Technotes

New and revised Technotes are listed here in reverse chronological order, with the most recently published Notes listed first. You can download each Note in either Acrobat, ClarisWorks 4, or QuickView formats.

Feedback can be directed to Tom Maremaa, Technote Editor-in-Chief, at maremaa@apple.com.

Technotes 1001-1076

Cross-Platform Communication Using the PC Compatibility Messaging System (Technote 1076)

By Ben Manuto

This Technote describes the Messaging System Architecture used in Apple's PC Compatibility and DOS Compatibility products. Specifically, the messaging system allows communication of data between the PC-based machine running on a NuBus or PCI card and the Macintosh OS. This inter-machine communication is facilitated through a driver on the Macintosh which controls the PC card and allows it to run within the Macintosh hardware and software space.

The Note is directed toward third-party developers who are interested in developing software for the Mac and the PC which needs to communicate instructions or data between platforms. The applications developed to use the messaging system would be intended to run specifically with Apple's PC Compatibility products.

Some Techniques for Handling Variables in Apple Guide (Technote 1075)

By Don Swatman

Apple Guide has many advantages over other help systems but also has several drawbacks. One is that it is not easy to keep track of what the user has already done. This becomes a particular problem if you are writing a tutorial. For example, your tutorial might have 10 different lessons which the user may need to complete over several days. How can the user be sure that he or she has gone back to the point they left the tutorial and not skipped stages? One way to do this is to store variables within an application.

QuickTime For Windows: Resolving Common Installation Issues (Technote 1074)

By Laura Rawson

This Note discusses some of the most common installation issues that you or your developer technical support team may encounter and how to resolve them. It focuses on QuickTime for Windows v 2.1.2. If you are using an earlier version, it is recommended that you upgrade to 2.1.2, since this will resolve many installation problems that may occur with earlier versions. You can download the latest version, which is available at <http://quicktime.apple.com/sw/sw.html>.

Customizing Apple Media Tool 2.0 & 2.1 Scroll Bars and Movie Controllers (Technote 1073)

By Scott Kuechle

Apple Media Tool (AMT) versions 2.0 and 2.1 come with three styles of scroll bars and three styles of movie controllers built-in. This Technote describes how to customize and add new scroll bars or movie controllers to AMT 2.0, and to titles created with AMT 2.0, as well as titles created with Apple Media Tool Programming Environment (AMTPE) 2.0.

Porting WinHelp to Apple Guide with Guide Maker (Technote 1072)

By Don Johnson

If you are planning to port WinHelp source files to Apple Guide using the Apple Guide Maker development environment, there are some important issues that you need to address. This Technote discusses what you need to know in order to port your WinHelp files successfully. It is addressed to developers, technical writers, and instructional help designers who need to convert WinHelp files to Apple Guide source files.

Working with Apple's Multiprocessing API (Technote 1071)

By Chris Cooksey

This Technote describes the basic steps required to use the Apple Multiprocessing API and attempts to clarify the things that can and cannot be done from tasks created using that API. It is directed primarily at developers working with, or preparing to work with the Multiprocessing API. Although the examples given are aimed at application writers, it contains information useful for system level engineers also.

Background-Only Applications (Technote 1070)

Revised by Brian Bechtel

Background-only applications (BOAs) are, as the name implies, Macintosh applications that run only in the background. BOAs are the preferred alternative to INITs, drivers, and stand-alone code for most startup-time and background "daemon" services. This Note discusses various issues that affect development of BOAs, as well as useful implementation strategies for BOAs. Originally PS 02, it has been revised to include information about the appe code resource used in controlling application extensions, details about SetApplLimit, and a bug workaround for application extensions with INITs under system software prior to System 7.5.5.

System 7.5.5 (Technote 1069)

by Brian Bechtel

System 7.5.5 includes changes to the Virtual Memory Manager, some substantial Code Fragment Manager improvements, and a variety of enhancements and improvements. We recommend this update for all Macintosh computers running System 7.5.3. System 7.5.5 will only install on a Macintosh or Mac OS compatible-computer running some version of System 7.5.3. If you are running an earlier version of System Software, you need to upgrade to System 7.5.3 before you can install System 7.5.5.

