[mod.computers.ibm-pc] Info-IBMPC Digest V5 #75

Info-IBMPC@B.ISI.EDU (Info-IBMPC Digest) (08/07/86)

Info-IBMPC Digest       Wednesday, 6 August 1986      Volume 5 : Issue 75

This Week's Editor: Billy Brackenridge

Today's Topics:

			 Printer Redirection
		       Audience PC Presentation
	   IBM Personal Computer Seminar Proceedings Index
			 DeSmet "static" bug
				 MODE
				 PGA
Today's Queries:
			 Help Needed for PGA
			 IBM PROFORT/GDT 1.1
      Breaking the 32MB DOS Limit -- Anybody Ever Try Vfeature?
		      386 Specification Question
		   ICC Burroughs Emulation Software
				 UUCP
	      Definicon's DSI-020 68020 Processor Board
		 INSTALL/DEINSTALL of Device Drivers
		 Can Speeding Up an Old AT Harm it ?
			 Hard Disk Head-Park
			Sanyo 555 Serial Port
		 Wordstar 2000 with Two Printer Ports
		 CAD-System for Electrical Engineers
			     Disk Catalog
				Fspool
		     MS-Word Internal .DOC Format

----------------------------------------------------------------------



Date:  4 Aug 86 12:30 EST
From: davidsen%kbsvax.tcpip@ge-crd.arpa
Subject: Printer Redirection


I recently posted a request asking for some help in getting PCDOS to
send output to either of two printers, switching by some method more
elegant than rebooting the system and specifying a new device to print.
This came from a user on my system.

   From del Tue Jul 22 12:24:40 1986
   To: davidsen
   Date: Tue Jul 22 12:24:39 1986
 
 
   No, you're not missing anything in MODE.  There is no provision under
   PC-DOS for redirecting LPT1 to LPT2 or LPT3.  The only way you can access
   those ports (under any release so far) is by accessing a table of port
   addresses and PEEKing/POKEing to swap addresses around in the table (which
   is down in the memory resident part of IBMBIO.COM).  The MODE command
   only supports redirecting LPT1 to COM1 or COM2.
 
   You will find a simple BASIC program which works in the Appendix of the
   user's manual for the AST Six Pack memory board.  I presume you have stacks
   of those around your shop.  If you can't locate a manual, let me know
   and I'll upload a program file.  It works.
 
To reach him, use "del" instead of "davidsen" in the path below...

Thanks to all who sent me information. It looks as though there are lots
of ways around, but no clean handle in PCDOS. Are you listening, Microsoft?

 
						  sixhub
       seismo!rochester!steinmetz                   |
      /                          \                  V
 ihnp4             unirot >------->-------------- crdos1!davidsen
      \                          /
	--- chinet >------------/

	Last resort: davidsen@ge-crd.ARPA

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 86 13:33:55 cdt
From: mlw@ncsc.ARPA (Williams)
Subject: Audience PC Presentation

Michael Slade asked about large-screen PC video...

One of the most effective demonstrations I've seen used a COMPAQ and a 
color video projector (like old big-screen TVs, but without the
furniture).  The one I saw used was a Sony, but there's an ad in the
July Computer Graphics World for the (fanfare, please) ECP 2000 Color
Projection System, which looks nice.  I have no idea about the cost,
but they (Electrohome, the mfg., that is) say "Because the ECP 2000
was specifically designed to accept data from computer sources, it
offers a higher resolution and frequency range than system designed
for video only. ... The instant [!] the ECP 2000 is turned on, it
locks-up to virtually all computer terminals or PCs. ... allows you
to focus on screens from 5' to 14' diagonal ..." etc. etc.  I have
never seen this unit in use, and there are probably many competitors
for it, but if you want more info, the vendor is:

Electrohome Limited
Advertising Department [?]
P.O.B. 628
Buffalo, NY 14225-0628
1-800-265-2171

and the real company seems to be in Canada.  They say they'll be 
at SIGGRAPH boot #1632 for those of you planning to attend.

No endorsement, of course...

Mark L. Williams
(mlw@ncsc.arpa)

------------------------------

Subject: IBM Personal Computer Seminar Proceedings Index
Date: Tue, 05 Aug 86 16:12:14 -0500
From: jcmorris@mitre.ARPA

 
The following list, taken from the most recent issue of the IBM Personal
Computer Seminar Proceedings, shows the order number and subjects covered
in the issues to date.  



