Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA (Info-IBMPC Digest) (01/21/86)
Info-IBMPC Digest Monday, 20 January 1985 Volume 5 : Issue 7 This Week's Editor: Eliot Moore <Elmo@USC-ISIB> Today's Topics: HACK sources Escape from Cygnus X-1 : part one Black Hole: part two More creative names, please Epsilon and Lightning DISNDATA Network Research Corp. FTP for IBM PC (Query) "out of environment space", config.sys, autoexec.bat Definicon trig routines Mathematical and Statistical Software for IBM PC Tax Software MicroSoft Windows MASM Bugs Zenith Z150 Hard disk trouble Cluster Size for 20 MB Hard Disk (3 Messages) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 20 Jan 1986 14:22:38 PST Subject: HACK sources From: Koji Okazaki <swg.KOJI@USC-ISIB.ARPA> To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA cc: Koji@USC-ISIB.ARPA The HACK sources will become available for ftp'ing when we successfully de-ARC them. We've had some problems with this recently. If you're on the Arpanet, you can ftp the ARChived HACK files right now. Just do a MULTiple GET HACK*.* and then de-ARC them yourselves. The de-ARC'ed files may be available next week. Koji ------- ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 1986 12:03:48 PST Subject: Escape from Cygnus X-1 : part one From: Koji Okazaki <swg.KOJI@USC-ISIB.ARPA> To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA cc: Koji@USC-ISIB.ARPA The following programs have returned from the software void and are available for ftp'ing. More programs will be returning in the very near future. DOS-HELP This subdirectory contains 52 DOS 2.1* help files, which (subdirectory) cover DOS commands and concepts. Very useful for beginners and handy for experienced people as well. David Glaser <DG%LEXINGTON@COLUMBIA.EDU> 1/18/86 NEATLIST.BAS After NEATLIST.BAS is appended to a BASIC/BASICA program and is executed, it generates a structured listing which indents for IF-THEN-ELSE , WHILE/WEND, FOR and 2 spaces for GOTO/GOSUB. At the end of the program, it lists the number of lines, number of statements and the number of REMarks. Remarks are indented and prefaced by an '*'. Multiple Remarks are contiguous. Single or Beginning/ Ending REMarks are given an additional space. <John Shaver, JSHAVER@APG-3> 1/17/86 NETIO.ASM MONITOR.ASM, used in conjunction with the device driver monitor.asm NETIO.ASM allows DOS console I/O calls to be transmitted netio.doc across an IBM PCNet local area network (or other NETBIOS compatible network). The documentation file contains patches to Kermit that allow it to be run over the network. This code is a good source language example of how to access IBM's net BIOS. <Eric DeSilva, DESILVA@NBS-VMS> 1/19/86 SDL31.ASM Sorted Directory List. User has control over many options. Another handy utility. Ages 5 and up. <W. C. Bodycomb - original author> <Updated by Ted Shapin, BEC.SHAPIN@USC-ECL> 11/21/85 ------- ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 1986 13:23:00 PST Subject: Black Hole: part two From: Koji Okazaki <swg.KOJI@USC-ISIB.ARPA> To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA cc: Koji@USC-ISIB.ARPA The following programs have been added to our library: EXTND.INC This include file contains macros for use with MASM so that you can use the new instructions in the NEC 8088 clone - NEC V20/V30. Found in a BBS. <John Ruschmeyer> 1/18/86 NLIST.PAS This is a menu-driven, ASCII file listing program for Epson-compatible printers. It's written in Turbo Pascal (version 3.0) and provides a number of printing options. Written by Nate Liskov. <Barbara H. Liskov, LISKOV@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU> 1/18/86 WHERE.PAS This is another "WHEREIS"-like file locator, written in IBM Pascal. It starts at the root directory and then tries all subdirectories. Wildcard indicators such as '*' and '?' are accepted in the search string. <Mike Johnson, MJOHNSON@ATHENA.MIT.EDU> 1/18/86 ------- ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 1986 14:26:20 PST Subject: More creative names, please From: Koji Okazaki <swg.KOJI@USC-ISIB.ARPA> To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA cc: Koji@USC-ISIB.ARPA Howdy. Ever since we added some of the DECUS Unix-like command programs last year, other people have been submitting their own Unix-like command sources. This