> I'm not very well versed on this sort of thing (I still need to find a OS/2 
 > C++ compiler first! =)

If you're looking for a shareware/freeware (don't remember) there is Gnu C++ 
with the EMX libs.

 but I see one problem with that.  The imfamous 
 > Windows 3.1 bug, it sounds like you're suggesting non-preemptive 
 > multitasking.  What if the thread that currently has access dies?  Will 
 > everything then be locked out of that file?

I could have some sort of timeout, but again it's not good, I know that! I 
just can't figure out how on earth it's done... 

 > Also, what if the thing that 
 > wants access, say a tosser, works for 5 minutes at it.  That could feeze 
 > everything else until it's done.

Well. That can be solved by handing away the access now and then (eg in 
between every area is processed), but as I said it's a bad idea.
 
>  I'm not sure how Maximus does it, but in 
 > the msgapi, there's a bit about how it locks things.  And somehow it does 
 > to pre-emptive multitasking, because while squish is tossing you can access 
 > the message areas.  Again (as I said in the C++ echo), the commenting may 
 > be horrible, but the source for these programs may be worth looking at to 
 > see how Scott solved these problems.


Yeah, I think I have the SQDEV????.ZIP file somewhere on my HD, I'll take a 
look, I want my system to support squish anyway...

 > I know this doesn't help much, but it does point out two weaknesses...I 
 > only wish I had some better ideas for you...good luck!

Thanx! I'll certainly need it!

/ Peter Schuller   [TeamOS/2]   petersch{at}kuai.se


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