Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (05/03/90)
Info-IBMPC Digest Wed, 2 May 90 Volume 90 : Issue 80
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
Re: 3.5" HD Drive with 360K Controller?
Print Lotus 123 graphs
Shadow RAM
MS C vs. Turbo C; undetected errors in C programs
Re: C EMS function library
Re: Guide Hypertext System
Today's Queries:
GENIUS Mouse
Kermit and Mices
Looking for a multi-window to Unix from dos
outline processors
Problem of XT with hard drive and 8087
Request for a graphic library for MS-FORTRAN
Using fast EPROMS, address of SUN Inc
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 18:10:24 CDT
From: Tony Phillips <S102066@UMRVMA.UMR.EDU>
Subject: Re: 3.5" HD Drive with 360K Controller?
On Thu, 19 Apr 90 16:21:51 CET, Chris Sullivan (acscs@semassu.bitnet)
writes:
>
>I currently have an XT with 2-360K 5.25" floppies. I would like to
>install a 3.5" drive in the system. ...
> I would like to buy a 1.44MB drive, but my controller card will not
>handle that density drive. The controller cards are quite expensive.
>Here's my question:
>
>If I bought a 1.44MB drive and hooked it up to my current controller
>card with the ribbon that is now going to my 5.25" drive, could I use
>the drive as a 720K? ...
Well, to my knowledge, you cannot mix and match drives and controllers
in that way. However, if you use High Density media, it may work. One
seldom realized difference in normal and high density drives are the media.
Normal density disks are analogous to inexpensive audio tape. High density
disks are like the chrome audio tape. The signal from the write head needs
to be stronger to write on a HD disk than a DD disk. Again, this is just
an idea based on what I have experienced, so you may wish to consult your
local computer center or a computer store in your area.
Tony Phillips
Computer Science Major
University of Missouri, Rolla
Reply Addresses:
S102066 @ UMRVMA.UMR.EDU
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 19:37:00 EDT
From: ZHANGSH@McMaster.CA
Subject: Print Lotus 123 graphs
In INFO-IBMPC V90 #72, Nick Noble wrote:
> I am trying to print a graph with two series with about 150
> observations using 1-2-3. .....
There are a number of ways to get around this problem. The less
contorted way I can think of at the moment is to create a third series,
that contains the same, but selected observations of the series which
you use as Y-axis data. That is, the work- sheet should look like
this, for instance,
Series 1 series 2 Series 3
3 9 9
4 11
5 32
11 44 44
33 53
23 4
9 81 81
. .
. .
. .
. .
79 6 6
Then, you define Series 1 as x-axis, Series 2 as y1 and Serier 3 y2
under /graph, and choose to plot y1 in line and y2 in symbol under
/graph/option/format. In this way, only every fourth observation of y1
is gotten labled on the graph as in the sample given. You can choose
whatever interval you like depending on how dense your original data
series is. In creating the third series, you can create a simple
MACRO, and let it do the job. It will be something like:
\a -- acro name
/c~ -- Copy the present cell
{right 1}~ -- to the cell of next column
{down x } -- move down x rows
{branch \a} -- go back to '\a' for looping
Make sure the MACRO goes into action with BREAKON.
That's all. Hope it helps.
S. Zhang
ZHANGSH@SSCVAX.CIS.MCMASTER.CA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 11:32 MET
From: "Jim Groeneveld, NIPG TNO." <GROENEVELD%TNO.NL@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Shadow RAM
I also have some mixed feelings concerning shadow RAM. We bought an HP
Vectra 386 QS 16 with 1M memory it was stated. At startup the machine
reports 640kb standard memory and 384 kb "reserved" memory. We thought
we were able to use the 384 kb as extended and/or expanded memory. That
appeared to be bad luck. The largest part of the memory apparently was
being used as shadow RAM as we were told by HP. We were only left about
80 kb of which we could use 64 kb as expanded memory and the rest as
extended using the appropriate (HP) drivers. We were told that it was
possible to disable the RAM as shadow RAM (via SETUP) decreasing the
performance of the machine, but that it did not imply that we could use
the disabled RAM otherwise; and so it turned out to be, though the
performance did not seem to be considerately less.
Finally after installing an ethernet card we even lost this last part
of RAM between 640 and 1024kb. So that complete 384 kb of memory
actually is wasted! To solve this last problem would need to change
some jumpers (adresses) on the ethernet card, but we don't know which
ones.
