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===================================================================== The information contained in this message is under nondisclosure. ===================================================================== 4/30/99 Mac OS Developers, Welcome to the fifth seed of the Veronica Pseudo-SDK. New in this release is the draft of the Native Scripting Additions Technical Note. The "Delta to Universal Int&Libs 3.2" folder has been updated to include, among other things, the URL Access headers & libraries. You will find in the "Technical Documentation" folder, the drafts of the developer documentation which describes new technologies introduced in Veronica (such as the Unicode Utilities) or technologies which changed in Veronica (such as ATSUI, the Apple Type Services for Unicode Imaging introduced in Mac OS 8.5). The Mac OS 8.5 technical documentation is available in the "Dev.CD Dec 98 RL1:Technical Documentation:" folder, as well as at <http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/macos8/mac8.html>. You will find in the "Delta to Universal Int&Libs 3.2" folder, the stub libraries (to link with), and the header files of the technologies which have changed or are new since Mac OS 8.5. Those header files are provided in the usual languages (C, Pascal, etc.). Those files complete the Universal Interfaces & Libraries version 3.2 found in the "Dev.CD Jan 99 SDK1:Development Kits:Interfaces&Libraries:Universal:" folder (also available at <ftp://ftp.apple.com/developer/Development_Kits/Interfaces-Libraries.3.2.sit.hqx>). Note to CodeWarrior users: there are 2 ways to deal with the new headers. Either you copy the contents of each folder into the appropriate folders of CodeWarrior's "Mac OS Support" folder, or you just "drop" the whole "Delta to Universal Int&Libs 3.2" folder in CodeWarrior's "Mac OS Support" folder. In the latter case, you just have to add the correct path to your projects to take advantage of the new features of Veronica. Of course, if you are using precompiled headers in your projects to speed-up your builds, you should re-precompile them following the usual instructions. Note: Do not use URLReadBuffer, use URLGetBuffer instead. See the URLAccess documentation for more details. Thank you for downloading, testing with, and reporting bugs on Veronica. Tim Holmes Mac OS Technology Manager Eric Simenel Developer Technical Support Engineer Excerpt from the Veronica Seed Developer Release Notes: ======================================================================= *** *** *** Veronica Pseudo-SDK Seed Note *** *** Copyright (c) 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. *** *** (This work is unpublished.) *** *** *** Table of Contents: ------------------------------------------------------------- A Note on Confidentiality A Note on Participation Seed Download Tips Digital Signature Information Veronica Fundamentals List of New Features A Note on Component Versions Top Testing and Compatibility "Gotchas" Contact Information Veronica Pseudo-SDK Seed Note Errata ------------------------------------------------------------- A Note on Confidentiality ------------------------- The vast majority of developers seeded abide by their non-disclosure agreements, and for that we thank you; however, some continue to violate this trust. These violations reduce the amount of time Apple is able to spend on the very things developers most need: better software and better support. In addition, these violations may have a severely negative effect on our ability to continue these seeds. We appreciate any help in tracking down violations and appreciate the help we have received to date. Please see the contact information below to report infractions. A Note on Participation ----------------------- Early seeding is important to developers and Apple alike; however, in the past, we haven't received the level of feedback we'd expect for something you've told us is so important. To ensure compatibility with Veronica, developers should not assume Apple will test each of their products internally. It's important that every developer continue to test their products with this pre-release software and provide feedback on problems they encounter. Two important guidelines: -- Provide feedback. It's become apparent that many developers perceive Apple as a sufficiently large organization that either will be able to find all compatibility problems or will get swamped with duplicate bug reports. Neither of these perceptions is accurate. Only reported bugs have a chance to be fixed. -- Provide feedback as early as possible. The pattern of feedback we receive is generally a spike following the earliest seeds, and then traffic drops off until the final candidate stage, at which time we get a second "spike". This second spike occurs too late in the process for us to incorporate the requested changes. The earlier you report a problem, the more likely it is we'll be able to achieve a resolution satisfactory to everyone. Don't wait to test for or to report bugs! -- A feedback anecdote: we recently found this annotation from the engineer assigned to bug report 2256457: "Thanks for the bug report -- I always wanted to fix this!" Seed Download Tips ------------------ Here are some tips and information we hope will ease the burden of the process of downloading the seed. Also remember that downloading during off-hours will reduce connection problems and result in faster download speeds. -- Be sure to use an FTP client (not a web browser) which is set to bypass any firewall you may be behind and which allows only one login session at a time. Also beware that your FTP client may time out your connection if inactive for more than a minute, thereby forcing you to get a new password and start over. -- Be sure to enter your current developer information in the fields. Digital Signature Information ----------------------------- The Veronica seed archive has been digitally signed, allowing you to verify if the software has been corrupted during download or modified or replaced in any way. It is not necessary to verify the file to use the