ccastkw@gitpyr.UUCP (KENNETH E. WALKER) (03/19/86)
(* EAT ME *) or don't (* EAT ME *)
I'm looking for a daemon or some such thing to sit out in the memory of
an IBM PC-XT and intercept-then-translate characters being sent to the
printer.
What the story is, is that a friend bought his son an XT and a Toshiba
"3-in-one" printer. The printer does great letter-quality stuff, but
we're talking a 15 year old who wants something FUN and neat with graphs
and pictures etc.... The printer emulates a QUME "Sprint" (I've never heard
of it...) and doesn't like the output of most graphics printing programs.
Therefore I was elected (my friend's company is going to pay for my next
The daemon seems to be it in my experience, yet I don't know how to write
them. If anyone out there has such a wonderful device, I would be very happy
if I could get a hold of it> I will also be joyous if someone can just
point me in the right direction and explain what I need to do to create one.
Thanks in advance.
--
KENNETH E. WALKER
Office of Computing Services
Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!ccastkwgpw@ihlpf.UUCP (Wilkin) (03/20/86)
> I'm looking for a daemon or some such thing to sit out in the memory of > an IBM PC-XT and intercept-then-translate characters being sent to the > printer. > > What the story is, is that a friend bought his son an XT and a Toshiba > "3-in-one" printer. The printer does great letter-quality stuff, but > we're talking a 15 year old who wants something FUN and neat with graphs > and pictures etc.... The printer emulates a QUME "Sprint" (I've never heard > of it...) and doesn't like the output of most graphics printing programs. > Therefore I was elected (my friend's company is going to pay for my next > > KENNETH E. WALKER > Office of Computing Services > Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 > ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!ccastkw Qume is the name of an outfit that sold many many daisy wheel printers. There is a company which I have seen in PC or BYTE, which makes a software program to download the IBM fonts. They also allow graphics to be printed. Maybe someone could post the name, DTI ???? -- ____ _______ _____ _______ ------- George Wilkin / __ \ |__ __| / _ \ |__ __| -====------ AT&T Network Systems | (__) | | | \ \ \_\ | | -======------ ...!ihpn4!ihlpf!gpw | __ | | | / \ __ | | --====------- IH 4A-157 | | | | | | | (\ / / | | ----------- work 312-979-4??? |_| |_| |_| \_____/ |_| ------- Naperville, IL
dmt@mtgzz.UUCP (d.m.tutelman) (03/20/86)
A classical daemon would be a process that runs concurrently,
an impossibility in MSDOS, an operating system with no real notion
of "process". However, there's a much simpler strategy that
may solve your problem.
The approach:
- All printer calls in a well-behaved DOS program eventually
call the printer BIOS routine (INT 17H).
- You can write a terminate-and-stay-resident program that,
when called, installs itself as the INT 17 handler.
- It would be called at boot time from the autoexec.bat file.
- It would be activated at its HANDLER entry point whenever
an application made a call to INT 17 (print a character).
- It would decide whether it has any graphics mapping to do.
If so, do it. Whether mapped or not, pass it on to the
real INT 17 handler, whose address you noted and saved
at installation. That will put it out to the printer.
The potential pitfalls:
- Not all programs are well-behaved in their use of the BIOS
(though I know of no specific offenders in the case of
printing; lots of them in the cases of diskette I/O, keyboard,
and especially screen). A program that has its own printer
handler built in and bypasses the BIOS won't get intercepted.
(But of course it wouldn't have been intercepted by a
REAL daemon in a REAL OS either.)
- Depending on how different the Toshiba graphics printing is
from the Epson, you may have to keep a lot of state information
around. I seriously doubt that the calls to your handler
will be one-to-one with actual characters printed, but it
may be much worse than that. For instance, the you may have to
construct several lines of pixels in a buffer, and put
them out in a batch.
I've used this approach in making a BIOS patch for a Hercules graphics
board, with success that can be gauged by the cautions I've noted.
Good luck, and please let us know what you do and how it works out.
---=== Dave Tutelman
-------===== Physical - AT&T Information Systems
----------====== Room 1H120
==--------======== Juniper Plaza, Route 9
====---========= Freehold, NJ 07728
============ Logical - ...ihnp4!mtuxo!mtuxt!dmt
====== Audible - (201)-577-4232
---------------------------------------------------------------keifer@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (03/21/86)
I would like to have the same sort of translator program to use my IDS Micro Prism printer. I've heard of something around to do this, but I don't remember what it was called or who wrote it. Please post it if you find out. Thanks. Gunnar Seaburg Engineering Psych. Research Lab c/o keifer@uiucdcs
tj@utcs.uucp (tj) (03/21/86)
LPTX is a memory resident program that takes stuff and puts it in a file. Could just as easily filter it and send it off to printer.
