NewtInfo 0.9B8

(C)1994 Innovative Computer Solutions, All Rights Reserved

Written by Dan Rowley, Documentation/Graphics by Tom Collins



NOTE:  This is a beta version of NewtInfo.  It does not, to the best of our

knowledge, corrupt any information when run.  There is always a chance that

it could cause your Newton to crash or behave improperly.  If you do find a

bug with NewtInfo, please report it to us so we can fix it (see Bugs

section for more info).



< Overview >

    NewtInfo is a system profiler for the Newton MessagePad.  It can

display, print, fax, e-mail or serially transmit a detailed report of

soups, packages, memory usage, add-on prefs and formulas, power-off

handlers, idlers, find-enabled packages, and intelligent assistance

packages.  Users can find out what's taking up so much space on their

systems, what some hot new program patches, or why software is suddenly

running slower.  Developers can have customers use it when calling in with

technical support questions.



< Installation Notes >

    Install NewtInfo as you would any other package (with the Connection

Kit or some other utility).  NewtInfo will work if installed on a PCMCIA

card (no Grip 'O Death).  Do not attempt to remove the card while NewtInfo

is running.  NewtInfo must be available while printing, but does not have

to be running.



< Usage >

    When you launch NewtInfo, you are presented with a list of reports to

run.  Select the reports to generate, and tap on the Start button. 

NewtInfo will then build the reports (which can take some time).  Once

complete, the reports will appear on a roll similar to the Prefs and

Formulas rolls.  You can tap on the up and down arrows to scroll from one

report to another, or tap on the overview button to bring up a list of

reports.  Tap on a title in the list to go to that report.



    Generating the reports requires that you have enough free heap memory. 

Generating all of the reports on an average Newton (MP100 with 2 meg card)

requires at least 20k of heap.  If you are short on heap space, generate

one or two sections at a time.  The "Heap Usage" section requires the most

heap to run, followed by the soup stats sections.



    While viewing the report, you can click on the routing button (envelope

icon) to print, fax,or NewtonMail the report.  You can also export the

report to your Notes, or send it through the serial port at 9600 baud (N81)

using your Connection Kit cable.  (If anyone wants to share the pinouts for

the Mac and PC cables, e-mail them to us and we'll include them in the next

release.)  Since NewtInfo separates lines with a single carriage return, be

sure to have your terminal program add linefeeds to carriage returns.



    Note that NewtInfo must be present when you print or fax the report

from your OutBox (e.g., you cannot remove a card with NewtInfo to put in

your PCMCIA FaxModem to fax).  Also note that routing a NewtInfo report

will require additional heap space.  You may want to quit NewtInfo before

sending the report from your OutBox.  If you're low on heap memory, you may

want to generate the report in two parts.



[ List General Newton Statistics ]

    Provides info about the version of NewtInfo, the type of MessagePad

(Classic, 100, 110), Language/Locale settings, ROM version, and information

about stores (number, names, locked/unlocked, size, space used, space

available).  A "store" refers to a storage device (e.g., internal memory,

Flash RAM card, etc.).



[ Calculate Soup Stats ]

    What is a soup you may ask?  Well, the Newton stores information in

"soups" instead of files.  A soup is made up of multiple entries, similar

to a database file being made up of multiple records.



    	This report provides names of all soups on both stores with the number

of non-index entries, and total memory used (including indices).  Soups

listed as <none> do not have any entries or indices on that store.  Because

of indices, it is possible to have a soup with zero entries that still

takes up space.  Also, because of rounding, it is possible for entries to

"not add up" (e.g., if 0.1k + 0.0k = 0.2k appears, it could be 0.140 +

0.030 = 0.170).  NewtInfo also totals memory used by soups on each store in

addition to a grand total.



[ More Soup Details ]

    This section provides some more details on two built-in soups.  Since

many programs store information in the System and Directory Soups, this

report lists  the components of those soups with their storage usage.



    It also attempts to list "orphan" soups -- soups which may have been

left behind when you removed a package.  This section may list soups which

aren't actually orphans.  The orphan soup section lists soups with names

that NewtInfo can't match up with an installed (or NewtCased) package.  If

a soup doesn't appear in this list, it probably belongs on your Newton. 

Soups in the list may or may not be in use.  In other words, just because a

soup appears in the list doesn't mean you should delete it.



[ List Packages ]

    Packages are Newton programs.  Autoparts are Newton programs that run

once (when installed and at every reboot) and don't appear in the Extras

Drawer.  All packages take up storage space on your Newton.  This report

lists the installed packages (including autoparts) and storage used by

each.



[ Calculate Package Heap Usage ]

    Packages also use "heap memory".  The heap is a section of the Newton's

internal memory used by the operating system and packages during program

execution.  All packages take up heap space, some more than others.  The

"out of memory, you may need to reboot"Jerror occurs when you run out of

heap.



    This report lists the estimated heap memory used by closed installed

packages.  NewtInfo cannot calculate the heap used by open (i.e., running)

packages.  Because this operation is particularly invasive (it involves

temporarily removing and installing packages), NewtInfo will ask you twice

if you are really sure you want to run it.  This operation requires more

heap heap space than the others and may, in rare instances, cause your

Newton to crash.  If your Newton does crash while generating this section,

reboot it immediately -- do not attempt to continue to use your Newton

without rebooting.  A side effect of this operation is that packages may

appear in a different order in the Extras Drawer.  Also note that as of

this this beta version, this report will not work if you have ScrollEx

installed.



