13. Development history of Future Drive Accelerator

1.4, Release date 7-Mai-99

• Brandnew documentation. (Guide, HTML, PS, DVI)
• Size of Track is now variable.
  => Possible to read more data, before they are needed (read-ahead). => No fragmentation of memory, if all Units set to the same Size of Track.
• Support Virtual-Memory-Manger (VMM). Make in VMM-Prefs Code=No Data=No Program=FDA.
• Fixed, could hang sometimes 1/1.000.000, while writing back Cache.
  Because, AbortIO of the Timer Device of OS3.0 has a bug. The Vertical-Blank-Interrupt can jump between the CheckIO and AbortIO of the time-request.
  => Now doesn`t use AbortIO. Restart the Timer if it came back to early.
• Fixed, Checksum-Error, if HD has a capacity more than 2GB (2^31 "SignedLongWord border").
  Because, Oberon has no support for ULongWord (UnSigned).
  Replaced all DIV in uDIV, and MUL in uMUL.
  IF (highCyl+1) * surfaces > MAX(LONGINT) DIV ASH(SizeOfTrack,-1) THEN /* HD > 4 GB */
  Thanks to Timo Murzo (Master.T.M) Sysop of Unity Mailbox Hamm
  Thanks to Michael Kilimann
  Thanks to Denis Zwornarz
  => Current limit is 1126 GB.
• No further translation of SCSI-direct commands into TrackDisk commands.
  If FDA is called with a SCSI-direct command, it uses the same command. => FFS V44.5 and the special SCSI-direct Versions of PFS-2 and SFS, have no limits (1126 GB) about the HardDisk size. See section 11.1 How to use harddisks bigger than 4 GigaBytes..
• If the cache (whole memory) is full of data and any other program needs memory, the cache will be written back (flush) and than is memory free again.
• Update-Task (writing back) priority is now one higher than Unit-Task (read/write).
• Fixed, Enforcer hits.
  Thanks to Michael Kilimann
• Added ChangeInterrupt. CD-Drives need this, to detect a DiskChanges.
  Excluded ´mfm.device´ V40.9 (21.05.93), ´multidisk.device´ and ´xpkdisk.device´ V37.8, because they had a BUG while removeChangeInt.
  Device developer: Please, take a look at HackDisk.device Assembler-SourceCode.
  Thanks to Marc Michael (yogi)
• Dos-Buffers set to 7.
• Fixed, Dos-Buffers not freed if "QUIET" was used.
• Supported Berkeley (NetBSD LinUX) Fast FileSystem.
  =>protStatus Command detect "Disk Inserted" and Motor off interpeted as "update" Command.
  Set the Dos-Buffers of Berkeley (NetBSD LinUX) Fast FileSystem to 456, because lower values made read errors (found with DiskSpeed V4.2).
• One timer for one Partition, not only one for the whole Unit.
• Fixed, don`t turn off the DiskFloppy motor at some systems.
  Motor command is again back in the waiting queue.
  Developer: Imagine, if you're using SendIO instead of DoIO, the execution is async not only by reading and writing also with the changeState, motor, protStatus, remove, changeNum ... commands.
  Thanks to Herbert Pittermann
  Thanks to Jörg Liebelt
• Spared one uDIV Processor instruction. (A modulation and a division in an single uDIV instruction.)
  => Little bit faster.
• Little speed up, if an SCSI-direct FileSystem is used.
• Uses exec.GetMsg only if an Message is available (Port.msgList.head^.succ<>NIL).
  => Little bit faster (0.44%-0.51%).
• Fixed, printed -1, at verify requester as Track number.
• Fixed, verify retry.
• Fixed, no error number result if an update error exists in Sync-writing-mode.
• Fixed, can`t find the icon. QUIET Tooltype now working.
  => No window opening, if it's started from WBStartup-Drawer.
  # Thanks to Harald Wünsche
• Windows are now simple-refresh.
  => spares ChipMemory.
• Reduced Stack allocation.
• DSG (Benchmark-Statistics) is now able to read DiskSpeed V4.2 results, but it can`t display values greater than 9.9MB.
• Added Blizzard-IV (030 50Mhz) Accelerate-Card benchmarks in the guide.
• Added PPC604 233MHz 060 50MHz Accelerate-Card benchmarks in the guide.
• Prefrences:
  • Renamed the Options.
  • Removed "Write-Retention off".
  • Replaced "ASync-update-writing" with "Write async = 0 sec".
  • Added "Write as late as possible", for Cache-directorys of WWW-Browsers.
  • Added "Write for temporary", for t: env: directorys.
  • Now, quick toggle device with Shift+LeftMouse.
  • Converted "low Track" to "low Cylinder".
  • Device-List gagdget uses the default font, fall back to the topaz.font, if the other text font is proportional or the default font is also proportional.
    Thanks to Andrew Mowatt
    Thanks to Frédéric Laboureur (Fred) AlphaSOUND - FANTAISIE Software (1998)
  • Added "Size of Block" of FileSystem in Info.
  • Used really New-Look-Menus.
  • Fixed, menu "LastSaved" and "Restore".
  • Fixed, Argumente "USE" and "SAVE".
  • Reinserted "USE".
  • Fixed, division by zero trap, if no FastMem available.
    Thanks to Flemming Steffensen
  • Fixed, division by zero trap, if "blocks per track" or "surfaces" are zero. (NewPortHandler)
    Thanks to Flemming Steffensen
  • Fixed, trap if BlockSize<>0.
    Thanks to Carsten
  • Fixed, no NewStyleDevice detection if anoter unit as zero are used.
• View:
  • View uses the default font; if it`s proportional and the size isn`t 8x8, it falls back to the topaz.font.
    Thanks to Herbert Pittermann
    Thanks to Helge Böhme
  • Use New-Look-Menus.
    Thanks to Frédéric Laboureur (Fred) AlphaSOUND - FANTAISIE Software (1998)
  • Fixed, bad DiskName if another "Size Of Block" as 512 is used.
• In the Demo Version is writing now possible, but only the half free memory can be used by two drives as cache.
• Price increased by 4.99DM to 19.99DM.

