sethf@mit-eddie.UUCP (Seth Finkelstein) (02/03/86)
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DOSamatictm - Release 2.06
User Guide, Reference, and License Agreement
Copyright (c) 1985 by Marin Pacific Software
All Rights Reserved
November 6, 1985
Your License Agreement
DOSamatic is the sole property of Marin Pacific Software Company. You
are granted a limited, non-exclusive license to use one copy of
DOSamatic on a single machine, and to make copies for other users to
evaluate.
You may not:
o Remove copyright and other notices from the program and/or the
documentation which are placed there by Marin Pacific Software
Company.
o Re-sell the program for any charge or "disk fee"
o Make any representations on behalf of Marin Pacific Software.
Marin Pacific Software Company makes no warranty, express or implied,
as to the suitability of DOSamatic for any particular purpose. You
must determine that yourself. In addition, you should understand that
using a program of this type on an IBM PC or compatible has inherent
risks and that you may inadvertently damage or destroy valuable
programs or data. Marin Pacific Software expressly declines to assume
liability for any use of this program by you, and your use of DOSamatic
constitutes your agreement to hold us blameless.
If trial users wish to use DOSamatic on a regular basis, they may
register by sending a check or money order for $39.00 to:
Marin Pacific Software Company
1001 Bridgeway, Suite 514
Sausalito, CA 94965
Please enclose your name and address, any serial number which may
appear on your trial copy, and any comments you may have. Marin
Pacific will send the latest version of DOSamatic ( we are improving it
all the time ) and the DOSamatic user guide. In addition, for
individuals, when other users register copies with your serial number,
we will send you a check for 10 % of the amount they send us, if it is
no less than $39.00.
Registered users may upgrade to new versions of DOSamatic at any time
for a small charge required to cover diskette, handling and postage.
(currently $5.00 ).
Multiple-use site licenses for corporations are available at
significant discounts from single copy prices, and customization is
possible for high-volume purchasers. Note that the 10% commission does
not apply to copies purchased by companies.
DOSamatic User Guide November 6, 1985 Page #
Table of Contents
1. Introduction....................................... 3
2. System Requirements................................ 4
3. The Program Disk................................... 4
4. Getting Started.................................... 5
5. Defaults........................................... 5
6. The Basic Panels................................... 5
The Information Panel............................ 5
The Drive Selection Panel........................ 6
The Directory Selection Panel.................... 6
The File Selection Panel......................... 7
Comparison with DOS commands..................... 7
7. Panel Commands..................................... 8
Special Keys..................................... 8
The Cursor keys............................. 8
The [ENTER] key............................. 8
The [ESCAPE] key............................ 8
The [INSERT] key............................ 8
The [DELETE] key............................ 9
The [F1] = [HELP] key....................... 9
The [F2] = [REFRESH] key.................... 9
The [F40] = [SWITCH] key.................... 9
Main Menu........................................ 10
Screen Colors............................... 10
Executing DOS Commands...................... 10
Exiting DOSamatic........................... 10
Using a File Mask........................... 10
Setting the Hot Key......................... 10
Searching for a File........................ 10
Show/Hide Date/Time/Size.................... 10
Show Normal/Hidden Files.................... 11
Sorting the File Display.................... 11
Sound On/Off................................ 11
Suppressing Flicker/Snow.................... 11
Labeling a Volume........................... 11
File Menu........................................ 12
Attributes.................................. 12
Browsing ASCII Files........................ 12
Browsing Binary Files....................... 12
Using Your Debug Program.................... 12
Using Your Edit Program..................... 12
Executing a BAT, COM, or EXE file........... 12
Printing a File............................. 12
Renaming a File............................. 12
8. Quick Reference.................................... 13
Table of Keystrokes.............................. 13
How to End DOSamatic............................. 13
9. Using the Task-Switching Feature................... 14
How to Use It.................................... 14
Technical Details................................ 15
Compatible Software.............................. 15
Cautions......................................... 17
Encouragements................................... 17
10.A Word on Versions............................... 18
Known Nasty Bugs and how to fix them............. 19
Task-Switching Under PC-DOS 3.x............. 19
PC-FILE goes BEEP........................... 20
PC-DOS 3.x Users Destroy Directories........ 20
Why Bugs Happen and What We Do About Them........ 20
1. Introduction
DOSamatic is a powerful tool that helps you get the most out of your
IBM Personal Computer or compatible. It combines a point and press
user interface with a powerful multi-tasking facility allowing you to
run several programs at the same time.
