Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (02/18/89)
Info-IBMPC Digest Sat, 18 Feb 89 Volume 89 : Issue 24 Today's Editor: Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <COMFLEACT@Taegu-EMH1.army.mil> Today's Topics: Regarding subst'ing drives... B-tree Indexed file access in 'C' (BPLUS) Direct disk access DOCPRINT uploaded to Simtel20 Epsilon EEL files uploaded to Simtel20 F11 and F12 DSP Help Neural Network Computing Systems Request Long PATH Strings Reverse Video for VT100 Terminal Driver Reply to Unknown Card (370 Option) Memory Parity error on Zenith AT New files uploaded to Simtel20 Odd Character in V 89 N 12 (2 msgs) overlays in Turbo-C Painter's Apprentice uploaded to Simtel20 Trouble with MS Windows (2 msgs) Write protecting hardware ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Feb 89 10:25:27 PST From: jkimble@crash.cts.com Subject: Regarding subst'ing drives... SUBST is an excellent way to shorten your execution path, but make sure you change the parameter "LASTDRIVE =" in your CONFIG.SYS file. If it's set to something like "E" and you attempt create a "higher" logical drive, you'll be rewarded with an error message. ------------------------------ Date: 14 Feb 89 06:35:56 PST (Tuesday) From: "hugh_davies.WGC1RX"@Xerox.COM Subject: B-tree Indexed file access in 'C' (BPLUS) I have a copy of BPLUS. It has at least one serious bug, which renders it useless, at least on the IBM PC (or at least on the 8086 machines I've tried it on). It manages the database in memory, until it runs out of space, or you close the file, when it writes the database back to disk. In order to do this, it uses a lot of the 'C' memory allocation and moving routines. The problem is the use of memcpy for overlapping areas in the procedure moveup. As the man page says, "Character movement is performed differently in different implementations. Thus overlapping moves may yield surprises". In this case it means that writing new records into an existing index does not work correctly. The bug is exhibited by the test program provided in the ARC, and shows itself by the last 10 records written back into a file all having the same key, even though they should be different. Regards, Hugh Davies (HUGE.WGC1RX@XEROX.COM) ------------------------------ Date: 14 Feb 89 11:53:26 gmt From: D.Murphy%edinburgh.ac.uk@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK Subject: Direct disk access I've got a DOS disk here with some corrupted sectors. I've used the Ultra utilities to look at them and am told that the CRC is corrupted, however, there is no indication of whether this is because the CRC or the data is dead. Because of the discrepancy between the data and the CRC DOS won't look at the disk. Is there a way I can address disk tracks/sectors directly and read ALL the data, including the CRC from the disk, without DOS getting in the way and stopping this, and if so, how ? If there is software which'll let me do this then fine, but I don't mind programming round it (anything accessible via Turbo C v1.5 ?). Oh yes, the disk was given to me by a friend (they have experimental data on it) with the message "it is too late to lecture me on backups" :-). D.Murphy@uk.ac.edinburgh Chemistry Department Edinburgh Univ. ------------------------------ Date: Tuesday, 7 February 1989 12:33-MST From: BP3%PSUVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Subject: DOCPRINT uploaded to Simtel20 Now available from Simtel20: Filename Type Bytes CRC Directory PD1:<MSDOS.PRINTER> DOCPRINT.ARC BINARY 83456 0C51H DocPRINT is the alternative to using your word processor for formating and printing .DOC files you get with ShareWare programs. DocPRINT will let you use different size paper, printer font, and even allows you to print on BOTH sides of the paper using a two pass print method without creating TEMP files. So far DocPRINT works only with EPSON or compatible printers, but the next version will have Customizable Printing. ------------------------------ Date: Friday, 10 February 1989 13:08-MST From: Brad Keister <KEISTER@uinpla.npl.uiuc.edu> Subject: Epsilon EEL files uploaded to Simtel20 I've uploaded two more Epsilon EEL files to SIMTEL20. Their descriptions follow this note. Many thanks to those who responded to my request on info -ibmpc! At this point all EEL files of which I'm aware from previous