[ List NewtCased Packages ]

    This report lists all packages archived with NewtCase.  See <Our Other

Newton Applications> for more information on NewtCase.  The numbers listed

in parentheses are the storage used by the archived package, and the

estimated heap space that the package uses when installed.  The report also

tells you how much heap space you are saving by keeping the packages

archived.



[ List Add-on Prefs/Formulas ]

    This report lists new or modified entries in your Preferences and

Formulas rolls.



[ List PowerOffHandlers ]

    This report lists any programs that will be notified when the Newton

powers down.  If you have a Newton that won't go to sleep, its insomnia

could be caused by a package listed in this section.



    Whenever you hit the switch to turn your Newton off, the operating

system first notifies all packages with PowerOffHandlers to prepare for the

shutdown.  At this time, any package can abort the shutdown by refusing the

request.



[ List Idlers ]

    This report lists any idling programs, their frequency and their

owners.  An idling program performs some function on a periodic basis.  For

example, every two minutes a program is called to update the hands on the

clock in the status bar.  Our program SleepAid has an idler that checks for

the presence of AC power and adjusts the sleep time accordingly.  NewtInfo

might not be able to figure out the owners of certain idlers.  It will only

report the default idle frequency, which may or may not have been changed

by the program.



[ List Find-enabled Applications ]

    This report lists programs that are checked when you perform a "Find

All".  If your Newton crashes when you perform finds, this would be a good

place to look for the culprit.



[ List Intelligent Assistant Info ]

    This report lists built-in and add-on verbs that the Intelligent

Assistant understands.  The first section lists verbs that are handled

directly by the Newton operating system.  The second section lists user

installed programs that handle additional verbs.  In some instances

NewtInfo might not be able to find the owner of a particular verb.



< Registration Information >

    This application is SHAREWARE.  If you decide to keep it, please

register by sending US$15.00 to Innovative Computer Solutions; ATTN: Tom

Collins; 1075 North Miller Road, #142; Scottsdale, Arizona USA 85257-4612. 

Please include your name, the name of this utility (NewtInfo 0.9b8),

type(s) of MessagePad(s) owned, address (postal) and preferred e-mail

address so we can contact you about updates and our other products.  You

can also register NewtInfo on CompuServe.  GO SWREG and search for apps

with the keyword "ICS" to see all of our programs.  NewtInfo is program

#3932.



    PLEASE BE HONEST and register this software if you use it -- we can't

continue to write cool Newton apps if we don't get any support.  Look at it

this way -- if NewtInfo saves you an hour tracking down a problem with your

Newton, how much is it worth?  Even if you don't register it, e-mail us a

copy of your report when you try it out so we can get a feel for what other

people have installed on their Newtons.



< Bugs, Questions, Comments, Suggestions... >

    If NewtInfo crashes, please write down the error code and e-mail a bug

report to Dan.  Please be sure to write down the entire error message, all

of the information is important.  If there are any errors in the

documentation (spelling, grammatical, technical) or you have some input on

how to make a section clearer, send e-mail to Tom.



    Also, if you have any ideas for a report or routing option you'd like

to see, let us know and we'll try to add it to the next version.  If you

want us to add beaming, you'll need to come up with a very convincing

arguement as to how you would use it.



    Send e-mail to the author, Dan Rowley, at ics@amug.org or 73563,2343 on

CompuServe.  You can reach Tom Collins at ics@indirect.com or 75460,2121 on

CompuServe.  We want to develop Newton applications to fit your needs. 

Give us feedback, let us know if we're doing it right.  We're here for

you.



< Our Other Newton Applications >

    Check out our popular Newton utilities, NewtCase and SleepAid.  They

were voted numbers three and five (respectively) in the GNUT Top 10

Shareware List of September 1994.  You can find our software on CompuServe

(GO NEWTON), AOL (PDA and NEWTON), AppleLink, eWorld, and the Internet

(newton.uiowa.edu, ftp.amug.org, etc.).  Internet users should check out

our World Wide Web page at http://www.indirect.com/ics/newton/ and FTP

files (always the latest versions) at ftp://ftp.indirect.com/pub/ics/.



< Revision History >

    0.9b8 - Really fixed that -48406 error (knock on wood!) in addition to

some other bugs.  Added "More soup info", export to Notes and dump to

serial.

    0.9b3 to 0.9b7 - Special thanks to our beta testers who helped us

through these releases.

    0.9b2 - Fixed -48406 error on Intelligent Assistant section.  Added

heap usage section.  Added e-mail to routing slip.

    0.9b - Initial public release.



< Legal Mumbo Jumbo >

    Newton, MessagePad, Connection Kit and Apple are registered trademarks

of Apple Computer, Inc.  NewtInfo is a trademark of Innovative Computer

Solutions.



    You can't sell NewtInfo, but you can charge a nominal fee for connect

time or media (not to exceed $5).  Contact the authors if you plan to

include it in some sort of shareware/freeware collection or bundle it with

a commercial product.



    In using this software, you understand and agree that this software is

provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.  The authors do not make any

warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to

implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose,

with respect to this software.



    In no event shall the authors be liable for any consequential,

incidental, or special damages whatsoever (including, without limitation,

damages for loss of critical data, loss of profits, interruption of

business and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use this

software.



    Have a nice day.  ;-)



Innovative Computer Solutions / (602) 970-1032

1075 N. Miller Rd. #142 / Scottsdale, Arizona USA 85257

Dan Rowley/ics@amug.org/CIS: 73563,2343/eWorld&NewtonMail: DRowley

Tom Collins/ics@indirect.com/CIS: 75460,2121/eWorld&NewtonMail: Innovative