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President of large round space ship makes two executive orders that help LINUX.
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ericmatteson...@hotmail.com
Dec 8, 2006, 4:39:26 PM12/8/06
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Star Wars Saved By The Bell
Star Wars Episode 3 Thursday, December 7,2006
President of large round space ship makes two executive orders ..
1 ) require all persons seeking Linux certification
to know how to make medium complexity computer
programs in the c or c++ programming language.
Linux certification exams also have to be upgraded
to include computer programming questions.
.................................................................
2 ) require LINUX distributors to FULLY reinstate vga.h
graphics pixel programming capability with the LINUX c
programming language. vga.h is easier to write programs for
than any other known graphics pixel interface.
..
Copyright C 2006 By Eric Matteson
Permission is herby granted to copy the plain text
version of this script and to publish it on the Internet.
Non-profit uses including student films are also allowed.
Starring Max Battimo as Mikey Gonzales ( Vice President data )
Starring Mark Paul Goesselaar as Zack Morris ( President of
large round space ship )
Mark Hammil as Luke Skywalker
Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers
Lorenzo Lamos as A.C. Slater
(Scene 1)
Screech and slater are in their dorm room on Earth
at Cal U.
On the sub space viewscreen Zack Morris calls in.
ZACK
How much progress has been made in LINUX ??
SLATER
It is a lot easier to install the free
Fedora Core 5 Linux this
semester than last semester. All we have to do is
check software development when asked and then Fedora
Core 5 LINUX installs perfectly. No more need to delete
graphical internet because the installation rules
are so much simpler now. Thanks Zack for your previous
XWindows episode that might have inspired Linux distributiors
to fix up their distributions so you can eventually choose
one or two front runners to compete with Microsoft Windows.
SCREECH
There is a problem with the Microsoft network
certification exams. There are no questions about
computer programming and it seems like it is a
tradgedy that someone can take networking
courses and pass the Microsoft exams and work with
computers for many years without knowing how to
write even a simple computer program.
There is a communnity college that is sometimes
on a television show. In its fall 2006 catalog were
only two computer programming classes Cs 917
16-bit assembler and CS939 C++
CS939 C++ had been canceled.
SLATER
CS939 would not have been canceled if more
students had to take that important C++ class.
SCREECH
There were at least ten networking classes
in the fall 2006 catalog.
SLATER
There is a rumor on the Internet that communnity
colleges are planning on offering a LINUX
networking class in Spring 2007.
SCREECH
Is Linux going to certify a bunch of networking
professionals who know nothing about computer
programming like Microsoft has done ??
ZACK
Absolutley not. Screech roll those video recorders!!
(Screech gets his camera positioned in front of the
viewscreen)
ZACK
This is Zack Morris. I am president of this Death Star
of Star Wars. I hereby create this executive order--
-----------------------------------------------------
I am requiring All Linux certification exam
producers to add questions about computer programming
to ALL LINUX CERTIFICATION EXAMS because it is
my utmost hope that Linux continue to improve in the
future. Linux is not finished yet. There is a severe
shortage of people on Earth who know how to program
computers.
The networking certification aspect of Linux could be
temporarily shut down without harming Linux.
The LINUX operating system is primarily for software
development. Linux does not need a bunch of ignorant
networking professionals. Linux only needs programmers.
The progress that I have seen on Linux implies that
Linux is heading in a direction of proceeding twoard
automatic network setup and in the near future there
might be an icon in Gnome XWindows called
automatically configure Internet routers.
My opinion is that Linux will soon evolve to the point
where networking professionals will no longer be needed
because of the already proposed automatic
network configuration
of workstations and servers and even Internet routers.
There will soon be nothing left for networking professionals
to do except plug in cables and install Linux. Check the
software development check box and the automatically configure
networks check box at the beginning of Linux installation.
I am absolutley certain that Linux needs computer programmers
instead of networking professionals.
I herby ORDER everyone who is planning on seeking
any type of Linux Certification to learn medium
complexity c or c++ programming techniques before
attempting to take any kind of Linux certification exam.
(Zack gets some chalk to write on the blackboard.)
We can start with some examples
zctop: if((larry21 * zheight) < 0)goto zctwo;
labels in c start with an alphabetic letter.
Simple variables such as larry21 are where
numbers are stored. The < is for less than.
Equality in a comparison is two equals signs in a row.
zctwo: if((berry23 - tiny22) == 0)goto zctop;
The c language even uses groups of numbers called
arrays. A SUBSCRIPT in a statement is an integer variable
name whose value chooses which number in the group of numbers
called an array is being used in that statement.
ires = isapci[iwhich];
ires is the simple integer result.
isapci is the group of integers called an array.
iwhich is the SUBSCRIPT that chooses which number
within isapci will be copied to ires.
I also believe that even if your current
or proposed job does
not require programming that computer programming is a
good hobby and I hope that everybody who does anything
at all with LINUX will learn programming so when someone
wants to help improve LINUX in the future they will have
good computer programming skills that are needed to
improve LINUX.
..
ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE WILL CONTINUE TO GET OR RENEW ANY TYPE
OF LINUX CERTIFICATION WITHOUT FIRST LEARNING THE C
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE!!!!
(End of message)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Screech turns off the viewscreen and Zack dissappears.
(end of scene)
(scene 2 on board Death Star )
(Mikey sets up the overhead projector to go over
notes).
Zack and Mikey meet in the conference room. Mikey had
been going over some old notes about Linux.
MIKEY
Even before the invention of modern Linux XWindows
Linux had invented an earlier graphics programming
interface called vga.h
there are two integer constant screen modes for graphics.
G640x480x16 and G640x480x2
the sequence of just TWO functions
vga_init();
vga_setmode(int scrmode);
opens up a graphics window or turns the screen into
graphics pixel mode.
Instead of inputting a line of text with the old
read line from stdin the keyboard in vga.h mode
uses
= vga_getkey();
that returns a 0 if no key has been pressed and
nonzero if a key has been pressed. Most keys are one
ascii value returned but arrow keys and special keys
may return three or four non zero values in a row
just for that one special key.
The regular numbers and letters are their actual
ascii values.
ZACK
how are graphics pixels drawn ??
MIKEY
there is a series of two statements to draw one
tiny graphics pixel
vga_setcolor(int atmost15);
vga_drawpixel(int x,int y);
where 0 <= atmost15 <= ( colors - 1 )
<= 15 for color screen or <= 1 for high speed monochrome
screen.
and
0 <= x <= 639
0 <= y <= 479
draws the colored pixel at point (x,y)
x increases to right while y increases twoard bottom.
ZACK
Wheres the rest ??
MIKEY
thats all of it.
ZACK
Are you sure ??
MIKEY
Absolutley!
ZACK
One time I was in detention and Mr. Belding showed me a
c Windows book to try to emphasize the complexity of
education.
Opening up a Window needs many parameters and several
pages on incomprehensible gobeldegook and then
trying to draw a graphics pixel had a
SetDIBitsToDevice( with hundreds of arguments ...
and a begin paint and a end paint.
MIKEY
I also know about a luxury function to
draw a line of pixels
vga_drawscansegment(char* pixeldata,int x0,int ydown,int bytewid);
in monochrome mode G640x480x2 there are eight pixels per byte within
*pixeldata and bytewid is 1/8 of the number of pixels accross.
..
in color mode G640x480x16 there is only ONE pixel per byte
instead of the expected two. This was found by experimentation
because the initial Internet notes failed to cover this detail.
bytewid is the number of pixels in color mode.
..
the luxury functions
= vga_getxdim(); should return 640 and
= vga_getydim(); should return 480
for normal vga.h but if the screen is less than
640 * 480 those numbers will also be less.
the
vga_drawscansegment(char* eightperbyte,int x0,int ydown,int
eighthwid);
is VERY FAST in monochrome mode G640x480x2 with eight pixels per byte
ZACK
How come nobody told me about this before ??
MIKEY
Two reasons. First, It is very hard to find information
about Linux. Secondly, Linux forgot about vga.h after
XWindows was invented. The two were not initially
used together. Mainstream Linux with XWindows far too
often does not have vga.h
XWindows is harder to write programs for than vga.h
Microsoft Windows is MUCH HARDER to write programs for
than vga.h
ZACK
Even the football players can understand vga.h
(End of scene 2)
(Scene 3, Screeches dorm room)
Screech has a very old Linux on his 80486 DX-2 computer.
Instead of XWindows it starts with the command prompt
called bash.
On a different computer screech had downloaded an
example program called vgview05.c and fixed it up with
notepad to fix the header and trailer comments by making
the whole program possibly look like one large comment so
no compile time errors.
...........
vgview05.c had an interesting history. After some documentation
was found for vga.h it had to be fully tested. There was not
enough time to start making a new picture displayer from
nothing. The xwview03.c program already existed to display
bitmap files in XWindows.
To make vgview05.c the XWindows display functions were
removed from xwview03.c and replaced with vga.h
drawing functions. Scince xwview03.c used keyboard
callbacks there was a loop made in which = vga_getkey()
returned a key that was then translated with a
different translation table and then the key callback
routine of xwview03.c was called.
If a program was first written to use keyboard callback
event driven programming ( Upside down logic ) it is
very easy to change it to obtain its keys from a regular
upside up reading of each key function by making
a small loop to read each key and then call the callback.
Changing a program that initially uses upside up
regular reading of each key to a callback upside down
logic is much harder because each key reading statement
has to be removed and at least two variables have to be
used one to tell where to go to in the program
with the current key and another to determine
where the NEXT KEY should be sent within the program.
Scince xwview03.c was written first and it used the
upside down logic of two variable names telling where
in the program each key goes and where the next one
is likely to go and no key read statement it is
the easy conversion to have one key reading loop and then
call the xwview03.c key callback with the modified
pixel displayers to get a vgview05.c that can display
graphics pixels on a older Linux without XWindows.
vgview05.c was finished first and passed testing on the
older Linux. Only after vgview05.c bitmap file displayer
program passed its testing on traditional vga.h
to verify the validity of vga.h documentation could
any converter header be planned to upgrade XWindows
to support traditional vga.h for c graphics pixel programs.
..............................
( link to vgview05.c bitmap viewer program )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/b27ab7f8969ab00e?dmode=source&hl=en
( link to vgview05.c above )
The vgview05.c uses zackvga.h instead of traditional vga.h
and zackmain instead of traditional main. A very simple
header file called zackvga.h has to be made for it.
the zackvga.h has a main to call zackmain and it has
references to headers vga.h and stdio.h and even dirent.h
so zackvga.h should be the only header file that
vgview05.c needs.
