ctm@ardi.com
?
Executor can perform integer computation on a 75 MHz DX4 at about the
same speed a 25 MHz 68040 based Mac (like a Quadra 605) can. NOTE:
Lately some people have begun calling 25 MHz 68040s "50 MHz
68040s", but we're not using that trickery in our description. The paper
/pub/SynPaper
available on ftp.ardi.com
describes how we can run mc68040 code so quickly on an 80x86.
Graphics performance depends on which version of Executor you have, and what type of video card you have. Executor runs fastest when it can grab the frame buffer and write directly to it. We have recently rewritten much of our low-level graphics and do not yet have a rule of thumb for systems in general, although one of our testing machines is a 66 MHz DX2 with a built-in VLB video card and in 256 color mode it displays graphics at about the same speed as our 25 MHz 68040 based Quadra 605.
If your only experience with emulators is Soft-PC or Soft-Windows
making a Mac emulate a PC, please check out a demo of Executor [see
Q1.19 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'] to see just how quickly we can do the reverse.
Question 1.2. How can I get more information about
Executor?
This FAQ contains much information, but it is pale when compared to a
demo of Executor [see Q1.19 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?']. Beyond the demo, almost all the publicly available information on Executor is found either at our
official ftp site, ftp.ardi.com
, or in our unofficial WorldWide Web pages: http://vorlon.mit.edu/arditop.html
. Eventually we'll have an official set of WWW pages, but currently all our WWW are
done by an Executor Enthusiast, rather than by ARDI staff.
Question 1.3. On which platforms is Executor
available?
Executor/DOS (E/D) is an implementation that runs under DOS, Windows
3.x, Windows '95 and OS/2. Executor/NEXTSTEP (E/NS) is an
implementation that runs under NEXTSTEP, both on original NeXT
hardware and Intel based hardware running NEXTSTEP. Executor/Linux
(E/L) is an implementation that runs under Linux, using X-Windows,
with an SVGAlib version in the works.
Question 1.4. How much does Executor cost?
Effective July 1, 1995, Here are the Executor 1.99 licensing fees:
who E/NS E/D E/L 1.99 student $99 $49 $49 1.99 educational $99 $49 $49 1.99 commercial $199 $99 $99 Shipping is free within the U.S. International shipping (USPS Int'l Express) is $20
An Executor/Linux license allows you to use either the X-Windows
version, or the SVGAlib version (not yet released), but you can not
use one and let a friend use the other at the same time. Eventually
we'll merge the two versions, but this may not happen until after 2.0
is released.
Students are full-time students, proof may be required before we accept a student order. Educational users are faculty or staff at educational institutions (grade schools, high schools, colleges, universities) purchasing Executor for use with the educational institution; everybody else requires a commercial license.
A 1.99 Student licenses allows the holder to use both E/D and E/L for the same $49 price (i.e. buy E/D as a student and you get to use E/L for free and vice versa). Educational and Commercial licensees can pay an additional $25 to the E/L fee to receive an E/D license as well and vice versa (i.e. buy a license for E/D and E/L as an educational instution for $74 total). NOTE: these dual use licenses still only allow one user at a time to use Executor. You may not keep the DOS license for yourself and give the Linux license to a friend.
All 1.x owners, even those who bought Executor 1.0 a year and a half ago, are entitled to free upgrades through and including 2.0.x, as long as the upgrades are picked up electronically. 2.0.x releases will fix bugs in 2.0, but will not add new functionality. Beyond 2.0, when new functionality is added, there will be a small upgrade fee if you want the the newer versions with the new functionality.
Once 2.0 is in beta, the 1.99 prices will no longer be valid. 2.0 will be a shrink-wrapped product available from a variety of sources. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for 2.0 is:
who E/N E/D E/L 2.0 student N/A N/A N/A 2.0 educational $249 $125 $125 2.0 commercial $499 $249 $249
All prices are subject to change.
Question 1.5. Who makes Executor?
