WINGE(1) USER COMMANDS WINGE(1)
PENIX OPERATING SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION PENIX
NAME
WinGE - Window-like Graphic Environment
SYNOPSIS
WinGE [ - ] abdfghmnrstvwDMTZ [ percent ] [ task-limit ]
[script]
DESCRIPTION
WinGE (version 9.1b) is the current incarnation of a product
that began its life as a WIMP interface, known as XXX-windows.
It was designed to run on cheap, low-end graphic terminals as an
alternative to the Penix command-line interface. The original
images and specifications were thought to be somewhat on the
`scatological' side and were withdrawn (although i gather that
some of the more, uh, innovative icon designs are available from
a certain x-rated GIF archive site). This document deals with
the WinGE initialisation routines, files and support routines
and peculiarities of the Windowing System.
Basics:
The screen shows currently-running tasks as small graphic
symbols known as icons^H^H^H^H^H `stamps'. They are ranged
along the top left-hand side of the screen, to the right, making
the screen look somewhat like international air-mail. Any
console-directed messages are displayed in areas known as
windows^H^H^H^H^H^H^H `louvres', which open and shut as messages
appear. Control of the tasks is maintained by twiddling the
tiny graphic danglements attached to the bottom of the window,
resembling latches, security screen locks and venetian blind
cords. The control point for external devices (mice, tablets,
data gloves, joysticks, guru-boards etc) is the Flyswatter,
which is used to move `stamps' and `louvres' about the screen.
The graphic data for all images is stored in /WinGE/danglements,
in ASCII format, and can be altered easily with the wi editor.
The system disposal, /dev/ttybowl, is represented by a free-form
porcelain sculpture in the bottom right-hand corner. Files can
be deleted, and tasks halted by dragging their `stamps' or
`louvres' with the flyswatter into the ttybowl and pulling the
tiny chain attached to it. Users of early revisions of WinGE
reported that some `louvres' required more than one flush, and
some even stuck in the ttybowl, requiring use of the PLUNGER
goelem-task. To counter this, an additional `stamp' has been
added for 9.1, /dev/dispose-all. This `stamp' has tiny animated
serrated teeth which make short work of anything stuffed down
it. Just be careful not to get the flyswatter stuck in it, or
the system will hang. If you swat a task-stamp five times with
the Flyswatter, a louvre appears with detailed information about
that task. Note: this window will not fit down /dev/ttybowl or
/dev/dispose-all; it is digitally bio-degradeable and will
decay over a period of half an hour.
FUNCTIONS
a Terminal is a Commodore-Amiga
b Draw big icons (for the visually impaired). This will
source images for `stamps' from /WinGE/biggies/.
c Crash-limit (specified in percentage). If you are running
a task which is not processor-retention-pure, it will not
finish cleanly, and will leave its `stamp' on the screen
until the system is re-shoed. This can be avoided by
specifying a percentage of CPU, which if the system falls
below this level, the task will be assumed to have finished
and the WinGE session will then safely crash.
d Terminal is an MS-DOS-based machine (monochrome)
f Fake the presence of a mouse with numeric keypad. On some
earlier systems, such as the MS-DOS and Vic-20s, mice were
problematical to add without considerable hardware
modifications. This option will allow the numeric keypad
to simulate mouse-movements; the arrow keys indicating
direction, and the numeric `0' and `enter' representing the
mouse buttons. This is an idea we stole, lock, stock and
barrel, from the Macintosh, and we don't care.
g Garfield Cuteness option. Images for `stamps' will be
taken from /WinGE/garfieldies. Cute, but not terminally
so.
h Draw HUGE icons, for the terminally cute. Images for
`stamps' will be taken from /WinGE/ziggies, and have been
known to cover three-quarters of the screen, using the most
garish shades of blue, pink and green that the terminal
will allow. Most of them are animated, using about 300
Kilobytes of graphic information and some of them have been
known to permanently alter the blood-sugar level of anyone
using the system. Diabetics beware.
l Task-limit. Sets a lower limit for the number of
concurrent tasks to be run. If the number of tasks falls
below this, WinGE will automatically start one up at
random, selecting from the list of available tasks in
/WinGE/thumb_twiddle. This is to scotch, once and for all,
any claims that WinGE doesn't concurrently multitask. The
default number of tasks is four.