DOSamatic is not copy-protected. You are encouraged to give copies to
your friends for their use. If you find the program useful you should
send a check for $39.00 payable to :
Marin Pacific Software
1001 Bridgeway, Suite 514
Sausalito, CA 94965
If there is a serial number on the program, please include it along
with your name and mailing address.
We will register you as a DOSamatic user, and send you the latest
version of the program, along with the latest user guide. Please send
us any suggestions you may have for enhancements or improvements in
DOSamatic.
Besides being a nice thing to do, registering brings you several
benefits. When another user registers a copy with your serial number,
we'll send you a check for 10 percent of the amount they send us.
We'll also keep you on our mailing list so that we can send you other
products we develop for your examination at no cost.
Even if you decide not to register, please do not attempt to delete the
copyright and order information messages. We don't copy protect any of
our packages, and we depend upon you to respect our efforts.
Corporate Users Note: Site licenses for multiple copies are available
at reasonable terms.
2. System Requirements
DOSamatic will run on the IBM PC, PC/XT, PC/AT, 3270PC, and most
compatibles including the Compaqs and the Data General DG/1. Minimum
requirements are :
128 KB of memory ( although up to 640 KB is useful for running
multiple tasks ).
PC DOS 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, or MS-DOS 2.11. ( Version 2.04 now
supports ALL post 2.0 versions of DOS - previous releases may not
work properly with DOS 3.0 or 3.1 ).
One diskette drive.
Either a color or a monochrome monitor with 80 column display.
Note that DOSamatic determines how much memory you actually have, the
number of disk drives ( including hard disks and RAM disks ) available,
and the type of monitor you are using.
3. The Program Disk
If you receive DOSamatic from Marin Pacific Software or from a friend,
there should be three files on the diskette :
DOSAMATC.COM - The DOSamatic Program
DOSAMATC.DOC - This manual in ASCII text format.
DOSAMATC.HLP - File containing HELP screens used by DOSamatic.
If you receive your program disk from us, there may be other files on
the disk to help you install DOSamatic. Just use the DOS TYPE command
to display the contents of the file named READ.ME to find out what is
on your program disk.
Unlike many copy-protected programs, the DOSamatic program disk may be
freely copied. You can move the program, help and manual files onto
another floppy, or a hard disk. See the section on starting DOSamatic
for more details.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to make backup copies of the program
disk we send you. Never use your program disk without making such a
backup copy.
4. Getting Started
Starting DOSamatic is easy. Simply place the program diskette in the
current default disk drive ( not necessary for hard disk users ), type
"DOSAMATC", and press [ENTER].
DOSamatic will display the Marin Pacific Software logo screen, and then
the license agreement under which you may use the program. Please do
not try to alter the program to suppress these messages.
Finally, pressing any key will make DOSamatic display its main screen
with the Information, Drive Selection, Directory Selection, and File
Selection Panels.
5.Defaults
DOSamatic lets you specify a number of default settings at startup
using the DOS SET environment command. These are:
SET COMSPEC=filename Command processor to use for executing DOS
commands, e.g. C:\COMMAND.COM
SET DSD=filename Debug program to use, e.g. C:\DOS\DEBUG.COM
SET DSE=filename Edit program to use, e.g. C:\EDLIN.COM
SET DSH=filename Help file to use, e.g. C:\DOSAMATC.HLP
SET DSV=monitor monitor=MONO for no color, =COLOR+ for
non-IBM Color Graphics boards
Issue these commands before starting DOSamatic.
6. The Basic Panels
The Information Panel
After starting DOSamatic, you will see a full screen display - the main
DOSamatic screen. The screen consists of an Information Panel at the
top which shows you:
o The default disk drive, the volume label of the drive, and the
current directory for that drive,
o Disk space information including total KB ( kilobytes ) on the
diskette, the KB available ( free ), the available KB as a
percent of the total, and the number of files displayed along
with the KB of space they occupy,
o Total RAM ( random access memory ) on your PC, and the RAM
available for running additional programs,
o The version of DOS you are using,
o The current date and time.
o The number of tasks ( programs ) you are currently running,
including DOSamatic, and
o The status of the keyboard shift keys ( top right corner ).