ARDI
Suite 4-101
1650 University Blvd., NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
+1 505 766 9115 Phone
+1 505 247 1899 FAX
questions@ardi.com
e-mail
bugs@ardi.com
bug reports
orders@ardi.com
information about ordering
Question 1.6. How do I order Executor?
Before you order, please read and understand Executor's current
limitations [see Q1.11 `What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?'] and Executor's price [see Q1.4 `How much does Executor cost?']. While Executor is still in development, we specifically make
demo versions [see Q1.19 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'] available so you'll know exactly what you're getting. If you like what you see, you can mail us a
check [see Q1.5 `Who makes Executor?'], FAX us credit card information (VISA,
MasterCard or EuroCard only) or call us up so we can take down your
credit card information. We do not currently run PGP, so sending
credit card information via e-mail is not recommended.
We accept purchase orders from most universities and most large companies, but we reserve the right to refuse any purchase order.
NOTE: All checks and money orders must be payable in U.S. funds and be written from a U.S. bank.
NOTE: Credit Card orders must specify the name that is on the credit
card, the credit card number and the credit card expiration date,
and you must write down the amount of money you are
authorizing us to charge, and why (i.e. we don't want to inadvertantly
bill you at the wrong price).
Question 1.7. Pronunciation?
Ig-zek'-yu-tor
Question 1.8. Does Executor require ROMs or System Files from
Apple?
No. Executor reimplements from scratch the Macintosh
Operating System and Toolbox.
Question 1.9. How long has Executor been in
development?
Work began in September of 1986.
Question 1.10. What techniques were used to rewrite the OS and
Toolbox?
Entirely clean-room techniques. That is to say none of the
Apple ROMs or Apple System File were ever disassembled.
Instead ROMlib (the section of Executor that emulates the OS
and Toolbox) was written from the manuals "Inside
Macintosh", and Tech. notes. That isn't sufficient to get the degree of
compatibility that we need, so tests were written and run on
Macs to see what a real Mac would do. In addition, we run
applications under Executor and when they deviate from how
they would behave on a Mac, we take a look at what is going on
and fix Executor accordingly.
Question 1.11. What limitations does Executor 2.0
have?
Because the OS and Toolbox have been rewritten from scratch, Executor
2.0 has many limitations, including no serial port access, no
AppleTalk, no sound, minimal System 7 support, no INITs, no CDEVs and
no Internationalization.
Due to limitations in PC hardware, Executor can read and write 1.4 MB Mac formatted floppy disks, but can not read or write 800 KB floppy disks.
E/NS and E/L can print directly to a printer, E/D can only print to a Postscript file that you can then send to a Postscript printer.
Although Executor 2.0 will provide minimal System 7 support, Executor 1.99n, the latest experimental version of Executor available, does not yet support this feature.
We hope to support sound and serial port access within six months of
releasing Executor 2.0, but currently all our effort is concentrated
on preparing 2.0 for release, so that is only speculation.
Question 1.12. If I have 800 KB floppies, what can I
do?
Very little. It is not ARDI's fault and there's nothing we can do
about it, but the way that Apple squeezed 800 KB onto floppies when
PCs were only getting 720 KB on floppies was to write more data on the
floppy tracks far from the center than on the tracks near the center.
This was clever, but extremely incompatible.
There are ways to squeeze more information onto PC floppy drives than PCs usually use. However, these methods cannot be used to write or even read 800 KB Macintosh formatted floppies.
Luckily, very little is supplied on 800 KB floppies anymore, but if you have some, you're almost definitely going to need the use of a Macintosh somewhere to copy the contents onto "HD" 1.4 MB formatted floppies (PCs and Macs use the same low-level format for 1.4 MB floppies).