Writing PPD Files for Use With LaserWriter 8, version 8.4.1 (Technote 1068)

by Dave Polaschek

LaserWriter 8.4 offers a new graphical way to customize the interface presented to the user for selecting printer-specific options that are defined in PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files. This Technote describes how to access those features.

This Technote assumes you are already familiar with the PPD specification. If you are not familiar with how to make PPD files, you should first consult the PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification Version 4.3, which is available from Adobe Systems, Inc. (An earlier version of the spec (1865K) is available online at Adobe's Website.)

Traditional Device Drivers: Sync or Swim (Technote 1067)

by Quinn "The Eskimo!"

As with any software system, the Mac OS works fine just as long as everybody plays by the rules. For general Toolbox operations, these rules are fairly easy to understand. However, traditional Mac OS device drivers (DRVRs), by their very nature, are complicated programs, and the rules that govern their behavior are harder to understand.

This Technote discusses one of the dangers of writing a traditional Mac OS device driver, namely, the possibility of deadlock when calling another device driver synchronously from a device driver. It demonstrates several ways this deadlock can occur, and then goes on to describe how to avoid the possibility of deadlock.

E.T.O: The Right Tools for the Right Job (Technote 1066)

by Jason Yeo

The motivation behind this Technote was brought about by frequent inquiries from developers about what Apple development tools are available for their specific programming tasks. This Technote showcases the major components of Apple's E.T.O. (Essentials - Tools - Objects), which now comes on two CD-ROMs and is available from the Apple Developer Catalog Home Page.

This Technote serves as a reference for any Macintosh developer who wants to know what Apple development tools and utilities they have at their disposal. It does not, however, cover the multitude of third-party development tools that are also available. For a vendor list of third-party products, please refer to the Apple Developer Catalog Home Page.

Using QuickDraw GX Functionality from Pascal or Modula-2 -- Without Writing Any C Code (Technote 1065)

by Lawrence D'Oliveiro

QuickDraw GX was designed entirely with the C programmer in mind. As a consequence, the user of a high-level language, such as Pascal or Modula-2, is left unable to take advantage of all the capabilities of GX. This Technote outlines how you can get around this hurdle.

This Technote is aimed at programmers with some 68K assembly-language experience, who have an aversion to the C programming language. You will need to be familiar with the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop (MPW) environment, if only because that hosts the only 68K assembler on the Macintosh worth using. I will discuss how to make use of all the functionality of GX from a language like Pascal or Modula-2, without writing any C code.

The discussion breaks the problem down into all the important cases, and gives an example of how to deal with each. Based on this, you can construct your own adaptation of Apple's GX interfaces, or you can make use of the adaptation in Modula-2 that I have already done. The examples use Modula-2 rather than Pascal, mainly because Modula-2 allows the definition of routine types, which Pascal does not.

Inside Macintosh: Operating System Utilities: Addendum to Chapter 4 -- Determining If Daylight Savings Time is in Effect (Technote 1064)

by Albert Hui

While you can set the Daylight Savings Time state from the Date & Time Control Panel and determine what the state is by checking the checkbox in the Control Panel, you can also figure out the state from within your program. This Technote shows you how.

Inside Macintosh: Operating System Utilities, Chapter 4, does not directly explain how you can find out if daylight savings time is in effect. With the MachineLocation data structure dlsDelta field, you can find out how the time would have changed, but the field does not tell you whether daylight savings time is in effect.

This Technote is at aimed at Macintosh developers who must deal with date and time programming issues.

Inside Macintosh: Processes: Time Manager Addenda (Technote 1063)

by Eric Simenel

This Note highlights the usage of two fields -- tmReserved and tmWakeUp -- that might be unclear after reading the chapter "Time Manager" in Inside Macintosh: Processes.

This Note is intended for all developers who want to do time measurement using the Time Manager routines.

A Technote Series on Open Firmware

Fundamentals of Open Firmware, Part II: The Device Tree (Technote 1062)
by Wayne Flansburg

This Technote, the second in a series, describes the Open Firmware device tree. It briefly explains how the device tree is built and then describes some of its contents.

This Technote is targeted at the expansion device designer and the driver writer for that device.

