Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (01/21/89)
Info-IBMPC Digest Sat, 21 Jan 89 Volume 89 : Issue 8
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <COMFLEACT@Taegu-EMH1.army.mil>
Today's Topics:
Batch file question
Bug in TP4/5 RANDOM function
Partial File Shipment from TRICKLE
Driver for DWP-210 needed for Word Perfect 5.0
Wierd Behavior of AUTOEXEC.BAT
Floppies, large and small
INFORMIX for IBM or Compatable
pd downloads
1.2MB - 360KB Floppy Compatibility
shell & autoexec.bat
SHELL and AUTOEXEC.BAT
Summary of COM: --> Disk Replies
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Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 15:59:00 MEZ
From: Erich Neuwirth <A4422DAB%AWIUNI11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Batch file question
I have a problem concerniing batch files. I have written an istallation
batch file which essentially has to copy files from 2 disks to a hard
disk.
So the first batch file on the forst floppy copies a second batch file to
tha hard disk. Then the harddisk is made current disk and this second
batch file is executed. In time it asks the user to change floppies so it
can copy the contents of the second disk also. After the installation I
want this batch file to be removed, so the batch file deletes itself. Of
course this results in an error message because execution cannot be
terminated as it should. On the other hand what I attempt to do is
sensible, I just do not want to leave parts of the installation routine.
Since error messages go to stderr redirecting batch file output to nul
does not help. Does anybody know a way to do what I want inj batch files
only and without an error message for the user?
ERICH NEUWIRTH
A4422DAB at AWIUNI11 in BITNET
Intitute for Statistics and Computer Science
University of Vienna
Universitaetsstr. 5/9
A-1010 VIENNA, Austria
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 14:55:32 GMT
From: "Wayne G. Sullivan" <WSULIVAN%IRLEARN.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Bug in TP4/5 RANDOM function
Bug in TP4/5 RANDOM function.
Some time ago I noticed a bug in the Turbo Pascal 4.0 RANDOM function. If
one counts how many times RANDOM(44000) is less than 22000 compared to how
often it is equal to or greater, one finds it is less about twice as often
as not. I presumed this would be corrected in TP5, but I find the same
result. The underlying random generator seems pretty good, but in
computing RANDOM(n), the remainder after division by n is used. This does
not always yield a uniform distribution.
Wayne Sullivan
[Is the SEED the same each time you call RANDOM(n)? Have you tried changing
the seed each time you call RANDOM(n)?
One of the problems that computer scientists have been working on is how
to do an algorithm that will do truly random numbers. Not trying to be
smart, but any subroutine/procedure/"call it what you will" that can be
done in a well defined set of instructions (ie, a program) will NOT be
random. Sorry.
However, it seems that TP 4.0 RANDOM could use some additional work.
--gph]
------------------------------
Date: TUE JAN 17, 1989 11.28.14 EST
From: "Bill Barry" <WAB1@LEHIGH.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu>
Subject: partial file shipments from Simtel20
I recently requested a large file (320K) from the MSDOS collection on
Simtel20. The file was broken into small pieces and sent to me uuencoded.
The trouble is that I only received a few of the pieces. One was cut in
half and the others never came. Is it possible to request specific pieces
of a file without requesting the whole file.
Thanks,
Bill
[I don't think that the RPICICGE server is set up to do this. I'll
forward your message to the maintainer of the Listserv there and wait for
an answer. gph]
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 89 11:16:05 EST
From: Johnfox%RCN.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Subject: Driver for DWP-210 needed for Word Perfect 5.0
Have just installed Word Perfect 5.0 on a Tandy 1000 TL. Printer
drivers do not contain one for Radio Shack DWP 210. By using the PTR.EXE
program have been able to modify the standard printer driver so that it
will allow the 210 to underline. Still need to modify it further so that
it will provide for super/subscript and (if possible) bold. I need to
have the use of superscript for end/footnotes in the text of manuscripts.
I can't figure out where or how I modify the driver to give me these
capability. In 4.2 it was obvious where to modify.
Appreciate any help on modification or any suggestions where I can
get a driver configured for the DWP 210. The Word Perfect Forum on
Compuserve does not have such a driver, nor does the WP company.
John Fox@Taylor.Rcc.Rcn.Edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 89 16:56:25 GMT
From: u87rpb@PRG.OXFORD.AC.UK
Subject: Wierd behaviour of AUTOEXEC.BAT
The problems experienced with AUTOEXEC.BAT not running are caused by the
fact that using the SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS invokes a secondary
command processor immediately, without running AUTOEXEC.BAT. Adding the /p
switch to the SHELL command tells the OS to keep the secondary shell in
memory, and when this switch is added, the AUTOEXEC file is run on boot
up.