m Terminal is a Macintosh (monochrome)
n No-idea. This assumes that WinGE has not been installed
correctly, and sets about creating the default environment
for WinGE, including all of the graphic information
directories, filling the stamp-data files with randomly-
generated ascii characters (which often look better than
the supplied defaults).
r Randomise colours on startup. This option isn't really
necessary, as the default colours which you specify in
/WinGE/.snivel rarely match up with what people expect them
to look like. Life is like that, sometimes.
s Specify alternative to default startup script, which is
/WInGE/.snivel.
t Terminal is an Atari (monochrome)
v Terminal is a Commodore Vic-20 (default)
w Wobble option (for hangovers). This is also useful for
preventing pixel-burn-in on monitors if the display is not
particularly active over a long period of time. It moves
the entire bit-mapped display a random number of pixels
(between 0 and 8) to the left; waits a random period
between 0 and 4 seconds, then shifts a random number of
pixels to the right. This effect has been known to cause
nausea and vomiting in hung-over operators, so use it with
caution.
D Terminal is an MS-DOS-based machine (colour)
M Terminal is a Macintosh (colour)
T Terminal is an Atari (colour)
Z Zoom option. When active, this option presents the
bitmapped image as ten to one hundred percent larger, by
pressing function keys F1 to F10. This option was provded
purely for those fanatics who aren't happy until all the
`stamps' and `louvres' are lined up perfectly.
EXAMPLES
To start the Window-like Graphic Environment:
%-) WinGE -cfhlswDZ 85 2 /WinGE/mine/.snivel
This will start WinGE with a minimum of two tasks, halting the
system if processor useage falls below 85 percent, starting up
with /WinGE/mine/.snivel.
FILES
/WinGE/danglements default files for graphic images
/dev/ttybowl system task terminator, represented
by stamp image
/dev/dispose-all more powerful version of the above
/WinGE/biggies directory for large-stamp image
data
/WinGE/Garfieldies directory for cute stamp images
/WinGE/Ziggies directory for obscenely cute stamp
images
/WinGE/thumb_twiddle list of available tasks to fill
cpu-idle time
/WinGE/.snivel default WinGE startup-script file
SEE ALSO
WHINE(1), WinGE_init(1), stuffio(2), WinGE_configure(1),
roflgo(3), WinGE_terminate(3), WinGE_kill(2), tickle(2),
argh_i_think_i'm_going_insane(2)
BUGS
There is a fault in the WinGE_init process that cause WinGE to
hang between processing one line and the next of .snivel. This
usually occurs if the line contains references to processor-
retention-pure tasks, or tasks which do not have matching
stamp-images in /WinGE/danglements. To counter this, the first
line of .snivel should run WHINE (WinGE_init Halt Initialisation
at Next Entrypoint) as a GOELEM task. This will terminate
WinGE_init five seconds after initialisation is complete. If
initialisation proceeds without error, the first thing the
operator should do is locate the WHINE GOELEM stamp and push its
head down /dev/ttybowl, flushing it from the system. This can
be automated with the following .snivel script:
#-> do_quietly /executeables/WHINE -delay 5 -i `GOELEM'
...
(other WinGE initialisation commands)
...
#-> do FLUSH /executeables/WHINE -swirly
#-> do FLUSH /executeables/WHINE -swirly
#-> do FLUSH /executeables/WHINE -swirly
#-> do FLUSH /executeables/WHINE -swirly
(four times, just in case)
If the file /WinGE/thumb_twiddle is missing or empty, and the
task limit falls below the number specified with the l option,
the default task to run is WinGE_init. This actually becomes a
sort of loop, as the default settings for the new WinGE session
are taken from the current task-table, and thus specify a task-
limit which must be filled, so WinGE immediately runs four more
tasks, which, if /WinGE/thumb_twiddle is not present, will be
four new WinGE sessions, and so on. This can lead to the system
gradually slowing to a stop.
There is no way to symbolically follow selective links.
The random numbers generated with the `w' option reveal a
Markoff Chain, to the effect that the screen gradually moves
further left than right. If left unchecked, the entire bitmap
will shift off the screen and onto the terminal next to yours,
and then onwards down the room until it reaches the last
terminal in line, after which the image leaks out of the side of
the screen and onto the carpet.
The n option is slower than the n option in any other Penix
function so far.
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Sunburne Computer, Inc. 28 August 1992
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