Screech draws a test drawing with Windows paintbrush called
test.bmp
then he copies the files to his 1.44 Mb floppy disk.
Then he takes the disk out of his Windows Pentium computer.
Screech starts his 80486 and the old linux starts up
at the login screen screech logs in as root user
login:root
password:Morris
then screech inserts his 1.44 Mb floppy disk
into his 80486-Dx2 computer.
[root@localhost root]#mount /dev/fd0/
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/zackvga.h ./
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/vgview05.c ./
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/test.bmp ./
[root@localhost root]#umount /mnt/floppy/
(then remove the floppy disk from the drive)
[root@localhost root]#gcc -Wall vgview05.c -lvga -o vgview05.out
[root@localhost root]#./vgview05.out test.bmp
Then the screen changes from text mode to graphics mode
When screech presses the c key the color scheme slowly
changes. vgview05.c is very slow because it uses color
and has to do a lot of calculations.
After screech presses the q key vgview05.c quits and on the
command prompt
[root@localhost root]#shutdown -h now
Linux then shuts down and Screech turns off his 80486
computer.
Then screech hands his floppy disk to A.C. Slater.
Slater had to install a newer Linux with XWindows
because he also has a new Microsoft Windows on his
Pentium computer. The old Linux for 80486 computers
that screech uses on his 486 will not work on
large hard drives beyond its 8 gigabyte limit.
Windows takes up 20 gigabytes and the other
half of the 40Gb hard drive is for the newer Linux.
Slater uses the graphical interface in gnome to
access the floppy. He copies it to his wrestling
directory.
Then he goes to the menu to unmount the floppy and
removes the floppy disk.
Then Slater tries to compile vgview05.c
[root@localhost wrestling]#gcc -Wall vgview05.c -lvga -o vgview05.out
gcc - ***ERROR*** unable to find vga.h
There is an error. Even though zackvga.h is in the
directory it is impossible to find vga.h because the
trivial version of zackvga.h has a reference to
traditional vga.h that is supposed to be provided by the
Linux operating system and is there on Screeches 80486
based old Linux but not A.C. slaters Pentium with very new
Linux.
(end of scene 3)
(SEcne 4 on Death Star in Zacks quarters Zack goes to bed.)
(Zack Morris has dream about Microsoft headquarters)
Bill Gates comes to visit Steve Ballmer. Steve Ballmer
has his Dot.NET executives in the room with him.
Hans Solo is in the rear of the room.
STEVE
Dot.NET is a spectacular FAILURE. Communnity colleges
no longer teach visual basic and the csharp Dot.NET is
like JAVA and communnity colleges have canceled JAVA in
Fall 2006 Semester.
Visual Basic and dot.net use keyboard callback
upside down logic event driven programming that
is MUCH HARDER than traditional reading of keys.
Even if students are smart enough to learn it the
classes have been canceled because TEACHERS are not
able to understand or teach how to program by calling
an application program with a key value. Even textbook
writers are unable to handle it. Windows programming
is just too hard to teach.
Then Steve passes out pink slips to every DOT.NET executive
except one. They all leave extremely dissapointed.
The one executive that remains is the C++ DOT.NET executive.
STEVE
Your pink slip has been delayed. Produce a C++ DOT.NET
communnity college textbook that includes graphics pixel
programming AND MAKES SENSE and get it in to communnity
college bookstores before the Fall 2007 semester
starts or YOUR FIRED!!
EXECUTIVE
I will get right on it!!
(Then he leaves)
STEVE
Who are you and what can you do for us??
HANS SOLO
I am Hans Solo.
Remember in the past you had QBASIC that had
= inkey$()
that returns a null string if no key has been pressed
and returns a string of one or two characters for
every key ??
BILL
Yes. Qbasic is the best programming language that
traditional DOS ever had. There was also a color setter
and a rectangle drawer in QBASIC as well.
HANS SOLO
But things like Visual Basic and Java for Windows
have an upside down key logic in which applications
programs are called by Microsoft Windows with one
key value. There is no = inkey$() in Microsoft windows
so Windows programs are unable to read a key on their own
will.
STEVE
Qbasic is only 16 bits. Nobody would use Qbasic because
there is not enough memory and it is only 16 bits
HANS SOLO
I have been spying on LINUX. the leader of a great big
round space ship that is helping LINUX improve is planning on
upgrading LINUX to provide a graphics pixel interface
called vga.h in the 32-bit LINUX c programming language.
Only Two statements
vga_init();
vga_setmode(G640x480x16);
open up a graphics pixel window.
= vga_getkey(); will return 0 if no key has been
pressed. Most normal keys numbers and letters are
regular ascii returning of just one nonzero number.
But the backspace key is 127 instead
of expected 8.
The arrow keys return three nonzero numbers in a row.
Things like delete and end return four nonzero numbers
in a row.
= vga_getkey(); is CALLED BY a linux application
program. There is no callback and no event driven
programming in vga.h so vga.h is easier to write
programs for than any Microsoft programming language
in Dot.NET
The proposed LINUX vga.h will have the two functions
vga_setcolor(atmost15);
vga_drawpixel(x,y);
that will draw a colored pixel on the screen.
Communnity colleges teach the two semesters of C++
programming CS939 c and CS936 c++ with classes both with
plain console text only because plain text only without
graphics is what Microsoft has provided in the easy to
use console interface.
I am asking Microsoft to UPGRADE ITS EASY TO USE
CONSOLE INTERFACE to allow graphics pixel programmimg
to be done in addition to plain text.
If you want LINUX to obtain a monopoly at communnity
colleges you can go ahead and do absolutley nothing
and then LINUX will take over and replace Microsoft
Windows both at communnity colleges and eventually
everywhere else as well.
STEVE
Linux is just a fantasy of a bunch of hobbyists.
They speculate grandiose proposals but Linux
does not really work. It will not even install.
Linux makes it difficult to handle floppy disks.
BILL
A big round space ship has already given LINUX a lot
of help. LINUX might now be able to actually compete
unfairly with Microsoft. Investigate the possibility
of upgrading Windows to do graphics pixel programmimg
in console mode by calling keys without event driven
programmimg.
(Then fast forward to if Microsoft is sucessfull.
the vgview05.c program runs in a Microsoft Windows
setting.)
Zack wakes up and makes breakfast.
(Scene 5)
Later at breakfast Zack tells Mikey about his dream.
MIKEY
Why should Microsoft run Linux vga.h c graphics
programs ??
ZACK
Because the writers of those c programs that use vga.h
want them to run on Windows computers in addition
to Linux computers. In 2006 Linux is running on less
than two per cent of computers. The LINUX vga.h for
c applications programs will become more useful if it
also runs on Microsoft Windows.
There is no dessert for breakfast this morning and
I burned the toast. Remember how much you hate me
for stealing your girlfriend in Junior high?? Pretend
that I am after her again. Luke skywalker will not
trust me because I run this Death Star. Pretend
you are rebelling against me and call Luke Skywalker
up and tell him about the vga.h that LINUX will soon
reinstate.
Luke Skywalker thinks that I am a tyrant because I
refused to let him destroy this large round space ship.
MIKEY
Will Linux get weaker if vga.h falls into the hands
of Microsoft ?
ZACK
I want Linux to improve to catch up to a better
Microsoft Windows. Call Luke up and I will monitor
the call and I will catch you at the end of the call.
Zack goes to a seperate room while Mikey goes
to the two way viewscreen room.
(Scene 6)
Mikey calls up Luke Skywalker on the viewscreen
------------------------------------------------
LUKE
I am surprised to see you.
MIKEY
That tyrant Zack Morris did not provide dessert
for breakfast this morning and he stole my girl
friend in Junior High School.
Zack Morris is out of control. He is proposing to
UPGRADE LINUX so graphics pixel programming will
become possible in c without using evemt driven programmimg.
Only two statements will be needed to open up a window
and then
You will be able to read a key with = vga_getkey();
No keyboard callbacks like hard Microsoft Windows. Use
vga_setcolor(value);
vga_drawpixel(x,y);
to draw each pixel.
Zack wants to emphasize this easy to use c graphics pixel
interface and put it in the LINUX foreground.
LUKE
This will put Microsoft out of business!! Microsoft Windows
has always been hard to write programs for. The easy to use
Microsoft C++ console interface is for TEXT ONLY without
graphics pixels!!
MIKEY
In Linux you have to mount floppy disks and if you
write to a floppy disk you have to wait 30 seconds
before LINUX will begin writing to the floppy disk
and when you are done you have to umount the floppy
disk before changing floppy disks.
I want Microsoft to upgrade their superior operating
system by adding the LINUX c vga.h easy to write
programs for graphics pixel interface to Microsoft
Windows so I will not have to struggle with inferior
LINUX any more.
..
There is also a rumor on the Internet that Linux will
soon be able to be configured file priveleges and
networking with a set of menus that look like
MSCE Microsoft Windows setup so MSCEs will soon
be able to configure Linux servers almost identically
to Microsoft Windows servers and domain controllers...
(ZAck Morris sneaks in and grabs Mikey from behind and
picks Mikey up.)
MIKEY
Ow!! Ow!!
ZACK
Mikey, HOW DARE YOU COMMIT TREASON AGAINST LINUX
BY HELPING MICROSOFT!! I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR TWO
MINUTES AND YOU ARE SMUGGLING HELP TO LUKE SKYWALKER!!
(Then Zack Morris pushes the cutoff button and the
viewscreen goes dark and Luke Skywalker dissappears.)
-------------------------------------------------------
(Scene 7)
Mikey and Zack are in the lunchroom aboard the
large round space ship called the Death Star.
MIKEY
I am extremely sorry that I provided too much help
to Luke Skywalker to fix Microsoft Windows.
ZACK
You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Luke
Skywalker does not like me because I run this great
big Death Star and I refused to turn it over to Luke to
be destroyed.
I had you sneak some information to Luke Skywalker
because he does not trust me.
MIKEY
What if Windows benifits too much and makes things
hard for LINUX ??
ZACK
What you have done is is enable Windows to go one
step forward by having an opportunity to run vga.h
LINUX is being helped twice. Programmers who write
c graphics pixel programs for vga.h will be able to
run those programs on BOTH Microsoft Windows AND
LINUX so vga.h will become more useful and get used
by more programs.
The second help to LINUX is LINUX will have to improve
vga.h and its availability to keep up with
Microsoft Windows. Microsoft gets one step forward
while LINUX gets TWO STEPS FORWARD from sharing vga.h
with Microsoft Windows!!
MIKEY
Good one Zack!!
(then there are two desserts with lunch.)
