$VER: UAE-App 0.1.5 by Hippie2000
UAE-ADF Mount+Unmount Workbench-Interface
What's New?
As of version 0.1.5, the program will no longer be launched from WBStartup.
The executable is called "UA" now for good, and its location is C: from now
on.
A new command "ua startup" was added to launch the server from user-startup.
Configuration no longer comes from the icon tooltypes, but from environment
vars,
which get created/modified by a comfortable installer script. The installer
script
preserves existing configuration from now on, just this time you will have
to enter
hostpath and hostslash again. UAE-App is now availlable in two versions, the
normal one which just contains all my work, and the "fat" version which
includes
all optional files, to allow an "installation in one go" with just answering
two
questions. The documentation has been improved, and an amigaguide version
has
been included, with basic online help features in the GUI.
Introduction
UAE-App is a Commodity integrating the DF0: - DF3: ADF disk emulation
control
of UAE in the Amiga-OS. It provides the entire scale of Amiga
User-Interfaces,
to make ADF disk emulation handling as simple as possible. A popup GUI for
all
functions is provided, as well as a shell scripting interface. Archiving and
dearchiving functions are implemented to handle gzip/zip/dms compressed disk
images with or without GUI.
Requirements
UAE-App requires at least V37 of the Amiga-OS (Kick 2.04/Workbench 2.04),
running on any port of UAE which allows to mount parts of the native host
filesystem as amiga volumes. It was successfully tested with recent Windows,
Linux, Mac and Amiga ports of UAE. UAE-App does not require any special
libraries, just those which are part of the AmigaOS. However, if you want
to enable the optional archiving support functions you need to have the
GZip/UnZip/xDMS executables in your C: directory and of course
ixemul.library
in your libs: folder. If you do not already have these files present, you
should
consider to download the "fat" version, which contains them all.
(See "Download" below)
Download
http://metamonk.com/uae-app/uae-app_015.lha
http://metamonk.com/uae-app/uae-app_015.readme
http://metamonk.com/uae-app/uae-app_015_fat.lha
Installation
IMPORTANT: If you do not already have UAE-App 0.1.4 and its optional files
on your system, you should download the "fat" version of UAE-App, since it
contains all necessary compression utilities with a common installer script,
doing all in one go. (see "Download" section above). The fat version is not
spread through aminet, so if you got this archive from aminet you should go
to http://metamonk.com/uae-app/ to get the latest fat version of UAE-App.
1) Mount a new volume "ADF:" using the UAE-GUI or UAE commandline-arguments.
This must be a native-filesystem harddisk emulation, no harddisk image!
Put all your ADF images there and start UAE to check if the new volume
appears on your workbench.
2) Unpack the UAE-App archive in a temporary folder and double click the
"Install" icon. The installation script will prompt you to anwer two
questtions
about the new volume "ADF:" which you have mounted before. First you will
get
asked for the path of the mounted directory within your host filesystem.
Sample
answer is "D:\amiga\adf". Make sure that this path ends in a delimiter!
Next you will have to enter the slash character used in your host filesystem
to divide directorynames from filenames within pathes. Sample answer is "".
That's all. Once installation is finished UAE-App will be launched
automatically
so you will not have to reboot.
Note: The installation script automatically shuts down your old UAE-App
server
(if it is running). Whenever you want to change the settings of your UAE-App
installation you just need to run the installation script again. You do not
need to enter all information again, since it will be retrieved from your
current settings.
GUI Usage
GUI POPUP WINDOW
UAE-App normally hides its GUI until you call an ADF disk insertion function
by one of the interfaces described below. The GUI will pop up, showing you
the
path of the ADF image you want to insert, enabling the buttons "Insert 0" to
"Insert 3". Click one of them and the virtual disk will be inserted in the
appropriate drive. Or click "Ignore", and the last insertion event will be
ignored. ADF disk insertion is limited files matching the insertion pattern
within the volume "ADF:". Anything else you may attempt to insert will just
flash your workbench screen.