software. The signature is merely a precaution against tampering. PGP will report the signature is bad in all of these cases. The most likely culprit is corruption during download. Please download the file(s) again. To verify the file's integrity, perform the following steps: -- Obtain PGP 5 or later, commercial and freeware versions are available: <http://www.nai.com/products/security/security.asp> For information about or support for PGP, consult PGP as this is not an Apple product. -- Obtain the public key for Tim Holmes (key ID 0x9E22EA50) -- Verify the disk image file by opening the signature file Veronica Fundamentals --------------------- Veronica is the next in a series of regular Mac OS update releases. Veronica supports the same set of Macintosh computers as Mac OS 8.5 and 8.5.1 (all PowerPC Mac OS compatible computers), but does not support systems in which the PowerPC processor is on an upgrade card. In the past, the Special menu has been changed during pre-release builds to an alternate word. This has been done to allow easy determination of the build the user has installed. Since the Help menu is always present regardless of which application is running, this will now be used as the indicator, changing with each build until the final builds, when it will return to normal. Please note that we have not yet finalized the version number, and any current version numbers are place holders only. WARNING: It is still possible there are significant bugs in this build of Veronica. Do not risk critical data by exposing it to this software. Do not install this software on a machine which is critical to your business. List of New Features: ====================== -- New Nanokernel with the following features: Multitasking integrated into the nanokernel. Multiprocessor library can run with VM enabled. Existing apps will run without changes Full symmetric multiprocessor capability. -- Game Sprockets will be installed on all CPUs by default. Includes InputSprockets, NetSprockets, and SoundSprockets. -- ColorSync 2.6.1. -- AppleScript 1.3.7 (bug fix). -- UDF 1.5.2, supporting read/write DVD. -- Firewire 2.0. -- Sherlock 2.1 with bug fixes, human interface improvements, and new proxy server support via URL Access. -- URL Access, a method for applications to obtain information via Internet protocols. (formerly known as SubWoofer.) -- PlainTalk 1.5.4 with support for 44.1 Khz input sound sources, and filtering for the built-in microphone on iMac class machines. -- Help Viewer 1.2, a new updated help display engine. SDK still to come, so that developers can adopt Apple Help facilities for use with their products. -- LaserWriter 8.6.5 & Desktop Printer Utility 1.2 with support across the entire platform for secure printing, and USB support for PostScript printers. -- ATSUI 1.1, Unicode imaging and layout. Enhancements from System 8.5 include client control over memory management and memory allocation and font fallbacks. -- Installer 4.5.3/ Upgrader 1.2.4, which is more Appearance savvy, now supports volumes greater than 20Gb (2275099), supports extended Finder information, and contains miscellaneous bug fixes. -- Unicode Utilities work with international text to sort and collate without translating to the Mac OS character set and back. -- Added locale support as a way of storing information associated with cultural conventions such as calendars, date and time formats, number and currency formats, text sorting orders, etc. NOTE: The MTLE and Type 1 Scaler features have been deferred from the Veronica release. Please contact Merle Tenney, <mailto: "Merle Tenney" tenney@apple.com> for further information. A Note on Component Versions ---------------------------- Some of the components in Veronica may be earlier versions than those shipping at the time of release of this OS update. This is due to extensive, time-consuming integration quality assurance that is required to achieve the quality goals for such a large project. Integrating later versions of components impacts testing and could compromise the quality of the Veronica release. In Apple's OS release strategy, the latest version possible of any given component will integrate into the next OS update or release, but those components will continue to improve and be distributed as appropriate in parallel to the OS releases. Top Testing and Compatibility "Gotchas" --------------------------------------- There are many changes in Veronica. There are some specific areas we know have a relatively high potential of causing trouble for a significant number of programs. Here are some testing recommendations which we believe should be part of your testing regimen: -- AppleScript Folder Actions server has changed, be sure to test any folder actions you may have created to ensure compatibility and report any problems to us ASAP! -- Printing - there have been changes made to the LaserWriter driver. Be sure to test any printing facilities to uncover any issues. ======================================================================== Contact Information ------------------- Seed Note Feedback Comments about and requests for additional information to be included in the seed note should be sent to: <mailto:simenel.e@apple.com> Downloading and Decoding Before contacting Apple for assistance with the seeding process or obtaining this seed, please consult the Seeding Frequently Asked Questions web page: <http://developer.apple.com/faq/faqseed.html> If this page does not help you resolve the problem, <mailto:devseed@apple.com> Bug Reports For bug reports (but not Veronica enhancement requests): <http://developer.apple.com/bugreporter> Security Breaches ("Leaks") We encourage you to report anyone you know to have distributed Veronica, in whole or in part, or information about Veronica (including but not limited to screen dumps) to anyone who is not under non-disclosure with Apple. We have been successful at closing down many sources of leaks thanks to your reports. Please keep them coming to: <mailto:shortstop@apple.com> Veronica Pseudo-SDK Seed Note Errata ---------------------------------- Clarifications: (none) Corrections: (none) 