Ray Bellis
JANET: <u87rpb@uk.ac.oxford.prg>
BITNET/EARN: <u87rpb%prg.oxford.ac.ox@ukacrl>
INTER/ARPANET: <u87rpb%prg.oxford.ac.ox@cuny.cunyvm.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 17:52:43 EST
From: Joe Morris (jcmorris@mitre.arpa) <jcmorris@mitre.arpa>
Subject: Floppies, large and small
In Info-IBMPC 89:5, you ask:
> If I format a 2S/2D disk on a 1.2 MB drive, specifying to format
>it as 360 K using 40 tracks, will this work? Will I be able to use it
>interchangeably in a 360 K drive? If this is not possible using standard
>IBM software, is there some 3rd party software that would permit it?
It isn't the software, it's the hardware. You're operating beyond specs,
but it can be done.
Officially, the deal is that if you *ever* write on a DSDD disk in an HD
drive (even at low density) then you should not ever put the disk into a
DSDD drive until it's reformatted. You can always *read* the disk in an
HD drive, though, and as long as it is never written to (even for a file
which is later deleted...because the directory is rewritten) the disk can
be shared between DSDD and HD drives.
Unofficially, it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I've got an AT on
my office desk with HD and DSDD drives and never have any problem using
disks written (at low density) in the HD drive when they are moved to
other machines with DSDD drives. Similarly, at home I have an Epson HD
drive (on a PS/2) which writes DSDD data which my old PC with Tandon
drives reads with no problems...not even a retry.
On the other hand, I've also got an NEC PowerMate/386 (ugh) in my office:
when it writes DSDD data on its HD drive, my AT's DSDD drive has no
problems but the IBM full-height DSDD drive on my secretary's XT refuses
to accept it. Since the environment violates the spec, there isn't
anything to do except to copy the DSDD disk on the AT's DSDD drive. (The
copy process is just DISKCOPY B: B: with the same disk as source and
object.)
Again, the hardware compatibility -- both HD and DSDD sides -- is the
problem. Software can't help you.
Joe Morris (your friendly neighborhood W104 GL)
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jan 89 19:45:29 GMT
From: rjc@ncsc1.ATT.COM (Robert Cook consultant ncsc5)
Subject: INFORMIX for IBM or Compatable
I have a new (complete) INFORMIX package for an IBM type pc. It consists
or all of the documentation for SQL, 4GL etc. and disks. INFORMIX sent me
the wrong package (I have a MacIntosh) and they refuse to exchange it.
Why? Beats the heck out of me. It surely diminishes their creditability
to me. Anyway, it is for sale or exchange if you have a MacIntosh
version, they won't exchange for an IBM.
Contact: Robert Cook - 303/980-5182 evenings
749 So. Robb Way
Lakewood, CO 80226
or smail it.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 12:03:45 pst
From: Danny Low <dlow%hpccc@hp-sde.sde.hp.com>
Subject: 1.2MB - 360KB Floppy Compatibility
>MITRE-KOREA@SEOUL-EMH1.ARMY.MIL
>Dan Jones
1.2MB drives use a different recording technique that writes a narrower
track. It is possible for a 360KB drive not to read data from a 360KB
floppy written on a 1.2MB drive.
In my experience the environment and the condition of the drives are the
significant factors. If the drives are well maintained and located in
stable (i.e. airconditioned) rooms, there should be little problems. It
also helps if the 360KB floppies were formatted in a 360KB drive.
However the possibility of problems does exist. In four years of using
both 1.2MB and 360KB drives, I have encountered 2 360KB floppies written
on a 1.2MB drive that would not read on a 360KB drive. This is out of a
sample of almost 200 floppies. All the floppies were written and stored in
the same room.
My recommendation is to maintain at least one 360KB drive for formatting
and the occasional problem floppy.
Danny Low dlow@hpccc.hp.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 18:08 EST
From: George Nassas
<A5000002%LAUVAX01.LAURENTIAN.CA@CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU>
Subject: shell & autoexec.bat
In Info-IBMPC Digest V89 #4 Spiros Triantafyllopoulos sez...
>I stumbled on this one when a friend told me his PS/2 Model 50 with IBM
>PC-DOS 3.3 would not execute AUTOEXEC.BAT upon booting from the hard
>His file was indeed called AUTOEXEC.BAT (no control characters in the
>filename (:-)) in the root directory and all commands in there were valid.
>CONFIG.SYS contained a SHELL=C:\SYSTEM\BIN\COMMAND.COM line (so
>COMMAND.COM was NOT in the root directory).
>I tried moving AUTOEXEC.BAT in the same directory as COMMAND.COM and it
>would still not execute. Then I removed the SHELL=... line from
>CONFIG.SYS, moved COMMAND.COM to root and re-booted. It worked.
>My question: is this a BUG or a FEATURE?
A FEATURE! DOS doesn't read AUTOEXEC.BAT unless you include the /P switch
when invoking COMMAND.COM. Ask me how long it took before I caught this!
My PC-DOS 3.10 manual doesn't seem to mention this. A friend put me out
of my misery eventually.
>Thanks!
No probs.
- George Nassas
Laurentian University
"Be careful when looking into the distance,
that you don not miss what is right under your nose."