Publication	Volume	Topics
Number
-----------	------	------

		V1.1	Identical to V1.2

G320-9307	V1.2	DOS 2.0 and 1.1 Comparison
			Compatibility Guidelines for Application Development
			8087 Math Coprocessor
			IBM Macro Assembler

G320-9308	V1.3	DOS 2.1, 2.0, and 1.1 Comparison
			DOS 2.1
			PCjr Architecture
			PCjr Compatibility Overview
			Cartridge BASIC
			IBM Personal Communications Manager - Modem Drivers

G320-9309	V2.1	Identical to V2.2

G320-9310	V2.2	IBM Software Support Center
			International Compatibility Requirements
			IBM Personal Computer Cluster Program

G320-9311	V2.3	IBM Personal Computer Cluster Program
			SORT version 1.00
			FORTRAN and PASCAL Compiler, Version 2.00
			PCjr Cartridge Tips and Techniques

G320-9312	V2.4	IBM Personal Computer AT Architecture
			ROM BIOS compatibility
			DOS 3.0
			Software Compatibility

G320-9313	V2.5	IBM PC Network Overview
			IBM PC Network Hardware
			IBM PC Network BIOS (NETBIOS) Architecture
			IBM PC Network Program

G320-9314	V2.6	TopView

G320-9315	V2.7	IBM Personal Computer Resident Debug Tool

G320-9319	V2.8	IBM PC Network SMB Protocol
			(note the out-of-order pub number)

G320-9316	V2.9	IBM PC Xenix

G320-9317	V2.10	IBM PC Professional Graphics Software
			IBM PC Graphical Kernel System
			IBM PC Graphical File System
			IBM Plotting System Library
			IBM Professional FORTRAN
			IBM PC Data Acquisition & Control Adapter & Software
			IBM General Purpose Interface Bus Adapter & Software

G320-9318	V2.11	IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter
	
G320-9320	V3.1	IBM PC Information Panel (3295 Plasma Display)

G320-9321	V3.2	IBM BASIC Compiler 2.00

G320-9322	V3.3	IBM Personal Computer C Compiler



You should be able to get copies of these pubs from your friendly neighborhood
IBM sales crew.

Joe Morris (jcmorris@mitre)

------------------------------

Subject: DeSmet "static" bug
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 86 21:36:27 -0500
From: James R. Van Zandt <jrv@mitre-bedford.ARPA>

> Jim:

> I disagree with your recent Bug Report that said that DeSmet C will
> overwrite the static variables if malloc() is used.  I'm also using
> version 2.41...
> 
> Mike Scheutzow         "There is nothing wrong with the 8086 that
> Georgia Tech           treating it like a PDP-11 wouldn't cure."
> gt6294b@gitpyr                                     -RBJ-
>
  
Are you sure you used the -c switch when you compiled your program?

I'm reluctant to blame a compiler until I have a SHORT program
that demonstrates the problem.  Here's the program...

/*	demo - test variable declarations in DeSmet C */

#include <stdio.h>

char g[2];
static char s[32];

main()
{	char *heap;
	printf("globals are at   %04x - %04x\n",&g[0],&g[1]);
	printf("statics are at   %04x - %04x\n",&s[0],&s[31]);
	heap=malloc(1);
	printf("heap starts at       %04x\n",heap);
	if(heap<&g[1] || heap<&s[31])
		printf("------ CONFLICT -------\007\n");
	else
		printf("heap is okay.\n");
}


Printout from a compilation...

C88 Compiler    V2.41    (c) Mark DeSmet, 1982,83,84,85
end of C88        006C code   00A2 data       3% utilization
Binder for C88 and ASM88     V1.6    (c) Mark DeSmet, 1982,83,84,85
end of BIND        22% utilization    


Printout after compiling with -c switch....
     globals are at   01B2 - 01B3
     statics are at   01D6 - 01F5
     heap starts at       01DB
     ------ CONFLICT -------


Printout after compiling without -c switch...
     globals are at   01B2 - 01B3
     statics are at   01B6 - 01D5
     heap starts at       01DB
     heap is okay.


Note that heap location is unchanged, but static variables have moved.




I posted this program at the CWare BBS (408-720-8197) and got this
reply...

> #16  2 29 Jul 86  23:29:01  (PRIVATE) 
> From: Sysop
> To:   James Vanzandt
> Subj: static
> 
> Your right, 2.41 did have such a bug.  In fact 2.5 also had one.   2.51 is 
> supposed to fix that problem, so I will compile your code under a newer 
> release and see if it is still around.
> Ken
> 

I wonder what other bugs lurk in 2.41.  Maybe I'll have to invest in
2.51 after all.

