[comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest] Info-IBMPC Digest V7 #42

Info-IBMPC@SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (09/07/88)

Info-IBMPC Digest           Tue,  7 Sep 88       Volume 7 : Issue  42

This Week's Editor: Gregory Hicks -- Chinhae Korea <hicks@walker-emh.arpa>

Today's Topics:
                             COM3 & COM4 Ports
                          Current Loop Interface
                      Debugging TurboPascal programs
                              DMA on a PC-AT
                        Multiple user card for ATs

Today's Queries:
                          3.5 formatting problems
                      Extending length of PATH String
                     Recognizing an 80387 Co-processor
                    Need Help Reading Dos 1.3 Diskette
                        Are Tools for C Available?

Info-IBMPC Lending Library is available from:

Bitnet via server at CCUC; and from SIMTEL20.ARPA (see file
    PD1:<msdos>files.idx for listing of source files)

SIMTEL20.ARPA can now be accessed using LISTSERV commands from BITNET
    via LISTSERV@RPICICGE.BITNET and in Europe from
    TRICKLE@TREARN (Turkey) and TRICKLE@DKTC11 (Denmark)

Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-IBMPC@Walker-EMH.arpa>

Send requests of an administrative nature (addition to, deletion from
    the distribution list, et al) to: <Info-IBMPC-Request@Walker-EMH.arpa>

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Date: Tue Sep  6 14:55:42 1988
From: ucla-an!hermix!chief!root@ee.UCLA.EDU
Subject: COM3 & COM4 Ports


COM#     ADDRESS     IRQ

1        3F8-3FF     4
2        2F8-2FF     3
3        338-33F     2
4        238-23F     5

I hope this answers your question about the port address and IRQ for the
COM3 & COM4 ports.

Lance Ellinghouse
ucla-an!hermix!chief!lance@ee.UCLA.EDU

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 2 Sep 88 13:16:25 PDT
From: herman@marlin.nosc.mil (John W. Herman)
Subject: Current Loop Interface

Metrabyte Corporation (and probably many others) sells a current loop
interface (Model 422, page 104, catalog volume 17, $180).  Their vitals:

Metrabyte Corp.
440 Miles Standish Blvd.
Taunton, Ma. 02780
(508)880-3000
RBBS:(508)824-8659
FAX: (508)880-0179

------------------------------

Date:  6 Sep 88 19:37 -0100
From: Michal Jankowski <sieminski%rzsin.sin.ch@RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: Debugging TurboPascal programs

I have been using TurboPascal for some time and I like it very much, so I
do almost all of my programming in it.

I have written some routines to help in debugging Turbo programs which I
think may be of general use.

If your TurboPascal program stops due to runtime error, all you get from
Turbo is error message and address. There is no traceback information - if
that error was in a procedure or function some 10 levels deep and used in
20 different places in your program, you have no way of answering simple
question 'Where was this function called from?'.  Even debuggers (like
T-DebugPLUS) will not help you here.

My solution to this problem is a small unit (written entirely in Pascal),
which you can use in any TurboPascal program. Afterwards all errors
result in a message like this:

Runtime error 200 at 0013:002F
Division by zero
Traceback
F Procedure at 0013:0000 Called from 0000:004F
N Procedure at 0000:0014 Called from 0000:0082
N Procedure at 0000:0014 Called from 0000:0082
N Procedure at 0000:0014 Called from 0000:0116

Addresses in this table correspond exactly to that in .MAP file produced by
TPMAP, so you can easily find all information you need.

If you are interested, I could send this unit for inclusion in your lending
library (.TPU and .DOC files, but I would prefer NOT to send the source
version).

If anyone could provide me with a format of .TPM files, I could make that
display even more readable by replacing addresses with procedure/function
names and source line numbers.

Mike

Michal Jankowski
<sieminski@rzsin.sin.ch>
<sieminski%rzsin.sin.ch@cernvax>       (Bitnet)

[We would be very interested in receiving the SOURCES for inclusion in the
Info-IBMPC Lending Library.  Ideally, the Library should function as a
'reference' library where persons can go and learn better programming prac-
tices from more experienced programmers.  In addition, it may be that
someone put together a programming gem that has baffled others... If you
can see a way to include the sources, please send me a note.

In any case, your note has been forwarded to Keith Petersen at SIMTEL20 so
that the executables can be distributed. --gph]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 2 Sep 88 15:00 EDT
From: "Danny Yarbrough (GDS)" <Yarbrough@DOCKMASTER.ARPA>
Subject: DMA on a PC-AT

Steve Silber writes:
>     Does anyone 'out there' have, or know where to obtain, information on
>how to program the Intel 8237A-5 DMA controller chip used in the AT?