One Executor Enthusiast suggested using Kinko's public Macs for this purpose, and this description was given:
1. Moving 800 KB Mac Files onto 1.44 MB Macdisks. The easiest thing that I have found when working on a real Mac is to preformat the Macdisks to 1.44 MB. Insert the 1.44 MB disk and eject it with (Cmd-E). Then insert the 800 KB mac disk. Drag the icon of the 800 KB disk over the 1.44 MB disk. All the files will be transferred as will the file names. The Mactools fastcopy program can also copy beteween densities. 2. Kinko's Public Machines. Kinko's public Macs are equipped with a program known as "Desk Tracy" which is designed to stop people from pirating Kinko's software from the harddisk. The problem is that when you are copying files between your own disks the program will still trigger if the file has a namesake on the Kinko's machine. What you will need to do is get a Kinko's employee to shut the program off, which is obviously a discretionary call with them. I didn't have a problem and have done it twice, but we obviously will be using different Kinko's.
We are in the process of cataloging what we have tested. A partial
list is available on ftp.ardi.com
in /pub/AppNotes
.
Question 1.14. A particular program doesn't run now; will it under
2.0?
That question is very hard to answer here. If the program relies on a
feature that won't be supported in 2.0, the answer is no; it won't
run. Programs that require QuickTime, QuickDraw GX, INITs, CDEVs or
serial port support are all examples of applications that won't run,
even when 2.0 comes out. This includes Newton Toolkit, an application
that many of our customers and potential customers have asked about.
In addition, the more esoteric and large an application is, the more likely that if it has problems now, it may continue to have problems when 2.0 finally ships. Large programs often are written by people that have far more knowledge of the insides of Macs than we do, because they have access to confidential information that we don't [see Q1.10 `What techniques were used to rewrite the OS and Toolbox?']. In addition, the larger the program, the greater the chance that the program does something that Executor did not anticipate -- remember, we have coded Executor in accordance with the public specifications, but not all specifications are necessarily public.
For common applications (business applications, home productivity applications, games, etc.) we overcome this problem with huge amounts of debug time. We run the application in question and if it dies, we spend long amounts of time figuring out just how it died. By seeing what the application was doing and what didn't work, we can usually figure out what the application wanted to do, although it's as time consuming as being blindfolded and putting together a large jigsaw puzzle -- when you're drunk.
However, for some applications, such as programming environments,
which are very complex, but have comparatively few end-users, we can
not yet afford to put in the amount of time that it takes to get these
applications to run. After 2.0 is shipping, we'll have greater
revenues and be able to hire more engineers. Then we can attack all
known bugs simultaneously, but until then we have to prioritize, and
as such, it's quite possible that Think C and Think Pascal and other
programming environments won't run under Executor.
Question 1.15. Will Newton Toolkit run under
2.0?
See Q1.14 `A particular program doesn't run now; will it under
2.0?'.
Question 1.16. Will Think C or Think Pascal run under
2.0?
See Q1.14 `A particular program doesn't run now; will it under
2.0?'.
Question 1.17. What percentage of applications will run under
Executor?
This is another question that is tough to answer. In fact, we
wouldn't even volunteer an answer, were it not for an unsolicited contribution
from an Executor Enthusiast.
For those interested in a workable programs for your 199m get Wayzata Best of Macintosh Shareware for 19.95 from Tiger Software. It has 1500 programs all areas. I've tried about 500 and over 60% work on my comp. It is a CD-ROM. Just make sure your CD-Rom drive letter is H or lower for Executor to 'see' it. Most of the programs I've tried are 1990 or earlier, even though I did get one which required Sys 7.0 to work.
The most recent non-experimental release of Executor/NEXTSTEP is version 1.3. The most recent non-experimental release of Executor/DOS is 1.2. There has not yet been a non-experimental release of Executor/Linux.
Currently, with the recent addition of color support to
Executor, Executor is experimental for all platforms. We are
trying to release new versions for all platforms in lockstep,
so 1.99b has roughly the same feature set and bug set under
DOS, Linux and NEXTSTEP. Unfortunately, we haven't released
a NEXTSTEP release in a while; see Q4.1 `Why hasn't there been an Executor/NEXTSTEP release in a
while?' for an explanation.
Question 1.19. Where can I pick up the Executor
demos?