1.2, Release date 20-Aug-98

• Speed up Read/Write little bit.
• Preferences: ´Not used Memory´ Proportional-Gadgets are now in Percentage and KiloByte.
  Special thanks to Andrew Mowatt
• Better communication between the filesystem and FDA.
  Should fix occasional hangings in the previous release.
• Fixed, detect Partitions after 2-GB as 4-GB Partitions. Support 4-GB HDs is more possible.
  Thanks to Timo Murzo (Master.T.M) Sysop of Unity Mailbox Hamm
• Preferences
  • Used New-Look-Menus and scale checkboxes.
    Thanks to Frédéric Laboureur (Fred) AlphaSOUND - FANTAISIE Software (1998)
  • Unnecessary ´Can´t open x.device´ removed, if it is not a New Style Device.
    Thanks to Marc Michael (yogi)
• Nicer looking MWB icons.
  Thanks to Frédéric Laboureur (Fred) AlphaSOUND - FANTAISIE Software (1998)

1.0, Release date 20-Jul-98

• Added SmartFileSystem benchmarks in the guide.
• Write operation a little bit faster.
• Fixed, StartUp RangeCheck trap, if Size of Track > 131072.
• Dos-Buffers set to 20.
• Supports NewStyleDevice: (NSD) 64-Bit Commands (4GB border).
• Supports scsiCmd (4GB border).
• Preferences
  • Include more "big" HDs.
    Thanks to Timo Murzo (Master.T.M) Sysop of Unity Mailbox Hamm
  • DeviceCompatible removed.

0.98, Release date 04-Jul-98

• Supports Partitions after the 4GB border (not tested).
• Speedup Read & Write operations.
• Preferences
  • Includes LateBinding-Devices.
  • Preferences: Removed bugy "USE".

0.96, Release date 25-Mar-98

• First puplic release @ the AmiNet.

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