Are Amiga formatted ZIP disks / Zip drives supported by Morp
  • MorphOS Developer
    Henes
    Posts: 507 from 2003/6/14
    IIRC H&P's OS3.9 didn't even exist when MorphOS was created. And, to be polite, let's say it's generally considered as a bunch of unstable patches. Even if, with time, some of its interesting API might have be implemented in MorphOS when it made sense.
    What I meant is MorphOS does not always try to be compatible with 3.9's "extensions".

    Maybe your mountlist uses one of them which isn't supported by MorphOS' mount command.
    Or maybe there is some other bug/error yet to find...

    In any case, what I suggest is you upload your not-working moutlist file somewhere. Unmodified.
    Because posting it on MZ forum has modified it, changed line feed and so on. So other people could reproduce your issue and maybe somebody will understand what's happening. Then we can decide if the mountfile is broken, c:mount is buggy, c:mount doesn't implement something... etc

    And, in my understanding so far, this is in no way related to ZIP support working or not (since it works in the end...). More some c:mount issue which could arise with a completly different device too.


    PS: and, sorry, .info icon files work "the same as" in AmigaOS :) Or nothing would work at all. As I understand, the only difference you noticed if the way the information windows create new icons or not... Which would just be a Workbench (3.9 only?) VS Ambient different (and yes, you could be right on what makes more sense or not).
    One of the "annoying" points in the original Workbench (and which was copied into Ambient and Magellan too) is the information windows access/changes both the file attributes (like the RWED protection bits) and the associated .info icon file. i.e. one GUI let you access two different files depending on which GUI elements you touch... Which can be considered confusing from a certain point of view... And which this thread tends to confirm for me :-)
  • »08.11.13 - 08:51
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12150 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > any file when you show the "information" window for it, has a menu to change the
    > file "type" from/to - tool or project - that is what I meant

    Yes, it would probably be better if handling of virtual icons (i.e. no real *.info files) was changed to either display the icon type (again: not "file type") without any option to change it, or leave it changeable *and* have MorphOS create an icon file of the selected type when saved.

    > you are wrong about the similarity with Amiga OS and icons, [...] because even
    > if the file does not have an icon when you are altering the file from/to it being a
    > tool/project/drawer/trashcan because as you save the details Amiga OS3.9
    > CREATES the icon.info from the default icon.info file

    I stand corrected then and should have written "AmigaOS 3.1" (which MorphOS is based on) instead of just "AmigaOS".

    > I have not really used a 3rd party 'mount' command as it was the AMIGA OS3.9

    The AmigaOS 'mount' command does not come with MorphOS nor was it written by you, which makes it a 3rd party component for MorphOS according to the widely accepted definition of the term.

    > the previous/original incarnation of what MorphOS has become

    MorphOS is explicitly based on AmigaOS 3.1, not 3.9, but I don't know what the changes are between the 'mount' commands of 3.1 and 3.9, if any. It might prove enlightening to verify with the AmigaOS 3.1 'mount' command with the same mountlist(s) to see whether it resembles the 'mount' command of MorphOS or the one of AmigaOS 3.9.
  • »08.11.13 - 10:58
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    NewSense
    Posts: 1513 from 2012/11/10
    From: Manchester, UK/GB
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    IIRC H&P's OS3.9 didn't even exist when MorphOS was created. And, to be polite, let's say it's generally considered as a bunch of unstable patches. Even if, with time, some of its interesting API might have be implemented in MorphOS when it made sense.
    What I meant is MorphOS does not always try to be compatible with 3.9's "extensions".

    I think your comments that Amiga OS 3.9 is "a bunch of unstable patches" is an unfair comment on the whole, and one that is basically unjustified. As the system is, though it is now past its 'sell-by-date', generally stable, and very responsive, and in some regards - like the icon.info handling a better way of handling icons in the regard I have described already than that offered by MorphOS, which is a much more modern interpretation of WB3.1, which I actually didn't know it was/is.
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    Maybe your mountlist uses one of them which isn't supported by MorphOS' mount command.
    Or maybe there is some other bug/error yet to find...

    I know there was bad blood between some developers/users of the 2 OS's, but please, let's lay that corpse to rest, and move on.

    I am not convinced that there is a bug in the Amiga OS 3.9 mountlist icon, or the 68k mount command, but just some incompatibility between the 2 OS's, which I cannot understand.

    As far as I am aware, a mountlist is just a text file in reality that is executed to get the system to 'show' the device on the 'desktop', and I cannot see that it could be classed as a 'buggy' extension as I believe 3.1 and 3.9 mountlist icons work in the same way - unless someone can convince me otherwise.
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    In any case, what I suggest is you upload your not-working moutlist file somewhere. Unmodified.