The canonical place to find Executor demos is
ftp.ardi.com
. However, ftp.ardi.com
is currently only connected to the Internet via a 28.8kb modem, and as such is really only useful
to provide data for mirror sites. When you connect to
ftp.ardi.com
it will give you a current list of those mirror
sites.
As long as they put up with us, the primary mirror site for
ftp.ardi.com
is ftp.cs.unm.edu
in /pub/ardi
. However, ftp.cs.unm.edu
does not have the bandwidth to accept many
simultaneous users, so now that we're happy with the stability
of our color experimental versions, we also make them
available on the traditional sites for commercial demos of the
given platform. See the platform specific answers for a list
of these sites.
We don't mind people making our current experimental versions
available on other sites, but please be sure to include all the READMEs and FAQs which will allow users to find more
current versions of Executor as they're released.
Question 1.20. Where is the Cmd (Clover) and Option
key?
On a PC keyboard, Executor uses the left "Alt" key as a Cmd
key and the right "Alt" key as the Option key.
Question 1.21. How do I use my authorization
key?
If you've paid the license fee [see Q1.4 `How much does Executor cost?'], you will be issued a serial number and an authorization key. To get to the panel that
allows you to enter these, click on the initial "Info"
button, and read the information on each of the screens that is presented to you.
You will have to click on the "Next" button after you are
finished reading each panel.
Question 1.22. Is Executor shareware?
No. Executor is a commercial program available from ARDI.
Unregistered demo versions are the only versions that should
be found on bulletin boards or FTP sites. If you find a
non-limited version of Executor available to download, it was
put there illegally.
Question 1.23. How do the demo versions differ from the commercial
versions?
Prior to Executor 1.99j, ARDI released two separate versions
of each Executor/DOS and Executor/Linux release: a
time-limited demo, and a full-fledged commercial version.
NEXTSTEP versions could be "unlocked" by entering a serial
number and registration key purchased from ARDI.
Starting with 1.99j, all versions of Executor have been released in a "locked" demo form. The locked demos are time limited to ten minutes of use. Once your ten minutes are up, you are thrown out, but you can restart the program again and run for another ten minutes as many times as you want.
See Q1.40 `How do Executor's "license keys"
work?' for more information.
Question 1.24. What's next?
Our immediate goal is to get Executor 2.0 out. Back before
1.99 was out, we had a set of goals for what would be in 2.0.
We have had enough trouble implementing 32-bit color QuickDraw
that we have had to pare some features out of what we had
orginally proposed for the 2.0 feature set. Features present
in 2.0 are still subject to change, but our current plans
are to add:
We also have a set of general and platform specific bugs that we need to have fixed before we can freeze 2.0.
Beyond 2.0, we want to make Executor compatible with Apple's
System 7.5, so you'll be able to purchase a copy of System
7.5, install it on top of Executor and get even more
compatibility and features.
Question 1.25. When will 2.0 be out?
The answer here is embarrassing. Our original target was
summer of 1994. It is now looking like we'll go beta in August of
1995 and have a shrink-wrapped product in October of 1995.
Here's what is planned between now and when 2.0 ships:
1.99o will have most of what's mentioned in Q1.24 `What's next?'. Tentatively, 1.99o is the last of the 1.99<x> experimental releases.
Beyond 1.99o we will fly one of our three core engineers out to Albuquerque (he normally works out of Boston) and have two separate two week "hackathons", where without having to worry about getting a new version out the door, and without any of us having to add new functionality or chase DOS extenders, we'll work exclusively on making more applications run.
After the "hackathon" is finished, Executor will go into a six week beta period where we only fix major bugs. We will document minor bugs. During this time we'll also be working on our packaging and documentation, working on our list of how well apps work, lining up our distributors, writing our press releases and placing our ads in popular magazines.
After those six weeks have elapsed, 2.0 will ship. That's the plan,
anyway.
Question 1.26. How can I get in ARDI's beta
program?
Our beta program is really boring. The only thing that you
get that you can't get over the net is an actual set of
floppies that contain installation scripts. As such, we
really don't need new beta members. Just pick up the
experimental versions and keep us informed.
