty good reason not to release specs on it.
-
- -- Bjorn
-
- /// Bjorn Stenberg, Stockholm, Sweden bjst@sth.frontec.se
- /// main() { printf(&unix["\021%six\012\0"],(unix)["have"]+"fun"-0x60);}
- \\\ /// "- Your documentation no longer confuses me, old version!"
-