is fine. The problem is that many people are using the same names for their programs, like "PC-GREP," "PC-MORE," and "PC-WHEREIS." As we all know that this is a PC-dedicated digest, there is no need to give a program's name a "PC" prefix. If you're the original author, please try to give your program a name that will have more chances of being unique. If you're submitting someone else's "PC"-prefixed program, try to contact him/her (if it's feasible, of course) so that he/she can rename it.... *then* submit it to us. Otherwise, no fuzzy dice. From now on all programs with "PC"-prefixed names will not be accepted unless the submitter is absolutely sure that it was the first program to be called so. Let's be more creative with the names, eh? Koji Info-IBMPC program submissions ------- ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 1986 15:04:42 PST Subject: Epsilon and Lightning From: Billy <BRACKENRIDGE@USC-ISIB.ARPA> To: polish@CS.COLUMBIA.EDU cc: info-ibmpc@USC-ISIB.ARPA Todd Doucet informs me Epsilon doesn't indeed coexist with Lightning. It runs fine with Sidekick but not Lightning. They are working on Lightning compatibility and expect to have it soon. Sorry for the mis-information. ------- ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 86 11:14:02 PST (Monday) From: DHickey.ES@xerox.com Subject: DISNDATA In-reply-to: Your message of 19 Jan 86 16:05:33 PST To: INFO-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA cc: DHickey.ES@xerox.com The DISNDATA disassembler sounds like just the product I need. Does anyone have some data on the vendor (phone #, etc.)? Dan Hickey ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jan 86 16:05:26 cst From: dlnash@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU (Donald L. Nash) Posted-Date: Mon, 20 Jan 86 16:05:26 cst To: info-ibmpc@isib Subject: Network Research Corp. FTP for IBM PC (Query) Here at UTexas @ Austin, we have just obtained the FUSION package from Network Research Corporation for the IBM PC. I've been working with it, but have been unable to get the FTP server to work properly for it. The user FTP and Telnet work, but not the FTP server. Here are the symptoms: You can connect to the server and get this message: 220 Machine_Name FUSION FTP server (Version 3.1.7) ready. The trouble starts when you try to log in. Before starting the server, you set the PC-DOS environment variable F_USER=xxx where "xxx" is the name which FUSION is to use as your user name. After connecting to the server, if you try to log in as "xxx", a deadlock occurs. Under 4.2 BSD FTP, you can use interrupt to break the deadlock, but the server does acknowledge that the USER command was ever received. It simply acts as if nothing has happened. If you try to log in as something other that "xxx", then you get this message: 530 User yyy unknown. You can log in as user anonymous and things will work as expected. You can transfer files, etc. There are no access restrictions, since PC-DOS doesn't know about file ownership. I have been unable to find documentation about this in the manuals sent with FUSION, and it really doesn't matter, since guest login is available. I am simply asking this out of curiosity. Thanks in advance for any info... Don Nash UUUU UUUU UU UU UUCP: ...!{ihnp4,allegra,seismo!ut-sally}!ut-ngp!dlnash UU TTTTTTTTTUUTTT APRA: dlnash@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU UU TT TT UU TT UU TT UU UU TTUU UUUUUUUU The University of Texas at Austin TT Hook 'em Horns! TTTT ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jan 86 19:44:23 est From: malpass@ll-sst (Don Malpass) To: INFO-HZ100@RADC-TOPS20, info-ibmpc@usc-isib Subject: "out of environment space", config.sys, autoexec.bat Because I recently installed a new vi editor on my Z-100 and it called for several entries to config.sys and/or SET entries to autoexec.bat, I've been playing with those two files. Among other things, I added (and was forced to delete) SWITCHAR=- to allow slash, instead of just backslash, to separate subdirectories [see p. 96 of August 85 Dobbs article on make.] Things began to come unglued, and I've deduced that it is almost certainly caused by filling up the "environment space". At one point, when I had everything I wanted defined, my boot message concluded with "out of environment space" or