(End of scene 7)
(Scene 8 Screeches dorm room)
rm zackvga.h
A.C. slater deletes the zackvga.h and vgview05.c still
does not compile.
***ERROR*** unable to find zackvga.h
Then screech calls zack up on the two way viewscreen.
SCREECH
Zack, even though my computer with the old Linux
compiles and runs the vgview05.c picture viewer program
for Linux c vga.h Slaters new computer with the newer
LINUX refuses to compile vgview05.c to run with XWindows.
ZACK
This is a serious problem. vga.h is important to me.
SLATER
Zack, pretty please order Linux distributors to
reinstate vga.h for easy graphics pixel programming.
ZACK
I will get started on investigating the problem right away!!
(Zack turns off the viewscreen and leaves)
(Scene 9 Zack and Mikey are in a data processing
room. In addition to three of Zacks pentiums are some
old imperial mainframe computers. An ovehead projector
is set up with clear plastic and a drawing crayon.)
MIKEY
We will need to make a new version of zackvga.h for
XWindows that will call a new wgslater.c secondary
header file.
We need to get started on wgslater.c
wgslater.c is where the work is done of telling
XWindows how to perform every vga.h function that
it can support. vga.h functions begin with vga_ .
In the void bitwrt2(char* bde2,int ski2,int wwi2,
int wx2,int wy2,int zltr2,int wwbv2);
we will be using a value of 1 for the next to the
last argument zltr2 so when wwbv2 is one the or
mask is
1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128
so as the remainder increases the or mask increases
so the pixels will be drawn in REVERSE order within
each byte of a XWindow plane.
vga_drawpixel(int barnesgx,int barnesgy);
uses bitwrt2(.... to draw the internal color
variable currentcolor to the pattern buffer array or
four arrays instead of immediately updating the display.
then also sets the switch apaintscreen=1; indicating
that during the next key read the pattern buffer
needs to be copied to the temporary buffer then to the
display if apaintscreen is nonzero and then
apaintscreen is reset to 0 after each screen
update.
ZACK
Can the same thing be done for Microsoft Windows ??
MIKEY
Microsoft Windows is different from Linux XWindows
because Microsoft Windows does not reverse the order
of pixels within a byte like Linux XWindows does.
In Linux XWindows when G640x480x16 color mode is
used four seperate bit plane arrays are using
one bit in each color plane to represent that
colors prescence or abscence for that pixel like
a two dimensional array.
In Microsoft Windows the four bits per pixel are
together as two pixels per byte instead of
eight pixels within each byte of four seperate arrays.
Microsoft also uses upside down bitmaps while
Linux Xwindows display planes are not upside down.
ZACK
How do you read the keys without a callback event ??
MIKEY
the XWinmain loop is open at the TOP so after a key
is read it stops looping to check for nextevent and
returns with the key buffer updated. When the
XWinmain loop is called to read the next key
it also checks the apaintscreen
variable and copies the pattern buffer to the temporary
buffer to the screen if apaintscreen is nonzero
and then resets the apaintscreen variable to 0.
(Several weeks later the wgslater.c and new zackvga.h
header files are completed)
Both the wgslater.c and zackvga.h files need to be downloaded
to compile zackvga.h using c programs in an XWindows environment.
..
( link to wgslater.c helper file )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/fe1bbfa146652b66?dmode=source&hl=en
.....
....
...
..
.
( link to zackvga.h header file )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/cb0045c1f12f72fe?dmode=source&hl=en
The two header files above expect your c applications
program to use zackmain(int,char**) instead of main and
use include zackvga.h instead of vga.h
zackvga.h has includes of its own for stdio.h and dirent.h and
the xwindows version of zackvga.h immediately above uses
wgslater.c instead of missing vga.h as its header file for graphics.
the functions that start with vga_ should work the same as
traditional Linux vga.h
(end of scene 9)
(Scene 10 in screeches dorm room on Earth)
(screech downloads the two new header files on the
Windows Pentium and uses notepad to turn both files
into large comments and then copies then to a floppy
and then A.C. Slater starts Linux up.)
A.C. slater copies the files on the floppy disk
the new zackvga.h
wgslater.c
test.bmp
vgview05.c
to the hard drive then unmounts and removes the floppy disk.
Then starting terminal.
[AC@localhost AC]>dir
test.bmp vgview05.c wgslater.c zackvga.h
[AC@localhost AC]>gcc -Wall vgview05.c -L/usr/X11R6/lib -lX11 -o
vgview05.out
[AC@localhost AC]>./vgview05.out test.bmp
Then the program starts. The c key changes the color
scheme. The colors are brighter than expected.
(Then Zack calls in on the viewscreen --)
ZACK
Did you find the new header files zackvga.h and wgslater.c
on the Internet yet ??
SLATER
Yes I did. The program is running now after a
successful compilation on XWindows based LINUX.
SCREECH
The camera is running so you can make a speech.
ZACK
This is Zack Morris. I am president of this large
round space ship called the Death Star. I Hereby make
this executive order to order LINUX to fully reinstate
the easy to write c graphics programs for vga.h
into the mainstream foreground of LINUX.
LINUX IS ABSOLUTLEY REQUIRED TO FULLY REINSTATE
the c language vga.h for easy graphics pixel
proramming immediately.
..
In order to make absolutley certain that resistance
is futile the header files zackvga.h for XWindows with
its wgslater.c are already on the Internet so XWindows
users can immediately compile their c graphics programs
that use vga.h now and run them. Just change main to
zackmain and use zackvga.h instead of vga.h
The zackvga.h includes wgslater.c to perform the
vga.h funtions and also refers to headers stdio.h
and dirent.h
You can rem out all system
header references in your program and have
just the one header reference zackvga.h
These headers do the hardware independent
functions that start with vga_ within the
wgslater.c list of declared functions.
..
If you are not satisfied with these header files
that are already there please ask the LINUX
disributors to add a command line choice in
addition to KDE and GNOME that enables vga.h
instead of XWINDOWS (might use a lower implied
runlevel).
LINUX also has to comply with this executive order
to keep up with Microsoft Windows. Luke Skywalker
is pressuring Microsoft to add vga.h
Any questions ??
SCREECH
What if LINUX fails to comply.
ZACK
Until LINUX complies the only functions of vga.h
that will work are those within wgslater.c and
only screen modes G640x480x2 and G640x480x16
are supported and we have a pretend vga.h running
inside a XWindow with wgslater.c and
What if Microsoft adds the screen mode G640x480x16777216
to its implementation of vga.h ??
SLATER
I rechecked my terminal. I accidently compiled and
ran vgview05.c for vga.h in unpriveliged mode
without logging in as root.
SCREECH
That is impossible!! I always get an error message
when unpriveliged. I always have to log in as root
to run any program that uses vga.h
ZACK
The pretend vga.h that is provided by wgslater.c and
its small zackvga.h in a LINUX XWindow is powerful
and flexible like this enormous Death Star spacecraft.
This wgslater.c based implementation of vga.h functions
does not require logging in as root!!
The question for LINUX distributors is does the real
LINUX system vga.h REALLY need to continue to require
users who run graphics pixel programs to continue
to login as root or superuser ??
If they say it does tell them about the wgslater.c
zackvga.h that does NOT as a counterexample!
Is it really fair to deny unpriveleged users access to
vga.h graphics pixels ??
(zack shuts off the viewscreen)
(end of scene 9)
(Scene 10)
Zack Morris has a dream about flying through a large
tunnel very fast at almost infinite velocity.
Very bright trails are made as small particles
whiz by very fast as lines.
Each small particle appears as a line because it
is traveling so fast.
Then there is a hole through Zacks chest and he wakes up.
(Scene 11)
Zack and Mikey are at breakfast.
ZACK
I had a dream last night about being surrounded
by bright lines at random. I am traveling through a
very wide tunnel at what seems like infinite
velocity.
MIKEY
I have been having similar dreams.
Our ship is traveling very fast and the tunnel in
the dream might be a representation of the
harmonic quantum slipstream.
When a very small String Theory string passes through
our space ship it travels close to subatomic particles
that our ship is made out of and the high relative
velocity induces a lot of sub space hyperspace
velocity energy that appears in our
dreams as lines of light.
ZACK
How come we do not see these lines in the
daytime when we are awake ??
MIKEY
Perhaps it is because the phenomenom mainly
occurs in hyperspace at velocities much higher than
light.
Our ships outer hull is a very dense metal
alloy two miles thick.
Particles that hit our ship are going to
first have to collide with that outer hull.
Those particles that make it through the
outer hull are mostly those that travel through
all matter and are normally invisible.
ZACK
Can we go outside in space suits and take a look
at the outside of our hull ??
MIKEY
That would be way too dangerous at this velocity.
Outside our hull collision with even one electron
or partially reactive neutrinio would create a fatal explosion.
Keep in mind that matter blows up when hit
at very fast speeds even by particles that are
very small.
ZACK
Prepare some droids for an EVA mission.
(Zack and Mikey finish breakfast and then go to
a room full of droids).
(scene 12 at a droid meeting room)
Zack brings in a 486 based computer with
two old floppy drives one regular 3-1/2 inch
and a older 5-1/4 inch drive.
The computer boots up to a traditional
DOS command prompt.
The standard 1.44 Mb floppies are used in
Pentium computers but most droids in the
Death Star still use the older 360 Kb large
flat floppy disks.
ZACK puts in the 1.44 Mb disk from a Pentium and
puts it in the 486 small floppy drive and copies
it onto the 486 hard disk.
Then Zack checks the file with a very old DOS
Text editor.
He fixes it up for the current EVA mission.
Then he saves it and then copies the text file
to a 360Kb giant floppy disk and sticks it into
a humanoid droids stomach floppy disk drive.
Then the droid compiles the commands on the disk.
The droid passes the disk arround to 9 other
droids.
Then the droids take some TV cameras with then
and they leave on a scooter.
The leader of the mission is droid C5RD.
Then Zack and Mike go to the communnications
room.
(Scene 13 the EVA mission)
Zack and Mikey watch the droid eva mission on
the viewscreen.
C5RD gets the scooter out an airlock into
space.
The harmonic quantum slipstream tunnel is
plainly visible.
C5RD flys the scooter arround the front of the
Death Star. There are several craters ranging
from 25 feet deep to 150 feet deep where one
very small particle had collided with the
outer hull.
THe outer hull is made of a very strong
metal alloy that is supposed to bounce
meteors off of the spacecraft at slow
speeds.
Then C5RD lands the scooter in an area with
a lot of craters. Some are only two feet deep.
Then the droids split up and send TV pictures
from several craters.
Some craters have complex patterns in them.
