linuXyW notes

Arthur Steinberg runs xydos 4.017 under linux (red hat ver. 5.2) in dosemu on a dell optiplex gx1 with 128 meg ram, and "some big harddrive (6-8 gig?)." Arthur reports that it is very fast: "in fact xydos runs much faster on this system (under linux) then it did under os2 or nt." He has posted some interesting messages on his successes and problems to the xyWrite mailing list (subscribe xywrite):

xydos and linux
Sat, 20 Mar 1999 12:42 ET
Arthur Steinberg <arthurs@MIT.EDU>

there have been a couple inquiries recently about running xywrite under linux. i have been doing it for several months now. recently i upgraded the linux to red hat version 5.2. xydos 4.017 runs well under it, but it takes a while to get the dosemulator to work properly. i have no experience with xywin.

getting it all to work is not for the faint of heart, and i admit freely that i have had a lot of help from a local wizard. i will try to get some documentation out of him in the near future, and will pass that along to all who are interested.

the clipboard function is not flawless yet: i can cut and paste from xy to xterm, but not from xterm to xy. but we'll work on it.

if i want to move files from an xwindow to xy i have to login as root and then simply copy it from one place to the other. it takes some typing, but is a lot better than having the system crash under windows!

also my caps lock doesn't work in xy.

what is striking is how blindingly fast xy runs under linux as opposed to running under nt, which is what i had it doing previously. --arthur

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printing xy under linux
Tue, 06 Apr 1999 19:00 ET
Arthur Steinberg <arthurs@MIT.EDU>

i am running xydos 4.017 under linux (red hat ver. 5.2) in dosemu and seem to have hit a snag printing. this has happened after a window manager was changed, but i have now gone back to using the old window manager under which i was previously able to print in xy.

i have tested xy out under windows nt and can get it to print properly, which might lead one to believe that the problem is due to linux. maybe.

under linux, it will print properly in xy if i use the default font (i.e. not specifying any particular font), but when i specify garamond or anything else it prints just a single line and then the rest of the document is blank.

that single line begins with a Y (with an umlaut over it), below it it says:

Y (umlaut)&18CY(umlaut)&11XY(umlaut)&d@Y(umlaut) and so on, then the beginning of the first line of text, and then nothing.

does anyone know what's going on here?

perhaps a related problem is that when i go to the "print" window "collate" and "simplex (one-sided)" are always checked, even if i uncheck them. are these defaults?

thanks for your help. --arthur steinberg

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running xydos under linux
Fri, 16 Apr 1999 11:13 ET
Arthur Steinberg <arthurs@MIT.EDU>

for those interested in running xydos under linux i can offer some help now. i have had the printing problem solved (it resided in linux's printtool utility where a separate printer had to be designated for dosemu), and xywrite runs extremely fast and well now.

rather than inundate the whole mailing list with this information, i will be glad to pass it on to those few who are interested in the project. i can send you my dosemu.config and the printtool settings. the more general problem of installing linux you will have to do on your own. --arthur steinberg

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xydos and linux
Fri, 16 Apr 1999 15:03 ET
Arthur Steinberg <arthurs@MIT.EDU>

enough people have asked about this combination that i will send the information to the list with apologies to the disinterested.

dosemu needs to be downloaded along with linux, or in addition to it. it comes with a file called DOSEMU-HOWTO that is pretty useful, and has references to more places for help. you deal with dosemu when you are logged in as 'root' or 'su.' but my dosemu session (in which i start xywrite) has been setup so that i can access it while logged into the local network (i have yet to find the file where that was done--more anon on that.)

my xydos files happen to be in the /win/ partition of my harddrive, and are saved to that when i work in xydos. but they can be copied to the linux partition and manipulated there in emacs or whatever you like. and vice-versa: i cp files from emacs to xydos if i want to format them. there is some nasty line-feed stuff to fix, but i have a macro for that.

why do i make life so difficult instead of using windows nt/eudora/word, you ask? there has been a lot written on this bulletin board about that. besides i enjoy it. furthermore: xydos flies under linux, and linux is extremely robust.

i am attaching herewith my dosemu.conf that will show how it has been set up. the printer is called 'raw' about which i will say more below.