Further Reference:

A Technote Series on Open Firmware

Fundamentals of Open Firmware, Part I: The User Interface (Technote 1061)
by Wayne Flansburg

This Technote, the first in a series, describes the Open Firmware User Interface and Forth, the Open Firmware language. This Note addresses how to connect the target machine to a host machine for two machine mode. It explains how to use the interface to go between two and one machine mode. It also provides an explanation of the basics of Forth, an introduction to the device tree, and some debugging techniques.

This Technote is targeted at the expansion device designer and the driver writer for that device.

Further Reference:

Controlling Apps with Synthesized Events, or jGNEFilter, the Untold Story (Technote 1060)

by Pete Gontier and Mark Cookson

Until now, jGNEFilter has been "under documented," with only vague mentions appearing in Technote TB 11. jGNEFilter is the name of a mechanism by which programs can obtain access to each EventRecord just before the event is sent to the caller of GetNextEvent or WaitNextEvent.

Developers who would like to make use of jGNEFilter, or developers who are already bravely making use of it even in the face of inadequate documentation, should read this Technote.

On Improving Open Transport Network Server Performance (Technote 1059)

By Vinnie Moscaritolo

As higher network datalink speeds become more commonplace, Mac OS server performance has come under closer scrutiny. Developers who write network server applications on the Mac continue to be concerned about performance issues. In many cases, server throughput and connection latency problems may stem from poor application design rather than any deficiencies in Open Transport or the Mac OS.

This Technote is intended for Macintosh developers writing network server applications that use the Open Transport API, and discusses some techniques you can employ in your network server application design to achieve higher performance.

QuickDraw GX 'ptyp' Resource: Calculations, Uses & Limitations (Technote 1058)

By Ingrid Kelly

For some time now, Apple developers have been confused by the 'ptyp' (paper type) resource in QuickDraw GX. This is a result of sparse documentation and problems with QuickDraw GX's use of this resource.

Querying PostScript Printers at dtp Creation Time the QuickDraw GX Way (Technote 1057)

By Ingrid Kelly

For some time now, Apple developers have asked how they can query their PostScript printers at dtp creation time using the same methods as the LaserWriter GX printer driver. This Technote discusses how the LaserWriter GX driver does it at query time and provides you with the printing messages you need to override in order to achieve the same functionality.

You may need to change or add to the code in this Note. For example, if you want to query for the number of paper trays or query for an envelope tray, you will need to modify this code, as explained later in this Note.

Apple Media Tool's "Not Enough External Memory (3)"Error Explained (Technote 1056)
by Scott Kuechle

This Note explains what is meant by the Apple Media Tool (AMT) "Not Enough External Memory (3)" error, and provides several techniques for preventing its occurrence. It is targeted at both Macintosh and Windows developers who are creating multimedia titles with AMT and the Apple Media Tool Programming Environment (AMTPE), versions 1.2 and 2.0.

SIMMs to DIMMs: Making Sense Out of Memory Expansion for the Power Macintosh (Technote 1055)

By Paul Freeburn

From the first to second generation Power Macintosh computers, Apple has increased the total amount of expandable memory, and has transitioned memory expansion from 72-pin SIMMs to 168-pin DIMMs. Unfortunately, as with earlier Macintosh computers, the transition to 168-pin DIMMs for memory expansion has not dampened the endless flow of memory questions from developers, system integrators, and end users.

What tends to drive the confusion is the fact there are dozens of companies that supply memory modules which, in turn, use DRAM devices manufactured by a number of different semiconductor vendors. As a consequence, you end up with multiple combinations of all sizes and configurations of SIMMs and DIMMs.

Decomposing a QuickDraw GX Mapping (Technote 1054)

by Lawrence D'Oliveiro

A QuickDraw GX mapping, being a 3-by-3 matrix, can specify any 2D linear transformation. It is easy enough to build up such a transformation from a sequence of primitive transformations, namely translations, scalings, rotations, skews and perspective distortions -- GX provides calls to construct nearly all of these components (the exception is perspective, for which there is library code in the GX SDK). Sometimes there is a need to go the other way: given an arbitrary linear transformation, can you break it into a sequence of pure translations, scalings, skews and perspective distortions? This Technote will show you how.

