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- IMPORTANT: As long as any of the authors are reachable via mail/e-mail
- contact them first, before you make somehow changed/patched versions.
-
- Also the sources of xpkmaster.library are offered, but this doesn't give
- you the right to create your own version of xpkmaster.library (it is not
- public domain software). Everytime you have to contact either Dirk Stöcker,
- Christian von Roques or Urban Dominik Müller. We may give you the OK to
- do further development!
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- You should begin your tour to these sources in the examples directory, which
- contains some simple examples of how to write applications using XPK.
-
- The directory Shell contains the sources of what I think are the basic shell
- utilities for XPK. These utilites are a bit outdated, as they are written
- for use under OS1.3 (except xBench and xPack).
-
- The directory test contains some test programs (in C) which were needed
- during development of some features. These files may be most useful for you.
- Four of these programs (FindFileType, PrintFileTypes, StripXpkStuff,
- testXpkPrefsSem) use undocumented features (mentioned in source code) and
- thus should never be used in distributed programs. That's why the test
- utilities are not distributed as binaries! All the others are correct
- style and may be used as examples how to use xpkmaster. NOTE: as these are
- test utilities they miss most of necessary error reporting functions,
- which should be in an distributed tool.
-
- If you want to write a sublibrary in C, the best place to start with are
- the sources of xpkNONE.library and xpkNUKE.library.
-
- Assembler programmers should take a look at the sources of xpkFAST.library.
- Christian separated the library bureaucrazy from the other stuff and
- generally tried to write elegant and readable code while writing FAST.
-
- People with a hang to monolitic assembler sources or a distaste for linkers
- will be pleased by what they'll find in the directory with the sources of
- xpkHUFF.library.
-
- The SDI includes are replacements of standard ANSI functions. These includes
- mostly reduce the size of the executable, but they are not fully compatible
- to the ANSI C ones. You may use them or replace the include line with
- <stdlib>, <stdio.h> and <string.h>.
- The SDI defines define things I often use (f.e. CTRL_C and the version
- string).
-
- xpkmaster contains the cleanedup sources of the xpkmaster.library. Do not
- try to understand the inner workings of xpkmaster.library without first
- having read all the documentation. Do not think after reading the docs you
- understand them. (It took me a half year to really understand some parts. :-)
-
- For those, who want to code their own sublibrary:
- --------------------------------------------------
-
- How has the version string to be like?
- --> see how the standard or the example libraries handle this:
-
- xpk<name of library> <version>.<revision> (<date>) <comments>\r\n\0
-
- example: "xpkFAST 1.7 (07.09.96)\r\n\0" (NOTE: \r = 0x13; \n = 0x10)
-
- You do not need to add a "$VER: " somewhere in the text and the library
- name should be without ".library"! Also the date format should be the above
- form, because Commodore defined this form as an nearly standard. Please
- make the work and include a correct library header, because this makes
- updating a lot easier! This means also a correct initialisation of the
- corresponding fields in the Resident (RomTag) structure. You find an
- example library header handling this in the xpk_Develop archive in the
- ASM-include directory. If you have problems in doing this, contact me!
-
- How to compile the asm only stuff:
- ----------------------------------
-
- Run your assembler over the master file (mostly xpk____.a) and you get the
- final output file.
-
- How to compile with SAS-C:
- --------------------------
-
- Call smake in the directory. You may have to change the assembler line
- to your assembler before doing this!. I use everytime PhxAss assembler,
- because it seems to be powerful and it is freely distributable.
-
- How to compile with Maxon's compiler:
- -------------------------------------
-
- xpkmaster.library:
- (C++ V3) Use the MakeFile with Maxon's Make
- (DEV V4) Compile library using xpkmaster.project.
-
- other programs and libraries:
- Use assembler to get object files of asm-sources.
- Compile C files (mostly large data mode!) and link together with .o files
- made with assembler.
-
- Dirk Stöcker <stoecker@amigaworld.com>
-
- 26th October 1998
-
-