Hm, ok...Derek_Stewart wrote:Hi Nasta,
If a 68040/060 CPU were put into the QL, would this cause any problems with the current hardware.
With regards to SMSQ\E for a standard QL, I would vote to use Minerva, as it does not have the PTR\WMAN\HOTKEY system pre-loaded and more developement of a WIMP system could be performed without complete recompile of the operating system.
I would prefer to load the WIMP system at boot time.
Derek
CPUs >=68010 have a 'vector base register' so the entire vector table can be moved anywhere in memory. For them, the problem we are discussing does not exist.
For 68000/8 the position of the vectors is fixed, so either redirection has to be handled in software (inctead of vectors pointing directly to service routines, they have to point to jump table, where the jumps jump to service routines, and the jump table has to be in RAM so that the addresses the jumps jump to can be changed) - or, there has to be a way to re-map something else instead of the OS ROM in it's place (like another OS ROM with it's own vectors), or RAM so the vectors can be changed.
The latter is what the GC/SGC do, whatever OS they run, is first copied to RAM which is then re-mapped instead of ROM (to the usual ROM addresses) and write-protected. SMSQ/E for the GC/SGC is aware of this mechanism and basically overwrites whatever OS the QL was started up from reset.
For the other part of the question, you ar easking a contradictory one - SMSQ/E does not contain Minerva, it's a completely re-written OS. So, it's either-or. Unless you were asking for an initial bood via Minerva.
Regarding the WIMP part, SMSQ/E is modular. I would expect the PE is actually a module, which does not have to be included - however, since the PE actually replaces the 'old' console driver (which caters of the old style windows, graphics, character writing etc), so not including the PE requires some other console driver instead. Is there one that is compatible?
On the other hand you mention that you want the WIMP part to be loaded at boot, does that mean on it's own during startup, OR from a boot program?