some such. When I later tried to return from a shell-escape from something it said "...COMMAND search directory bad" and forced me to reboot since there was no COMMAND.COM in the default [ram]disk. One time, invoking SET indicated that one of my variable strings had been truncated. Another time, the whole list had been cut to two variables, and PATH was equated to an empty string. The book says the environment space can contain about 200 bytes, which is roughly the size of the current reply to SET. At the mement, I NEED every line that is there, and I'd like a few others. Is this a common problem? Can I enlarge the environment space? Should I be doing something else? I just ordered Genie, a Sidekick-like product for the Z-100, and I'd be surprised if it did not call for even more environment entries. I'm using MSDOS 2.11 [or 2.13 depending on which banner I believe]. I've been too lazy to install 2.2x. Would it help? Can YOU help? Tnx. don [malpass@LL-sst] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18-Jan-86 14:09:18 PST From: ihnp4!pelican!pete@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (Pete Carah) Subject: Definicon trig routines To: pelican!ihnp4!seismo!munnari!mimir.dmt!mvr Cc: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa, pelican!pete Using the latest compiler/library release from DSI (about 1-1/2 weeks ago), I have run some checks of the DSI sin/cos routines against a matrix rotation, and the usual sin**2+cos**2 checks (max(abs(1-s**2-c**2))), using 10,000 steps around a circle for the sample set, and they indicate errors of order 4e-16 in the sin/cos library routines, and errors of order 4e-13 in the rotation versus the library, and in the rotation radius. This is about what I would expect from a floating point processor that both works in IEEE double format and stores intermediate results in that format. The same compiled program linked with my previous CLIB (I got the board and software just before Christmas) gave results with 2-3 times the error on all of the measures above. Since the matrix multiply was written in line, the starting sin/cos had to be in error by this much. This is still a maximum error of 2e-12 or less, which are not "3/4 rectified wave" by any stretch of the imagination. The same program gives much better results (all 0 errors) using the Microsoft C v.3.0, and a native 8087 (which works in 80 bit numbers internally, has native trig routines NOT using polynomial approximations, and keeps intermediate results within the matrix multiply to the same precision). I have no idea where your errors came from, unless they are entirely from the graphics package, which I haven't checked. -- Pete ...{ vortex, ihnp4, scgvaxd}!pelican!pete ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jan 86 11:29:57 cst From: pool@anl-mcs.ARPA (Pool) To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA Subject: Mathematical and Statistical Software for IBM PC Cc: pool@anl-mcs.ARPA The Numerical Algorithms Group offers the NAG Fortran PC50 Library for various compilers on the IBM PC. It includes 50 routines from the NAG Fortran Library, a library of 525 routines available for systems ranging from workstations to supercomputers. For additional information, contact Numerical Algorithms Group 1101 31st Street, Suite 100 Downers Grove, IL 60532-1263 (312) 971-2337. The NAG Pascal Library, a collection of 80 routines, will also be available for the IBM PC in approximately the last week of March. PC-GLIM, (Generalized Linear Interactive Modeling), will also be available in late February or early March to provide yet another statistical package! Jim Pool Executive Vice-President NAG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jan 86 10:46:02 EST From: Andy_Mondore%RPI-MTS.