$_debug = "-a"
$_timint = (on)
$_mathco = (on)
$_cpu = (80386)
$_rdtsc = (on)
$_cpuspeed = (0)
$_pci = (off)
$_xms = (1024)
$_ems = (1024)
$_ems_frame = (0xe000)
$_dpmi = (off)
$_dosmem = (640)
$_hardware_ram = ""
$_secure = "ngd"
$_odd_hosts = ""
$_diskless_hosts = ""
$_emusys = ""
$_emubat = ""
$_emuini = ""
$_hogthreshold = (1)
$_irqpassing = ""
$_speaker = ""
$_term_char_set = ""
$_term_color = (on)
$_term_updfreq = (4)
$_escchar = (30)
$_rawkeyboard = (0)
$_layout = "us"
$_keybint = (on)
$_X_updfreq = (5)
$_X_title = "DOS in a BOX"
$_X_icon_name = "xdos"
$_X_keycode = (off)
$_X_blinkrate = (16)
$_X_font = "vga20"
$_X_mitshm = (on)
$_X_sharecmap = (off)
$_X_fixed_aspect = (on)
$_X_aspect_43 = (on)
$_X_lin_filt = (off)
$_X_bilin_filt = (off)
$_X_mode13fact = (2)
$_X_winsize = ""
$_X_gamma = (1.0)
$_X_vgaemu_memsize = (1024)
$_X_lfb = (on)
$_X_pm_interface = (on)
$_X_mgrab_key = ""
$_X_vesamode = ""
$_video = "vga"
$_console = (0)
$_graphics = (0)
$_videoportaccess = (1)
$_vbios_seg = (0xc000)
$_vbios_size = (0x10000)
$_vmemsize = (1024)
$_chipset = ""
$_dualmon = (0)
$_vbootfloppy = ""
$_floppy_a = "threeinch"
$_floppy_b = ""
$_hdimage = "hdimage"
$_hdimage_r = $_hdimage
$_com1 = ""
$_com2 = ""
$_com3 = ""
$_com4 = ""
$_ttylocks = ""
$_mouse = ""
$_mouse_dev = ""
$_mouse_flags = ""
$_mouse_baud = (0)
$_printer = "raw"
$_printer_timeout = (20)
$_ports = ""
$_ipxsupport = (off)
$_novell_hack = (off)
$_vnet = (off)
$_sound = (off)
$_sb_base = (0x220)
$_sb_irq = (5)
$_sb_dma = (1)
$_sb_dsp = "/dev/dsp"
$_sb_mixer = "/dev/mixer"
$_mpu_base = "0x330"

printer:

logged in as 'root' call up 'printtool' which is the linux printer utility. add a printer (mine is called 'raw,' note where it goes in the config. file above) which is 'text-only printer on /dev/lp1'. in the window where it says input filter it should say "*auto* - text printer."

then press 'select,' and check the box which says "fast-text printing."

save it. that should do it.

btw, to print from linux you should have another printer added to the printtool menu which corresponds to your own printer (i happen to have an old hp 4 laserprinter, so have hp laserprinter 4/5/6 selected). that is, in fact my default printer. 'raw' is only used by dosemu. I hope this helps.

someone asked me if all the keys worked right for xydos and the answer is yes, except for the caps lock.

let me know if things don't work and i'll see if i can help, but above you have most of my knowledge about what's going on. --arthur steinberg

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"xydos and linux and /win/ partition"
Fri, 16 Apr 1999 16:16 ET
Arthur Steinberg <arthurs@MIT.EDU>

i wanted to keep my /win/ partition intact in case i wanted to work in nt, where i do go to use excel. or at least until i find a really good windows emulator that will allow me to run excel under linux too.

for those of you interested in trying xydos under linux i am sending you a linux file you ought to know about. it is called /etc/fstab and governs some of the parameters of various devices on your computer.

my xywrite and its files are all on the /win partition of my computer (i kept it as a dual boot system). but i want access to xywrite and those files when i login to my networked computer under linux, therefore the designation on the /dev/hda1 line. the 'umask=000' is the critical part to make xy and these files accessible. Hope this helps. --arthur steinberg

/dev/hda5	/	ext2	defaults		 1 1
/dev/hda3	swap	swap	defaults		 0 0
/dev/fd0	/floppy	msdos	noauto,user		 0 0
/dev/cdrom	/cdrom	iso9660	noauto,ro,user		 0 0
none		/proc	proc	defaults		 0 0
/dev/hda1	/win	vfat	defaults,user,umask=000	 0 0
/dev/hda2	/old	ext2	defaults		 0 0