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 89 13:19:02 EST
From: Joe Morris (jcmorris@mitre.arpa) <jcmorris@mitre.arpa>
Subject: SHELL and AUTOEXEC.BAT
In INFO-IBMPC 89:4, Spiros Triantafyllopoulos writes:
>I stumbled on this one when a friend told me his PS/2 Model 50 with IBM
>PC-DOS 3.3 would not execute AUTOEXEC.BAT upon booting from the hard
>drive. [...] CONFIG.SYS contained a SHELL=C:\SYSTEM\BIN\COMMAND.COM line
(so
>COMMAND.COM was NOT in the root directory).
See page 4-42 in the DOS 3.3 manual. It's not at all clear from the text,
but your SHELL=spec line in CONFIG.SYS needs to have the /P switch. This
causes the copy of COMMAND.COM you just loaded to stay resident, and also
triggers the execution of AUTOEXEC.BAT. Why COMMAND can't figure out that
it is being called during initialization and assume the /P switch is one
of life's little mysteries, but we're stuck with it. Another mystery is
why IBM couldn't document the interface in a useful manner.
Does anybody in netland have a copy of the MS-DOS 3.3 manual? Did uSoft
do a better job of documenting the SHELL command?
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jan 89 14:36:41 GMT
From: burkett@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Edward W Burkett)
Subject: Summary of COM: --> Disk Replies
I would like to THANK those people who responded to my request for info
dealing with TSR redirection of COM: and LPT: to printers. Following is a
SUMMARY of what I have learned and personally suggest.
For your information: LPTX is a program that redirects LPT to Disk
Chart Master is a Commercial Graphics package
*************************
Clayton E. Cramer writes --
There is a fundamental problem attempting to build something equivalent
to LPTX for COM ports. I've never seen a program that didn't use the BIOS
interrupt for the printer, so a program like LPTX just redirects the
printer interrupt, writes the characters to disk, and then sends them on
to the real printer ISR.
However, most commercial programs that write to the serial ports write
directly to the hardware, bypassing the useless DOS interrupt for serial
I/O, and the nearly useless BIOS interrupt for serial I/O. Therefore,
there is no way for most programs access to the serial port to be
redirected.
*************************
I would like to like to know... Why does everybody bypass the serial
interrupt? (Must be faster but why not standardize the way its done!!!!)
*************************
Rich McAllister (rfm@sun.com) writes --
Because the BIOS support for COM files is so awful, everyone goes around
it. This means there's no standard place for a re-director to be hooked
in.
The best way to do this, IMHO, would be to acquire/borrow a second PC,
hook the serial ports together with a null-modem cable, start some
standard communication program (QMODEM, PC-TALK, PROCOMM, Relay Gold,
Crosstalk, what-have-you) on the second PC in ASCII capture mode and then
run your plot... the second PC will then write the stuff to a file.
*************************
Les Mikesell writes of a specific fix for Chart Master (I tried this and
it works)
I would like to capture this output as a file so that I can use a plotter
at a different site. This necessitates the redirection occuring in the
background as the graphics program (Chart Master) is running.
I haven't seen chart master, but in map master (same publisher) there is a
file that contains a list of output devices, some parameters and the ports
they can be connected to. Try looking for a moderately large file with a
name starting with CON. It is a text file and you can make the obvious
change to the COM1 name to allow output to LPT1 instead. We did this to
allow use of a plotter on a network, but it should work with LPTX also.
*************************
Henry Ford writes of a Hardware Fix --
Well, there's always the hardware hack: If you have two comm ports, you
can just hook up a null modem cable between COM1: and COM2:. Now, cobble
together a TSR that grabs anything coming in COM2: and writes it to disk.
Run the TSR, and then run the program that outputs to the serial port, and
print to COM1:. (You may have to turn down the baud rate so the TSR can
catch the data without dropping characters.)
*************************
Indra Laksono suggests--
Clayton is right. I know of no commercial program that writes to the COM
ports by BIOS or DOS. They are not interrupt driven!
There is a neat little solution, if you have two serial ports, get a null
modem cable (straight through, but pins 2 & 3 crossed).
Then write an ISR that writes every character arriving at the second
serial port to disk. The code will be even simpler than LPTX
*************************
Finally after searching Simtels archives I found the following 3 programs
PRTDSK.ARC
This is an interesting program that runs as a temporary resident program
that allows redirection of any device to any device. As Clayton points
out, though, when dealing with COM ports PRTDSK will only work if the
software uses the serial I/O interrupt. It is a nice LITTLE program,
though, and should be a part of everyones utilities......just in case.
Two other programs I came across that are of interest are
LPT2DSK.ARC
LPTX700.ARC
These are both TSR's that only work for LPTx redirection. They are both
more elaborate than PRTDSK, allowing multiply redirections at the same
time.
With a little luck one of the above three programs should work for your
lpt --> dsk redirection needs. PRTDSK is the only one that would work
with Chart Master (and COM) but all have thier good and bad points.
All three of these programs are available by FTP from Simtel (26.0.0.74)
All are found in pd1:<msdos.printer>
I hope this has been useful to someone .......somewhere!
Thanks again
burkett@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Edward W Burkett)
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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