XEROX
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Systems Development Department
To: Robert Kierr Date: September 12, 1978
From: H. C. Lauer Org: SDD/SD
Subject: Pilot Status report Filed: [Iris] < Lauer > PilotStatus.memo
Reference: Pilot Pre-alpha and Alpha releases, dated September 5, 1978 from H. C. Lauer to Robert Kierr
The following is a brief summary of the status of Pilot and of the components which, by agreement,
will be included in the Alpha release of Pilot. It appears that it is possible to come very close to
meeting our September 15 target for starling the release procedure, llie remaining unknowns are:
(1) how rapidly we can get new microcode releases into use by the Pilot group, and (2) the number
of "surprises" in demand paging.
Demand paging
All modifications to Pilot necessary to test demand paging are complete.
We have mn VFSTest (formerly MockCIient) for an extended period in page faulting
mode, but without paging out existing code or data.
Charnley has identified a means of making BilBlt restartable after page faults (at tlie
expense of speed)
Garner is fixing a bug in XFER which prevents code segments from being demand paged.
Remaining tasks:
Fix tlie Map Log to allow larger log to be kept
Continue testing
OIS and PUP communications
Yogen is on schedule and in the midst of testing Pup communications (sec September 5
memo); he has ~3 days remaining work on his contributions to tlie Alplia release.
Disk-bootable microcode
Charnley claims that tliis problem is solved; a hardware fix is required to make it work.
Charnely will produce a new release of microcode Wednesday containing:
Long pointer disk controller
Reslarlable Bit}31t (short or long pointers)
"Identical" .BT and .MiJ versions
(l^crliaps) Garner's fix for the XFi^'k bug
Remaining tasks:
Make a second microcode release containing long pointer lUTFP and last minute
bug fixes
Compatible long pointer IRDC
Pilot status report 2
Pitts has developed and tested a controller and driver.
Redell is waiting for this to appear in an official version of microcode to proceed
Remaining tasks:
Convert DisklO for long pointer arguments
Move buffers into hyperspace
Mapping off tlie ends of files
Remaining tasks: • .
Minor bug fixes
Obscure case testing
Logging
Testing has been bogged down in the cycle of getting Jalics's bug fixes bound into Pilot
Tom Horsley will take over responsibility from Paul Jalics
The public interface to the logging functions appears to have settled down
Remaining tasks:
Convert Jalics's existing implementation to final version of interface
Finish testing
Compatible long pointer lUTFP and Long BitBlt
Charnley has converted BitBlt to accept either short or long pointers; Wick will produce a
new version of BitBltDefs for using this.
Remaining tasks:
Convert Display controller per Pitts's specification
Test
The following other items are also of interest:
Iris has been very flakey this past week. Since this is our principle vehicle for storing and
transmitting files and since we use it heavily, an hour of down time per day is
beginning to hurt. We are starling to find that we cannot do the task next on the
list because Iris is down and we cannot get at the necessary files. // Iris gels any
worse, it will impact our schedules.
All sources and command files on CoPilot have been converted to the Librarian, and Pilot
implcmentors arc using the Access utensil successfully. So far no serious problems
have been encountered, and users seem happy with it.
Greg Shaw and Diamond have been extremely helpfi.il in uncovering a host of minor bugs.
For the forthcoming release of Pilot, we will overlap final testing of its accompanying
microcode release with the six-day release schedule. In the future, however, we will
require a microcode release to be in our hands at least one week prior to starting the
Pilot release.
Ilcms not affecting the Alpha release of Pilot:
■ Victor Schwartz is at approximately day 6 of the seventeen day schedule for converting and
integrating llie RS232C into Pilot (see my Sept 5 memo)
'ilie Microcode Executive is awaiting the return of the c/.arina from Bora Bora
The Pilot kit still needs to be defined
Pilot status report
c: W. C. Lynch, Pilotlmplcmcntors
