Hi all,
OK, I've found why prowess didn't boot correctly in SMSQmulator.
And I have a question for those using SMSQmulator.
First things first. As Marcel said, it was something to do with the
device drivers, but not as I expected:
Actually, the prowess laoder is pretty sneaky.
Say the startup files and prowess files are on QXL1_, and you have used
the QXL_USE command to set the device name to "WIN".
So to all intents and purposes the files are on win1_, where everybody
should find them. Everybody, that is, except the prowess loader.
What the prowess loader does is the following : it opens the startup
file from where it is indicated in its command line (eg. ex
win1_proweess_prg_loader;"win1_prowess_startup". So far so good.
Once that file is open, the loader then uses that for a special trap#3
call (extended info, $4f) to get the name of the device this file is on.
Now the QXL driver will always return "QXL" as its device name, whatever
be "USE" name you gave it. I think this is true for all devices in
SMSQ/E. Whatever the "USE" name, this trap will always show the real
name of the device (driver).
The loader then uses that real name ('QXL' here) to try to access the
files. Of course it doesn't find them - when you have used the "QXL_USE"
option, the device isn't available under the real name anymore, just
like all oter SMSQ/E devices with a "USE" keyword..
That's why the loader fails to load proforma and prowess...
Ain't computing fun?
And now the question : the very easy way around this is to call the QXL
device QXL no longer, but just WIN right away.
I didn't do that at first for testing purposes and now the name QXL has
stuck.
Is there anybody who'd object to the device being called WIN right away?
Wolfgang
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