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA To: Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA, JMSK%MC.LCS.MIT.EDU@MIT-Multics.ARPA Subject: Tax Software There is a program called PC-TAX85 which handles federal tax returns. It is available on CompuServe in the IBM Pro Sig. It should also be available on other bulletin boards, although I'm not sure which ones. ------------------------------ From: DGilbert.ES@Xerox.com Date: 19 Jan 86 16:10:26 PST Subject: MicroSoft Windows To: Info-IBMPC Digest <Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA> cc: DGilbert.ES@xerox.com, IBMPC^.ES@xerox.com I too purchased MicroSoft Windows. I too was disappointed, even though my mouse works just fine. Yes, there are some things I like about it. The clock is NEAT, with its simulated analog hands. The ability to flip an application instantly from window to window, aaaa, sorry. tile to tile, is very nice. Yes, there are no overlapping windows, so tiles are perhaps a more appropriate term. It crashed when I tried to run Crosstalk XVI in a tile to get my mail while doing other things, don't know why......happened when I quit Crosstalk, then tried to run it again....may be operator error, but... I havn't had a chance to run all its features yet. However, I also have DesqView from Quarterdeck, and so far I have to agree with George. DesqView's the best multitasker I've seen so far....sorry MicroSoft. { the opinions expressed are my own, at least to date, and are subject to change. I'm sure MicroSoft will not be affected significantly by it. } Doug. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jan 86 22:42:58 pst From: jhass%ucbiris@BERKELEY.EDU To: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa Subject: masm bugs For Schauble@MIT-MULTICS, the best books on the 8087 are: (1) 8087 Applications and Programming, by R. Startz (2) iAPX 86/88, 186/188 User's Manual (Intel) (3) iAPX 286 User's Manual (Intel) (4) Getting started with the NDP (AP-113, Intel) **************************************************************** The new Microsoft Assembler (MASM 4.0) is well worth the price as it is more than twice as fast as the previous version. (However, I disagree with corwin@cdp.uucp who said it is twice as fast as an assembler should be; it is only HALF as fast as it should be.) Unfortunately, MASM still has a lot of bugs. Here is a list of bugs that came to my attention from Roger Schlafly at Borland International. Microsoft Assembler 4.00 bugs: (1) You cannot redirect the output to save the error messages in a file. (2) If you run out of disk space while the assembler is assembling, the machine hangs. (3) The /ML option does not work with the /Dsymbol option, unless the /ML option precedes it. (4) The instruction fmul st(1),st(1) is invalid, but MASM assembles it without reporting an error, as if the instruction were: fmul st(1),st(0) (5) The following file assembles correctly with the command, >masm bug /r; but puts a bad opcode in the OBJ file if assembled with the command: >masm /ML bug /r; ;************************************************************* ; BUG.ASM ; File to demonstrate one of the bugs in MASM 4.0 s segment assume cs:s abCd2 dt 11223344556677889900R org 20h x proc near fld abCd2 mov ax,7 ret x endp s ends end ;************************************************************* (6) You cannot include a file that has been edited with Wordstar. The problem is that Wordstar puts end-of-file characters (hex 1A) at the end of the file, but MASM chokes saying "extra characters" if it sees more than one. (7) MASM sometimes incorrectly gives a "value out of range" error, as in the following: ;************************************************************* false equ 0 true equ not false db -1 ; This line is OK. db true ; MASM 4.0 chokes on this line. ;************************************************************* (8) This is not a bug, but when I read the ad that said, "define symbols from the command line," I certainly expected that I would be able to define the symbols to be something. For example, /Dxmax=15 on the command line should be equivalent to xmax equ 15 at the beginning of the file. This is what Microsoft C and a number of other compilers and asemmblers do. Of course, I could just put into my file a lot of ifdefs, e.g., ifdef xmax12 xmax equ 12 endif ifdef xmax13 xmax equ 13 endif ifdef xmax14 xmax equ 14 endif ifdef xmax15 xmax equ 15 endif ifdef xmax16 xmax equ 16 endif ifdef xmax17 xmax equ 17 endif and then just put /Dxmax15 on the command line if I wanted xmax to be 15. Is this how the feature is intended to be used? (9) This is perhaps not a bug either, but I find MASM's treatment of far labels very strange when they are declared EXTRN inside a segment. In such a case, MASM attempts to force the label to be relative to a segment other than the segment it was defined to be in. It seems to me that a far EXTRN label inside a segment should be the same as outside the segment. (10) SYMDEB still misses breakpoints a lot. I don't have a simple example to prove it, but that bug has been in for a long time so I assume Microsoft knows about it. (11) The new linker (3.05) changed the link map format, thereby breaking most of the symbolic debuggers on the market. Is this a deliberate attempt to stifle competition? (12) MASM still requires a carriage return at the end of the last line in the file, or it ignores the line. There is a similar bug in DOS's execution of batch files, so I assume it is intentional. ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 1986 11:39:59-EST From: Mark.Wilkins@FAS.RI.CMU.EDU To: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa Subject: Zenith Z150 Hard disk trouble A friend of mine has a Zenith XT compatible, and claims to be having some trouble with the hard disk. He mostly does word processing, using WordPerfect 4.1. He says that just recently the hard disk began taking a considerably longer amount of time to read (and write?) documents. He called his dealer, who said they could look at it and replace either the controller for ~$300 or the disk for ~$900! I think that something is just out of adjustment, because it is working, albeit slow. Any ideas? Mark Wilkins wilkins@fas.ri.cmu.edu.ARPA ------------------------------ From: DGILBERT.ES@xerox.com Date: 19 Jan 86 16:08:30 PST Subject: Cluster Size for 20 MB Hard Disk To: Info-IBMPC Digest <Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA> cc: DGilbert.ES@xerox.com, IBMPC^.ES@xerox.com I just upgraded my IBM PC/XT to a 20 Megabyte Harddisk from Priority-One Electronics ( Seagate half height internal ). While I was at it, also changed from 2.1 PCDOS to 3.1 PCDOS. Its great to have 20 MB, but something puzzles me.... The cluster size is 8 Kilobytes. I read somewhere that PCDOS 3.10 is capable of a longer directory entry ( 20 bits instead of 16 bits for number of clusters ) and was therefore able to use a much more efficient 2 Kilobyte cluster size for large hard disks, such as 20 MB. Nowhere did I find any way to do this. Is it automatic on the AT? The FORMAT command has no parameters for forcing cluster size. There is a note in the 3.10 manual that formatting a 20 MB partition may not allow PCDOS 2.1 to read the disk. However, 2.1 seems to read my hard disk just fine. But I would rather have 2 kb clusters. ANYWAY I CAN DO THIS? Thanks for any help you can give. Doug. ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 86 10:14:39 EST (Monday) Subject: Re: Cluster Size for 20 MB Hard Disk In-reply-to: DGILBERT.ES's message of 19-Jan-86 16:08:30 PST To: DGILBERT.ES@xerox.com cc: Info-IBMPC Digest <Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA>, IBMPC^.ES@xerox.com From: Bill <Crocca.wbst@xerox.com> Doug, I tried that on my 6064/5. Going to 3.1 reduced the cluster size but to 4 sectors; I was hoping for one! The version of 3.1 I tried was from IBM. I'm still running 2.11 because the 3.1 was just borrowed for the test. My disk is a 20MByte tandon and an OMTI controller. ~ Bill ------------------------------ Date: 20 Jan 86 10:15:29 PST (Monday) From: DHickey.ES@xerox.com Subject: Cluster Size for 20 MB Hard Disk In-reply-to: DGILBERT's message of 19-Jan-86 16:08:30 PST To: DGILBERT.ES@xerox.com cc: Info-IBMPC Digest <Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA>, IBMPC^.ES@xerox.com Doug, You must go into fdisk under DOS 3.1 and deallocate the DOS partition. Then reallocate it. Then a format/s/v. DOS 3.1 gets BPB information (cluster size from the DOS partition boot sector. The # of bits in each FAT entry is indicated in the partition table in the hard disk boot sector (not the same one). Both these areas must have the correct values loaded for the system to operate correctly. If the DOS 2.x information is there DOS 3.1 will treat the drive as specified in the BPB table. After you have setup the 2k cluster sizes correctly, DOS 2.x will not work (period). The 12 vs. 16 bit FAT entries would screw up DOS, but the DOS boot initialization code would not recognize the partition as valid of DOS 04 vs. 01 for flag byte. Good Luck. Dan Hickey ------------------------------ End of Info-IBMPC Digest ************************ -------