paul@devon.UUCP (Paul Sutcliffe Jr.) (07/20/88)
Early in July, in <849@devon.UUCP>, I posted the follwoing question: +--------- | [...] I will be initially developing an application for the DOS | environment, but future plans call for porting it to OS/2 and | Unix/Xenix, and I want to have all versions using the same (or at least | similar) screen functions. So, I'm looking for information on Unix | (preferably SysV) curses-like library routines for use under MS-DOS, | specifically MS-C 5.1. Commercial products are preferred (to be able | to get support), but a well designed PD package will do (if sources | are included or available). +--------- I then asked: +--------- | Please e-mail your responses, and I'll summarize to the net. +--------- First, thanks to all for the replys. I only saw two articles that were posted; everyone else did as I asked and mailed to me -- proving that there is *some* etiquette (sp?) on the net. :-) So, as promised, this is a summary posting of what I received. The overall "winners" appear to be a public-domain PC-Curses, and a commercial product (also called "PC-Curses"?) from Aspen Scientific. The remainder of this article contains edited portions of all the replys. Enjoy! ----- START OF SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------ Date: 6 Jul 88 05:56:13 CDT (Wed) From: larryd1@killer.UUCP (Larry Clark) Try looking for a package named Curses from Aspen Scientific, it seems to work reasonably well. Most credit card order houses carry it for about $125 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Jul 88 09:14:54 EDT (Wed) From: gatech!rutgers!marob.masa.com!daveh (Dave Hammond) Try PC-Curses, a (well designed) PD package which supports SV Curses with PC-specific bios and direct video i/o toggles. The object and docs are available on many public access systems, including marob (this system). The source is available from the author for about $25 or so. Support is very good (yes, SUPPORT for a public domain package! :-). PC Curses by: Jeff Dean 710 Chimalus Palo Alto, CA 94306 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Jul 88 11:07:26 CDT (Wed) From: bill@carpet.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) I use a curses workalike from Aspen Scientific in Colorado. It is far more robust on the PC side than it is on the UNIX side, but most of my problems have been with their forms editor, not run time. I must further admit that the protability problems I have encountered have been the differences between Vr2, Vr3.1, and SCO's oddball. None of them can be blamed on Aspen Scientific. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 5 Jul 88 12:21:41 EDT From: "J. Efrim Boritz" <uunet!watmath!watdragon!jeboritz> We have been using a package produced by Looking Glass Software (ala Brad Templeton I believe) for over two years now in a commercial product. We bought the source code with the library and made a number of hacks to it (it needed them 8-(. At the time it didn't handle colour, subwindows properly etc. This may have changed with new versions - we just haven't bothered keeping up because of our changes. Other than that, it works reasonably well, although if you have 7 or 8 windows with scrolling in each, it can get a little slow. I can't remember the price we paid. They are located in Waterloo, Ontario Canada, telephone (519)884-7473. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gatech!rutgers!iuvax!att!drutx!qwerty Date: Wed, 6 Jul 88 13:38:00 EDT Aspen Scientific P.O. Box 72 Wheat Ridge, CO 80034-0072 (303)423-8088 This company produces an excellent Curses package for the PC. We have used it here to port applications from Unix to the PC. So far, we have identified several problems with the Unix versions of Curses doing so... The AS product is very clean and solid. Comes with a very well done manual. Their product also supports a number of enhancements for the PC environment, including color. These can be included via #ifdef constructs to maintain portability. The price is $119.00 (source $289.00). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Jul 88 10:18:39 PDT (Wed) From: gatech!ucsd!boop!paul (Paul Palacios) This was posted to the net some while back. I had looked around and found that a company by the name of Aspen Scientific sold a full curses library (with or without sources). Without sources was around $100 (can't remeber now). I bought it with sources for about $300. From what I had worked with, it seemed comatible but like all MS-DOSified packages, there are some added functions that are IBM-PC-compatible specific. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: kgeisel@nfsun.UUCP (kurt geisel) Date: 6 Jul 88 20:57:31 GMT Lattice puts out a nice little package called "Lattice Curses", which is a library supporting curses functions on the PC. I know it works on MSC 4, but I haven't tried it in 5 or later. Curses may not be the way to go, depending on what you are trying to do. It is essentially monochrome, and is not up to par with PC interfaces. Too bad Lattice didn't put in a small hack to do color. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Michael Greim" <uunet!unido!sbsvax!greim> Date: Thu, 7 Jul 88 12:36:54 +0200 (MET dst) There is a free version of Curses using terminfo available. It was written by Pavel Curtis. Recently I asked Netland about information concerning this package. I have got a letter from Pavel Curtis stating that he is no longer interested in his copyright on the package and that AT&T has no claim whatsoever on the source code. I ported it to my machine and found that - in each of 2 test programmes a nasty bug did surface - it is faster than BSD Curses - but slower than a Curses extension I have written in 87, called Curry - the code needs some work to make it easier to port to non-BSD machines (by the way, my machine here is SYS3 based, but I also have access to VAXen (4.3BSD) and SUNs) - its functions are a subset of SYS5 Curses, but a superset of the old BSD Curses. It supports several terminals at a time and works with terminfo. The utilities to compile terminfo descriptions are included. The other programmes to handle terminfo which are available on SYS5 are not there, namely the thing to convert terminfo to termcap. The copyright notice in the code is dated 1982 and Pavel said, there was no later "official" release. I got my version from the University of Dortmund (unido) West Germany. Someone has meddled with the code : of the documentation only the formatted version exists, but not the nroff input. In Rich Salz' archives around 1985 there is listed a thing called "pcurses". Maybe that is the original Pavel Curtis Curses. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 88 08:08:32 EDT From: drexel!liberty!texsun!csed-1!krantz (Alan Krantz) There is a package on SIMTEL20 called PCCURSES. There is a version for MS C and TURBO-C. I haven't used it myself but I've heard it's pretty good. Sources are also available - actually, everything on SIMTEL20 includes sources.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: raila@m.cs.uiuc.edu Date: 8 Jul 88 17:18:00 GMT Aspen Scientific has a curses implementation for DOS/OS-2 along with some nifty screen development tools and libraries. I used it for a project, then ported the screen I/O portion in a couple of hours to ATT V.3 and 4.2BSD. They also support colors, etc. You can find an ad in BYTE, or Doctor Dobbs Journal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 9-Jul-88 00:24:22 EDT From: hjg@gor.UUCP (harry gross) I don't know just how committed you are to the curses package (or a look-alike), but I thought I would mention a very fine screen package that works under UNIX and MS-DOS (I don't know about OS/2 yet - details below). The package is called FORMAKER, and it is sold by a firm called JYACC. Screens developed under MS-DOS can be used on UNIX, and vica versa. JYACC is on the net, so you might try sending a note to them requesting further info on the package (try zink@jyacc, or jjk@jyacc). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <cbmvax!uunet!ames!ames!mailrus!utah-gr!uplherc!sp7040!obie!wes> Date: Fri, 8 Jul 88 00:56:59 MDT Austin Code Works has to PC-Curses packages on their list - one for $120, authors not listed, and one for $250 from Aspen Software. You can call them at 512-258-0785, or send mail to uunet!acw!info. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: cbmvax!uunet!wash08!txr98 Date: Tue, 5 Jul 88 16:13:59 EDT Paul: I own and use PC-Curses by Aspen Scientific. It is a fully system-5 compatible curses, with extentions, that is available for major compilers on ms-dos and os/2 environments. It has proven to be an excellent package to produce portable C code with. The only problems I have encountered so far are the speed differences between my PC at home and our NCR Towers at work - the PCs screen write is much faster that the Towers. I prototype with curses ( and turbo C ) at home for portable applications I develop for work. I have compiled unix curses applications at home, with only differences between C compilers being any issue (I compiled a Unix chess program on my pc at home (that uses curses extensively) with *no* editing or modifications). The libs are available from the Programmers Connection (800-336-1166) for $105, and source (with executables) can be had for $249. I purchased libs-only, but would be much happier with source. I purchased directly from the developer - the cost was an additionaly $10 or so ( I don't have that phone number here, but I believe that they are located in Colorado, and advertise in most programming magazines). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Jul 88 12:02:16 EDT (Wed) From: cbmvax!uunet!daitc!otishq!guardian (Harry Skelton) PC curses is available from archive sites 'novavax' and from the uucp site 'killer'. If you don't have access to them, then I can get them and e-mail you a copy. pc-curses-turbo - PCcurses for Turbo-C (four parts) pc-curses - PCcurses standard 'C' routines (four parts) pc-curses - PC curses manual pages - Four Parts other files of interest: kurses - A program to call curses(3) functions (shell level) window - wm (four parts) - Patches to Curses (windowing ?) You can get them via e-mail by doing: echo "pc-curses-turbo\npc-curses\nkurses\nwindow"|mail sources@novavax or by uucp from the site 'killer' ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 6 Jul 88 09:01:23 PDT (Wed) From: cbmvax!cae780!hplabs!hp-sdd!isg300!jsh0 (J. Steven Harrison) We have been using the curses product from Aspen Scientific and love it. Source is included. They can be reached at 800 255 5550 x176 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 9 Jul 88 10:17:37 CDT From: "Jerry Nettleton" <sun!tundra!jnettle%woods.unix.eta.com> There are four CURSES packages that I know about. PCCURSES is public domain and source is included free. CURSES04 is shareware. Cost is $20 for registration, additional $20 for source code. CURSES by Aspen Scientific is a commercial product and costs $119. Source available for $289. CURSES by Lattice is a commercial product and costs $125 (with source $250), but through PC-Brand (800-722-7263) it is only $99 (with source $199). I have used PCCURSES and CURSES04. I prefer CURSES04 since it has a faster screen update and supports a BIOS video option. It also has many of the curses functions as macros as in the UNIX versions. That makes for a smaller library of functions that has to be maintained. A review of CURSES by Aspen and Lattice appeared in "Computer Language" magazine in June 1987. If you want a copy of the article, I can send that to you. PCCURSES v.1.0 Release Notes - 870824 Bjorn Larsson (...seismo!mcvax!enea!infovax!bl) INFOVOX AB Box 2503 S-171 02 Solna SWEDEN CURSES04 Version 0.4 (3/87) Jeff Dean ({parcvax,hplabs}!cdp!jeff) 710 Chimalus (jeff@ads.arpa) Palo Alto, CA 94306 CURSES Aspen Scientific P.O. Box 72 Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80034-0072 303-423-8088 CURSES Lattice, Inc. 2500 S. Highland Avenue Lombard, IL 60148 800-533-3577 Illinois: 312-916-1600 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 18 Jul 88 20:36:06 EDT From: uunet!vsedev.VSE.COM!logan (James Logan III) I have used a curses package that is SUPERB for MS-DOS. It is fully compatible, and it allows you to take full advantage of the PC. It is sold by Aspen Scientific. I don't have their address or telephone any longer, but you can probably still find them in Doctor Dobb's Journal. Hope I've helped... ----- END OF SUMMARY -------------------------------------------------- Well, there you go. Hope this is as helpful to others as it was to me! - paul -- Paul Sutcliffe, Jr. +-------------------------------+ | Two wrongs don't make a right | UUCP: paul@devon.UUCP | But three lefts do! | or : ...rutgers!bpa!vu-vlsi!devon!paul +-------------------------------+