    Where do I upload it? If necessary - please read my next comment first of all.
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    Because posting it on MZ forum has modified it, changed line feed and so on. So other people could reproduce your issue and maybe somebody will understand what's happening. Then we can decide if the mountfile is broken, c:mount is buggy, c:mount doesn't implement something... etc

    I can assure you that if you copy just the text I have imported to this thread then that is all that was in the mountlist other than the tooltypes, which I have mentioned already, but if this is not to be trusted then all you would need to do is get a mountlist icon from an Amiga DOSdriver for a ZIP drive off the Amiga OS3.9 or maybe even the OS 3.5 CDs as that is all I did. Have you not got access to these files?
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    And, in my understanding so far, this is in no way related to ZIP support working or not (since it works in the end...). More some c:mount issue which could arise with a completly different device too.


    PS: and, sorry, .info icon files work "the same as" in AmigaOS :) Or nothing would work at all. As I understand, the only difference you noticed if the way the information windows create new icons or not... Which would just be a Workbench (3.9 only?) VS Ambient different (and yes, you could be right on what makes more sense or not).

    So, are we likely to see a modification to the way the default non-.info files are handled by MorphOS? So they work more harmoniously in the system, as they do in Amiga OS3.9.
    Quote:

    Henes wrote:
    One of the "annoying" points in the original Workbench (and which was copied into Ambient and Magellan too) is the information windows access/changes both the file attributes (like the RWED protection bits) and the associated .info icon file. i.e. one GUI let you access two different files depending on which GUI elements you touch... Which can be considered confusing from a certain point of view... And which this thread tends to confirm for me :-)

    Do you mean it alters the MD5 checksum as well, or creation date, etc. or something else I haven't quite understood?
    MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
  • »09.11.13 - 01:02
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    NewSense
    Posts: 1513 from 2012/11/10
    From: Manchester, UK/GB
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > any file when you show the "information" window for it, has a menu to change the
    > file "type" from/to - tool or project - that is what I meant

    Yes, it would probably be better if handling of virtual icons (i.e. no real *.info files) was changed to either display the icon type (again: not "file type") without any option to change it, or leave it changeable *and* have MorphOS create an icon file of the selected type when saved.

    I am glad that you think this would be a better way to handle default/non-.info files as it works so much better in Amiga OS 3.9 than it does in MorphOS - though there are many things that MorphOS does much better than Amiga OS3.9 does, which is the main reason I migrated here - and I don't think I am disappointed I did.

    Though my ears (eyes actually) have taken a bit of an ear(eye)-bashing recently, in this thread. :-(
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > you are wrong about the similarity with Amiga OS and icons, [...] because even
    > if the file does not have an icon when you are altering the file from/to it being a
    > tool/project/drawer/trashcan because as you save the details Amiga OS3.9
    > CREATES the icon.info from the default icon.info file

    I stand corrected then and should have written "AmigaOS 3.1" (which MorphOS is based on) instead of just "AmigaOS".

    I appreciate you stand corrected, as we all make mistakes. :-)
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > I have not really used a 3rd party 'mount' command as it was the AMIGA OS3.9

    The AmigaOS 'mount' command does not come with MorphOS nor was it written by you, which makes it a 3rd party component for MorphOS according to the widely accepted definition of the term.

    I think that is being a bit pinnickity - it came from a recognised Official AMIGA version which, as far as I am aware, is the same in version as in WB 3.1 and 3.5 and 3.9 - this may prove to be correct - or not, but I feel it is code that was released by Amiga and should be accepted to be from the same 'stable' as the version WB3.1 was and thus what MorphOS is based on.
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > the previous/original incarnation of what MorphOS has become

    MorphOS is explicitly based on AmigaOS 3.1, not 3.9, but I don't know what the changes are between the 'mount' commands of 3.1 and 3.9, if any. It might prove enlightening to verify with the AmigaOS 3.1 'mount' command with the same mountlist(s) to see whether it resembles the 'mount' command of MorphOS or the one of AmigaOS 3.9.

    I agree that the 'mount' commands code for WB 3.1 & 3.9 & MorphOS should be thoroughly checked for any inconsistencies or incompatibilties, though I am not sure what this will reveal.

    However, I still feel that the solution to mounting the ZIP disk icon onto Ambient should be better handled by Poseidon/Trident as it is unrealistic to have to double-click on one of a variety of icons (for a specific USB port/unit) once you know which unit has been recognised by Poseidon that the ZIP drive/disk is plugged into.
    MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
  • »09.11.13 - 01:21
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12150 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > I am not convinced that there is a bug in the Amiga OS 3.9 mountlist icon [...]. [...] I believe
    > 3.1 and 3.9 mountlist icons work in the same way [...]. [...] get a mountlist icon from an
    > Amiga DOSdriver for a ZIP drive off the Amiga OS3.9 or maybe even the OS 3.5 CDs

    I notice that after all that Henes and I told you in this regard, you continue to write "mountlist icon" when you mean "mountlist file". Again: a file and its associated icon are two distinct entities. Nobody has supposed there was a bug in any icon, or that 3.1 and 3.9 icons work in different ways. These suppositions have all been made with regard to the actual mountlist files.