listings are now posted on SIMTEL20. Brad Keister Department of Physics University of Illinois KEISTER@UIUCNPL keister@uinpla.npl.uiuc.edu CALC.E A calculator for Epsilon. Results of calculations may be placed in the file. Yuval Rakavy <yuval%humus.huji.ac.il@RELAY.CS.NET> 4/22/87 CXTND.E Extended C mode. This code takes where Lugaru left off and adds lots of spiffy stuff for C hamsters. <John Kubiatowicz, kubitron@athena.mit.edu 3/27/87> --- [The files are now in Simtel20's pd1:<msdos.eel> directory] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Feb 89 10:06:00 MST From: <pgaughan@NMSU.Edu> Subject: F11 and F12 Jeff Clough writes > I'm already aware of the BIOS call that will return an extended key >code. That's not what I'm after. I need a way to put the keyboard into >a mode that will cause it to return the F11 and F12 key codes even when >INT 16h with AH=0 is used. (I'm beginning to wonder if it is really >possible.) This sounds like a job for a handy-dandy TSR user written interupt routine! The're relatively easy to write and if you know what you're doing the routine shouldn't be more that 10 lines of intallation code and 10 lines of interupt handling. PC magazine's utility section is a good place to look for examples. Disclaimer: I have no connections whatsoever with above mentioned magazine (including a subscription). Patrick Gaughan Programmer of Gor pgaughan@nmsu.edu New Mexico State University [Such a routine already exists in the Lending Library in file PD1:<msdos.keybd>f11f12.arc... Source and executables included. gph] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Feb 89 13:18:35 +0200 From: O M <FNMELNIK%WEIZMANN.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu> Subject: DSP help Has anybody heard of a card for the IBM XT,AT,386... which allows fast DSP (digital signal Processing) of picture frames. We have some material about a card which supposably does some specific DSP functions at lightning speed (15 Mflops) but we can't really make-out from the prospectus if it is powerful enough to do Image processing. What we need is a card which will execute a 1024x1024 2-dienssional FTt at good speeds (in seconds not hours). The problem seems to emenate from the fact that the card we have information on can't access the picture memory directly...the card must DMA the data to its private data block and only then can it be processed (that is very cumbersome when we have 1024x1024 bytes to deal with in each picture). Please write back quickly....to my address not the listser Thanx, -Ofer Acknowledge-To: <FNMELNIK@WEIZMANN> ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Feb 89 23:16:14 GMT (Postman Pat ver 3.1) From: Drew <SCR596%CYBER2.CENTRAL.BRADFORD.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> Subject: Neural Network Computing Systems Request This is very much a speculative message, however anybodys help would be gratefully received. Could I ask who, if anyone, is working on or is interested in Neural Network Computing systems. If you could email replies to me I will pass them on to my supervisor who has asked me to put out this call. Perhaps we could start up a discussion group? Thanks, Drew Radtke, Phone: (0274) 733466 x532 Science & Society, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP. ------------------------------ Date: 14 Feb 89 09:34:39 PST (Tuesday) From: "George_C._Burkitt.ElSegundo"@Xerox.COM Subject: Long PATH Strings > I need to overcome the 130 char limit (or so) of the PATH string in >DOS. I'm using MS-DOS 3.21, which allows to increase the environment >using SHELL /E argument. This, however, does not allow having long search >PATH for executable files. The 2-14-89 issue of PC magazine User - to user section suggests a way to greatly shorten the Path string, by use of the Subst command and the use of logical drives to locate files. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Feb 89 17:58:32 -0500 From: Brian C. Anderson <castillo@media-lab.media.mit.edu> Subject: Reverse Video for VT100 Terminal Driver I'm running Xenix on an AT and I need to add support for "highlighted lines" to a vt100 terminal driver. Does anyone know what ESC-codes are used to set intensity-on and intensity-off on at vt100? Or is this something that just isn't supported on this kind of terminal? Please reply directly, I doubt anyone else cares about this problem :-) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Feb 89 15:23:44 EST From: Tal Wyatt (HDL) <twyatt@BRL.MIL> Subject: Reply to Unknown Card (370 Option) Hans Pronk asks about a double-card labeled PC-370 P-card. That is the so-called "370 option" for XT's (there is a very similar product with 16 address lines for the AT) which was made by IBM to allow XT's to emulate 370 mainframes. We have several of these for XT's and a bunch for AT's. My advice is to give it back to whoever gave it to you. We note the following: (1) the double-card contains several 68000's with microcode to emulate the 370 instruction set, but needs a third card to emulate an IBM 3277 (they don't make that anymore) or an IBM 3278/79 if this is the AT version of the product. The double-card also contains 1/2 Meg of ram which is bank-switched to provide several megabytes of 370-type virtual memory. (2) Very specialized software is required to run it at all -- available from IBM only, of course, if they haven't stopped selling it altogether. The software is called VM/PC and costs about $1000. The latest version we have is Release 2.01. (3) The software works usefully only in connection with a 370 mainframe running VM/CMS, using the 327x emulator card for communications (VM/PC also runs the emulation). We got stuck with trying to use it with a 370 running MVS and the only thing it does for us is allow very slow file transfers (compared with other 327x emulation software). The software is probably great for someone who dreams in CMS and speaks 370 processor machine language fluently (really!), but not for people less conversant with 370 stuff. (4) The hardware is beastly slow, compared to a real mainframe IBM. You can imagine waiting 5-10 minutes for a compilation that takes 5 seconds on the 370 mainframe. Typical. Hope this helps. Tal Wyatt ------------------------------ Date: 10 Feb 89 12:22:00 GMT-15:00 From: "T. DEJANE" <motu_7a@wmms-srf-yoko.arpa> Subject: Memory Parity error on Zenith AT In Vol 89 no 17 Steve Zelazny asks about Memory parity interupt error on a Zenith AT (IBM clone) > I'm working on a project in the physics department. I'm trying to debug >an error of the form "memory parity interrupt." The code in which the >error occurs is a data acquistion program. >Data is input from a photosensor which records the intensity of light. >The data is written into memory via a D.M.A. (Direct Memory Access) >operation. The first time the data is manipulated in the code produces >the "memory parity interrupt." Actually, the error doesn't occur all the >Steve Zelazny (v055l9y3@ubvms.bitnet) Parity is checked each time a memory retrive is done. Is it posible that you have a memory problem? Or maybe the add-in card that you are using to capature data is the problem? Most memory problems will not be found by the power-on-test done by your computer. Try running the ROM based memory test. To run this, type <CTRL><ALT><INS> followed by 'TEST' at the prompt. Select 'memory test' from the following menu. If the ROM test does not reveal a problem, try running the disk based Diagnostic tests in both the fast mode and the normal mode. If any of these tests show a problem, remove the add-in card that is being used to capture data and re-run the failing test to ensure that the card is not introducing the error. I would be interested to hear if any of this helps. Hope this helps. T. D. DeJane (motu_7a@wmms-srf-yoko.arpa) [For information, DeJane provides technical assistance in the data processing and computer repair arena to US Navy units operating in the Western Pacific Area. He has been working in the computer repair field since around 1969. (He and I were at the Navy's computer repair school at about the same time.) gph] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Feb 1989 01:26 MST From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL> Subject: New files uploaded to Simtel20 [--forwarded message--] From: "Leslie C. Brown" <lbrown@BRL.MIL> I've uploaded the following files to Simtel20: pd1:<msdos.database> PCFDB1A.ARC and PCFDB2A.ARC updated PCFile-dB executables and utilities The document file PCFDB3.ARC remains unchanged. pd1:<msdos.editor>DBXLMAC.ARC dBASE and Foxbase macros for Qedit pd1:<msdos.editor>GALXY242.ARC Word processor replaces GALAXY23.ARC pd1:<msdos.editor>G-MERGE1.ARC Merge