brown@nicmad.UUCP (03/22/86)
In article <1565@gitpyr.UUCP> ccastkw@gitpyr.UUCP (KENNETH E. WALKER) writes: >(* EAT ME *) or don't (* EAT ME *) > >I'm looking for a daemon or some such thing to sit out in the memory of >an IBM PC-XT and intercept-then-translate characters being sent to the >printer. > >What the story is, is that a friend bought his son an XT and a Toshiba >"3-in-one" printer. The printer does great letter-quality stuff, but >we're talking a 15 year old who wants something FUN and neat with graphs >and pictures etc.... The printer emulates a QUME "Sprint" (I've never heard >of it...) and doesn't like the output of most graphics printing programs. A Qume Sprint printer is a daisy-wheel, letter quality printer. We have two Qume Sprint 9s here. That is one reason why it doesn't like graphics, as it doesn't support graphics. If the Toshiba is a dot-matrix printer, you will need to find the mode that is NOT Sprint compatible. Sorry that I can't give you any more information, as I don't know the Toshiba printer. Just wanted to tell you about the Qume printer. -- ihnp4------\ harvard-\ \ Mr. Video seismo!uwvax!nicmad!brown topaz-/ / decvax------/
connery@bnrmtv.UUCP (Glenn Connery) (03/22/86)
> (* EAT ME *) or don't (* EAT ME *) > > I'm looking for a daemon or some such thing to sit out in the memory of > an IBM PC-XT and intercept-then-translate characters being sent to the > printer. > > What the story is, is that a friend bought his son an XT and a Toshiba > "3-in-one" printer. The printer does great letter-quality stuff, but > we're talking a 15 year old who wants something FUN and neat with graphs > and pictures etc.... The printer emulates a QUME "Sprint" (I've never heard > of it...) and doesn't like the output of most graphics printing programs. > Therefore I was elected (my friend's company is going to pay for my next > > The daemon seems to be it in my experience, yet I don't know how to write > them. If anyone out there has such a wonderful device, I would be very happy > if I could get a hold of it> I will also be joyous if someone can just > point me in the right direction and explain what I need to do to create one. > > Thanks in advance. > > > -- > KENNETH E. WALKER > Office of Computing Services > Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 > ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!ccastkw See PC Magazine Sept 17, 1985 page 245. It has a listing for such a resident utility to translate graphics characters to other printer codes, but could obviously be extended to translate escape codes or whatever. If you have a modem you can download the source from the pc magazine bulletin board at (212) 696-0360... 300/1200-8-N-1. -- Glenn Connery, Bell Northern Research, Mountain View, CA {hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!connery
dlsutton@uok.UUCP (03/25/86)
Here is a simple interrupt handler that I have written to translate
fx80 codes to caompatible mx80 codes for the IBM in graphics mode.
It should be easily modifiable for your project. Have fun, and
call if you have any questions.
It is written in TURBO PASCAL (v3.0).:
-----------------------------(CUT HERE OR DIE)----------------------
program gp(input,output);
{$C-}
{$K-}
{VARIABLE SECTION FOR 'GP'}
type
RegType = record
ax,bx,cx,dx,bp,si,di,ds,es,flags : integer
end;
HalfRegType = record
al,ah,bl,bh,cl,ch,dl,dh : byte
end;
IntrType = record
ip,cs : integer
end;
const
UserInt = $61; { ***HERE IT IS*** }
{if GP will not work with your other
resident stuff, change this number to
a free interrupt}
PrtInt = $17;
ProgSize : integer = $3000; { approx. program size in bytes }
Regs : regtype = (ax:0;bx:0;cx:0;dx:0;bp:0;si:0;di:0;ds:0;es:0;flags:0)
;
SaveDS : integer = 0;
flags : integer = 0;
var
SaveReg : RegType;
SaveHalf : HalfRegType absolute SaveReg;
HalfReg : HalfRegType absolute regs;
esc_flg : boolean;
count : integer;
bv : byte;
sl,through : boolean;
procedure ProcessInt; { Start of interrupt service }
begin
{when invoked, this procedure saves the registers into the structured constant
'REGS' and restores the ds from the previously saved integer constant 'saveds'}
inline(
$53/ {PUSH BX}
$BB/regs/ {MOV BX,OFFSET REGS}
$2E/$89/$47/$00/ {CS:MOV [BX]0,AX}