QuickDraw GX GraphicsBug:Description, Uses & Limitations (Technote 1053)

By Cary Clark

This Technote discusses GraphicsBug, the GX debugger application. It provides a description of the history of GraphicsBug, as well as an explanation of how GraphicsBug can best be used by GX developers. This Note also includes a list of all the currently known bugs in GraphicsBug.

This Note is intended for Macintosh QuickDraw GX developers who are developing applications with QuickDraw GX version 1.1.3 or earlier.

QuickDraw GX ConicLibrary.c in Detail: Description and Derivations (Technote 1052)

by Cary Clark

This Technote discusses ConicLibrary.c from the QuickDraw GX Libraries.

This Note is intended for Macintosh QuickDraw GX developers who want to approximate ellipses and hyperbolas with paths. These, with parabolas (gxCurves), form the familty of curves called conics.

Understanding Conic Splines (Technote 1051)

by Rob Johnson

Conic splines are a useful graphic primitive. They exactly represent any conic section: line, circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola. Lines and circles are of obvious importance, and parabolic splines are a primitive building block for shapes in QuickDraw GX. This Technote gives a derivation of some of the mathematical formulas associated with conic splines.

System 7.5.3 Revision 2 (Technote 1050) - Release 1.1

by Brian Bechtel

This Technote describes the various changes offered by System 7.5.3 Revision 2 and provides information for Apple developers regarding these changes. This Note also includes references to other sources of information that further discuss these changes.

Approaching the Millennium: The Mac and the Year 2000 (Technote 1049)

By Brian Bechtel

There has been much concern recently about various operating systems and computers and their handling of the year 2000. Many operating systems and computers use two digits to represent and store the year, and this can cause problems in the year 2000.

The Mac OS and Apple Macintosh computers do not have problems with the year 2000. The following Q & A's address this, and direct the reader to further sources of information related to this topic.

Some Sound Advice: Getting the Most Out of the Sound Manager (Technote 1048)

By Mark Cookson & Ray Chiang

This Technote discusses issues that you need to be aware of if you are developing apps that use more than basic Sound Manager calls. The information in this Technote has been gleaned from a number of developer questions fielded by DTS, and focuses on issues that arise when dealing with sound input and sound output.

On Creating Web-Friendly Documentation: A Few Techniques (Technote 1047)

by Tom Maremaa

This Technote introduces a series of techniques designed to improve the quality of technical writing for a developer or programmer audience. It is aimed at content producers who must produce Release Notes, Readme files, and other forms of technical writing.

Inside Macintosh: Devices, Power Manager Addenda (Technote 1046)

by Vinnie Moscaritolo

This Technote discusses addenda to the Inside Macintosh: Devices, Power Manager Chapter.

On Changes to QuickTime Conferencing Components: New Error Codes, Behavior & Methods of Retrieving Errors (Technote 1045)

by Scott Kuechle

This Technote describes new error codes, documents new behavior, and provides information on retrieving errors involved in the various components of QuickTime Conferencing (QTC).

A Technote Series on Open Firmware

Fundamentals of Open Firmware, Part III: PCI Expansion ROM Contents for Mac OS 8 (Technote 1044)

by Wayne Flansburg

This Technote, the third in a series, addresses PCI expansion ROM contents for Mac OS 8. The information here also applies to all Macintosh computers with PCI expansion capability, such as the Power Macintosh 9500, 8500, and 7500. The Note looks at the basic device types as defined in the IEEE 1275-1994 Open Firmware standard. It defines the recommended contents common for all ROMs, as well as the specific recommended contents for the various standard device types, excluding bridge devices.

Further Reference:

On Drag Manager Additions (Technote 1043 - Release 1.1)

by Greg Robbins & Pete Gontier

Since Drag Manager 1.0, two new calls have been added and three new Gestalt response bits have been defined.

This Technote is intended for Macintosh developers who need to take advantage of these new features.

Strategies for Dealing with Low-Memory Conditions (Technote 1042)

by Andrew Wulf

This Technote describes various strategies your application might take in dealing with low-memory conditions. It is also useful as a memory-management primer for those developers starting out on the Macintosh, or porting applications from other platforms.