addresses/letters to produce form letters pd1:<msdos.opus>OMMM_130.ARC Opus mailer pd1:<msdos.games>CRAZY8.ARC Crazy 8 card game pd1:<msdos.zmodem>PCZ0115.ARC a free clone of DSZ file trans program pd1:<msdos.dskutl>QCOPY.ARC another quick disk copying program --- Thanks, Les! --Keith ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Feb 89 16:16:10 EST From: "Robert E. Zaret" <ZARET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU> Subject: Odd Character in V 89 N 12 In digest Volume 89 Issue 12, the second message (a query about putting the current directory into an environmental variable) includes characters that put my printer in expanded mode. The characters were in the phrase "Something like CDIR=C:g?" where "g" is the first character and ? means the rest of the phrase was garbled. Ah well, no real damage done; just another adventure in the world of computers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Feb 89 08:12:42 MST From: Gregory Hicks <GHICKS@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL> Subject: Odd Character in V 89 N 12 Well, I have two explanations. The RAW text has a 'back-arrow' just after the ':' (Should be <back-slash>) and the other has a ^[ in it. The TENEX version has a $ (TENEX version is the back-routed copy) there. If it is ^[, that's <ESC> and the following chars are commands to the printer. Sorry for not catching that. Regards, Gregory Hicks ------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Feb 89 11:02 MET From: "Anneke Sicherer-Roetman" <ANNEKE%RUUCLA.SURFNET%HASARA5.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> Subject: overlays in Turbo-C Hello networkers, Is there anybody out there who can tell me how to create and use overlays in Turbo-C. Currently I have version 1.5, but I have understood that 2.0 does not support overlays either. Thaks in advance for your help. Anneke Sicherer-Roetman, State University Utrecht, Netherlands ------------------------------ Date: Saturday, 11 February 1989 20:41-MST From: nelson at clutx.clarkson.edu Subject: Painter's Apprentice uploaded to Simtel20 I have just uploaded Painter's Apprentice to Simtel20. Filename Type Bytes CRC Directory PD1:<MSDOS.GRAPHICS> PA.ARC BINARY 108148 8D5FH Painter's Apprentice is a bitmap editor in the genre of MacPaint, PC Paintbrush, Dr. Halo, etc. Painter's Apprentice requires an EGA or VGA and a mouse driver compatible with Microsoft's. -russ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Feb 89 13:58 EST From: <VY7106%BINGVAXA.BITNET@CORNELLC.ccs.cornell.edu> Subject: Trouble with MS Windows Hi ho. I'm having trouble with MS Windows v2.03 on an IBM PC/XT with 640K, CGA, running it at about 8 MHz from a 20 meg drive. Whenever I try to execute a .PIF file, I get the message "Not enough memory...", however it will still execute any file made for windows, like Write, Paint, and some shareware stuff, like QVT and Command Post. I know I'm not short on memory, because I've even tried it with VRAM simulating 128k EMS, and I know it's not a disagreement with a TSR program, because I've tried it with none present. For some reason, Windows just won't run a .PIF file. Anybody else with a similar problem or solution? If it's not too late to add to my message, I'm using DOS 3.30 with BUFFERS=20 and FILES=30 and STACKS=9,128. Rick Dickens VY7106@BINGVAXA ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Feb 89 02:00:22 MST From: Gregory Hicks <GHICKS@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL> Subject: Trouble with MS Windows You don't say what version of DOS you're using, but the 'out of memory' happens to me when I don't have the "FILES=XX" set high enough... (FILES=XX should be in your CONFIG.SYS file, and probably should be about XX= 30 or 40...) Regards, Gregory Hicks ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Feb 89 10:57:22 PST From: Frank_Barchard@cc.sfu.ca Subject: Write protecting hardware When the question of password protection for harddrives was brought up, it reminded me of my solution to protecting my modem from unauthorized usage. I set the AT &L1 option(leased line) and wrote the configuration to non-volitile RAM. The only way to use the modem then, is to type AT &L0 once. The same approach could be used for hardware, I expect. ------------------------------ End of Info-IBMPC Digest ************************ -------