Press the Scroll Lock key several times to see how this
feature works.
Below the Information Panel are the three Selection Screens.
The Drive Selection Panel
In the panel labelled "Drives" is a list of the available drive letters
on your system. Use the cursor keys to move the large reverse video
cursor bar onto a drive letter, and then press [ENTER]. The selected
drive letter will become the DOS default drive, and the Information,
Directory, Selection, and File Selection Panels will be refreshed to
show information about the drive you have selected.
If you change the diskette in a drive, then you will need to select
that drive again to read the new diskette.
The Directory Selection Panel
The panel labelled "Directories" shows you a list of all the
directories on your diskette which are accessible from the directory
that is currently active. To view a different directory, place the
cursor bar on the desired directory and press [ENTER]. Note the two
special directory entries, <root> and <parent>, which enable you to
jump directly to the root directory, or back one step in the current
directory chain.
If there are too many directories to fit in the window, then the window
will scroll up and down as you move the cursor keys off the ends.
When the cursor bar is in the Directory Selection Panel, pressing
[INSERT] creates a new directory, and DOSamatic will prompt you for its
name and extension. Press [ESCAPE] if you change your mind about
creating the new directory.
Pressing [DELETE] when the cursor bar is placed on a directory name
will remove that directory ( DOSamatic asks you to verify that you
really want to do that ).
The File Selection Panel
The panel labelled "Files" shows you a list of all the files in the
current directory on the default disk. Placing the cursor bar on a
file name and pressing [ENTER] opens a pull-down menu at the right side
of the screen from which you may select operations to be performed on
the file.
If there are too many files to fit in the window, then the window will
scroll up and down as you move the cursor keys off the ends.
When the cursor bar is in the File Selection Panel, pressing [INSERT]
creates a new file, and DOSamatic will prompt you for its name and
extension. Press [ESCAPE] if you change your mind about creating the
new file.
Pressing [DELETE] when the cursor bar is placed on a file name will
erase that file ( DOSamatic does check to make sure you want to do that
). If the file has special attributes, you may need to activate the
Attribute Selection Panel and make changes before attempting to erase
the file.
Comparison with DOS Commands
Note that the Directory and File Selection Panels show you the same
information that the DOS DIR command would, except that all the files
in the current directory are available for your viewing.
The Information Panel gives you the same information that the DOS CD,
CHKDSK, DATE, TIME, VOL, and VER commands would.
The use of the [INSERT] and [DELETE] keys replaces use of the DOS
MKDIR, RMDIR, and ERASE commands.
7. Panel Commands
Special Keys
By using only a few keys, plus pull-down menus, DOSamatic lets you
perform complex functions without the need to memorize complex
keystroke sequences. These are:
The Cursor Keys These keys let you move the cursor bar
within and between windows. On the IBM PC
keyboard they are arranged as:
[HOME] [UP ] [PAGE UP ]
[LEFT] [ ] [RIGHT ]
[END ] [DOWN] [PAGE DOWN]
Within any active panel, the [HOME], [UP], [PAGE UP], [END], [DOWN],
and [PAGE DOWN] keys work as you would expect to move the cursor bar
within the panel. For the Drive, Directory, and File Selection Panels,
[LEFT] and [RIGHT] move the bar between panels, but have no effect for
other panels.
When you are prompted for input lines, [LEFT] and [RIGHT] work as you
would expect, [HOME] moves you to the beginning of the input line,
[END] moves you to the end, and [CTRL]+[END] will delete all characters
from the current position to the end of the input line.
The [ENTER] key This key is used to select a drive,
directory, file, or panel option, or to
signal the end of an input line. Think of
it as the Activator key.
The [ESCAPE] key This key functions as a Deactivator key
which lets you jump from the current panel
to a previous one. It lets you shift
between the Main Menu Panel and the Drive,
Directory, and File Selection Panels.
The [INSERT] key This key is used in two ways. First, it
can be used to create new files or make
new directories if you press it while the
cursor bar is in the Files or Directories
panel. Second, it is used when providing
responses to program questions to decide
whether characters are overwritten or
inserted.