Inside Macintosh: Files Errata (Technote 1041)

by Jim Luther
Revised by Jim Luther & Pete Gontier

This Technote discusses known errors and omissions in Inside Macintosh: Files.

Write Cache Flushing: Techniques for Properly Handling System Shutdown (Technote 1040)

by Vinnie Moscaritolo

Many high-performance disk drives available for Macintosh computers utilize an on-board hardware write cache mechanism. Although these devices can enhance disk performance, they also require special software consideration to avoid the loss of data on shutdown.

This Technote addresses ways to flush the disk's write cache during the shutdown process.

Access & the Power Manager:Headaches & Cures (Technote 1039)

by Vinnie Moscaritolo

If you are building an application that communicates with storage devices by bypassing the Macintosh file system, you may encounter some unexpected problems related to interaction with the Power Manager. This Note discusses some elementary but often overlooked ways to prevent these problems from occurring.

QuickDraw GX OffscreenLibrary.c in Detail: Description, Uses & Limitations (Technote 1038)

by Cary Clark

This Technote discusses OffscreenLibrary.c from the QuickDraw GX Libraries.

QuickDraw GX MappingLibrary.c: Its Uses and Limitations (Technote 1037)

by Cary Clark

This Technote discusses MappingLibrary.c from the QuickDraw GX Libraries.

QuickTime VR 1.0 Object Movie File Format (Technote 1036)

by Michael Chen
& Joel Cannon

This Technote is intended to provide multimedia developers with the knowledge necessary to create QuickTime VR 1.0 object movie files from their own applications.

QuickTime VR 1.0 Panorama Movie File Format (Technote 1035)

by Ken Doyle
& Joel Cannon

This Technote is intended to provide multimedia developers with the knowledge necessary to create QuickTime VR 1.0 panorama movie files from their own applications.

Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Graphics Errata (Technote 1034)

by Ingrid Kelly

This Technical Note discusses known errors and omissions in Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Graphics.

Interrupts in Need of (a Good) Time (Technote 1033) - Release 1.1

by Quinn "The Eskimo!" Developer Support Droid

One of the classic problems of Macintosh programming is that your code is executing at interrupt time and you wish to execute a Mac OS routine that cannot be called at interrupt time. This Technote presents a number of techniques you can use for communicating between interrupt time code and task level code, along with an analysis of each method. It concludes with a recommendation for the best general-purpose method for solving the problem.

Mixing QuickDraw & PostScript Printing from Your App: Some Gotchas (Technote 1032)- Release 1.1

by Dave Polaschek

If your application generates PostScript directly, or you're considering writing an app that does, there are some techniques that will help your development efforts. This Technote explains these techniques, as well as gotchas that are either inadequately documented, or scattered across multiple documentation sources.

History & Peregrinations: The Dogcow Goes QuickTime VR (Technote 1031)

by Tom Maremaa

This Technote looks at some of the Dogcow's history and peregrinations and then explains the technique for creating a QuickTime VR object movie with the Dogcow as star.

A Technique for Estimating the Total RAM You Need for a QuickTime VR Project (Technote 1030)

by Joel Cannon & Tom Maremaa

This Technote, which is aimed at QTVR producers, will help you assess how much RAM you'll need and provide you with tips on how to recognize and avoid common memory-related problems.

Getting Up to Speed with QuickTime VR: Notes from the Field (Technote 1029)

by Joel Cannon & Tom Maremaa

Like many developers, I'm new to QuickTime VR. I started working with VR back in November, 1995, and over a period of three intensive months, immersed myself fully in this new Apple technology. Most of my learning was through trial and error, investigating a whole range of common problems encountered by Apple developers. This Technote is an attempt to share some of the highlights of my experience.

Inside Macintosh: GX Series Addenda (Technote 1028)

by Ingrid Kelly

This Technote discusses addenda to the Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Series.

On the Importance of Print Testing: A Brief Checklist (Technote 1027)

by Dave Polaschek

Although the Macintosh printing architecture has only two major flavors -- QuickDraw GX and traditional, Print Manager printing -- many applications just can't seem to get printing right.

This Technote provides you with a few, important guidelines to alert you to problem printing areas, and to help you test your application. If your application is guilty of breaking the rules, you should at least think about fixing the incompatibilities, since there will only be more change in the future.