Question 1.27. Does Executor have networking
support?
Currently, no. Nor, will it be available in Executor 2.0.
Networking support is planned for release 3.0, but we do not
yet have an estimated date of completion for 3.0. The first
platform to have networking support built in will probably be
Linux.
Question 1.28. How do you install Fonts and Desk Accessories
(DAs)?
Starting with 1.99n, you just drag them into the hot-band and our
browser will do the right thing. However, even in 2.0, we only
support bit-mapped fonts, not Type 1 or TrueType fonts.
Question 1.29. Will Desk Accessories work under
Executor?
Currently Desk Accessory support is very weak; most will not run. Now
that 1.99n has been released, we'll spruce up our DA code and work on
insuring that some of the more popular DAs work.
Question 1.30. Does Executor run xxx?
With all the rush to get 2.0 out the door ASAP, we're
putting our testing people to work testing new experimental
versions, instead of testing 1.2. There is plenty that
1.2 will not run, and as such, we recommend people try out
the demo before purchasing Executor.
We will be making a list of what runs and what doesn't available on
ftp.ardi.com
in /pub/AppNotes
. There is another similar list in our unofficial WWW pages [see Q1.2 `How can I get more information about Executor?']. When we provide official WWW pages, we'll merge both lists.
Question 1.31. What's the best way to keep informed about
Executor?
Join the Executor Interest mailing list. That's where the Executor
Enthusiasts are. Send a message to executor-request@nacm.com
. Make sure your subject line is blank and your message body says:
subscribe
If you'd rather get the Executor Interest information in a
daily digest form, send the same subscribe message to
executor-digest-request@nacm.com
, instead of executor-request@nacm.com
.
To remove yourself from either mailing list, send a message to the address that you used to subscribe, saying:
unsubscribe
majordomo-owner@nacm.com
and that will be processed by a person, although it may take a few days for the person to get
around to to your request.
Even after you have unsubscribed to the list, you will continue to get any messages that were posted to the list before you unsubscribed but were not actually sent immediately, but once you have unsubscribed, any new messages that come in will not be sent to you.
The Executor Interest mailing list is administered by a
Executor Enthusiast. We do not directly control the list. Lately
there has been a request that we operate a mailing list for
announcements only. Although we can't provide that right now,
we're hoping the digestification will make such a separate
list much less needed.
Question 1.32. What's the Executor Interest mailing
list?
See Q1.31 `What's the best way to keep informed about
Executor?'.
Question 1.33. Why shouldn't I send e-mail to
Cliff gets tons of e-mail. E-mail sent to
ctm@ardi.com
?
questions@ardi.com
is answered much more punctually.
Question 1.34. What is an HFV file?
Executor has the ability to store an entire Macintosh
"volume" (i.e. filesystem corresponding to a disk drive or a partition
within a disk drive) in a DOS or UNIX file. Under DOS, this
feature is very handy because there is no way to have files
with long names and upper and lower case characters in their
names unless you use an HFV file. See Q1.46 `What is makehfv?'.
In general, HFV files should have filenames that end in
".hfv
".
Question 1.35. Can I launch applications directly from the command
line?
Yes. If an application resides within a UNIX or DOS filesystem, you
can specify the name of the application, and documents that you would
like the application to open when it starts up, on the command line.
Applications that reside in HFV files are specified using colons to
delimit the pathname, e.g. "MyVolume:directory:application
".
Question 1.36. What are all the command line
switches?
If you run executor "-help" it will list all the command
line switches it knows about and give a brief description of what they do.
Here is a list of the most useful switches.
The relatively new switch "nobrowser" prevents Executor from trying to run the file browser upon startup. Sometimes this is a handy to start an appliction a little more quickly and other times it can be useful if the browser save file gets corrupted and the browser refuses to run.
The switches bpp, refresh and shadow all affect how the screen is emulated. The number of bits per pixel that the program running under Executor sees is specified by bpp. If bpp is set to 1, then there are only two "colors" (black and white) available. If it is set to 8, then 256 colors are available. For Executor/DOS, you need a SVGA board with a VESA compatible driver to get 8 bits per pixel and screen sizes larger than 640x480.