Different particles create craters of different
sizes when they collide with the Death Star.
The droids install additional hyperspace energy
field generators on the outside of the Death Star
to provide additional hyperspace energy fields
to deflect particles away from the Death Star.
(Scene 14)
After the EVA mission ends Seven of the
ten droids return to the droid
meeting room. Three of the droids have been
destroyed by colliding with small particles
outside the protective hull of the Death Star
space ship.
The protective shield is over 10,000 feet thick
and less than two per cent has been penetrated.
Magnetic fields and hyperspace energy fields
are also used to try to keep most particles
away from the large round space ship.
ZACK
How much do we have to slow down
to be safe??
MIKEY
We can try both slowing down AND increasing the
strength of hyperspace energy deflector shields
and the magnetic charged particle deflector fields.
I am reprogramming the ships computers to
use a set of slower harmonics of quantum slipstream
velocity. Instead of reaching Earth orbit in three
years with a hull covered with craters a thousand
feet deep we will take between 5 and 50 years to
reach Earth orbit.
Every time a particle collides with our hull
and makes a crater we slow down to a slower
harmonic of quantum slipstream velocity for
a period of time because particles usually
occur in groups. Then additional particles are
hit at slower speeds.
We speed back up after no more collisions
for the recovery period of time.
Even though the Milky Way galaxy is less than
one per cent of our flight route ten per cent
of our flight time could be inside the
Milky Way galaxy. There are more gas molecules and
particles inside galaxies than between galaxies
so we will eventually really have to slow down.
ZACK
How did we survive the folded cyberspace flight
at mugh higher speeds to this Death Star last year ??
MIKEY
We used subspace radar to go arround particles
instead of colliding with them. The computer had to
steer arround the particles in folded cyberspace.
If an instruction requires a branch then speculative
results are discarded and only correct results are
actually saved to memory in folded cybperspace mode.
The small shuttle we flew in last year has a very
small target sillouette. This Death Star is about
100 miles in diameter and when a particle hits and
makes a crater in the hull those molecules in
the hull are made of particles that
do not just cease to exist. Some are
pushed at hyperspace velocity and become a second
set of hostile particles themselves.
(SCene 15)
ZAck has a dream about lines the next night.
Bright lines end in the distance. There is
a speading of some lines into many different directions
that still end ahead.
There are some dim lines that still go by.
Those dim lines that do not stop far ahead
seem to be non-threatening.
(Scene 16)
Back on Earth Screech is meeting with a manager
from Microsoft at Cal U.
The Microsoft manager is there at Cal U to try to
recruit computer programming students who are
graduating.
MANAGER
There is a shortage of programmers. How are impatient
Windows customers supposed to expect Microsoft to hurry
up and fix Windows when so few students are taking computer
programming classes ??
SCREECH
I wish all communnity colleges would require everyone
to complete at least two computer programming
classes in order to get an A.A. degree in anything.
Both math and English are already required.
MANAGER
The other problem that Microsoft has is that critical
skilled managers and skilled computer programmers keep
getting taken away from work at bad luck times to
attend required jury selection. Even if they get
a postponement the postponement expires and they are
at jury selection on another bad luck day. Windows
XP and Windows Vista both have been victims of lost
synchronization when managers and programmers have been
away on jury duty during critical redesigns and come back
from jury duty still writing some of their code for the
Windows before the changes. The notes at the meetings
are never enough. Most of the bugs are in code that
was written by programmers who just returned from
jury duty or were working under managers who were
away on jury duty so their section was out of
control.
SCREECH
I believe that Microsoft could benifit from
getting the Washington state legislature in Olympia to
pass a totally all volunteer jury system for all
of Washingtons courts.
MANAGER
Absolutley! an all volunteer jury for every trial
will SAVE WINDOWS!!
Everybody who cares about Windows should lobby the
legislators in Olympia to get that totally all volunteer
juries for every jury trial bill PASSED as soon as possible!
SCREECH
How come Microsoft Windows is so expensive ??
MANAGER
Tech Support!! the phones at Microsoft are ringing
off of the hook with constant reports of mistakes
in Windows. Even after patches are downloaded Windows
still does not always work.
SCREECH
Is there anything that can be done about that ??
MANAGER
absolutley. After jury duty is changed to an entirely
voluntary version all skilled programmers and
critical managers will be AT MICROSOFT during
critical workdays working together synchronized to
redesign Windows in full synchronization so the
bug count will go down to a much lower number
of mistakes that occur naturally. Windows will then
be much more reliable so far much less money will be
wasted on tech support and it is absolutley certain
that an all volunteer jury system in every jury trial
in the state of Washington will do more than just
save Microsoft Windows. It will enable customers to
SAVE MONEY ON WINDOWS!!
..
OX a football player at Cal U comes up.
OX
I am taking the MSCE courses to do networking. Do I need
to also take the Linux+ networking course??
MANAGER
Not to do networking. No. Linux is just a fantasy
of some hobbyists.
SCREECH
The hobbyists who make Linux are doing it to save
money by working together as unpaid volunteers to
create and improve the free Linux operating system
with its free c compiler and some free applications
programs with Linux.
Zack Morris has decided to require all persons seeking
a Linux certification to learn three semesters of computer
programming first including the c language.
MANAGER
Zack Morris is a lazy high school student who would
never make anyone learn anything!
OX
I was on the football team when Zack Morris suspended
the entire football team including me because we did
not take and pass Kelly Kapowskis history test.
Zack required us to LEARN when he was student
principal that week that students ran Bayside
High School.
SCREECH
Zack Morris will certainly enforce the requirement that
all persons who take the Linux+ certification exam
answer questions about c programming on the new
version of that test!!
He is even considering temporarily shutting down the
Linux certification exams temporarily until the c
programming questions are added to the Linux certification
exams!
MANAGER
Linux will never ammount to anything. Linux attracts
attention by trying to imitate Microsoft Windows
but you have to struggle to get the floppy disks
to work with Linux. There is a long wait for writing
to floppy disks with Linux.
There is even a rumor on the Internet that
some of the distributors of Linux
who cater to networking professionals are planning
on making Linux networking setup and file priveleges
setting look similar to Windows so that anyone with
the MSCE courses will also be able to set up the
Linux servers as well even without the Linux+ networking
classes or exams!!
OX
Scince Linux is free it might put Microsoft out
of business.
MANAGER
If Microsoft goes out of business it will be because of
jury duty summonnses taking programmers away for required
jury duty.
If jury duty were no longer required Microsofts programmers
could fix Windows and improve it so much that Linux
could then never catch up with its unpaid hobbyists
who have been fiddling arround for years and still have
not got it fixed up yet even to compete with traditional
DOS.
SCREECH
The Linux+ networking course is for students who have
already taken at least three computer programming classes and want to
learn the Linux networking that goes with programming.
Linux is based on computer programming skills mainly in
the c programming language.
Ox you should enroll in the first C++ computer programming
class next semester. If you like programming and do well in
it then there is the option to take the Linux+ networking
class later after three semesters of computer programming.
MANAGER
Back in the past when simple DOS had enough programmers
Microsoft brass made a rule that people could get MSCE
networking certifications without learning computer
programming.
Now that Windows needs more programmers than DOS did
I wish that the Microsoft leadership would increase the
requirements of MSCE networking certification to include
one semester of computer programming instead of none
at all.
(Scene 17)
Back in Death Star
Zack and Mikey are in the computer data processing room going over some
vga.h notes
ZACK
Here is another vga.h function
vga_drawline(int xfrom,int yfrom,int xto,int yto);
that enables drawing lines between two points that have
x and y coordinates.
MIKEY
You could also include subroutines in your applications
program to draw lines consisting of groups of pixels
with vga_drawpixel(int x,int y);
ZACK
That would be easy if you only had two subroutines
that draw a vertical line and a horizontal line.
The Linux vga.h vga_drawline draws lines between
two points that could be at ANY ANGLE with respect
to each other so it uses highly complex mathematical
algorithms to draw each line because the angle is
not always vertical or horizontal.
MIKEY
We are in luck. The list of functions for wgslater.c
includes vga_drawline. You have to set the color first
so two statements can draw a line
vga_setcolor(atmost15);
vga_drawline(ixfrom,iyfrom,ixdest,iydest);
There is even a test program on the Internet called
linemake.c that draws one line. Use the linemake.c program
to test the ability of wgslater.c to draw lines correctly.
....
(link to linemake.c)
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/12271c000d712790?dmode=source&hl=en
linemake.c will ask you to enter an integer on each line followed by
the enter key at the end of each line.
there are x and y coordinates of points at both ends of the line.
If you make a coordinate that is extremely large you get a
keyboard diagnostic where you press keys to get their ascii values.
Most keys return one nonzero number in a row. But special keys
arrow keys are three non-zero numbers in a row and delete and
end are four non-zero numbers in a row from = vga_getkey();
Scince linemake.c was written directly for zackvga.h and
wgslater.c implementation of vga.h functions it does not use
keyboard callbacks anywhere in the program. The program
linemake.c calls its line of keys that calls vga_getkey();
right side up and vga_getkey(); returns the keys value to
the program on demand. No upside down logic event driven
programming is used in linemake.c
linemake.c is at link above and uses vga.h graphics drawing functions.
----------------------------------------
Here is a link to the previous Star Wars Saved By The Bell
episode below.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.bill-gates.kind.benificent.loving.big-brother/browse_thread/thread/a19deca935b6fed0/b750fb17cde7214e?&hl=en#b750fb17cde7214e
....
...
..
ericmatteson...@hotmail.com
Star Wars Episode 3 Thursday, December 7,2006
President of large round space ship makes two executive orders ..
1 ) require all persons seeking Linux certification
to know how to make medium complexity computer
programs in the c or c++ programming language.
Linux certification exams also have to be upgraded
to include computer programming questions.
.................................................................
2 ) require LINUX distributors to FULLY reinstate vga.h
graphics pixel programming capability with the LINUX c
programming language. vga.h is easier to write programs for
than any other known graphics pixel interface.
..
Copyright C 2006 By Eric Matteson
Permission is herby granted to copy the plain text
version of this script and to publish it on the Internet.
Non-profit uses including student films are also allowed.
Starring Max Battimo as Mikey Gonzales ( Vice President data )
Starring Mark Paul Goesselaar as Zack Morris ( President of
large round space ship )
Mark Hammil as Luke Skywalker
Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers
Lorenzo Lamos as A.C. Slater
(Scene 1)
Screech and slater are in their dorm room on Earth
at Cal U.
On the sub space viewscreen Zack Morris calls in.