                               - Jim Van Zandt

------------------------------



Date: Mon, 4 Aug 86 14:49:53 edt
From: edison!jso@seismo.CSS.GOV (John Owens)
To: Joe.Newcomer@sei.cmu.edu
Subject: MODE


To force a switch to one card or the other, if the video interrupt
function 0 won't let you, write to the byte at 40:49 the mode you want
to be in (3 for color/80, 7 for monochrome).  *THEN* issue the mode
set command (function 0) for the same mode you forced it to think it
was in....  Kludgy, but it should work.

The MODE command seems to modify the equipment word at 40:10 to say
you have the equipment you want (if the equipment's there); you could
also try that.

Good luck!
		-John Owens
		jso@edison.UUCP
		jso%edison.UUCP@seismo.CSS.GOV

------------------------------


Date: Tue, 5 Aug 86 13:21:57 cdt
From: mlw@ncsc.ARPA (Williams)
Message-Id: <8608051821.AA12330@ncsc.ARPA>
To: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.ARPA
Subject: PGA

Edmund Lai asked about information pertaining to the Professional Graphics
Adapter (actually, "Controller")...

The official technical reference is available from IBM as part of the 
Personal Computer Hardware Reference Library.  The section is titled
"IBM Personal Computer Professional Graphics Controller Technical
Reference," part no. 6138161, (c) 1984 (most recent posting I have is
Aug 15, 1984.  The thing is 204 pages of little teeny print and figures,
so there's no way I can impart even a fraction of it through the net.
Here's some of the Table of Contents, though.  If you want some de-
tails about a single topic, I may be able to provide some, anyway.

Description.....................................1
  Major Components..............................3
    System-Bus Interface........................4
    Microprocessor Section......................6
    Video Control Generator Section.............8
    Emulator Address Control...................11
    Graphics Emulator..........................13
    Display Memory.............................15
    Look-Up Table and Video Output Section.....18
    Timing and Control Section.................19
  Emulator Modes...............................20
    Alphanumeric Mode..........................20
    Graphics Mode..............................24
    Description of Basic Operations............28
  High-Function Graphics Mode..................29
    Alphanumeric Operation.....................29
    Graphics Operation.........................30
    Description of Basic Operations............32
Programming Considerations.....................33
  Emulator Programming Considerations..........33
    Programming the 6845 CRT Controller........33
    Programming the Mode Control and Status
      Registers................................35
    Color-Select Register......................36
    Mode-Select Register.......................38
    Status Register............................41
    Sequence of Events for Changing Modes......42
    Memory Requirements........................42
  High-Function Graphics Programming
      Considerations...........................43
    Coordinate Space...........................45
    Video Generation...........................56
    Display Control............................58
    Drawing Primitives.........................63
    Text.......................................69
    Command Lists..............................71
    Look-Up Table..............................73
    Image Processing...........................74
    Read-Back Commands.........................75
    System Reset...............................77
    Communications.............................78
    Communication Protocol.....................80
  High-Function Graphics Commands..............83
Interface.....................................179
  Connector Specifications....................180
Specifications................................181
Logic Diagrams................................183

Mark L. Williams
(mlw@ncsc.arpa)

------------------------------


Date: Tue, 5 Aug 86 14:52:48 PDT
From: Martin C. Jordan <jordan%cod@nosc.ARPA>
Subject: Help Needed for PGA


        I have recently inherited an IBM PGA card and monitor. I would 
like to make use of its advanced graphics capabilities, but am hampered 
by several things.  My inheritance contained  absolutely  nothing
in the way of documentation, drivers or software. I was able to find a
copy of the PGA's VDI device driver and some information on the cards
capabilities in the IBM Technical Reference Options and Adapters, Vol. 3
(IBM# 6322522). I also found a synopsis of the Tech. Ref. material
in the IBM Systems Journal, Vol.24, No.1, 1985. It is not supported by
IBM's Graphical Kernel System or their Graphics Development Tool kit
according to the documentation. The local IBM boys have someone who has
reputedly used the GDT with the PGA, but I have received no detailed
information as yet.
        The scanty documentation I have found does not really tell one how
to make practical USE of the PGA (at least it doesn't tell me). At this
point, all I know is that it makes a dandy word processing display
and has some high-powered graphics capabilities that cannot be accessed.
Can anyone out there in net land help with suggestions, software, or phone 
numbers to Big Blue? I'm getting desperate, but its not big enough for a
boat anchor.