When Executor first starts up, a "splash screen" is printed. You can omit this splash screen with the nosplash switch.
One of the hardest things to emulate properly is the internal timing mechanisms of a Macintosh. Sometimes it is desirable to turn off our clock emulation. The noclock switch does this.
When Executor displays a standard "get" or "put" dialog box, there is a button marked "drive" that allows you to cycle through the Macintosh volumes that Executor knows about. You can use the drivecheck switch to have Executor examine your DOS drives each time you click the "drive" button. In general, this is more annoying than it is useful.
The switches applzone, syszone and stack control how much memory is allocated to the application, the system, and the application stack. In general, if you have more memory, you should override the default applzone and allow Executor to use more memory.
For X windows users, privatecmap specifies that Executor should use a private colormap. This is the fastest graphics mode and gives you the most accurate colors, but at the expense of radically changed colors in your other windows whenever the cursor is in the Executor window, and radically changed colors in the Executor window whenever the cursor is outside of it. Because this is annoying, this mode is not the default. When not in this mode, the pixels in Executor's internal frame buffer are converted to the nearest X colors before being drawn to the screen.
Executor 1.99<x> uses a new "synthetic CPU" which is much faster than the synthetic CPU in previous releases of Executor. The speed increase is due to our use of native code; Executor now translates the 68k code being emulated into 80x86 code "on the fly" and runs the 80x86 code. However, like anything that is new, there's a chance that our improvement has some hidden drawbacks. You can turn off the use of native code by specifying nativecode 0.
Here is an example of some of those switches:
executor -applzone 4096 -noclock -nativecode
0
That would allocate 4 MB of memory for the applications use,
turn off our clock emulation and revert to a slower type of
68LC040 emulation -- an unlikely combination of switches.
Question 1.37. Are there other parameters I can adjust? [aka
"Preferences Panel"]
Yes, When Executor is running, you can hold down Cmd-Shift-5 and get a
preferences panel. That panel will let you adjust various settings,
similar to, but not as slick, as a Macintosh Control Panel. If you
Save a preferences panel configuration, the values are saved for the
particular application you are running at the time. This is handy,
because some games need to be run in 16 colors mode, so you can have
Executor do that automatically.
Question 1.38. Can I have Executor use more than 8 MB for the
application zone?
In 1.99n and previous releases, no. We are reorganizing our memory
layout to allow you to do this starting in 1.99o.
Question 1.39. An application I'm trying crashes. What should I
do?
Perhaps the most common avoidable cause of crashes is
insufficient memory for the emulated application. You can fix
this by increasing the "applzone" parameter. For example,
many programs which normally die quickly will work with
"executor -applzone 4096" (which allocates 4 MB of space for
the emulated application; see the list of command line
switches and their meanings elsewhere in this document).
Some programs are unhappy when they discover that Executor does not provide sound support, and crash. You can turn on the "pretend sound" option before running the application in question and see if this helps. In addition, some programs have menu items, or preference check boxes that can be used to disable sound. It is always recommended that you disable sound from within a program in addition to using the Executor sound preferences.
One example of a program that will have problems with sound is "Ultimate Solitaire". If you do not disable sound from within Ultimate Solitaire, the game will play fine, until you win. At that point it will tell Executor to start playing a sound and request that Executor notify it when the sound is done playing. Even with "pretend sound" enabled, this will result in Ultimate Solitaire hanging after you win a game.
Some programs also save preferences in a file, and if something bad happens to that file, the program can then get confused and will not run properly. Occasionally this happens to Microsoft Word, and you need to use HFS_XFer to delete the file "Word Preferences" from your "System Folder".