ZACK
How much progress has been made in LINUX ??
SLATER
It is a lot easier to install the free
Fedora Core 5 Linux this
semester than last semester. All we have to do is
check software development when asked and then Fedora
Core 5 LINUX installs perfectly. No more need to delete
graphical internet because the installation rules
are so much simpler now. Thanks Zack for your previous
XWindows episode that might have inspired Linux distributiors
to fix up their distributions so you can eventually choose
one or two front runners to compete with Microsoft Windows.
SCREECH
There is a problem with the Microsoft network
certification exams. There are no questions about
computer programming and it seems like it is a
tradgedy that someone can take networking
courses and pass the Microsoft exams and work with
computers for many years without knowing how to
write even a simple computer program.
There is a communnity college that is sometimes
on a television show. In its fall 2006 catalog were
only two computer programming classes Cs 917
16-bit assembler and CS939 C++
CS939 C++ had been canceled.
SLATER
CS939 would not have been canceled if more
students had to take that important C++ class.
SCREECH
There were at least ten networking classes
in the fall 2006 catalog.
SLATER
There is a rumor on the Internet that communnity
colleges are planning on offering a LINUX
networking class in Spring 2007.
SCREECH
Is Linux going to certify a bunch of networking
professionals who know nothing about computer
programming like Microsoft has done ??
ZACK
Absolutley not. Screech roll those video recorders!!
(Screech gets his camera positioned in front of the
viewscreen)
ZACK
This is Zack Morris. I am president of this Death Star
of Star Wars. I hereby create this executive order--
-----------------------------------------------------
I am requiring All Linux certification exam
producers to add questions about computer programming
to ALL LINUX CERTIFICATION EXAMS because it is
my utmost hope that Linux continue to improve in the
future. Linux is not finished yet. There is a severe
shortage of people on Earth who know how to program
computers.
The networking certification aspect of Linux could be
temporarily shut down without harming Linux.
The LINUX operating system is primarily for software
development. Linux does not need a bunch of ignorant
networking professionals. Linux only needs programmers.
The progress that I have seen on Linux implies that
Linux is heading in a direction of proceeding twoard
automatic network setup and in the near future there
might be an icon in Gnome XWindows called
automatically configure Internet routers.
My opinion is that Linux will soon evolve to the point
where networking professionals will no longer be needed
because of the already proposed automatic
network configuration
of workstations and servers and even Internet routers.
There will soon be nothing left for networking professionals
to do except plug in cables and install Linux. Check the
software development check box and the automatically configure
networks check box at the beginning of Linux installation.
I am absolutley certain that Linux needs computer programmers
instead of networking professionals.
I herby ORDER everyone who is planning on seeking
any type of Linux Certification to learn medium
complexity c or c++ programming techniques before
attempting to take any kind of Linux certification exam.
(Zack gets some chalk to write on the blackboard.)
We can start with some examples
zctop: if((larry21 * zheight) < 0)goto zctwo;
labels in c start with an alphabetic letter.
Simple variables such as larry21 are where
numbers are stored. The < is for less than.
Equality in a comparison is two equals signs in a row.
zctwo: if((berry23 - tiny22) == 0)goto zctop;
The c language even uses groups of numbers called
arrays. A SUBSCRIPT in a statement is an integer variable
name whose value chooses which number in the group of numbers
called an array is being used in that statement.
ires = isapci[iwhich];
ires is the simple integer result.
isapci is the group of integers called an array.
iwhich is the SUBSCRIPT that chooses which number
within isapci will be copied to ires.
I also believe that even if your current
or proposed job does
not require programming that computer programming is a
good hobby and I hope that everybody who does anything
at all with LINUX will learn programming so when someone
wants to help improve LINUX in the future they will have
good computer programming skills that are needed to
improve LINUX.
..
ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE WILL CONTINUE TO GET OR RENEW ANY TYPE
OF LINUX CERTIFICATION WITHOUT FIRST LEARNING THE C
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE!!!!
(End of message)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Screech turns off the viewscreen and Zack dissappears.
(end of scene)
(scene 2 on board Death Star )
(Mikey sets up the overhead projector to go over
notes).
Zack and Mikey meet in the conference room. Mikey had
been going over some old notes about Linux.
MIKEY
Even before the invention of modern Linux XWindows
Linux had invented an earlier graphics programming
interface called vga.h
there are two integer constant screen modes for graphics.
G640x480x16 and G640x480x2
the sequence of just TWO functions
vga_init();
vga_setmode(int scrmode);
opens up a graphics window or turns the screen into
graphics pixel mode.
Instead of inputting a line of text with the old
read line from stdin the keyboard in vga.h mode
uses
= vga_getkey();
that returns a 0 if no key has been pressed and
nonzero if a key has been pressed. Most keys are one
ascii value returned but arrow keys and special keys
may return three or four non zero values in a row
just for that one special key.
The regular numbers and letters are their actual
ascii values.
ZACK
how are graphics pixels drawn ??
MIKEY
there is a series of two statements to draw one
tiny graphics pixel
vga_setcolor(int atmost15);
vga_drawpixel(int x,int y);
where 0 <= atmost15 <= ( colors - 1 )
<= 15 for color screen or <= 1 for high speed monochrome
screen.
and
0 <= x <= 639
0 <= y <= 479
draws the colored pixel at point (x,y)
x increases to right while y increases twoard bottom.
ZACK
Wheres the rest ??
MIKEY
thats all of it.
ZACK
Are you sure ??
MIKEY
Absolutley!
ZACK
One time I was in detention and Mr. Belding showed me a
c Windows book to try to emphasize the complexity of
education.
Opening up a Window needs many parameters and several
pages on incomprehensible gobeldegook and then
trying to draw a graphics pixel had a
SetDIBitsToDevice( with hundreds of arguments ...
and a begin paint and a end paint.
MIKEY
I also know about a luxury function to
draw a line of pixels
vga_drawscansegment(char* pixeldata,int x0,int ydown,int bytewid);
in monochrome mode G640x480x2 there are eight pixels per byte within
*pixeldata and bytewid is 1/8 of the number of pixels accross.
..
in color mode G640x480x16 there is only ONE pixel per byte
instead of the expected two. This was found by experimentation
because the initial Internet notes failed to cover this detail.
bytewid is the number of pixels in color mode.
..
the luxury functions
= vga_getxdim(); should return 640 and
= vga_getydim(); should return 480
for normal vga.h but if the screen is less than
640 * 480 those numbers will also be less.
the
vga_drawscansegment(char* eightperbyte,int x0,int ydown,int
eighthwid);
is VERY FAST in monochrome mode G640x480x2 with eight pixels per byte
ZACK
How come nobody told me about this before ??
MIKEY
Two reasons. First, It is very hard to find information
about Linux. Secondly, Linux forgot about vga.h after
XWindows was invented. The two were not initially
used together. Mainstream Linux with XWindows far too
often does not have vga.h
XWindows is harder to write programs for than vga.h
Microsoft Windows is MUCH HARDER to write programs for
than vga.h
ZACK
Even the football players can understand vga.h
(End of scene 2)
(Scene 3, Screeches dorm room)
Screech has a very old Linux on his 80486 DX-2 computer.
Instead of XWindows it starts with the command prompt
called bash.
On a different computer screech had downloaded an
example program called vgview05.c and fixed it up with
notepad to fix the header and trailer comments by making
the whole program possibly look like one large comment so
no compile time errors.
...........
vgview05.c had an interesting history. After some documentation
was found for vga.h it had to be fully tested. There was not
enough time to start making a new picture displayer from
nothing. The xwview03.c program already existed to display
bitmap files in XWindows.
To make vgview05.c the XWindows display functions were
removed from xwview03.c and replaced with vga.h
drawing functions. Scince xwview03.c used keyboard
callbacks there was a loop made in which = vga_getkey()
returned a key that was then translated with a
different translation table and then the key callback
routine of xwview03.c was called.
If a program was first written to use keyboard callback
event driven programming ( Upside down logic ) it is
very easy to change it to obtain its keys from a regular
upside up reading of each key function by making
a small loop to read each key and then call the callback.
Changing a program that initially uses upside up
regular reading of each key to a callback upside down
logic is much harder because each key reading statement
has to be removed and at least two variables have to be
used one to tell where to go to in the program
with the current key and another to determine
where the NEXT KEY should be sent within the program.
Scince xwview03.c was written first and it used the
upside down logic of two variable names telling where
in the program each key goes and where the next one
is likely to go and no key read statement it is
the easy conversion to have one key reading loop and then
call the xwview03.c key callback with the modified
pixel displayers to get a vgview05.c that can display
graphics pixels on a older Linux without XWindows.
vgview05.c was finished first and passed testing on the
older Linux. Only after vgview05.c bitmap file displayer
program passed its testing on traditional vga.h
to verify the validity of vga.h documentation could
any converter header be planned to upgrade XWindows
to support traditional vga.h for c graphics pixel programs.
..............................
( link to vgview05.c bitmap viewer program )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/b27ab7f8969ab00e?dmode=source&hl=en
( link to vgview05.c above )
The vgview05.c uses zackvga.h instead of traditional vga.h
and zackmain instead of traditional main. A very simple
header file called zackvga.h has to be made for it.
the zackvga.h has a main to call zackmain and it has
references to headers vga.h and stdio.h and even dirent.h
so zackvga.h should be the only header file that
vgview05.c needs.
Screech draws a test drawing with Windows paintbrush called
test.bmp
then he copies the files to his 1.44 Mb floppy disk.
Then he takes the disk out of his Windows Pentium computer.
Screech starts his 80486 and the old linux starts up
at the login screen screech logs in as root user
login:root
password:Morris
then screech inserts his 1.44 Mb floppy disk
into his 80486-Dx2 computer.
[root@localhost root]#mount /dev/fd0/
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/zackvga.h ./
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/vgview05.c ./
[root@localhost root]#cp /mnt/floppy/test.bmp ./
[root@localhost root]#umount /mnt/floppy/
(then remove the floppy disk from the drive)
[root@localhost root]#gcc -Wall vgview05.c -lvga -o vgview05.out
[root@localhost root]#./vgview05.out test.bmp
Then the screen changes from text mode to graphics mode
When screech presses the c key the color scheme slowly
changes. vgview05.c is very slow because it uses color
and has to do a lot of calculations.
After screech presses the q key vgview05.c quits and on the
command prompt
[root@localhost root]#shutdown -h now
Linux then shuts down and Screech turns off his 80486
computer.
Then screech hands his floppy disk to A.C. Slater.