The [DELETE] key This key is used to erase files or remove
directories. Simply place the cursor bar
on the object to be deleted and press
[DELETE]. DOSamatic will make sure that
this is what you want to do.
The [F1] = [HELP] key Will cause a context-sensitive help screen
explaining what your current options are
to be displayed. See the section on
Defaults for an explanation of how to tell
DOSamatic where on your system the help
file is located.
The [F2] = [REFRESH] key This key will refresh the display screen
if it ever gets damaged. This feature may
be removed in future versions of DOSamatic
as the program becomes more resistant to
problems caused by sub-tasks.
The [F40] = [SWITCH] key This default "hot key" lets you jump from
one active task to another. You may reset
it to another key combination. If no
subtasks are active, [F40] has no effect.
The Main Menu Panel
If the cursor bar is in the Drive Selection, Directory Selection, or
File Selection panels, pressing [ESCAPE] activates the Main Menu
Panel. This pull-down menu lets you execute a number of system
functions. Move the cursor bar to one of the functions and press
[ENTER] to activate it. Pressing [ESCAPE] will return you to the panel
you were in before you activated the Main Menu Panel.
The Main Menu Panel functions are :
Turn Color On/Off Lets you switch color on and off. Monochrome
monitors with graphics adapters usually look
best with color off. See the section on
Defaults.
DOS Commands Pressing this key lets you issue any legal DOS
command as long as sufficient memory is
available. You are prompted for the command at
the bottom of the screen.
Exit Use this selection to end DOSamatic and return
to DOS. You can't do this if any sub-tasks are
still running.
Filemask Upon selecting this option, you are prompted
for a file mask, and DOSamatic will then
display only those files matching the mask.
For example, entering *.COM will result in the
display of only those files with extension of
COM.
Set Hot Key If you select this item, DOSamatic displays the
current "hot key" used to jump among programs
and asks you to press the key(s) you wish to
use instead.
Search Selecting this item you are prompted for a
filename and extension, and DOSamatic will
search all directories on the default drive for
that file. Using *.EXE, for example, DOSamatic
will find all files with an extension of EXE.
Show Date/Time This selection switches the display of file
date, time, and KB occupied on and off.
Show Hidden Files This item switches on and off the display of
files with the special DOS attributes of SYSTEM
and/or HIDDEN. For example, the files
IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM are system and hidden
files present on the DOS system disk. You will
need to have DOSamatic re-read the current
drive before you will see any change in the
displayed list of files.
Sort Selecting this item opens a sort pull-down menu
in which you specify the sort key, and the
order ( ascending or descending ). The file
display changes when you leave the Main Menu
Panel.
Sound On/Off Switches on and off the use of sound cues with
DOSamatic.
Suppress Flicker For IBM Color Graphics Adaptors, writing
directly to the screen memory in alphanumeric
mode causes "snow". To prevent this the video
is shut off momentarily, causing display
flicker. Many other adapters do not have this
problem, and display flicker is reduced by
selecting this item. See the Defaults section.
Volume Label Selecting this option allows you to create or
change an 11-character volume label for the
diskette in the default drive.
The File Menu Panel
Pressing [ENTER] when the cursor bar is in the File Selection Panel
opens the File Menu Panel pull-down menu. This menu shows you a number
of actions which you can perform upon the selected file when you press
the [ENTER] key. You can return to the File Selection Panel at any
time by pressing [ESCAPE]. The following functions can be performed on
the selected file:
Attributes Selecting this item will open the Attributes
Panel, which displays the files attributes and
lets you modify them if desired. For example, you
can hide files or make them read-only.
Browse ASCII Displays the contents of the selected file,
assuming that it is in ASCII text format.
Browse Binary Provides both an ASCII and a hexadecimal display
of file contents for files in non-text format.
Copy Copies the selected file to another file.
Debug Activates the debugger program you specified to
debug the selected file. See the section on
Defaults.
Edit Activates the editor program you specified to edit
the selected file. See the section on Defaults.
Execute The most powerful capability of DOSamatic, allows
you to execute any other program in available
memory. The selected file must have an extension
of BAT, COM, or EXE. BAT files receive all
available memory, but COM or EXE files can be
restricted to run in a portion of memory.
