The version of Cumulus included on this CD-ROM was designed to showcase the performance advantages of the PowerPC. It is rewritten to directly address the PowerPC processors while providing all the features available in Cumulus for 680xx processors.
Note that this version of Cumulus is a demo version with a few limitations. For details both on the general operation of the program and the limitations of this demo, see the general Read Me file also included on this CD-ROM.
Read below for special notes about Cumulus for Power Macintosh.
The demo version of Cumulus you find on the CD-ROM is provided as a so-called “fat binary”. This simply means that the program file and all file filters contain code to run in the respective native modes of the PowerPC processors as well as the Motorola 680xx processors. In effect, the file contains the code twice. The operating system automatically executes the version appropriate to the Macintosh you are using Cumulus on.
While this increases the file size somewhat, it offers enhanced compatibility: One version of Cumulus will take full advantage of the processing power of any Macintosh, no matter what its processor.
To allow you to take full advantage of the performance enhancements possible through PowerPC processors, we have rewritten not only Cumulus and Cumulus•Client but also all file filters as well. Only the adapters and FreeHand Reader—all of which aren’t processor-intensive anyway—are still emulated in this version. (Note that some third-party filters may not have been rewritten yet, as well.)
This means that not only a few core functions but the entire operation of Cumulus is speeded up. The exceptional performance of the PowerPC processor is especially notable in these areas:
Note that the enhanced speed of the PowerPC processor makes it even more critical to allocate enough memory to Cumulus. If the application does not have enough memory, it will automatically store data temporarily on the hard disk. While this allows you to open larger databases than would otherwise be possible, it largely negates any processor performance advantage. You, therefore, should be careful to allocate Cumulus enough memory.
(To find out if there is enough memory for a particular database, open it and switch to the administration view. The “Memory Available” shown should always exceed the “Required” amount and, ideally, the “Recommended” amount as well. If it doesn’t, try to enlarge Cumulus’ memory partition.)
The increased performance of Cumulus on Power Macintosh also moves the boundaries of the application: Speedier searches and sorts mean that larger databases can be created than may be practical on slower Macintosh. And because clients mainly catalog, search and sort, more clients can also be accomodated while preserving acceptable response times.
You do not like a new technology to introduce compatiblity issues, which is why Apple provides System 7 with a near-perfect 68000 emulation on the Power Macintosh. By the same token, Canto has made Cumulus 1.2 for Power Macintosh completely compatible and interoperable with Cumulus 1.2 for 680xx processors.
The data format of both versions is, of course, completely identical so that you can freely exchange databases between them. You can also mix and match clients and servers: Cumulus•Client for 680xx is compatible with Cumulus (server) for Power Macintosh and vice versa. Even better: Filters and adapters are also compatible so that you can use any filter or adapter for Cumulus 1.2 with any other Cumulus 1.2, no matter whether it was written for Motorola 680xx or PowerPC processors.
In short, you can mix files from the Cumulus for Power Macintosh package and from the Cumulus for 680xx any which way you please—it’ll always work, only faster in some combinations than in others.
If you want further information or would like to order your copy of Cumulus, do not hesitate to contact us or one of our distributors:
