Re: wolf 3d-- BUG

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <34EF1811.84544F16@swbell.net>,
Rubywand  <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
>>    For the Nth time in the past few days, IT'S AN OS BUG. Not the game.
>> Please learn to comprehend that buggy code in ROM or Apple's files is
>> NOT game code.

>     The OS was there first. However weird and quirky, its rules are the
>ones programmers must play by-- either that, or supply a 'rule change'
>with the program.

   Come on, you're reaching for more and more irrational explanations
to try and justify your position. OS Bugs are *not* the responsibility
of the app to clean up after; the problem lies in the OS and should
be fixed in there.

   The first System 6.0.1 bug I ran into and fixed is part of the Font
Manager, and can be duplicated *purely* using system software.  [On a
base install of 6.0.1 + Teach, go into teach, and set a single
character in a new file to a non-shaston font and save it. Quit teach,
delete that font from system, reboot (even shiftboot). Relaunch teach,
open that file, and go to 'choose font...' and watch a crash/hang.]
This was caused by an app doing 'Choose Font' (an OS tool call) with
zero bitmapped fonts in the current font type-- FixFontMgr601, GUPP
1.0.x, and Pointless (2.0.? and up) all fix it.

   With a bug like that affecting *every* app with a 'Choose Font'
dialog, is it REALLY the responsibility of the app to deal with that
6.0.1 bug? Is it really the responsibility of the app to deal with
quirks in specific OS versions? Since you're saying apps need to deal
with it, I'd like to see you get a new version of Teach (as it can
certainly be duplicated with it), AWGS, and every other GS word
processor to deal with a 6.0.1 bug. Not gonna happen, and you know it.

   OS bugs are *NOT* the responsibility of the application. They need
to be fixed at the OS level, or the app can severely misbehave if the
OS ever changes to fix that. If the OS does NOT behave as documented,
it should be patched to do that, so that apps can count on a
consistent environment to work in. 

   Your system of apps doing things based on the OS version is
fundamentally stupid and will lead to much more problems. Fix bugs
where the object code ended up, NOT wherever you feel like it.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? -R.A. Heinlein