Although it should not happen, even our file browser keeps a file around that can cause trouble if it becomes corrupt. That file is "godata.sav". It stores which folders you have open and the contents of your "hot-band". If that file gets corrupt, the file browser may not run. In the rare case that the browser won't run, you can use the "-nobrowser" switch when you start Executor to bypass the browser, then you can run a program and from that program you can bring up HFS_XFer and find and rename "godata.sav" and see if that fixes the problem with the browser.
The "noclock" switch has also been known to help.
Question 1.40. How do Executor's "license keys"
work?
We have now added this "unlocking" capability to the DOS and
Linux versions. NEXTSTEP versions have always had license
keys. Now any Executor owner can pick up the latest Executor
release from the Internet, "unlock" it with his serial
number and registration key, and take advantage of the latest
features and bug fixes. This does not mean that all future
upgrades will be available for free in this mode, but we
intend to make "minor" upgrades free.
The "unlocking" process actually modifies your copy of
Executor, stamping your serial number into it permanently. For this reason, once you have registered a copy of Executor,
you may not redistribute it, nor should you leave it on an
unprotected machine, where someone may illegally copy it.
Question 1.41. Don't your "license keys" allow people to
pirate Executor?
No. If the proper license fee has not been paid to ARDI, then
the use of a fully registered copy of Executor is illegal, no
matter how it was acquired. It is true that since license
serial number, authorization key pairs are small bits of text,
it is easier to disseminate unauthorized serial key pairs than
it is to disseminate unauthorized Executor binaries, but
that's beside the point.
We decided to use serial numbers and authorization keys as a convenience to our customers, especially while we're still pressing toward the release of 2.0 and each new experimental copy is (usually!) much better than the one that preceeded it. We prefer prosecuting the pirates to punishing our patrons.
Our demo mode allows the honest person to evaluate our product
before making the decision to purchase it and become a
customer. The use of an authorization key allows our
customers to automatically participate in our beta and even
pre-beta testing. This leads to faster development cycles and
a better product.
Question 1.42. I want to bundle Executor on a CD-ROM. Can I do
that?
The short answer is "yes".
You are able to freely copy and distribute demo versions of Executor, as long as you follow the restrictions set forth in Executor's license panel:
Complete, unregistered distributions of Executor may be copied and redistributed as long as all copies are unmodified and contain all of the original files in their entirety. Once it is registered, Executor may be copied only for backup purposes. Licensee may not modify or create derivative works based on Executor or any part thereof.
A suggestion: contact us to make sure you have the latest
version of Executor. We can tell you if a new release is
imminent.
Question 1.43. Why do some applications claim I don't have an
FPU?
The problem is probably that the applications you are trying to use
try to directly manipulate the FPU unit that some Macintoshes have.
The key words are "directly manipulate". Apple warned software makers to not directly manipulate the FPU, but to instead use their numerics library ("SANE" Standard Apple Numerics Environment). Programs that don't use SANE, but directly manipulate the FPU run faster on macs that have FPUs, but don't run at all on Macs that don't have FPUs. If that is actually the source of your problems, then such programs also wouldn't run on Apple machines like the Quadra 605. This limitation is also present on Apple's PowerPC based Macs.
One workaround for this problem is an "INIT" called
"SoftFPU". SoftFPU will make a Mac without a co-processor work as though there
is one there, however the floating point computation will be done
very slowly. Unfortunately, SoftFPU can't be used with Executor,
because, currently, Executor doesn't support INITs.
Question 1.44. Can Executor run Japanese system
software?
Not in 2.0, and 3.0 will not be out in 1995.
Question 1.45. Why does Compact Pro have trouble with multi-volume
archives?
Executor versions 1.99n and earlier take a short cut that causes
trouble for some programs; Compact Pro is one of them. The problem is
that a real Macintosh can keep track of volumes that are not
physically in the drive. That is why Macintoshes sometimes tell you
to put one disk in their floppy drive, then they eject it and ask for
another one, then eject it and ask for the first one. Executor
currently isn't so clever. When a disk is ejected, Executor forgets
about it. Few programs count on the behaviour of a real Mac, but
those that do currently won't work with Executor.