You are prompted for the amount of memory in KB to
be used. You are also asked if this is a graphics
program, which requires additional storage for a
screen buffer.
Once your selected program starts, you can jump
immediately back to DOSamatic by pressing the
current hot key. If you have memory left, you can
start other programs ( up to 7 additional programs
) and switch among them using the [SWITCH] key.
Print Prints the selected file to LPT1:. Use this for
small files for which you want a quick copy.
Rename Lets you rename the selected file.
8. Quick Reference to DOSamatic
Active Panel Key Action
Drive Selection [ENTER] Select Drive
[ESCAPE] Activate Main Menu
[LEFT] Go to File Selection Panel
[RIGHT] Go to Directory Selection Panel
Directory Selection [DELETE] Remove selected directory
[ENTER] Select Directory
[ESCAPE] Activate Main Menu
[INSERT] Make a new directory
[LEFT] Go to Drive Selection Panel
[RIGHT] Go to File Selection Panel
File Selection [DELETE] Erase selected file
[ENTER] Activate File Menu Panel
[ESCAPE] Activate Main Menu
[INSERT] Create a new file
[LEFT] Go to Directory Selection Panel
[RIGHT] Go to Drive Selection Panel
Main Menu [ENTER] Perform indicated action
[ESCAPE] Deactivate Main Menu Panel
File Menu [ENTER] Perform indicated action
[ESCAPE] Return to File Selection Panel
Sort Selection [ENTER] Use indicated sort criteria
[ESCAPE] Return to Main Menu Panel
Attribute Menu [ENTER] Make indicated attribute change
[ESCAPE] Return to File Menu Panel
** ALL PANELS ** [F1] Help ( context sensitive ).
[F2] Refresh Screen
[F40] Jump to another task if one is
active. Another key can be
substituted for [F40].
In all panels the cursor keys not mentioned above will move the cursor
bar up and down within the panel.
Ending DOSamatic
Press the [ESCAPE] key until the Main Menu Panel is displayed, place
the cursor bar on EXIT, and press [ENTER].
9. Using the Multi-Tasking Feature
One of the most useful capabilities of DOSamatic is the ability to run
from 1 to 7 other programs simultaneously, switching between them by
pressing a single "hot key".
How to Use It
Previously, you learned how to execute programs from DOSamatic by
placing the cursor bar on the program name, pressing [ENTER] to
activate the File Menu, and then placing the cursor on the EXECUTE
option and pressing [ENTER] again. DOSamatic asks you for any required
parameters, and then requests the amount of memory in which you wish
the program to run. If the available memory is 322 KB, say, you might
wish to have your program use 128 KB.
DOSamatic will then ask if your program displays graphics on the video
screen. If you reply by typing [Y], DOSamatic reserves an additional
16 KB of memory to preserve the graphics screen when you start
switching among programs. Otherwise, DOSamatic reserves 4 KB of memory
for your program screen.
After your program starts, you can return to DOSamatic at any time by
pressing [F40], i.e. pressing the [ALT] key and the [F10] key
simultaneously. This key combination was selected because very few
programs actually use it for anything ( although there are some ), and
because it is easy to hit with the left hand on the standard keyboard.
You can now switch at will between DOSamatic and your other program
simply by pressing [F40] = [ALT] + [F10]. If you did not use all the
available memory for your program, you can load additional programs
from DOSamatic as you did before, and use the hot key to switch among
them all. The Task field at the top of the display tracks how many
programs you have running.
Note that you can reset the [SWITCH] key to a combination other than
[F40].
NOTE: DOSamatic does not perform true multi-tasking - instead it keeps
a number of application programs in memory and SUSPENDS execution of
all but the current active program. We are beginning to work on a
communications utility which will allow background upload and download
of files using XMODEM, but it will be some time before this capability
is available.
Technical Details
DOSamatic performs its task switching by intercepting program calls to
the BIOS and DOS keyboard handlers. It is always checking for the hot
key, and when pressed goes into action. DOSamatic also monitors some
of the BIOS video monitor calls, since the BIOS does not preserve all
video information. Finally, DOSamatic intercepts calls to the DOS
memory control functions to limit program requests for memory.
Programs that bypass the keyboard services and manipulate the hardware
directly will not let you jump back to DOSamatic. However, pop-up
applications like Sidekick (tm) and SuperKey (tm) can be installed
successfully before you start DOSamatic and can be used during your
DOSamatic session.