Slater had to install a newer Linux with XWindows
because he also has a new Microsoft Windows on his
Pentium computer. The old Linux for 80486 computers
that screech uses on his 486 will not work on
large hard drives beyond its 8 gigabyte limit.
Windows takes up 20 gigabytes and the other
half of the 40Gb hard drive is for the newer Linux.
Slater uses the graphical interface in gnome to
access the floppy. He copies it to his wrestling
directory.
Then he goes to the menu to unmount the floppy and
removes the floppy disk.
Then Slater tries to compile vgview05.c
[root@localhost wrestling]#gcc -Wall vgview05.c -lvga -o vgview05.out
gcc - ***ERROR*** unable to find vga.h
There is an error. Even though zackvga.h is in the
directory it is impossible to find vga.h because the
trivial version of zackvga.h has a reference to
traditional vga.h that is supposed to be provided by the
Linux operating system and is there on Screeches 80486
based old Linux but not A.C. slaters Pentium with very new
Linux.
(end of scene 3)
(SEcne 4 on Death Star in Zacks quarters Zack goes to bed.)
(Zack Morris has dream about Microsoft headquarters)
Bill Gates comes to visit Steve Ballmer. Steve Ballmer
has his Dot.NET executives in the room with him.
Hans Solo is in the rear of the room.
STEVE
Dot.NET is a spectacular FAILURE. Communnity colleges
no longer teach visual basic and the csharp Dot.NET is
like JAVA and communnity colleges have canceled JAVA in
Fall 2006 Semester.
Visual Basic and dot.net use keyboard callback
upside down logic event driven programming that
is MUCH HARDER than traditional reading of keys.
Even if students are smart enough to learn it the
classes have been canceled because TEACHERS are not
able to understand or teach how to program by calling
an application program with a key value. Even textbook
writers are unable to handle it. Windows programming
is just too hard to teach.
Then Steve passes out pink slips to every DOT.NET executive
except one. They all leave extremely dissapointed.
The one executive that remains is the C++ DOT.NET executive.
STEVE
Your pink slip has been delayed. Produce a C++ DOT.NET
communnity college textbook that includes graphics pixel
programming AND MAKES SENSE and get it in to communnity
college bookstores before the Fall 2007 semester
starts or YOUR FIRED!!
EXECUTIVE
I will get right on it!!
(Then he leaves)
STEVE
Who are you and what can you do for us??
HANS SOLO
I am Hans Solo.
Remember in the past you had QBASIC that had
= inkey$()
that returns a null string if no key has been pressed
and returns a string of one or two characters for
every key ??
BILL
Yes. Qbasic is the best programming language that
traditional DOS ever had. There was also a color setter
and a rectangle drawer in QBASIC as well.
HANS SOLO
But things like Visual Basic and Java for Windows
have an upside down key logic in which applications
programs are called by Microsoft Windows with one
key value. There is no = inkey$() in Microsoft windows
so Windows programs are unable to read a key on their own
will.
STEVE
Qbasic is only 16 bits. Nobody would use Qbasic because
there is not enough memory and it is only 16 bits
HANS SOLO
I have been spying on LINUX. the leader of a great big
round space ship that is helping LINUX improve is planning on
upgrading LINUX to provide a graphics pixel interface
called vga.h in the 32-bit LINUX c programming language.
Only Two statements
vga_init();
vga_setmode(G640x480x16);
open up a graphics pixel window.
= vga_getkey(); will return 0 if no key has been
pressed. Most normal keys numbers and letters are
regular ascii returning of just one nonzero number.
But the backspace key is 127 instead
of expected 8.
The arrow keys return three nonzero numbers in a row.
Things like delete and end return four nonzero numbers
in a row.
= vga_getkey(); is CALLED BY a linux application
program. There is no callback and no event driven
programming in vga.h so vga.h is easier to write
programs for than any Microsoft programming language
in Dot.NET
The proposed LINUX vga.h will have the two functions
vga_setcolor(atmost15);
vga_drawpixel(x,y);
that will draw a colored pixel on the screen.
Communnity colleges teach the two semesters of C++
programming CS939 c and CS936 c++ with classes both with
plain console text only because plain text only without
graphics is what Microsoft has provided in the easy to
use console interface.
I am asking Microsoft to UPGRADE ITS EASY TO USE
CONSOLE INTERFACE to allow graphics pixel programmimg
to be done in addition to plain text.
If you want LINUX to obtain a monopoly at communnity
colleges you can go ahead and do absolutley nothing
and then LINUX will take over and replace Microsoft
Windows both at communnity colleges and eventually
everywhere else as well.
STEVE
Linux is just a fantasy of a bunch of hobbyists.
They speculate grandiose proposals but Linux
does not really work. It will not even install.
Linux makes it difficult to handle floppy disks.
BILL
A big round space ship has already given LINUX a lot
of help. LINUX might now be able to actually compete
unfairly with Microsoft. Investigate the possibility
of upgrading Windows to do graphics pixel programmimg
in console mode by calling keys without event driven
programmimg.
(Then fast forward to if Microsoft is sucessfull.
the vgview05.c program runs in a Microsoft Windows
setting.)
Zack wakes up and makes breakfast.
(Scene 5)
Later at breakfast Zack tells Mikey about his dream.
MIKEY
Why should Microsoft run Linux vga.h c graphics
programs ??
ZACK
Because the writers of those c programs that use vga.h
want them to run on Windows computers in addition
to Linux computers. In 2006 Linux is running on less
than two per cent of computers. The LINUX vga.h for
c applications programs will become more useful if it
also runs on Microsoft Windows.
There is no dessert for breakfast this morning and
I burned the toast. Remember how much you hate me
for stealing your girlfriend in Junior high?? Pretend
that I am after her again. Luke skywalker will not
trust me because I run this Death Star. Pretend
you are rebelling against me and call Luke Skywalker
up and tell him about the vga.h that LINUX will soon
reinstate.
Luke Skywalker thinks that I am a tyrant because I
refused to let him destroy this large round space ship.
MIKEY
Will Linux get weaker if vga.h falls into the hands
of Microsoft ?
ZACK
I want Linux to improve to catch up to a better
Microsoft Windows. Call Luke up and I will monitor
the call and I will catch you at the end of the call.
Zack goes to a seperate room while Mikey goes
to the two way viewscreen room.
(Scene 6)
Mikey calls up Luke Skywalker on the viewscreen
------------------------------------------------
LUKE
I am surprised to see you.
MIKEY
That tyrant Zack Morris did not provide dessert
for breakfast this morning and he stole my girl
friend in Junior High School.
Zack Morris is out of control. He is proposing to
UPGRADE LINUX so graphics pixel programming will
become possible in c without using evemt driven programmimg.
Only two statements will be needed to open up a window
and then
You will be able to read a key with = vga_getkey();
No keyboard callbacks like hard Microsoft Windows. Use
vga_setcolor(value);
vga_drawpixel(x,y);
to draw each pixel.
Zack wants to emphasize this easy to use c graphics pixel
interface and put it in the LINUX foreground.
LUKE
This will put Microsoft out of business!! Microsoft Windows
has always been hard to write programs for. The easy to use
Microsoft C++ console interface is for TEXT ONLY without
graphics pixels!!
MIKEY
In Linux you have to mount floppy disks and if you
write to a floppy disk you have to wait 30 seconds
before LINUX will begin writing to the floppy disk
and when you are done you have to umount the floppy
disk before changing floppy disks.
I want Microsoft to upgrade their superior operating
system by adding the LINUX c vga.h easy to write
programs for graphics pixel interface to Microsoft
Windows so I will not have to struggle with inferior
LINUX any more.
..
There is also a rumor on the Internet that Linux will
soon be able to be configured file priveleges and
networking with a set of menus that look like
MSCE Microsoft Windows setup so MSCEs will soon
be able to configure Linux servers almost identically
to Microsoft Windows servers and domain controllers...
(ZAck Morris sneaks in and grabs Mikey from behind and
picks Mikey up.)
MIKEY
Ow!! Ow!!
ZACK
Mikey, HOW DARE YOU COMMIT TREASON AGAINST LINUX
BY HELPING MICROSOFT!! I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR TWO
MINUTES AND YOU ARE SMUGGLING HELP TO LUKE SKYWALKER!!
(Then Zack Morris pushes the cutoff button and the
viewscreen goes dark and Luke Skywalker dissappears.)
-------------------------------------------------------
(Scene 7)
Mikey and Zack are in the lunchroom aboard the
large round space ship called the Death Star.
MIKEY
I am extremely sorry that I provided too much help
to Luke Skywalker to fix Microsoft Windows.
ZACK
You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Luke
Skywalker does not like me because I run this great
big Death Star and I refused to turn it over to Luke to
be destroyed.
I had you sneak some information to Luke Skywalker
because he does not trust me.
MIKEY
What if Windows benifits too much and makes things
hard for LINUX ??
ZACK
What you have done is is enable Windows to go one
step forward by having an opportunity to run vga.h
LINUX is being helped twice. Programmers who write
c graphics pixel programs for vga.h will be able to
run those programs on BOTH Microsoft Windows AND
LINUX so vga.h will become more useful and get used
by more programs.
The second help to LINUX is LINUX will have to improve
vga.h and its availability to keep up with
Microsoft Windows. Microsoft gets one step forward
while LINUX gets TWO STEPS FORWARD from sharing vga.h
with Microsoft Windows!!
MIKEY
Good one Zack!!
(then there are two desserts with lunch.)
(End of scene 7)
(Scene 8 Screeches dorm room)
rm zackvga.h
A.C. slater deletes the zackvga.h and vgview05.c still
does not compile.
***ERROR*** unable to find zackvga.h
Then screech calls zack up on the two way viewscreen.
SCREECH
Zack, even though my computer with the old Linux
compiles and runs the vgview05.c picture viewer program
for Linux c vga.h Slaters new computer with the newer
LINUX refuses to compile vgview05.c to run with XWindows.
ZACK
This is a serious problem. vga.h is important to me.
SLATER
Zack, pretty please order Linux distributors to
reinstate vga.h for easy graphics pixel programming.
ZACK
I will get started on investigating the problem right away!!
(Zack turns off the viewscreen and leaves)
(Scene 9 Zack and Mikey are in a data processing
room. In addition to three of Zacks pentiums are some
old imperial mainframe computers. An ovehead projector
is set up with clear plastic and a drawing crayon.)
MIKEY
We will need to make a new version of zackvga.h for
XWindows that will call a new wgslater.c secondary
header file.
We need to get started on wgslater.c
wgslater.c is where the work is done of telling
XWindows how to perform every vga.h function that
it can support. vga.h functions begin with vga_ .