In Compact Pro's case you can just copy all of the pieces of the archive to your hard disk, then open the last piece from the hard disk and everything will work properly. This workaround requires more hard disk space than you'd need if you could just read the pieces off a succession of floppies.
This problem probably will be fixed by the time 2.0 is released,
although since it affects very few programs, it's not as high priority
as some other known bugs.
Question 1.46. What is makehfv?
The program makehfv (formerly called mkvol) allows you to create
virtual Macintosh volumes [see Q1.34 `What is an HFV file?']. It is now part of all Executor distributions, although it is more useful under DOS than
under Linux or NEXTSTEP.
To use makehfv you need to pick a name for the new HFV file, a name
for the Macintosh volume that your new HFV file will represent and the
number of 512 byte sectors that you want the HFV file to use. Here's
an example that creates a file named "bigtest.hfv
" that will appear in Executor as "BigTest" and will have 10 MB (1
MB = 2048 512 byte blocks) of space in it.
makehfv bigtest.hfv BigTest 20480
C:EXECUTOR
and their names have the suffix ".hfv
".
Executor/Linux will automatically see HFV files if they are placed in
the same directory as ExecutorVolume (NOTE:
not in ExecutorVolume itself), which is usually
/usr/local/lib/executor
and their names have the suffix ".hfv
".
Question 1.47. How can I create my own HFV
files?
See Q1.46 `What is makehfv?'.
Question 1.48. How can I use Mac software from the
internet?
Find a site that legitimately has Mac software for use. There is a
Macintosh FAQ that lists many sites, here are some them:
grind.isca.uiowa.edu
: /mac/infomac
(USA) wuarchive.wustl.edu
: /systems/mac/info-mac
(USA) ftp.technion.ac.il
: /pub/unsupported/mac
(Israel) ftp.sunset.se
: /pub/mac
(Sweden) src.doc.ic.ac.uk
: /packages/info-mac
(UK) Before transferring a large application, you might want to see what the requirements of that application are, most sites have a collection of small notes about applications that you can look at first.
Use BINARY mode to transfer the files that you want to use. Files whose names end in ".hqx" are usually the easiest to handle.
Under DOS, you need to make an HFV file [see Q1.46 `What is makehfv?'] that will be large enough to hold the files as you've downloaded them and also hold the files after they've been expanded. Once you've made the HFV file, copy all the files you've downloaded into it, then follow the remaining directions.
Under all operating systems, your next step is to run Stuffit Expander ande use the "Expand..." menu item from the "File" menu to open each of the files you've downloaded. In general, especially when dealing with files whose names end in ".hqx", Stuffit Expander will do the right thing. However, some sites do not store files in ".hqx" format, and Stuffit Expander may fail. Remember, under DOS, you must do the Stuffit Expansion inside an HFV file.
If Stuffit Expander fails, you can try using the Get Info option of
Executor's browser to change the creator and type information of the
file. If you believe the downloaded file in question is a Stuffit
Archive, you can change the type and creator each to "SIT!"
and then try Stuffit Expander again. If you believe the downloaded file is a
Compact Pro archive, you can change the type to "CPCT" and
the type to "PACT" and then try Stuffit Expander again.
Question 1.49. How can I use Mac software from Bulletin
Boards?
In general, follow the procedure in Q1.48 `How can I use Mac software from the internet?' -- know the limitations of what Executor can run, transfer in binary mode and use
Stuffit Expander to unpack the files you download. Just like with
files downloaded from the internet, sometimes you'll need to change
the file type and creator, first.
Question 1.50. How can I use Mac software from
AOL?
AOL uses a format that Stuffit Expander under Executor has trouble
with. For DOS/Windows users, use this workaround. Get a copy of
unstuff.exe (available on AOL compressed as unsitins.exe) and use the
-mb tag to convert your downloaded files to MacBinary format before
ever moving them into Executor. E.g.:
unstuff -mb somefile.sit
Then start up Executor and use BinHex's Download --> Application function to convert the file to an application and move it into an Executor volume simultaneously.
- 04 July 1995