I have in front of me the Intel 1st/2nd Quarter 1988 Literature Price
List.  I believe the book you want is "1988 Microprocessor and Peripheral
Handbook", order number 230843-005 ($25.00).  The blurb on the book say
"Contains data sheets, article reprints, technical papers amd user's
manuals for microprocessors and peripherals (2 volumes)".  The address is:

Intel Literature Sales
P.O. Box 58130
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8130
(800)-548-4725

Hope this helps!

Danny Yarbrough.
Grumman Data Systems
McLean, VA

------------------------------

Date: Tue Sep  6 10:49:09 1988
From: ucla-an!hermix!chief!root@ee.UCLA.EDU
Subject: Multiple user card for ATs

There are a few different boards out that allow you to have multiple-
terminals connected to your AT clone. The only requirement is that you have
software to drive them.

I run SCO Xenix on my system right now. Concurrent Dos and a few of the
other multi-dos systems will work also. The one that I sugest is the ARNET
board SmartPort. It is a very nicely designed board.

ARNET's telephone number is (615) 254-0646 and their address is: Arnet
Corp., 476 Woodycrest Ave., Nashville, TN, 37210

I hope this helps.

Lance Ellinghouse

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 02 Sep 88 15:03:18 EDT
From: Roger Link <LINKR@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU>
Subject: 3.5 formatting problems

  I'm having problems with a 3.5" inch external drive on a IBM XT clone.
We have a internal 360K 5 1/4" drive, and Tandy 40 Meg tape unit. These
two units occupy the normal MS-DOS positions of A: & B:. Drive C: is a 20
Meg harddrive. I have hooked up the 3.5" drive up on the external drive
connector using drive select 1.

If I boot the system with out a "DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS" line in the config.sys
file, the drive doesn't appear to be in the system. If I include a
"DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:2 /F:2", MS-DOS uses the drive as drive D:. I can
read & write to the drive fine, but if I attempt a format, I get a "Format
Failure" message. The drive selects, and appears to home the heads, but
that's as far at the format appears to get. I have tested the drive and it
is fine, and will format on other machines. I'm also able to format the
360K 5 1/4" drive with no problems.  (this should show that the controller
is working Ok) I get the feeling that this problem is software related
instead of hardware. We are running DOS 3.2.

Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

                                        Roger Link
                                          [ LINKR @ VTVM1.BITNET ]
                                        Physics Electronics Shop
                                        Blacksburg Va 24061

------------------------------

Date:         Tue, 6 Sep 88 13:12-0400
From:         Donald.A.Jardine%QueensU.CA@CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU
Subject:      Extending length of PATH String

Do you know of any way to expand the data area of DOS 3.2 to allow a PATH
string of longer than 128 characters?

Donald Jardine, Computing Science Dept., Queen's University,
Kingston Ont.,  Canada K7L 3N6
(JARDINED at QUCDN on EARN, BITNET, NETNORTH)
Telephone 613-545-6070

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 2 Sep 88 19:42 N
From: <CAVECCHIA%ITNVX1.INFNET%ICINECA2.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Recognizing an 80387 Co-processor

Is there anyone on the net who knows how to recognize if an 80387 FPU is
EFFECTIVELY present in an 80386 machine ?  I'm looking for a simple proce-
dure (to be incorporated in a C program) ... but not as simple as looking
on the motherboard to see the label on the chip ...

By the way I currently own an Olivetti M380 that SHOULD have such a co-
processor (I've looked inside) but Norton SI told me that I have an
80287(?)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


Valter V. Cavecchia
National Research Council
I-38050 POVO (TN) - Italy

CAVECCHIA@ITNCISCA.BITNET

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 29 Aug 88 18:21:38 CDT
From: Frank W Peters <PETERS%MSSTATE.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Need Help Reading Dos 1.3 Diskette

Hello,

     I have a professor who recently returned from a sabbatical (sic?) in
Japan.  While there he wrote several chapters of his book on a disk
formatted with DOS 1.3.  We have had no success reading this diskette with
any of the following levels: 1.00, 2.11, 3.xx.

     Does anybody have any suggestions of how to read the data?  As far as
we can determine NOBODY on this campus has 1.3.  Is there any utility that
will copy an old formatted diskette?

     Please send any suggestions to me directly as I doubt my subscription
has "propagated" yet.

                    Thanks
                          Frank Peters

Bitnet:        PETERS@MSSTATE.BITNET
Internet:      PETERS%MSSTATE.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu

------------------------------

Date: Fri 2 Sep 88 14:50:06-EDT
From: Francisco A. Camargo (Kiko) <CAMARGO@CS.COLUMBIA.EDU>
Subject: Are Tools for C Available?

Does anybody out there have good experience with library packages for C.
Basically I need some good library for handling screens, data input and
output, and maybe windows. Also, if you know of any library that has
support for charts and graphs, I'll need that too.  You can reply directly
to me. I'll summarize the replies that I get.  Thank you.

Francisco A. Camargo                       Computer Science Department
CAMARGO@CS.COLUMBIA.EDU                    Columbia University, NY - NY

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