Any more comments? - Jim Groeneveld.
| NIPG TNO <work>: Y. Groeneveld (call name: Jim) <home>| GROENEVELD@HDETNO51 |
| Postbus 124 | Wassenaarseweg 56 | Schoolweg 14 | GROENEVELD@TNO.NL |
| 2300 AC Leiden | 2333 AL Leiden | 8071 BC Nunspeet | TNOSUR::GROENEVELD |
| Nederland (NL) : (+31|0)71-178810 | (+31|0)3412-60413| RULTNO::JIM |
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 15:06:29 GMT
From: Andreas Lang <K573605%CZHRZU1A.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: MS C vs. Turbo C; undetected errors in C programs
Hello
Please let me add a practical hint to the discussion about undetected
errors in C programs.
I recently purchased a C language checker named PC-lint.
The company is:
Gimpel Software
3207 Hogarth Lane
Collegeville, Pa. 19426
(215) 584-4261 (voice)
(215) 584-4266 (fax)
List price is $139 and the actual version is 4.0. PC-lint has
special support for a wide range of C compilers. There may be
other lint's for PCs I'm not aware of.
Lint is a standard C tool on Unix systems. Its task is described in the
PC-lint manual as follows:
"PC-lint finds quirks, idiosyncrasies, glitches and bugs in C
programs. The purpose of such analysis is to determine potential
problems prior to integration or porting, or to reveal unusual
constructs that may be a source of subtle and, as yet, undetected
errors. Because it looks across several modules rather than just one,
it can determine things that a compiler cannot. It is normally much
fussier about many details than a compiler wants to be."
I was quite amazed what PC-lint could tell me about my own C programs.
They all passed through the compiler (MSC 5.0) without any complaints
on its highest warning level. PC-lint helped me to correct quickly all
kinds of type conversions, pointer problems etc. I was not aware of.
The manual does a good job in explaining the reason of any message
(there are several hundreds of them!), but it makes no attempt to teach
you C. By modifying options (dozens!) you have full control over the
fussiness of PC-lint. However you have to invest about half a day to
"tame" it to your own needs.
Fully satisfied, highly recommended and in no way affiliated with
Gimpel Software.
andreas lang
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 15:05:18 GMT
From: Andreas Lang <K573605%CZHRZU1A.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: C EMS function library
Hello
Some time ago I asked about C function libraries that would support
handling dynamically allocated objects in expanded and extended memory.
Johan W. van Ooijen <OOIJEN@RCL.WAU.NL> kindly sent me his own Turbo C
sources with EMS handling functions. Thank you very much.
In the meantime I had discovered and purchased a function package named
"The Heap Expander", C Version 2.05, list price $80.
The company is:
The Tool Makers
P.O. Box 2151
Santa Cruz, CA 95063
(408) 458-0690
This package "allows you to dynamically allocate space in expanded,
extended or conventional memory, and to automatically swap data to disk
if there isn't enough extra memory available."
Function source code is included, no license fees if functions are used
in own programs. The documentation is complete, but distributed in two
manuals and a readme file. It is easy to master and implement the some
12 functions in your own applications. As far as tested these functions
do what they should without any side effects.
Satisfied, recommended and in no way affiliated with The Tool Makers.
andreas lang
Source for upload in SIMTEL archives:
/* header file for the use of the expanded memory system with ems.c
Johan van Ooijen; September 11, 1989 */
/* To make use of ems the driver emm.sys has to be loaded by adding
"device = [path] emm.sys" in the config.sys file. All functions,
except ems_installed(), return 0 if the call has been successfull,
and the errorcode otherwise.