Certain programs manipulate PC hardware directly, so DOSamatic has no
way of knowing what they are doing. This is especially true of
graphics. See the notes on Lotus 123 (tm) and SuperCalc 3 (tm).
Compatible Software
The following programs have been tested by various users with DOSamatic
and have behaved in a reasonable manner. If there is a comment, it
reflects any incompatibilities which may arise. No comments are made
when there is no known compatibility problem.
Program Vendor Comments
BASIC IBM/Microsoft BASIC is not re-entrant so you
cannot run more than one copy at a
time.
CrossTalk MicroStuf
DOS 2.x, 3.X IBM/Microsoft When loading a secondary copy of
the command processor COMMAND.COM,
it must be given all remaining
memory. If you are loading this,
load it last. ( May not apply to
DOS 3.1 ).
DEBUG IBM/Microsoft
Displaywrite 2 IBM DW 2 reserves all available memory
when it loads.
DOSamatic Marin Pacific You can run one or more copies of
DOSamatic as tasks, but don't try
to run any sub-tasks from the
copies without changing the hot key.
EDLIN IBM/Microsoft
Leading Edge WP Leading Edge Can't jump out of this.
Lotus 123 Lotus DC Lotus manipulates video hardware
directly, so the cursor often
blinks in the wrong place, although
this stops as soon as you hit any
keystroke. If you jump when a
graph is displayed you get a mess,
press any key in Lotus to recover.
MultiMate MultiMate Corp. [F40] sometimes has a meaning -
change the hot key or press
[ESCAPE] after switching back into
MultiMate if there is a problem.
Norton Utilities Peter Norton
PC-File 3.0 Jim Button Works w/DOSamatic 2.05 & later.
PC-Talk III Headlands Press Note that while you will be online
if you jump out of PC-TALK, you can
not have an upload/download
continue while you work on
something else at the current time.
Sidekick Borland Int'l Start it before DOSamatic.
SIM3278 SIMWARE
Smartcom II Hayes Can't jump out of this.
SuperCalc 3 Sorcim/IUS The border color on color monitors
and the graphics colors are not
preserved, although you can switch
while a graph is displayed.
SuperKey Borland Int'l Start it before DOSamatic.
Symphony Lotus DC
Turbo Pascal Borland Int'l Change the hot key from the default
setting as it is interpreted as a
Quit instruction.
Volkswriter Lifetree
Word Microsoft Word may or may not be a graphics program, your
choice.
Wordstar MicroPro Int'l
XXYWrite XYQuest Can't jump out of this.
Helpful Hints
DOSamatic can help you do lots of interesting things, especially when
used with other programs. Some of the useful ways to use it are:
o Use it to clean up your diskettes by checking directories,
browsing files to see what is in them, and deleting unneeded
files with the [DELETE] key.
o Use the Search command to look for files on a hard disk when
you can't remember what directory they are in. Search is also
useful to check for duplicate files in different directories.
o Use it with application programs as a smart "front end".
DOSamatic provides directory switching and other features for
programs lacking these conveniences.
o DOSamatic enhances the value of SuperKey, a Borland
International product, which has a "cut and paste" capability.
You can use SuperKey in combination with DOSamatic to move
data from a spreadsheet into a word processor.
Cautions
There are problems whenever you try to implement multi-tasking on a
machine that is not really designed for it. These occur mainly because
DOSamatic has no control over the programs you execute. Two things you
must absolutely avoid, however, are :
o Never attempt to run COMMAND.COM ( the DOS command processor )
in less than the total remaining memory. The system will hang
in an unrecoverable error. So if you are going to run a
number of programs as tasks, including a second copy of DOS,
start all the others before you start up COMMAND.COM, and give
COMMAND.COM all the remaining memory.
o Be extremely careful when you end a program. Always end
programs in the reverse of the order in which you start them.
If you start A, B, and C in that order, you must end them in
the order C, B, A. Failing to do this will generally lead to
an unrecoverable error and the big red switch.
In addition, DOSamatic can start programs which read the keyboard
hardware directly, like Smartcom II, XYwrite, and Leading Edge Word
Processor, but you won't be able to jump out of them with the hot key.