APP INTERFACE (DRAG AND DROP )
UAE-App enables the complete Workbench App-Interface to trigger ADF disk
insertion and removal operations. Dragging an ADF image file in the
Workench-
App-Icon or the Popup-GUI or activating the file and using the App-MenuItem
will call the disk insertion function (ADF file does not need to have an
icon
for this). Dragging a disk icon associated with a DFx: virtual floppy drive
in the Workbench-App-Icon or the Popup-GUI or activating it and using the
App-MenuItem will call the disk removal function in turn.
DEFAULT TOOL INTERFACE
You may create Project Icons for your ADF image files, pointing at "c:ua" as
default tool. This will enable you to insert ADF images by double-clicking
at them, and MAY be the future interface to store UAE settings within the
Workbench tooltypes of each ADF image. (TODO?)
SHUTTING DOWN UAE-APP
You do not want to do this, do you? OK! Use Commodities Exchange, or use
"Quit"
in the GUI's "Project" menu, or send a Ctrl-F to the ua process to shut down
the
server. This will disable all functionality of UAE-App, even the shell
interface
and the default tool interface. Relaunch UAE-App to enable all features
again.
Shell Usage
The executable is called "ua" and resides in your C: directory. It has an
easy to
use shell interface to all functions the GUI provides. The syntax is very
simple,
all keywords are the same ones as used in the GUI. The shell interface runs
from
a separate process, controlling the server in remote. The GUI, part of the
server,
may be used as a realtime monitor to all actions you trigger. All UAE-APP
shell
operations which provide a destination drive (eg "DF0:") WAIT for the action
to be
finished. The GUI (if opened) shows an asterisk (*) in front of the filename
display
of each drive to monitor the wait state. If the wait state blocks for some
reason
(eg a bug) you may use the PRELIMARY menu "beta hacks->clear wait flags" to
unblock
it again. Please try to find out what happened and send me a bug report.
Here's the
complete list of shell commands:
ua insert <adffile> [<drive>]
ua remove <drive>
ua create <adffile> [<drive>]
ua delete <adffile>
ua gzip <adffile> [<drive>]
ua unpack <archive> [<drive>]
ua test <archive> [<drive>]
ua reset
ua hardreset
ua debug
ua quituae
ua popup
ua hide
ua quitapp
ua startup
Technical info
UAE-App is a hybrid single executable solution. The first instance is
launched
from your user-startup. It acts as a server to handle all uaelib functions,
the
GUI, the AppInterface and a remote message-port in asynchronous way. Any
further
instances of UAE-App (as launched by the filerequesters, the default tool
interface
or the shell interface) send their results to the server, to be inserted in
the
action stream.....
Bugs-Warnings-Todo
- No character translation in filenames yet (except slashes)
- Disk images are not locked yet when mounted
- Don't run multiple scripts at once!
History
990423 uae-app_015.lha 4th aminet release.
- ADDED: "fat" version which includes all optional files.
- ADDED: installer script, 7 clicks and 2 questions to setup all.
- ADDED: server now can be started from shell. (c:ua startup)
- ADDED: uae-app.guide = Help function/button/menu.
- CHANGED: configuration comes from environment vars now. (env:uae-app)
- CHANGED: executable is called C:UA launched from user-startup (c:ua
startup)
- CHANGED: uae-app homepage relocated to http://metamonk.com/uae-app/
- CHANGED: icons renamed to def_*.info. def_dms added, moved all to
env:uae-app
- FIXED: uae-app.readme now contains download links and no more CRLFs.
990411 uae-app_014.lha 3rd aminet release.
- ADDED: most buttons in GUI now have hotkey equivalents.
- ADDED: Scans for c:gzip, c:xdms, c:unzip, enabling compression functions
in GUI.
- ADDED: GZip/UnPack compression/decompression commands (handle
gzip/zip/dms).
- ADDED: Delete command.
- ADDED: Disk-Image menu with all disk related commands
(Select/Create...).
- CHANGED: more realistic window limits now (resizes 1.5 times min-xsize).
- CHANGED: removed tooltype UAE-DEVICE and its display in about window.