Usage:
1. check whether ems is installed
2. check the number of available pages (a page = 16 K)
3. get the pageframe address, in order to be able to address the data
that will be mapped into the pageframe
4. allocate a certain amount of pages, and a handle number will be assigned
5. map one of the logical pages into one of the physical pages of the page-
frame
(maybe the names logical and physical have to be swapped, I'm not sure)
6. eventually deallocate the pages assigned to a handle
*/
int ems_installed ( void );
int ems_version ( char * str3 );
int ems_pages_info ( int * total_pages, int * avail_pages );
int ems_pageframe ( int * address );
int ems_allocate ( int pages, int * handle );
int ems_deallocate ( int handle );
int ems_mappages ( int handle, int logicalpage, int physicalpage );
========================
/* library of functions for expanded memory system
Johan van Ooijen, September 11, 1989
Dept.Genetics, Agric.Univ.,
Dreijenlaan 2
6703 HA Wageningen
Netherlands */
#include <dos.h>
#include <string.h>
#define ems_int 0x67
static union REGS regs;
static struct SREGS sregs;
int ems_installed ( void )
{
/* get the EMS interrupt vector,
the segment address is returned in sregs.es */
regs.h.ah = 0x35; /* get-interrupt-vector dos-function */
regs.h.al = ems_int;
intdosx ( ®s,®s,&sregs );
/* check for the ems signature "emsXXXX0" at the address
10 bytes from the ems segment address; if present then ems is installed */
return !strnicmp ("EMMXXXX0", MK_FP(sregs.es,10u), 8);
}
int ems_version ( char * str3 )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x46; /* get-versionnumber ems-function */
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
str3[0]=(regs.h.al>>4)+48;
str3[1]='.';
str3[2]=(regs.h.al&0x07)+48;
str3[3]='\0';
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
int ems_pages_info ( int * total_pages, int * avail_pages )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x42; /* get-unallocated-page-count ems-function */
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
*avail_pages = regs.x.bx;
*total_pages = regs.x.dx;
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
int ems_pageframe ( int * address )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x41; /* get page frame base-address ems-function */
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
*address = regs.x.bx;
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
int ems_allocate ( int pages, int * handle )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x43; /* allocate-pages ems-function */
regs.x.bx = pages;
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
*handle = regs.x.dx;
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
int ems_deallocate ( int handle )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x45; /* deallocate-pages ems-function */
regs.x.dx = handle;
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
int ems_mappages ( int handle, int logicalpage, int physicalpage )
{
regs.h.ah = 0x44; /* map-pages ems-function */
regs.h.al = physicalpage;
regs.x.bx = logicalpage;
regs.x.dx = handle;
int86 ( ems_int, ®s, ®s );
return regs.h.ah; /* error code in ah */
}
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 APR 90 12:16:53 BST
From: CHSJB%SAVB.ST-ANDREWS.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: Guide Hypertext System
Sorry for not including addresses for OWL, the producers of the Guide
Hypertext system. I have just found an article by one of their staff:
Lynda Hardman, Office Workstations Limited, Rosebank House,
144 Broughton Road, EDINBURGH, EH7 4LE, Scotland
and an Email address
JANET lynda@uk.ac.hw.hci
EARN/BITNET lynda%hci.hw.ac.uk@UKACRL
INTERNET lynda%hci.hw.ac.uk@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
or lynda%hci.hw.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk
UUCP lynda%hci.hw.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk
or ...!psuvax1!cunyvm.bitnet!hci.hw.ac.uk!lynda
CSNET lynda%hci.hw.ac.uk%NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk@RELAY.CS.NET
Jim Bews, Chemistry Dept, St. Andrews University
JANET chsjb@uk.ac.st-and.savb
EARN/BITNET chsjb%savb.st-and.ac.uk@UKACRL
INTERNET chsjb%savb.st-and.ac.uk@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
or chsjb%savb.st-and.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk
UUCP chsjb%savb.st-and.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk
or ...!psuvax1!cunyvm.bitnet!savb.st-and.ac.uk!chsjb
CSNET chsjb%savb.st-and.ac.uk%NSFNET-RELAY.ac.uk@RELAY.CS.NET
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 12:20:56 +0200
From: Norbert Bladt <bladt@hslrswi.UUCP>
Subject: GENIUS Mouse
I have a GENIUS mouse connected to my PC (AT-clone).
After buying a VGA-board I have a problem, that the mouse cursor is not
displayed in "native" VGA modes (not Super-VGA). I know, that I need a
new driver. I have version 8.04 but I think I need at least version
9.06.
Where can I get a new driver for the GENIUS mouse ?
If someone could send me a copy, I will appreciate it.
The other choice I have would be to use drivers from other mice, e.g.
MS-Mouse. A driver for the MS-Mouse is included in almost all software
distributed by MS, e.g. QuickC, MS-Word, etc. I did try that, but had
no success whatsoever.
Can someone telll me whether that is at all possible to use a different
manufacturers mouse driver (I am aware of the procedure to hold down a
key on the mouse during power-up) ?
Thank you very much in advance,
Norbert Bladt.
Norbert Bladt, UUCP: ..!mcsun!chx400!hslrswi!bladt
Ascom Hasler AG, Abt. 80A1 BITNET: bladt%hslrswi.UUCP@CEARN.BITNET
Belpstr. 23,
CH-3000 Bern 14, Switzerland Phone: +41 31 63 21 64
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 15:05:15 CDT
From: Travis Kerzic <TKERZIC3%UA1VM.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Kermit and Mices
Does any know of or has anyone seen a program that will let you use your
mouse with Kermit in any terminal emulation mode with programs such as Emacs??