                                        Thanks in advance,

                                                Martin Jordan
                                                jordan@nosc.arpa
                                                619-225-2742

------------------------------


From: vax135!petsd!moncol!lagaipa@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 86 01:35:36 edt
Subject: IBM PROFORT/GDT 1.1

Is anyone having difficulty with utilizing the PEL functions, within
the Graphics Development Tool kit version 1.1, from IBM Professional
Fortran 1.0.  All our programs work fine under GDT 1.0 but die when
accessing the PEL functions in GDT 1.1.  What's the story? Did IBM
release (recently) a version that doesn't work?? Please respond, either by 
Mail or call (201) 747-8277 ask for me, (Joe La Gaipa).



------------------------------


Date: 3 Aug 86 18:15:00 EDT
From: "CHRISTOPHER E. SHULL" <shull@wharton-10.ARPA>
Subject: Breaking the 32MB DOS Limit -- Anybody Ever Try Vfeature?

A couple of months ago I added a 70 MB MiniScribe Winchester disk to one of
our PC/AT comestibles.  It installed easily (even though the documentation
was awful), connecting to the standard disk drive controller card.  It has
been working very nicely with a 32 MB DOS partition and a 38 MB Xenix
partition ever since.

However, because we barely ever use Xenix, we would like to break the 32 MB
MS-DOS limitation.  I just ran across a $99 program called Vfeature offered
by a company named Rupp Brothers (P.O. Drawer J, Lenox Hill Station, NY, NY
10021, 212/517-7775).

The catalog reads as follows:

                      BREAK ON THROUGH
                280MB VOLUMES, At Your Service

         o   Beat the 33MB DOS Barrier
         o   Tune drives for optimum performance
         o   Complete Password Protection

         FAST [sic] THE LIMITS
         Now you can have minicomputer hard disk capacity on your micro!
         Vfeature supports the use of very large drives with AT, XT, and
         compatible hard disk controllers -- Vfeature transcends the XT
         controller's 10 MB limit, the AT controller's drive configuration
         limits, and the 33MB limit of DOS.  With Vfeature, you can use
         any physically-compatible drive -- or two!  The deluxe version of
         Vfeature even allows a single file to span two drives.

         STRETCH THE LIMITS
         Reduce access time by putting large files in large volumes with
         large clusters.  It's your choice -- the volume and cluster
         sizes are selected by you, not by your DOS level.

         SET THE LIMITS
         Vfeature is secure!  Your password controls system booting.  You
         can password-protect individual volumes.  You can lock out
         diskette access.  You can even lock your keyboard.


Before I try to order Vfeature, does anyone have any experiences (good or bad)
with the product or the company?  Is there a public domain, shareware, or
other commercial alternative for breaking the DOS limitation?  Should I just
wait for DOS 5?

Thanks in advance!

-Chris

Christopher E. Shull
Decision Sciences Department
The Wharton School                      Shull@Wharton-10.ARPA
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA  19104-6366            215/898-5930


------------------------------

Subject: 386 Specification Question
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 86 21:27:58 -0500
From: James R. Van Zandt <jrv@mitre-bedford.ARPA>


I have been studying the specification for the 80386 and, to say the
least, I'm impressed.  However, I have a couple of questions...

I've found two instructions with the same op code:

     BSF  (bit scan forward)       00001111  10111100  mod reg r/m
     BSR  (bit scan reverse)       00001111  10111100  mod reg r/m

Is the direction controlled by the direction flag, or is this a
misprint? My guess is that one of them ought to have the op code

                                   00001111  10111101  mod reg r/m,

which is otherwise unused.

Another instruction that has me confused is

     SHRD (shift right double register/memory by CL)
                                   00001111  10101101  mod reg r/m

I suspect that in 16-bit mode the register 'reg' and the location
pointed to by 'mod r/m' are being concatenated to form a 32 bit word
which is being shifted.  In 32-bit mode a 64 bit word is being shifted. 
Is that right? Is 'reg' at the left or the right end of this word?

                                     - Jim Van Zandt




------------------------------


Date: Sun, 3 Aug 86 23:55:42 PDT
From: crash!pnet01!scotto@nosc.ARPA (Scott O'Connell)
To: crash!noscvax!info-ibmpc@usc-isib
Subject: ICC Burroughs Emulation Software

Has anyone used the ICC package on a Compaq using COM1 or COM2?

