In a message dated 01-06-99, Andrew Grillet said to Mike Ruskai about "the
PM message queue"

Hi Andrew & Mike,

 MR> [snip]
 HR> Since OS/2 1.1 exists a rule for PM programmers: a message is to
 HR> handle in 1/10s. If this is impossible the handing is to shift to
 HR> another thread. 

AG>And its best to assume for your current app:

AG>"If it would take 1/10 sec on your old 286 running OS/2 1.1 then ..."

AG>Not "if it would take 1/10 s on your pentium3 running Warp 5.5 ...".

Indeed, Peter Fitzsimmons recommended that any activity that could be
blocked from dispatch (on I/O, a mutex or whatever) should be done in a
background thread. This is sound advice. Even if the blockage is less than a
millisecond, it is dangerous to do it in the thread that is managing the
system input message queue, as the blockage could become a deadly embrace.

AG>Some of us are still running OS/2 1.3 on 286s. (I just ditched my
AG>last one in December. (Upgraded to a 486!))

My copy of 1.3 is on floppies, waiting for a 10-quid special on which to run
it. I just hope the floppies are still good.

Regards

Dave

___
 * MR/2 2.25 #353 * User-friendly: (adj.) trivialized, slow, incapable, and boring.

--- Maximus/2 3.01