In the void bitwrt2(char* bde2,int ski2,int wwi2,
int wx2,int wy2,int zltr2,int wwbv2);
we will be using a value of 1 for the next to the
last argument zltr2 so when wwbv2 is one the or
mask is
1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128
so as the remainder increases the or mask increases
so the pixels will be drawn in REVERSE order within
each byte of a XWindow plane.
vga_drawpixel(int barnesgx,int barnesgy);
uses bitwrt2(.... to draw the internal color
variable currentcolor to the pattern buffer array or
four arrays instead of immediately updating the display.
then also sets the switch apaintscreen=1; indicating
that during the next key read the pattern buffer
needs to be copied to the temporary buffer then to the
display if apaintscreen is nonzero and then
apaintscreen is reset to 0 after each screen
update.
ZACK
Can the same thing be done for Microsoft Windows ??
MIKEY
Microsoft Windows is different from Linux XWindows
because Microsoft Windows does not reverse the order
of pixels within a byte like Linux XWindows does.
In Linux XWindows when G640x480x16 color mode is
used four seperate bit plane arrays are using
one bit in each color plane to represent that
colors prescence or abscence for that pixel like
a two dimensional array.
In Microsoft Windows the four bits per pixel are
together as two pixels per byte instead of
eight pixels within each byte of four seperate arrays.
Microsoft also uses upside down bitmaps while
Linux Xwindows display planes are not upside down.
ZACK
How do you read the keys without a callback event ??
MIKEY
the XWinmain loop is open at the TOP so after a key
is read it stops looping to check for nextevent and
returns with the key buffer updated. When the
XWinmain loop is called to read the next key
it also checks the apaintscreen
variable and copies the pattern buffer to the temporary
buffer to the screen if apaintscreen is nonzero
and then resets the apaintscreen variable to 0.
(Several weeks later the wgslater.c and new zackvga.h
header files are completed)
Both the wgslater.c and zackvga.h files need to be downloaded
to compile zackvga.h using c programs in an XWindows environment.
..
( link to wgslater.c helper file )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/fe1bbfa146652b66?dmode=source&hl=en
.....
....
...
..
.
( link to zackvga.h header file )
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/cb0045c1f12f72fe?dmode=source&hl=en
The two header files above expect your c applications
program to use zackmain(int,char**) instead of main and
use include zackvga.h instead of vga.h
zackvga.h has includes of its own for stdio.h and dirent.h and
the xwindows version of zackvga.h immediately above uses
wgslater.c instead of missing vga.h as its header file for graphics.
the functions that start with vga_ should work the same as
traditional Linux vga.h
(end of scene 9)
(Scene 10 in screeches dorm room on Earth)
(screech downloads the two new header files on the
Windows Pentium and uses notepad to turn both files
into large comments and then copies then to a floppy
and then A.C. Slater starts Linux up.)
A.C. slater copies the files on the floppy disk
the new zackvga.h
wgslater.c
test.bmp
vgview05.c
to the hard drive then unmounts and removes the floppy disk.
Then starting terminal.
[AC@localhost AC]>dir
test.bmp vgview05.c wgslater.c zackvga.h
[AC@localhost AC]>gcc -Wall vgview05.c -L/usr/X11R6/lib -lX11 -o
vgview05.out
[AC@localhost AC]>./vgview05.out test.bmp
Then the program starts. The c key changes the color
scheme. The colors are brighter than expected.
(Then Zack calls in on the viewscreen --)
ZACK
Did you find the new header files zackvga.h and wgslater.c
on the Internet yet ??
SLATER
Yes I did. The program is running now after a
successful compilation on XWindows based LINUX.
SCREECH
The camera is running so you can make a speech.
ZACK
This is Zack Morris. I am president of this large
round space ship called the Death Star. I Hereby make
this executive order to order LINUX to fully reinstate
the easy to write c graphics programs for vga.h
into the mainstream foreground of LINUX.
LINUX IS ABSOLUTLEY REQUIRED TO FULLY REINSTATE
the c language vga.h for easy graphics pixel
proramming immediately.
..
In order to make absolutley certain that resistance
is futile the header files zackvga.h for XWindows with
its wgslater.c are already on the Internet so XWindows
users can immediately compile their c graphics programs
that use vga.h now and run them. Just change main to
zackmain and use zackvga.h instead of vga.h
The zackvga.h includes wgslater.c to perform the
vga.h funtions and also refers to headers stdio.h
and dirent.h
You can rem out all system
header references in your program and have
just the one header reference zackvga.h
These headers do the hardware independent
functions that start with vga_ within the
wgslater.c list of declared functions.
..
If you are not satisfied with these header files
that are already there please ask the LINUX
disributors to add a command line choice in
addition to KDE and GNOME that enables vga.h
instead of XWINDOWS (might use a lower implied
runlevel).
LINUX also has to comply with this executive order
to keep up with Microsoft Windows. Luke Skywalker
is pressuring Microsoft to add vga.h
Any questions ??
SCREECH
What if LINUX fails to comply.
ZACK
Until LINUX complies the only functions of vga.h
that will work are those within wgslater.c and
only screen modes G640x480x2 and G640x480x16
are supported and we have a pretend vga.h running
inside a XWindow with wgslater.c and
What if Microsoft adds the screen mode G640x480x16777216
to its implementation of vga.h ??
SLATER
I rechecked my terminal. I accidently compiled and
ran vgview05.c for vga.h in unpriveliged mode
without logging in as root.
SCREECH
That is impossible!! I always get an error message
when unpriveliged. I always have to log in as root
to run any program that uses vga.h
ZACK
The pretend vga.h that is provided by wgslater.c and
its small zackvga.h in a LINUX XWindow is powerful
and flexible like this enormous Death Star spacecraft.
This wgslater.c based implementation of vga.h functions
does not require logging in as root!!
The question for LINUX distributors is does the real
LINUX system vga.h REALLY need to continue to require
users who run graphics pixel programs to continue
to login as root or superuser ??
If they say it does tell them about the wgslater.c
zackvga.h that does NOT as a counterexample!
Is it really fair to deny unpriveleged users access to
vga.h graphics pixels ??
(zack shuts off the viewscreen)
(end of scene 9)
(Scene 10)
Zack Morris has a dream about flying through a large
tunnel very fast at almost infinite velocity.
Very bright trails are made as small particles
whiz by very fast as lines.
Each small particle appears as a line because it
is traveling so fast.
Then there is a hole through Zacks chest and he wakes up.
(Scene 11)
Zack and Mikey are at breakfast.
ZACK
I had a dream last night about being surrounded
by bright lines at random. I am traveling through a
very wide tunnel at what seems like infinite
velocity.
MIKEY
I have been having similar dreams.
Our ship is traveling very fast and the tunnel in
the dream might be a representation of the
harmonic quantum slipstream.
When a very small String Theory string passes through
our space ship it travels close to subatomic particles
that our ship is made out of and the high relative
velocity induces a lot of sub space hyperspace
velocity energy that appears in our
dreams as lines of light.
ZACK
How come we do not see these lines in the
daytime when we are awake ??
MIKEY
Perhaps it is because the phenomenom mainly
occurs in hyperspace at velocities much higher than
light.
Our ships outer hull is a very dense metal
alloy two miles thick.
Particles that hit our ship are going to
first have to collide with that outer hull.
Those particles that make it through the
outer hull are mostly those that travel through
all matter and are normally invisible.
ZACK
Can we go outside in space suits and take a look
at the outside of our hull ??
MIKEY
That would be way too dangerous at this velocity.
Outside our hull collision with even one electron
or partially reactive neutrinio would create a fatal explosion.
Keep in mind that matter blows up when hit
at very fast speeds even by particles that are
very small.
ZACK
Prepare some droids for an EVA mission.
(Zack and Mikey finish breakfast and then go to
a room full of droids).
(scene 12 at a droid meeting room)
Zack brings in a 486 based computer with
two old floppy drives one regular 3-1/2 inch
and a older 5-1/4 inch drive.
The computer boots up to a traditional
DOS command prompt.
The standard 1.44 Mb floppies are used in
Pentium computers but most droids in the
Death Star still use the older 360 Kb large
flat floppy disks.
ZACK puts in the 1.44 Mb disk from a Pentium and
puts it in the 486 small floppy drive and copies
it onto the 486 hard disk.
Then Zack checks the file with a very old DOS
Text editor.
He fixes it up for the current EVA mission.
Then he saves it and then copies the text file
to a 360Kb giant floppy disk and sticks it into
a humanoid droids stomach floppy disk drive.
Then the droid compiles the commands on the disk.
The droid passes the disk arround to 9 other
droids.
Then the droids take some TV cameras with then
and they leave on a scooter.
The leader of the mission is droid C5RD.
Then Zack and Mike go to the communnications
room.
(Scene 13 the EVA mission)
Zack and Mikey watch the droid eva mission on
the viewscreen.
C5RD gets the scooter out an airlock into
space.
The harmonic quantum slipstream tunnel is
plainly visible.
C5RD flys the scooter arround the front of the
Death Star. There are several craters ranging
from 25 feet deep to 150 feet deep where one
very small particle had collided with the
outer hull.
THe outer hull is made of a very strong
metal alloy that is supposed to bounce
meteors off of the spacecraft at slow
speeds.
Then C5RD lands the scooter in an area with
a lot of craters. Some are only two feet deep.
Then the droids split up and send TV pictures
from several craters.
Some craters have complex patterns in them.
Different particles create craters of different
sizes when they collide with the Death Star.
The droids install additional hyperspace energy
field generators on the outside of the Death Star
to provide additional hyperspace energy fields
to deflect particles away from the Death Star.
(Scene 14)
After the EVA mission ends Seven of the
ten droids return to the droid
meeting room. Three of the droids have been
destroyed by colliding with small particles
outside the protective hull of the Death Star
space ship.
The protective shield is over 10,000 feet thick
and less than two per cent has been penetrated.
Magnetic fields and hyperspace energy fields
are also used to try to keep most particles
away from the large round space ship.
ZACK
How much do we have to slow down
to be safe??
MIKEY
We can try both slowing down AND increasing the
strength of hyperspace energy deflector shields
and the magnetic charged particle deflector fields.
I am reprogramming the ships computers to
use a set of slower harmonics of quantum slipstream
velocity. Instead of reaching Earth orbit in three
years with a hull covered with craters a thousand
feet deep we will take between 5 and 50 years to
reach Earth orbit.
Every time a particle collides with our hull
and makes a crater we slow down to a slower
harmonic of quantum slipstream velocity for
a period of time because particles usually
occur in groups. Then additional particles are
hit at slower speeds.