    > As far as I am aware, a mountlist is just a text file in reality that is executed

    To be more precise, what is executed is the 'mount' command with the contents of the mountfile passed as arguments.

    > are we likely to see a modification to the way the default non-.info files are
    > handled by MorphOS?

    If by "non-.info files" you mean "non-file icons", I'd like to see that change as well.
  • »09.11.13 - 01:45
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    NewSense
    Posts: 1513 from 2012/11/10
    From: Manchester, UK/GB
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    I notice that after all that Henes and I told you in this regard, you continue to write "mountlist icon" when you mean "mountlist file".

    No, in Amiga OS3.9 the mountlist has an ICON so that is what I copied - the mountlist is passed to the 'mount' command when the ICON is double-clicked, this is a slight issue of how Amiga OS3.9 ICONs are used in that OS, and how there is NO ICON with a mountlist under MorphOS.

    There is a difference between the 2 OS's but what I said I believe is correct in the context I said it.
    Quote:

    Andreas_Wolf wrote:
    > As far as I am aware, a mountlist is just a text file in reality that is executed

    To be more precise, what is executed is the 'mount' command with the contents of the mountfile passed as arguments.

    OK, I'll go along with that, but it's a moot point.
    MacMini 1.5GHz,64MB VRAM, PowerBooks A1138/9 (Model 5,8/9),PowerMac G5 2.3GHz(DP), iMac A1145 2.1GHz 20", all with MorphOS v3.18+,Airport,Bluetooth,A1016 Keyboard,T-RB22 Mouse,DVD-RW-DL,MiniMax,Firewire/USB2 & MacOSX 10.4/5
  • »09.11.13 - 02:01
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12150 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    > I am glad that you think this would be a better way to handle default/non-.info files

    ...more like "non-file icons".

    > it came from a recognised Official AMIGA version which, as far as I am aware, is the same
    > in version as in WB 3.1 and 3.5 and 3.9

    I just checked the respective 'mount' commands of 3.1 and 3.5/3.9 using 'version full' command, which gives:
    - mount 40.4 (27.09.93), 6880 bytes in 3.1
    - Mount 44.6 (14.07.99), 6684 bytes in 3.5/3.9

    > I feel it is code that was released by Amiga and should be accepted to be from the
    > same 'stable' as the version WB3.1 was and thus what MorphOS is based on.

    This doesn't change in the slightest that the AmigaOS 3.9 'mount' command is 3rd party software for MorphOS, which even the AmigaOS 3.1 'mount' command is by definition.

    > I agree that the 'mount' commands code for WB 3.1 & 3.9 & MorphOS should be
    > thoroughly checked for any inconsistencies or incompatibilties

    Opposed to what some might claim (and have claimed in the past), the MorphOS Team says it doesn't have access to AmigaOS source code.
  • »09.11.13 - 02:17
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
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    Andreas_Wolf
    Posts: 12150 from 2003/5/22
    From: Germany
    >>> I am not convinced that there is a bug in the Amiga OS 3.9 mountlist icon [...]. [...] I believe
    >>> 3.1 and 3.9 mountlist icons work in the same way [...]. [...] get a mountlist icon from an
    >>> Amiga DOSdriver for a ZIP drive off the Amiga OS3.9 or maybe even the OS 3.5 CDs

    >> I notice that after all that Henes and I told you in this regard, you continue to write
    >> "mountlist icon" when you mean "mountlist file". Again: a file and its associated icon
    >> are two distinct entities. Nobody has supposed there was a bug in any icon, or that
    >> 3.1 and 3.9 icons work in different ways. These suppositions have all been made
    >> with regard to the actual mountlist files.

    > No, in Amiga OS3.9 the mountlist has an ICON so that is what I copied

    Yes, you copied both the mountlist file and the associated icon file, but that is not what my objection is about. I object against your idea that anyone in this thread assumed there was "a bug in the Amiga OS 3.9 mountlist icon" or that it was not the case that "3.1 and 3.9 mountlist icons work in the same way", when in fact these assumptions have been made by geit and Henes with regard to the actual mountlist file, *not* its associated icon, which is a different file.

    > this is a slight issue of how Amiga OS3.9 ICONs are used in that OS, and how there is
    > NO ICON with a mountlist under MorphOS. There is a difference between the 2 OS's
    > but what I said I believe is correct in the context I said it.

    Under MorphOS, if you create an associated icon for a mountlist file (for instance the way Henes has explained it), it has an icon as a result which then works the same as in AmigaOS. And if you copy from AmigaOS a mountlist file with associated icon, it keeps its icon under MorphOS, which then works the same as in AmigaOS. In terms of icon handling, the only relevant difference between MorphOS and AmigaOS 3.5+ is in the way you can create an icon.
  • »09.11.13 - 02:38
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