I tried to install the software and it doesn't seem to address the
COM ports correctly.  Both COM1 & 2 work perfectly with quality
TTY type terminal programs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scott O'Connell

{ihnp4, cbosgd, sdcsvax, noscvax}!crash!pnet01!scotto

------------------------------


Date:     Sat, 2 Aug 86 12:42 AST
From: <IUS%DACTH51.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA> (Eberhard W. Lisse)
Subject: UUCP 

Hi,

does anybody out there know of a version of UUCP running on the
IBM-PC/XT/AT under DOS?

Thanks,

el

[Lauren Weinstein (vortex!lauren) has such a product, but I don't know
how to reach usenet via bitnet. Perhaps there are some users out there
who would care to comment about this product. I haven't heard anything
about it for the last six months or so. I suppose he is still selling it.
-wab]

------------------------------


Date: Mon 4 Aug 86 10:03:46-EDT
From: Thomas S. Wanuga <WANUGA@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Definicon's DSI-020 68020 Processor Board

Has anyone tried Definicon's DSI-020 68020 processor board for the IBM PC
(see July and August 1986 issues of BYTE)?  I'd like to hear how well it
works.  I remember seeing a query in the Digest a while back, but don't
recall seeing any responses.

Tom


------------------------------


Date: Mon, 4 Aug 86 14:33:47 pdt
From: Wm. L. Brown <wbrown@lbl-ux4>
Subject: INSTALL/DEINSTALL of Device Drivers
Cc: wksg@lbl-ux4


We have several situations where we need to remove device-drivers and
other memory-resident "things" without having to re-boot (in fact some
"things" don't even seem to go away when we re-boot). Here are the
situations that we need to deal with.

One scenario involves an application that is soooo big that nothing
else will fit in memory (AT, 640K). The problem is that the
"editor-of-choice" (PC-VI) requires "ANSI.SYS".  Also, some people
want to use BASIC "graphics" which is also memory resident. We've
worked around this by making a couple of batch files which modify
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT and then do a "WARM BOOT".  It would be
real handy if we could install and remove these memory-resident
things without having to re-boot.

The second case is a bit more obscure. For reasons too involved to go
into here, a product from WANG Labs. which simulates a WANG Word
Processing System on a PC-XT is in wide-spread use here at L.B.L.  It
comes complete with a WANG-like keyboard and does things in a manner
very similar to the way that the original WANG system does things.
(The big deal here is that the secretarial personnel don't have to
learn anything "new" in order to use P.C.'s{?}) Anyway, when one
exits from the package in a manner that is supposed to leave nothing
in memory, any attempt to restart the package fails with a message to
the affect the there isn't enough memory. What's worse, a warm boot
doesn't change the situation!  The only way out is to turn the
machine off, wait a couple of minutes, and try again. Also, this
package sticks some stuff in between the serial port and other
applications (like KERMIT or PC-VT) which causes bad things to happen
to any kind of communications package that tries to run faster then
2400 baud or so.  I don't think that WANG is too impressed with our
problems, so I don't expect a fix from that direction.

Well, sorry that the explanation of the problem got to be so long.  Any
pointers or a solution will be appreciated.

							-Bill

------------------------------


Date: Tue, 5 Aug 86 00:06:30 edt
From: Glenn Jordan <ecsvax!trent%mcnc.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>
Subject: Can Speeding Up an Old AT Harm it ?

 
Well, it goes like this :
   Where I work we got an IBM-AT with a replaced-by-IBM disk controller card
handling the 20-Meg Data Products drive that it came with. IBM replaced
the old card because it would only format 1/4 or so of the hard disk. We
have been having no trouble with the system, except that it is amazingly
slow with the original crystal.
       So, I replaced the crystal with a faster one.
   The people at EXEC-PC sent me one they said was identical to the ones
coming in the faster AT's from IBM, as part of a deal we had going...
It worked fine, and the speed-up was appreciated by all who used the
machine. But then one day, at power-up we got a strange message :
 
         1780   -   Disk 0 Failure
           (Resume = F1 key)
 
when you push F1, you get cassette basic...
This happened a few times, cycling the system off/on would usually fix.
I replaced the original crystal this afternoon, and it appears to have
helped. Is this some kind of warning that my controller is getting flaky?
What is the connection with the crystal change, if any ?
How can I fix it ?
                  Thanks in advance,
                    trent@ecsvax


------------------------------


Date:  Tue, 5 Aug 86 22:59 EDT
From:  Hess@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject:  Hard Disk Head-Park


I have a hard-disk head park program that doesn't seem to do anything at
all.  Does anybody have source or object that they could let me see,
either for a general-purpose head-park or specific device version?