The Notification Manager: Problems &Fixes (Technote 1026) - Release 1.1

by Pete Gontier

This Technote describes two serious problems in the Notification Manager (NM), one having to do with activate events and the other with update events. These problems can cause windows in your application to be drawn redundantly or not at all. This Technote provides a workaround for the active event problem and some sample code, with explanations, for fixing the update event problem.

Driver Loader Library Call GetDriverInformation: A Bug & Workaround (Technote 1025)

by John Miller

This Technote describes a workaround to a bug in the first version of the Driver Loader Library in System 7.5.2 and System Update 7.5.3. There is a bug in the routine GetDriverInformation that can possibly cause an overwriting past the end of the name string that it is passed in.

Palette Manager Tidbits (Technote 1024)

by Guillermo Ortiz
revised by Michael Marinkovich

This Technote describes the changes and enhancements, over time, to the Palette Manager.

Although the Palette Manager is documented in the Palette Manager chapter of Inside Macintosh: Advanced Color Imaging, this Technote sheds light on issues that may remain unclear after reading that chapter.

Understanding PackBits (Technote 1023)

by Cameron Birse
revised by Michael Marinkovich

This Technote describes the format of data packed by the Toolbox utility PackBits and documents a change to the srcBytes limit and to the possible worst case.

Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Environment and Utilities Errata (Technote 1022) - Release 1.1

by Ingrid Kelly

This Technical Note discusses known errors and omissions in Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Environment and Utilities.

Creating Off-Screen Bitmaps When Speed is Critical (Technote 1021)

by Jim Friedlander & Ginger Jernigan
revised by Michael Marinkovich

This Technote provides an example of creating an off-screen bitmap by hand, drawing to it, and then copying from it to the screen. Apple encourages the use of GWorlds for your off-screen needs. In some cases, however, creating your own off-screens can be beneficial.

Color Cursing: Two Major Causes (Technote 1020)

by Alan Mimms
revised by Michael Marinkovich

If you∫re building an application that uses color cursors, you may encounter some quirks present in Color QuickDraw. This Technote provides solutions to two common problems.

Plotting Small Icons: The 'SICN' Resource (Technote 1019)

by James Benninghaus & Dennis Hescox
revised by Michael Marinkovich

This Technote addresses the 'SICN' resource format and how to handle 'SICN' Resources with more than one indexed icon. With minor modifications, the techniques in this Technote can be used to plot a bitmap of any dimension.

Understanding the Serial DMA Driver (Technote 1018)

by Craig Prouse & Godfrey DiGiorgi

This Technote describes the Macintosh DMA Serial Driver, also known as SerialDMA 2.0. The SerialDMA driver is a replacement for the standard set of Macintosh serial device drivers often referred to by their driver names: .AIn, .AOut, .BIn, and .BOut. SerialDMA is applicable only to those Macintosh models which incorporate DMA channels servicing the standard Z8530 Serial Communications Controller.

System 7.5 Update 2.0; System 7.5.3 (Technote 1017)

by John Montbriand

This Technote discusses the various changes offered by
System 7.5 Update 2.0/System 7.5.3 and provides information regarding these changes and reference to information sources further discussing these changes.

Where Has My qd Gone? And How Do I Use qd and QDGlobals Correctly? (Technote 1016)

by Merwyn Welcome

This Note addresses the genesis of and changes to the qd variable and the QDGlobals data type. The qd variable contains all QuickDraw global variables. This Note also demonstrates the correct usage of the qd variable and the QDGlobals data type.

Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Objects Errata
(Technote 1015) - Release 2.0

by Ingrid Kelly

This Technote discusses known errors and omissions in Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Objects.

Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Printing Extensions and Drivers Errata
(Technote 1014) - Release 2.1

by Ingrid Kelly

This Technical Note discusses known errors and omissions in Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Printing Extensions and Drivers.

Printer Mode APIs for Macintosh Printer Drivers (Technote 1013)

by Mike Blackstock & Ben Manuto

This Technote describes the APIs for implementing a printer-direct (or pass-thru) mode for Macintosh printer drivers. Implementing this feature will allow applications to identify and send printer data that is unique to the printer connected to the Macintosh without having to generate QuickDraw codes, understand how to connect to and maintain a connection with a particular printer, or handle communications errors with the printer.