We speed back up after no more collisions
for the recovery period of time.
Even though the Milky Way galaxy is less than
one per cent of our flight route ten per cent
of our flight time could be inside the
Milky Way galaxy. There are more gas molecules and
particles inside galaxies than between galaxies
so we will eventually really have to slow down.
ZACK
How did we survive the folded cyberspace flight
at mugh higher speeds to this Death Star last year ??
MIKEY
We used subspace radar to go arround particles
instead of colliding with them. The computer had to
steer arround the particles in folded cyberspace.
If an instruction requires a branch then speculative
results are discarded and only correct results are
actually saved to memory in folded cybperspace mode.
The small shuttle we flew in last year has a very
small target sillouette. This Death Star is about
100 miles in diameter and when a particle hits and
makes a crater in the hull those molecules in
the hull are made of particles that
do not just cease to exist. Some are
pushed at hyperspace velocity and become a second
set of hostile particles themselves.
(SCene 15)
ZAck has a dream about lines the next night.
Bright lines end in the distance. There is
a speading of some lines into many different directions
that still end ahead.
There are some dim lines that still go by.
Those dim lines that do not stop far ahead
seem to be non-threatening.
(Scene 16)
Back on Earth Screech is meeting with a manager
from Microsoft at Cal U.
The Microsoft manager is there at Cal U to try to
recruit computer programming students who are
graduating.
MANAGER
There is a shortage of programmers. How are impatient
Windows customers supposed to expect Microsoft to hurry
up and fix Windows when so few students are taking computer
programming classes ??
SCREECH
I wish all communnity colleges would require everyone
to complete at least two computer programming
classes in order to get an A.A. degree in anything.
Both math and English are already required.
MANAGER
The other problem that Microsoft has is that critical
skilled managers and skilled computer programmers keep
getting taken away from work at bad luck times to
attend required jury selection. Even if they get
a postponement the postponement expires and they are
at jury selection on another bad luck day. Windows
XP and Windows Vista both have been victims of lost
synchronization when managers and programmers have been
away on jury duty during critical redesigns and come back
from jury duty still writing some of their code for the
Windows before the changes. The notes at the meetings
are never enough. Most of the bugs are in code that
was written by programmers who just returned from
jury duty or were working under managers who were
away on jury duty so their section was out of
control.
SCREECH
I believe that Microsoft could benifit from
getting the Washington state legislature in Olympia to
pass a totally all volunteer jury system for all
of Washingtons courts.
MANAGER
Absolutley! an all volunteer jury for every trial
will SAVE WINDOWS!!
Everybody who cares about Windows should lobby the
legislators in Olympia to get that totally all volunteer
juries for every jury trial bill PASSED as soon as possible!
SCREECH
How come Microsoft Windows is so expensive ??
MANAGER
Tech Support!! the phones at Microsoft are ringing
off of the hook with constant reports of mistakes
in Windows. Even after patches are downloaded Windows
still does not always work.
SCREECH
Is there anything that can be done about that ??
MANAGER
absolutley. After jury duty is changed to an entirely
voluntary version all skilled programmers and
critical managers will be AT MICROSOFT during
critical workdays working together synchronized to
redesign Windows in full synchronization so the
bug count will go down to a much lower number
of mistakes that occur naturally. Windows will then
be much more reliable so far much less money will be
wasted on tech support and it is absolutley certain
that an all volunteer jury system in every jury trial
in the state of Washington will do more than just
save Microsoft Windows. It will enable customers to
SAVE MONEY ON WINDOWS!!
..
OX a football player at Cal U comes up.
OX
I am taking the MSCE courses to do networking. Do I need
to also take the Linux+ networking course??
MANAGER
Not to do networking. No. Linux is just a fantasy
of some hobbyists.
SCREECH
The hobbyists who make Linux are doing it to save
money by working together as unpaid volunteers to
create and improve the free Linux operating system
with its free c compiler and some free applications
programs with Linux.
Zack Morris has decided to require all persons seeking
a Linux certification to learn three semesters of computer
programming first including the c language.
MANAGER
Zack Morris is a lazy high school student who would
never make anyone learn anything!
OX
I was on the football team when Zack Morris suspended
the entire football team including me because we did
not take and pass Kelly Kapowskis history test.
Zack required us to LEARN when he was student
principal that week that students ran Bayside
High School.
SCREECH
Zack Morris will certainly enforce the requirement that
all persons who take the Linux+ certification exam
answer questions about c programming on the new
version of that test!!
He is even considering temporarily shutting down the
Linux certification exams temporarily until the c
programming questions are added to the Linux certification
exams!
MANAGER
Linux will never ammount to anything. Linux attracts
attention by trying to imitate Microsoft Windows
but you have to struggle to get the floppy disks
to work with Linux. There is a long wait for writing
to floppy disks with Linux.
There is even a rumor on the Internet that
some of the distributors of Linux
who cater to networking professionals are planning
on making Linux networking setup and file priveleges
setting look similar to Windows so that anyone with
the MSCE courses will also be able to set up the
Linux servers as well even without the Linux+ networking
classes or exams!!
OX
Scince Linux is free it might put Microsoft out
of business.
MANAGER
If Microsoft goes out of business it will be because of
jury duty summonnses taking programmers away for required
jury duty.
If jury duty were no longer required Microsofts programmers
could fix Windows and improve it so much that Linux
could then never catch up with its unpaid hobbyists
who have been fiddling arround for years and still have
not got it fixed up yet even to compete with traditional
DOS.
SCREECH
The Linux+ networking course is for students who have
already taken at least three computer programming classes and want to
learn the Linux networking that goes with programming.
Linux is based on computer programming skills mainly in
the c programming language.
Ox you should enroll in the first C++ computer programming
class next semester. If you like programming and do well in
it then there is the option to take the Linux+ networking
class later after three semesters of computer programming.
MANAGER
Back in the past when simple DOS had enough programmers
Microsoft brass made a rule that people could get MSCE
networking certifications without learning computer
programming.
Now that Windows needs more programmers than DOS did
I wish that the Microsoft leadership would increase the
requirements of MSCE networking certification to include
one semester of computer programming instead of none
at all.
(Scene 17)
Back in Death Star
Zack and Mikey are in the computer data processing room going over some
vga.h notes
ZACK
Here is another vga.h function
vga_drawline(int xfrom,int yfrom,int xto,int yto);
that enables drawing lines between two points that have
x and y coordinates.
MIKEY
You could also include subroutines in your applications
program to draw lines consisting of groups of pixels
with vga_drawpixel(int x,int y);
ZACK
That would be easy if you only had two subroutines
that draw a vertical line and a horizontal line.
The Linux vga.h vga_drawline draws lines between
two points that could be at ANY ANGLE with respect
to each other so it uses highly complex mathematical
algorithms to draw each line because the angle is
not always vertical or horizontal.
MIKEY
We are in luck. The list of functions for wgslater.c
includes vga_drawline. You have to set the color first
so two statements can draw a line
vga_setcolor(atmost15);
vga_drawline(ixfrom,iyfrom,ixdest,iydest);
There is even a test program on the Internet called
linemake.c that draws one line. Use the linemake.c program
to test the ability of wgslater.c to draw lines correctly.
....
(link to linemake.c)
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/msg/12271c000d712790?dmode=source&hl=en
linemake.c will ask you to enter an integer on each line followed by
the enter key at the end of each line.
there are x and y coordinates of points at both ends of the line.
If you make a coordinate that is extremely large you get a
keyboard diagnostic where you press keys to get their ascii values.
Most keys return one nonzero number in a row. But special keys
arrow keys are three non-zero numbers in a row and delete and
end are four non-zero numbers in a row from = vga_getkey();
Scince linemake.c was written directly for zackvga.h and
wgslater.c implementation of vga.h functions it does not use
keyboard callbacks anywhere in the program. The program
linemake.c calls its line of keys that calls vga_getkey();
right side up and vga_getkey(); returns the keys value to
the program on demand. No upside down logic event driven
programming is used in linemake.c
linemake.c is at link above and uses vga.h graphics drawing functions.
----------------------------------------
Here is a link to the previous Star Wars Saved By The Bell
episode below.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.bill-gates.kind.benificent.loving.big-brother/browse_thread/thread/a19deca935b6fed0/b750fb17cde7214e?&hl=en#b750fb17cde7214e
....
...
..
ericmatteson...@hotmail.com
Wayne McClaine
Dec 8, 2006, 5:42:10 PM12/8/06
to
ericmatteson...@hotmail.com wrote:
> Star Wars Saved By The Bell
> Star Wars Episode 3 Thursday, December 7,2006
> ericmatteson...@hotmail.com
Dude - when you have that many shrooms, you're s'posed to share, not
ingest all 5 pounds.
-Gary
The Ghost In The Machine
Dec 8, 2006, 7:53:12 PM12/8/06
to
In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Wayne McClaine
<gary.g...@gmail.com>
wrote
on 8 Dec 2006 14:42:10 -0800
<1165617730.0...@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>:
<gary.g...@gmail.com>
wrote
on 8 Dec 2006 14:42:10 -0800
<1165617730.0...@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>:
Besides, I think most of us already saw Revenge of the
Sith. :-) Nice movie, if a little predictable (duh, what
was Darth Vader going to look like at the end again?) though
part of it was because I and my compatriots at $EMPLOYER got
to see it on the company's nickel.
--
#191, ewi...@earthlink.net
Useless C++ Programming Idea #104392:
for(int i = 0; i < 1000000; i++) sleep(0);
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Message has been deleted
ericmatteson...@hotmail.com
Dec 9, 2006, 2:32:31 PM12/9/06
to
*** Windows Mistake ****
Windows XP or Windows Vista has CRASHED AGAIN!!!!
In replies the starwars movie got accidently deleted
by a Windows mistake. Not even a summmary of
even a single scene is left.
Click on the link below to
access the LINUX BACKUP of the Star Wars Movie Script!!
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.starwars/msg/b958f1fcd4c102df?&hl=en
..
Microsoft is unable to fix Windows because some of the computer
programmers and managers who would have fixed Windows
were required to begin serving on juries on long trials.
..
Windows XP or Windows Vista has CRASHED AGAIN!!!!
In replies the starwars movie got accidently deleted
by a Windows mistake. Not even a summmary of
even a single scene is left.
Click on the link below to
access the LINUX BACKUP of the Star Wars Movie Script!!
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.starwars/msg/b958f1fcd4c102df?&hl=en
..
Microsoft is unable to fix Windows because some of the computer
programmers and managers who would have fixed Windows
were required to begin serving on juries on long trials.
..
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