#BlitzDisk(tm) cache
19 messages in this thread
BlitzDisk is a disk cache which may be used to speed up reads from floppy
disk as well as from some hard disks and potentially other as yet
unavailable devices such as CD-ROM.
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BlitzDisk allows you to use either FAST or CHIP ram, and to share disk
buffers among all the devices using BlitzDisk. You can also dynamicly
adjust the number of buffers allocated, and BlitzDisk uses arp.library
resource tracking capabilities to allow some buffers to be freed in
low-memory situations. BlitzDisk cache buffers are considerably faster
than "Addbuffers" buffers, and are optimized to retain buffers based on the
AmigaDOS file format.
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BlitzDisk will work with floppy disks as well as some hard disks, depending
on the harddisk vendor's device driver. With harddisks, the biggest
speed advantage can be achieved when reading directories, so BlitzDisk will
allow you to specify that only directory blocks should be cached giving
you the maximum speed advantage without using extra RAM and CPU time doing
normal harddisk reads and writes.
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BlitzDisk was designed to be as small as possible, so you can set it up in
your Startup-Sequence and have it automaticly speed up your system therafter.
BlitzDisk will allow you to display current statistics on number of buffers
of buffers allocated or terminate BlitzDisk, by running the program again
from CLI. The BlitzDisk program is about 2500 bytes long, saving you
valuable disk space for other programs; once started, BlitzDisk only
requires about 1500 bytes RAM overhead (plus the 10K used by arp.library)
allowing you to use BlitzDisk on a 512K system without crowding out other
programs.
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See continuation message for availability…
…cheath
Currently, the only way to get BlitzDisk is as an upgrade for
owners of Microsmiths' FastFonts.
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This update includes the V1.1 FastFonts programs (available here
in Dl9 as a patch file), as well as including the latest versions
of the ARP programs and BlitzDisk on the diskette.
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We will be sending out an update notice to all registered FastFonts
owners offering this upgrade early in December, with the upgrade
shipping about December 10. FastFonts owners that would like to
expedite getting the update may return their original FastFonts
diskette along with $10 and your snail-mail shipping address to the
address below. This disk-return offer will extend through Dec 24 '87
after which time we will only accept the coupon sent out with the
update notices. (The price will be the same with the coupon, but
you will not need to return the original diskette when ordering
with the coupon).
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To order before you get the update coupon, please send your original
FastFonts diskette with $10 check or money order (Mass residents add 5%
sales tax) and your return address to:
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FastFonts Upgrade
Microsmiths, Inc
PO Box 561
Cambridge, MA 02140
Hi CHeath,
Good to hear about BlitzDisk! Have you benchmarked it against FaccII????
Keep up the great work!
-RSL-
Haven't benchmarked it yet. I suspect that's best left up to
someone a bit less interested in the results than I am. C-:
I think the best benchmark for a cache would be with some
practical application, like compiling a whole bunch of modules
that will be re-reading a lot of files like the #includes, but
also will keep reading and writing new different files that
would flush out retained cache buffers. Come to think of it,
though, I've been running with a real large cache instead of
using a RAMDISK so buffers practically never get flushed. But
for 512K and 1Meg systems, it's more important to retain the
right buffers than it is to have all out blazing speed.
…cheath
Cheath,
Sounds great. Will this work with the hddisk.device driver that's standard
with the A2090 HD controller?
..Bob
I've been using it with the hddisk device, and using the beta NEWFS
too. It does pretty nicely, with 131072 bytes/sec read speed
using diskperfa and a 32K buffer, as compared with 70849 without
BlitzDisk. The biggest advantage with harddisks, if the driver
is already pretty peppy, is just to cache directories and small
programs, so I'm tweaking the adjustments for this. This will
minimize seeks, and is particularly nice when you're multitasking
and want to pop up a CLI or do a directory while something else
is accessing the HD.
…cheath
I'm looking forward to trying BlitxDisk! BTW, has anyone else had any problems
with Arp's Status command ending each line with the letter "d". I've tried the
old Status command and it works fine.
-RSL-
Hmm, that's two reports on Status appending a character to the command name – I
had seen that once, but had written it off because the problem went away when I
eliminated a bug so I had assumed it was just caused by a stray pointer in the
other program. Maybe not, though, I'll go check it out. Likely we're getting
one extra character after a BCPL-to-C string conversion and it sometimes will
characteristicly be whitespace.
Funny thing is that always seems to be the letter 'd' (I don't know if that's
significant). I don't know exactly what might be interacting with it. As time
has gone by I've been adding more and more subtask into my system (FaccII,
FastFonts, Screenblanker, SnipIt, ConMan, QuickMouse, FunKeys, RSLClock, tec.,
etc.)
-RSL-
Most likely it's something to do with the default value on the
stack … I'll check it out over the weekend … er, make that
"RSN"…
…cheath
Roy, did you ever find a valid use for SnipIt? I thought it was a neat idea,
but then I saw that it was restricted to console windows. I kept it in the
system for a while, but I always needed to clip from an edit window or
something I couldn't get to. What sort of nifty things are you applying it to?
(Wow, two sentences in a row ending in prepositions… not an easy thing to
purposely end sentences with! 8)
Rick
Rick,
I use Snipit to pump stuff into Aterm from the CLI. Does everything I need it
to, and this is added to avoide ending this sentence with a preposition.
Regards, Larry.
Hmm. What sort of stuff are you, er, stuffing into Aterm from CLI, that can't
be done with Aterm itself?
Rick
Rick,
I stuff stuff from a CLI or from the Aterm screen. I could redirect output to
a file for the CLI stuff, but it's easier to just snipit from the screen.
Regards, Larry.
Larry–
Glad you fixed your sentence so as not to end with a prepostion. As (I think)
Winston Churchill said, "Ending a sentence with a preposition is a fault up
with which I shall not put."
// Jim
Hehe… he also said, I believe in the same speech, "A preposition is a
terrible thing to end a sentence with."
Rick
Richard,
On a rare occassion, I find that a program actually uses the console
device and I use SnipIt as a clipboard device. Usually I use Snipit to piece
together subdirectories from using LD rather than typing it directly. I would
LOVE it if it would snip test from any window, but life can't be THAT easy. I
find ConMan much more useful, and use SnipIt a few times a week.
-RSL-
I use SnipIt all the time. It only cuts from con windows but pastes into all
windows that are expecting text input. VERY handy little utility.
Well, as I said, I couldn't find anything to use it for. If it would cut from
ANY window it'd be a gem. As it is, though, I couldn't find anything to use it
on in about a month that I couldn't already do with what I had. <Shrug>
Different strokes.
Rick