QuickTime TV Tuner APIs (Technote 1012)

by Paul Wenker & Kent Sandvik (DTS Emeritus)

The TV Tuner component is included in the Video Startup extension which is part of the Apple Video Player software. The component provides a standard API for accessing the TV tuner hardware available for the various Macintosh systems that have the TV tuner circuit or card available. This Technote describes the TV Tuner APIs.

Understanding Type 11 & No FPU Installed Errors on the Power Macintosh (Technote 1011)

by Brian Bechtel

This Technote explains some of the causes of "Type 11" and "No FPU Installed" errors, along with debugging hints to help you find and fix them. It also focuses on what you as a programmer can do to prevent such errors.

QuickTime Teletext Component API's (Technote 1010)

by Paul Wenker & Kent Sandvik (DTS Emeritus)

The Teletext component is included in the Video Startup extension which is part of the Apple Video Player software. The component provides a standard API for accessing the Teletext hardware available on the international and UK tuner cards. This Technote describes the Teletext component APIs.

On Multiple Inheritance & HandleObjects (Technote 1009)

by Larry Rosenstein (DTS Emeritus)
revised by Peter Gontier & Chris Forden

This Technote answers a common question about MPW C++: Why doesn't HandleObject support multiple inheritance? To answer that question, this Note provides a brief overview of how multiple inheritance is implemented in MPW C++.

Understanding PCI Bus Performance (Technote 1008)

by Paul Freeburn

With the second generation of Power Macintosh computers, Apple has transitioned the Macintosh I/O expansion bus from NuBus to PCI. This Technote examines the PCI bus commands, the operation of the IB chip (the PowerPC processor to PCI interface bridge chip), achievable PCI bandwidth on PCI Power Macintosh computers, and, finally, Mac OS services available to maximize PCI bandwidth.

On the Elements of a Technote (Technote 1007)

by Tom Maremaa

Each Technote, when it works, has a particular set of elements that, if you step back and put them in perspective, contribute to the Note's effectiveness. This Technote outlines some of those elements.

A Technique for Figuring Out a Resource's Base Value (Technote 1006)

by Bryan Stearns (DTS Emeritus)
revised by Matt Mora

In the chapter on the Resource Manager in Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox, owned resources are explained, but the chapter does not include a sample of how to actually figure out the resource's base value. This Technnote includes a shortcut in C, Pascal and ASM to accomplish this task.

The Compleat Guide to SimpleText (Technote 1005)

by Bryan Stearns (DTS Emeritus)
revised by Mark Cookson

This Technote explains how to use SimpleText to create Release notes and ReadMe files, complete with pictures and sound, even QuickTime movies. This Note also showcases some of the new features that have been added to SimpleText 1.3.

On QT Component Manager 3.0 & PowerPC Native Components (Technote 1004)

by Jim Reekes & Dave Radcliffe

This Note contains information about the version of the Component Manager that shipped with QuickTime 1.6 and the changes necessary to support native PowerPC components.

On the Deferred Task Manager (Technote 1003)

by Jim Luther (DTS Emeritus)
revised by Matthew Xavier Mora

This Note highlights two points - interrupt latency, and task record ownership - that might be unclear after reading the chapter "Deferred Task Manager" in Inside Macintosh:Processes.

On Launching an App with a Document (Technote 1002)

by John Montbriand

Launching an application with a document under System 7 requires the use of the AppleEvent Manager to either directly send an open document event to an existing application or indirectly send an open document event to an application as part of its launch sequence. This Technote describes how you can do this in your applications and provides a simple example of how you can use the technique.

On Power Macintosh Interrupt Management (Technote 1001)

by Wayne Flansburg

This Note briefly addresses porting existing 68K interrupt code to the NuBus PowerPC. It then discusses the new interrupt management scheme developed for PCI PowerPC.

Author's Guidelines

by Tom Maremaa

This is an Author's Guide to the new structure that Apple has evolved for Macintosh Technotes.

Tech Support
Technotes

Technotes

Table of Contents

Technotes 1001-1076

Further Reference:

Further Reference:

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