- CHANGED: exchange-(in)activation does nothing now, didnt make any sense.
- CHANGED: realtime sync now comes from timer.device, not from cxfilter any
more.
- FIXED: now properly handles changing defpubscreen (closes+reopens on
popup).
- FIXED: appicon now has no_icon_position (dopus5 wb replacement
compatiblity).
- FIXED: initial opening of gui doesnt flicker any more (exept drive
contents).
- FIXED: major bcpl string misinterpretion (worked, but ouch).
- FIXED: major nil pointer bugs in shell interface (ouch).
990401 uae-app_013.lha second aminet release.
- ADDED: CX_POPUP and CX_PRIORITY to commodities broker.
- ADDED: error message if used from shell or default tool without server
running.
- ADDED: relaunching from workbench now shows popup window.
- ADDED: improved shell interface, added wait feature.
- ADDED: device name display (DHx:) in about/amigapath section.
- CHANGED: improved error check.
- CHANGED: improved uae-app.info tooltypes.
- CHANGED: only 2 tooltypes are required in uae-app.info from now on. others
are optional.
- CHANGED: cleaned up the whole source, rewrote each routine.
- CHANGED: entire GUI works 100% asynchronous from now on, no more blocking
of GUI and eventstream.
- CHANGED: filerequesters spawn own process now. Multiple filerequesters
possible now.
- FIXED: zero pointer bug in command dispatcher (ouch).
- FIXED: appicon bug which sometimes called the guru (ouch).
990319 uae-app_012.lha first aminet release.
- ADDED: about window, button and menue.
- ADDED: status display line, displaying all operations in gui.
- ADDED: pattern gadget to filerequesters, including adz and adf.gz files
now.
- ADDED: emulator menue to call softreset/hardreset/exitemu/debug.
- ADDED: Create function, creates blank 880K adf image.
- CHANGED: checks AMIGA-PATH for uae.device now, fails safe on hardfiles and
real amigas.
- CHANGED: enhanced asynchronous GUI filename refresh.
- FIXED: cx_popkey bug with CX V37 (cx_popkey installation now properly CX
V38+).
- FIXED: filerequesters to work with v36+ os (oops, called v39 stuff
before).
990312 uae-app_011.lha first usable version.
- ADDED: AppMenuItem.
- ADDED: prelimary shell argument handler.
- ADDED: ADF project icon default tool interface.
- ADDED: Project menue.
- ADDED: ASL filerequester.
- ADDED: ignore button.
- ADDED: CX_POPKEY tooltype and function (defaults to ctrl alt u).
- CHANGED: simplified gui.
990306 uae-app_010.lha initial alpha release.
Legal Stuff
(c) 1999 Ralf Steines aka Hippie2000, FREEWARE, must not be sold, may be
distributed as original archive by any medium, may be included in any UAE
distribution, even commercial ones. PROVIDED "AS IS", NO WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK....
The fat version has an additional folder "3rdparty", wich contains some
binaries from GNU or Freeware utilities downloaded from the following
locations:
Geek Gadgets boot archive (gzip/ixemul.library)
=>
ftp://ftp.ninemoons.com/pub/geekgadgets/amiga/m68k/snapshots/980523/BOOT.lha
UnZip-5.32 (unzip/unzip.doc/COPYING)
=> http://de.aminet.net/pub/aminet/util/arc/UnZip.lha
xDMS-1.3 (xdms/xdms.txt)
=> http://de.aminet.net/pub/aminet/util/arc/xDMS.lha
All data in the 3rdparty folder is NOT the property of me, the author of
uae-app.
Look at the copyright notices in each program's manual to find out more.
Updates-Feedback
If you don't read this doc online you should go to
http://metamonk.com/uae-app/ to
find the latest version of UAE-App. (Current release frequency: once each 2
weeks).
It's impossible for me to test this program with all ports of UAE, so I need
your feedback to make it work best. Email to metamonk yahoo.com or use the
form below
and provide at least your email and a message. Please use the form if you
want
to report bugs, and answer all questions about your system carefully then.
Thanks.
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