Any help on this would be greatly apprectiated. Thanks!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 15:21:46 EDT
From: zielke@phy.duke.edu (David Zielke)
Subject: Looking for a multi-window to Unix from dos
I am looking for a program which will connect to a UNIX system and
provide the capabilities of multiple login sessions over a single line
comming in (in my case a modem but a hard line is possible). I have
seen such a beast for a Mac but not for PC's. If anyone could point me
in the right direction I would be most appreciative.
David Zielke
zielke@physics.phy.duke.edu
zielke@cs.duke.edu
zielke@ccf3.nrl.navy.mil
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 22:17:39 CDT
From: "Bill Ball" <C476721@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU>
Subject: outline processors
I would like to find a good shareware or (cheap) commercial outline
processor. I think this type of software has also been called an idea
processor. There used to be a number of them circulating but they seem
to have disappeared from the market. Can anyone give me some
suggestions as to where i might find one?
BTW The April Computer Shopper has an ad from D.P Computer on p. 199
that offers a "Vantage Cache" 486-25 motherboard for $2345, which is
>$1000 less than any others I have seen. Is this a typo or are these
little beauties about to descend from the stratosphere price-wise? Has
anyone had experience with this company/brand before?
Bill Ball c476721@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 23:39:00 EDT
From: ZHANGSH@McMaster.CA
Subject: Problem of XT with hard drive and 8087
Hi,
I need help. I have a no-name XT compatible. It is slow by today's
standary, but it suits me fine. It never failed until recently installed
with a 40 mb hard drive (Miniscribe 8045) and an Intel 8087 math-
coprocessor. There are two problems. The first is that the machine
refuse to boot each time I turned off the power and then turned it on
again within 5-10 minutes (have to wait > 10 min to re-boot). The
light of the hard drive flashed a couple of times, and then died.
There is no beep sound, and no flickering from the monitor.
The second problem is related to the math-co installed. I run a
variety of utility programs, all of which recognized 8087 and said
it is installed properly. It worked perfectly fine with, for
example, Lotus 123, Harvard Graphics, but froze the whole system up
on others, such as Grapher and Watfor (a Fortran compiler). I tend
to think that the problem is software-related. But, again, the same
program (Grapher, Watfor) worked fine on a friend's XT system which
has same brand 8087.
It is rather frustrating with the two problems at hand: every time
the machine freezed up, you have to do a cold reboot. To do a cold
reboot, you have to wait 10 minutes. Any suggestions on the solutions
to above problems will be greately appreciated.
By the way, my XT uses 4.77 ms 8088 processor with a power supply of
180 watts. Also, there is no problem with warm re-boot.
Thanks in advance.
S. Zhang
(email: ZHANGSH@SSCVAX.CIS.MCMASTER.CA)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 18:17:34 CET
From: <GLEBE%DD0RUD81.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Request for a graphic library for MS-FORTRAN
Hi, Pc-Freaks
As anyone can see, I live in germany. So my english might be a little
wrong. Sorry for this. My question: Does anyone out there in NETWORLD
know about a library cotaining some simple graphic functions for use with
the MS-DOS FORTRAN Compiler (I've got Version 4.01). I only need the
following functions: PLOT(X,Y) : To set pixel (X,Y)
UNPLOT(X,Y) : To delete pixel (X,Y)
LINE(X1,Y1,X2,X2) : To draw a line from Pixel (x1,y1) to (x2,y2)
UNLINE(X1,Y1,X2,Y2) : To delete a line from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2)
SetColor(n) : To set the Color (n=1..16)
It would be nice, if these functions would work on a Hercules or a CGA Graphics
Card, EGA or VGA would be a dream.
Thanks in advance,
greetings from Duesseldorf (NRW)
Joerg "Idefix" Mueller
* My address: Joerg Mueller ..... GLEBE@DD0RUD81.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 90 20:53 CET
From: Norbert Sommer <VAL044%DD0RUD81.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Using fast EPROMS, adress of SUN Inc.
Since last year Eproms with 100ns and faster are available. Any chance
to switch off the 1 waitstate a standard AT uses to access his ROM
(Suntac-62 chipset, no NEAT) ?
Could anyone send me the adress of the manufacter of the Suntac
chipsets? I think its SUN Inc. .
Norbert Sommer
------------------------------
End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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