$58/ {POP AX}
$2E/$89/$47/$02/ {CS:MOV [BX]2,AX}
$2E/$89/$4F/$04/ {CS:MOV [BX]4,CX}
$2E/$89/$57/$06/ {CS:MOV [BX]6,DX}
$2E/$89/$6F/$08/ {CS:MOV [BX]8,BP}
$2E/$89/$77/$0A/ {CS:MOV [BX]A,SI}
$2E/$89/$7F/$0C/ {CS:MOV [BX]C,DI}
$2E/$8C/$5F/$0E/ {CS:MOV [BX]E,DS}
$2E/$8C/$47/$10/ {CS:MOV [BX]10,ES}
$9C/ {PUSHF}
$58/ {POP AX}
$2E/$89/$47/$12/ {CS:MOV [BX]12,AX}
$2E/$8E/$1E/saveds {CS:MOV DS,SAVEDS -- PUT PROPER DS}
);
if ((through) and (count = 0) and (esc_flg)) then
esc_flg:= false; {turn off esc flag}
if (halfreg.ah = 0) {check for print request}
then
if not(esc_flg)
then
if (halfreg.al = $1B) {if esc in al then set esc flag}
then {and notify program that task is}
begin {not finished by setting through}
esc_flg:= true; {to false.}
through:= false
end
else
Intr(userint,regs) {if not a print request, send it to BIOS}
else
if (count > 0 ) {if skipping, sub one from skip count}
then
count:= count - 1
else
case halfreg.al of
$33 : begin {set line spacing}
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $1B;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $33;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $18;
intr(userint,regs);
through:= true;
count:= 1
end;
$51 : begin {skip this mode - gp doesn't support it}
count:= 1;
through:= true
end;
$2A : begin
halfreg.ah:= $00; {set to 960 dot mode, and send dot data}
halfreg.al:= $0A;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.al:= $0D;
halfreg.ah:= $00;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $1B;
through:= true;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $4C;
Intr(userint,regs);
count:= 1
end;
else
begin {else send request to BIOS}
bv:= halfreg.al;
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= $1B;
intr(userint,regs);
halfreg.ah:= $00;
halfreg.al:= bv;
through:= true;
intr(userint,regs)
end
end
else
Intr(userint,regs);
{when invoked this routine restores the registers from the structure constant}
inline(
$BB/REGS/ {MOV BX,OFFSET REGS}
$2E/$8E/$47/$10/ {CS:MOV ES,[BX]10}
$2E/$8E/$5F/$0E/ {CS:MOV DS,[BX]0E}
$2E/$8B/$7F/$0C/ {CS:MOV DI,[BX]0C}
$2E/$8B/$77/$0A/ {CS:MOV SI,[BX]0A}
$2E/$8B/$6F/$08/ {CS:MOV BP,[BX]08}
$2E/$8B/$57/$06/ {CS:MOV DX,[BX]06}
$2E/$8B/$4F/$04/ {CS:MOV CX,[BX]04}
$2E/$8B/$47/$00/ {CS:MOV AX,[BX]00}
$2E/$FF/$77/$12/ {CS:PUSH [BX]12}
$9D/ {POPF}
$2E/$8B/$5F/$02/ {CS:MOV BX,[BX]02}
$5D/ {POP BP}
{restore the stack pointer}
$5D {POP BP}
);
inline ($CA/$02/$00
) {RETF 02}
end;
{ PROGRAM 'GP' }
{ Program installation }
begin
SaveDS := dseg;
count:= 0;
esc_flg:= false;
through:= false;
SaveReg.ax := $3500 + UserInt;
Intr($21,SaveReg); { get user interrupt }
if SaveReg.es <> $00 then
writeln('User Interrupt in use -- cant install GP.')
else
begin
writeln('Installing GP');
savereg.ax := $3500 + PrtInt;
Intr($21,savereg); { get keyboard interrupt }
savereg.ax := $2500 + UserInt;
savereg.ds := savereg.es;
savereg.dx := savereg.bx;
Intr($21,savereg); { put in user interrupt }
savereg.ax := $2500 + PrtInt;
savereg.ds := cseg;
savereg.dx := ofs(ProcessInt);
Intr($21,savereg); { install our interrupt processor }
savereg.dx := ProgSize;
Intr($27,savereg); { terminate and stay resident }
end;
inline($CD/$20); { terminate if interrupt in use }
end.
------------------------(CUT HERE AGAIN)-------------------------------
Sincerely,
David L. Sutton
(405)787-1880
"if you can't flame em, join em," (1985, "the adventures of NETMOUSE")john@moncol.UUCP (John Ruschmeyer) (04/02/86)
In article <4900019@uok.UUCP>, dlsutton@uok.UUCP writes: > > Here is a simple interrupt handler that I have written to translate > fx80 codes to caompatible mx80 codes for the IBM in graphics mode. > It should be easily modifiable for your project. Have fun, and > call if you have any questions. Well, due to distance, I'd rather not call Mr. Sutton, so I was wondering... Could someone possibly send me a summary of how fx80 and mx80 graphics work? I'd like to convert this program to an equivalent for my Tandy printer. Thanks in advance. -- Name: John Ruschmeyer US Mail: Monmouth College, W. Long Branch, NJ 07764 Phone: (201) 571-3451 UUCP: ...!vax135!petsd!moncol!john ...!princeton!moncol!john ...!pesnta!moncol!john "I killed him... and he thanked me. Why did he have to be so nice about it?"