My program (from Basic-Time, aka Qubie', for a Tandon 20Mb disk) asks
the hardware how many cylinders it has, adds 50, and seeks to that
place.  Well, the disk heads move (and light flash) for numbers up to
the size of the disk, but no light flashes for larger numbers, and the
INT 13 returns AH=02, address mark not found.  Is it actually doing
something or is my controller or drive defeating the +50 seek?

If you have source or would be willing to hexify a .COM file and mail it
to me, I would be grateful.

Brian (Hess@MIT-Multics.ARPA)

------------------------------


Date: 6 Aug 86 04:46 GMT
From: cfac-cso @ KOREA-EMH
Subject: Sanyo 555 Serial Port

What is the change to Sidekick to allow the dialer to access Sanyo 555
RS-232 port with a Smartmodem.


------------------------------


Date: 6 Aug 86 07:11 GMT
From: ldsmith @ KOREA-EMH
Subject: Wordstar 2000 with Two Printer Ports

Is there a way to install WS-2000 to access LPT-2 on the print command?
I can't seem to print through LPT-2.
 

------------------------------


Date:     Tue,  5 Aug 86 17:41:48 +0200 (Central European Summertime)
From:  XBR1YD22%DDATHD21.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA  (Ralf Bayer {Herz-Baerchi})
Subject: CAD-System for Electrical Engineers 


I'm looking for a CAD-System for Electrical Engineers. This system should
perform the following tasks:

(1) allow the layout of schematic circuit designs interactively

(2) automatically create the pcb layout from the circuit design. Positioning
    of the devices on the pcb can be done interactively, but the routing
    should be done automatically.

(3) possibly allow for circuit simulation (but that's not necessary).

If you know such a beast, tell me about the name, price and supplier of the
program. Any comments about the quality of the programs are welcome, too.

(and please reply to me directly, I don't always read the list)

Thanx in advance

Ralf Bayer (The Care Bear)
Computing Center at the Technical University of Darmstadt


ArpaNET: xbr1yd22%ddathd21.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
BITNET:  xbr1yd22@ddathd21


------------------------------


Date: Wednesday,  6 Aug 1986 07:19:04-PDT
From: dantowitz%eagle7.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM (David LTN2-2/H07 -- DTN: 226-6957)
Subject: Disk Catalog


	I presently have several hundred (2-3) floppy disks, and
	on a floppy system, organization is important.  Does anyone
  	have or know of any software that will catalog information
	like: what files are on which disks, and perhaps data, size
	and CRC information as well (to uniquely identify different
  	versions).  Descriptions of the files might be nice too.

	David


	P.S.  This could be PD or otherwise, although I would favor
	      PD software.


	Also does anyone know what the BLOCK file bug was in TURBO
	3.0 and what Borland's exchange/update policy is with respect
	to this bug?


------------------------------


Date:     Wed, 6 Aug 86 16:27:20 EDT
From:     Kenneth Van Camp -FSAC-  <kvancamp@ardec>
Subject: Fspool

The first time I used the public domain Fspool program (redirects printer
output to disk file), it was with a very large file. So when I got done
and noticed that my hard disk access times had increased by at least a
factor of 3, I just figured the time had finally come to reformat my
disk. I figured too many files had gotten to be non-contiguous, probably
caused by the very large file I had just created.
	After I reformatted my disk and restored everything, though, I used 
Fspool again -- this time on a very small file (about two screenfuls).  To 
my amazement, I saw some of the same behavior, although on a much smaller 
scale.  But disk access, especially in the directory in which I had used 
Fspool, was noticeably slower.  Now I've decided to only use Fspool with the 
floppy disk.  Does anyone know what Fspool is doing?  Am I the only one who
has experienced this problem?  Just for the sake of completeness, I have an 
IBM PC-XT running DOS 2.10, with the standard 10MB hard disk.  

		  --Ken Van Camp <kvancamp@ARDEC.ARPA>
		     Chairman:  Committee to Draft
		     CRAY X-MP FOR PRESIDENT, 1988

[Why not try LPTX in the info-ibmpc lending library. It does the same thing,
and since you have access to source code any problems can be fixed. -wab]

------------------------------


Date:  Wed, 6 Aug 86 18:30 EDT
From:  Hess@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject:  MS-Word Internal .DOC Format

Has anybody taken a stab at parsing MS-WORD .DOC format?  I'd like some
hints if you have them, or even better, a list of the structures and
their items (optimistic!).

Thanks,
          Brian
          (Hess@Mit-Multics.ARPA)

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