Encouragements
We can't possibly test all the programs which you might want to run as
DOSamatic tasks. Most programs will run just fine, however, and we
would be pleased to hear of your experiences. Just drop us a note at
our mailing address and we'll make sure to include any interesting
comments which you may have in future editions of this manual.
10. A Word On Versions
There have been 1 major release and 6 minor releases of DOSamatic in
1985. These are:
2.00 The original - rough and ready, suitable for DOS 2.0
and 2.1,
2.01 Fancier menus - more features
2.02 Implemented using Turbo Pascal version 3.00 ( yes,
its written in PASCAL and some assembler ) = smaller
code size
2.03 Minor errors cleaned up - more ESCing possible -
uploaded to CompuServe
2.04 Does task-switching correctly for DOS versions 3.0
and 3.1 ( and presumably some versions of MS-DOS )
2.05 Works correctly with programs like PC-FILE 3.0 which
use DOS IO calls 6 and 7,
2.06 Corrects a nasty bug ( see below ) which affects
users of PC-DOS 3.x, and presumably some versions of
MS-DOS.
3.00 You are going to like this one - but its not ready
yet. In line with our policy of being reasonable,
ALL registered users of previous versions will get a
free copy of this one. ETA December 1985.
Known Nasty Bugs and How to Fix Them
There are bugs in various versions of DOSamatic, some annoying, some
dangerous, all of them interesting as programming exercises and as
views into DOS internals.
Task-Switching for PC-DOS 3.x, MS-DOS ???
When DOS 3.0 was released, IBM/Microsoft changed the way the program
loader ( DOS call 4B ) determines how much memory is available. Since
DOSamatic was developed under PC-DOS 2.1, it could no longer control
the requests for memory. Presumably, this also happened to MS-DOS at
some time. If you have this problem, you need DOSamatic release 2.04
or later.
PC-FILE Goes BEEP
User found that loading PC-FILE under DOSamatic resulted in a
continuous beeping noise. This error is somewhat subtle. We assumed
(incorrectly, ignorantly ) that interrupt 21H, the DOS function call
interrupt, WAS an interrupt. It is not, since it does not always
restore flag values upon return. This made function call 6 appear to
return a bogus character to PC-FILE, since DOSamatic restored the flags
register upon return from a DOS call. This was fixed in version 2.05.
DOS 3.x Users Destroy Directories
We found out about this the hard way - erasing an entire directory
containing 40 pages of manuals we were about to deliver to one of our
consulting clients. The bug works like this - when you delete a file
or directory using the [DEL] key, it's window entry is replaced by the
characters '** erased **'. Under DOS 2.x, if you then pressed [DEL]
again while the cursor bar was on this file, nothing would happen.
Under version 3.x, you guessed it, EVERYTHING in the directory gets
erased if you unhappily press the 'Y' key in response to the prompt.
DOSamatic uses DOS function call 13H to erase a file - the behavior of
this DOS function has clearly changed from version 2 to version 3. Is
this our fault? Who knows, but we certainly suffered because of it.
In any event users of PC-DOS 3.x, and some versions of MS-DOS, will
need DOSamatic 2.06 to prevent this unfortunate occurrence. Users of
DOS 2.x are almost certainly OK - but you should try a test with a
floppy with ONLY junk on it and see what happens.
Why Bugs Happen and What We Do About Them
Bugs happen for interesting reasons - misunderstanding, changes in the
environment a program runs in, bad planning. The situation with
DOSamatic is especially problematic - we are attempting to provide some
powerful tools, and powerful tools are always a two-edged sword. The
old argument about PL/1 being TOO powerful for programmers comes to
mind - our preference is for powerful tools and knowledge about
difficulties.
When we confirm that a bug exists, we fix it and then try to let people
know about it. Confirming that bugs exist can be quite difficult since
we may not have enough information/equipment to replicate it. We do
try, however, and we do try to let people know about problems. We are
not in the business of fooling people about our products. If it
doesn't work the way you like, we'll refund your registration fee (that
is, if you have registered).
//go.sysin dd *
made=TRUE
if [ $made = TRUE ]; then
/bin/chmod 644 dosamatc.txt
/bin/echo -n ' '; /bin/ls -ld dosamatc.txt
fi