hicks@WALKER-EMH.ARPA (Gregory Hicks COMFLEACTS) (08/23/88)
Info-IBMPC Digest Tue, 23 Aug 88 Volume 7 : Issue 38
Today's Topics:
Multi-User BBS
Restoring Directories from a .BAT file
FSP_12 bugs
PK36.EXE
One Month of OS/2
PKARC, PKWare and SEA Court Suit
Simtel20 Clones in Europe
More up-to-date info on the server at RPICICGE.BITNET
Today's Queries:
DBFAST
DOS restore and system files
Request for Microsoft WORD glossary file format
Are Books available on the IBM PC Family of Computers?
Keyboard Macro Programs
Logitech VGA + Mouse
Music note editor
Public Domain C++ Compiler
Ports on the PC
Strange Behavior on a Spear 286 AT Clone
UDP/TCP library for MSDOS
What DBMS for a HUGE database?
Two Monitors on a COMPAQ Portable II
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>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 88 13:29 CDT
From: The Leper Colony <MRG9773@TNTECH>
Subject: Multi-User BBS
> I would like to know if there is any available multi-user bbs
> software for the ibm pc? I would prefer if it were in the public domain,
> but if it isn't it will do. I would also like to know what bbs software
> is available for the ibm pc.
Galacticomm, Inc.
4101 SW 47th Avenue - Suite 101
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
305-581-7097 (Modem)
305-462-2890 (Voice)
This company sells a multi-user BBS that can support up to 64 users at one
time. They claim that on an AT class machine, approximately 27 users can
be downloading without any apparent system degradation. The package costs
around $70-$80 and includes the C source code and machine code library.
The package appears well thought out and has a large number of functions.
Now for the catch: You have to use their modem hardware. This consists of
4, 8, or 16 modems on one card that contain special ID's so that the
system software can access each individual modem. The hardware appears
top rate, but it is frustrating to not be able to go with third party
options. The modems themselves appear to be quality, also - Steve Ciarcia
used the main parts in one of his Circuit Cellar projects.
Overall, I like this package. If I had the funds, I'd purchase it myself.
Hope this has helped you out.
- Michael Gentry <MRG9773@TNTECH>
Tennessee Technological University
(Don't quote me on the numbers, I may have confused them with other
confusing numbers!)
------------------------------
Date: FRI AUG 05, 1988 14.58.16 EST
From: "David A. Bader" <DAB3%LEHIGH.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Restoring Directories from a .BAT file
The following is a batch file that will restore your current directory
after running some application that changes it:
(You can either split it into two batch files for executing before and
after your application, or insert your application program into the single
batch file at the REM statement.)
del \savedir
cd >> \savedir
rem ---> This is where you put your application <---
copy \restcd \restdir.bat
copy \restdir.bat + \savedir
\restdir
del \savedir
Also, you must have the following as a file made in your root directory
for this batch file to work. (It should be named \RESTCD ) You can make
this file by typing the following at the command line:
C> COPY CON: \RESTCD
After hitting <RETURN>, type 'CD' (without the apostrophes) and then a
space bar and either F6 or CONTROL-Z. Then a <RETURN> will save the file.
David A. Bader
DAB3@LEHIGH
------------------------------
Date: FRI AUG 05, 1988 15.16.46 EST
From: "David A. Bader" <DAB3%LEHIGH.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: RE: Dick Flanagan and FSP_12 bugs
In response to Dick Flanagan's criticism of Ross Greenberg's Flushot Plus
1.2, I entirely agree his point. I also swore that I would never touch
another piece of Greenberg's software after what it did to my AT clone,
its CMOS RAM setups, and various files.
Around the middle of July, however, I came across a file called FSP_14.
This is Flushot Plus 1.4, and I have been using it since I got it without
any problems. Of course, any application that repeatedly asks for user
confirmation before continuing becomes annoying, but this version has so
many more advantages and options since version 1.2. CMOS memory can be
checked periodically, TSR programs can be defined so that they won't get
in trouble for setting off FSP's alarms, files can be checked with their
CRC's everytime they are run, and files can also be cut off from FSP's
eyes. (Ross warns that this opens up a big hole in Flushot Plus for users
who do this, but the availability for this option is there for those who
requested it.)
I have yet to find any fatal bugs in FSP_14 like there were in FSP_12. If
you find any, or have any comments, please send them to me at DAB3@LEHIGH.
------------------------------
Date: FRI AUG 05, 1988 15.57.46 EST
From: "David A. Bader" <DAB3%LEHIGH.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Keith Peterson and PK36.EXE
I have been using PK36 (Phil Katz's archiver/dearchiver) for almost two
months now. I have not seen any problems with it, but have heard that
there is a major bug in it that will be corrected in a version called
version 3.61 or something close to that. Do you know if this is just a
rumor, or is it real? (I am aware that there was a bugfix for version 3.5
due to large, binary files, but what I am asking has nothing to do with
that.)
[PKARC 3.61, called 'PKPAK' and 'PKUNPAK', is available from SIMTEL20]
This is a copy of the rumor that I heard: (This is a direct copy.)
Anyway, be careful with PKXARC 6.0.....there is a SERIOUS bug in it that
causes strange things to happen in memory. The guy put in some code to
mess with memory so people couldn't make a trojan out of his code, but
made the serious error of not reseting the system to it's original state
when exiting..it seems to have caused problems for some people expecially
with TSR programs. 6.21 will be coming soon. I can't UL the file I got
this from but it may find its way around.
David A. Bader
DAB3@LEHIGH
[I used PKARC 3.6 for about a month without any problems. I've also heard
that PKARC 6.21 is not a valid program... --gph]
------------------------------
Date: Thu 11 Aug 88 17:17:16-PDT
From: "Billy Brackenridge" <BILLY@venera.isi.edu>
Subject: One Month of OS/2
I have been running OS/2 for about a month now. There hasn't been much
discussion of OS/2 on this list so I assume there aren't many people
running it.
I have an AST Premium 286 with 2MB of memory, a Mitsubishi Multisync
monitor, an ATI Wonder extended EGA card, 40MB disk, and Mouse Systems
serial mouse. Many of the parts were bought at swap meets, and the entire
system was less than $2700.
I have version 1.0 of AST's OS/2. While my machine was DOS compatible, it
was not OS/2 compatible. The OS/2 startup disks would not boot. After
several phone calls it was determined that I needed a ROM update for my
ATI Wonder EGA card. After the ROM arrived OS/2 booted, but it could not
find my CDC 40MB hard disk. Further calls to AST suggested that a low
level format with the latest version of their disk utility would solve the
problem.
After this the system started and has worked flawlessly. OS/2 has a
deserved reputation for being picky about hardware. If you have true blue
you are probably safe. I am not too far from the mainstream with AST.
Telephone customer service was very good at both AST and ATI. When you
call up a company and tell them you are running OS/2 they tend to assume
you know what you are doing. The OS/2 experts at these companies tend to
be more intelligent as well. This was an unexpected side benefit of OS/2.
The horror stories of OS/2 as a memory hog are exaggerated. It fits fine
in 2MB. I am looking for more memory, but not at today's prices. OS/2
also has an undeserved reputation as a sluggish system. Early versions
shipped with programmer's toolkits were slow. The versions shipped today
appear to be quite efficient.
I use OS/2 as a programmer's development environment for DOS programs. I
wish I were developing OS/2 programs, but for the near future I am still
up to my ears maintaining existing DOS programs. I assume many readers of
INFO-IBMPC use their PCs primarily for program development. OS/2 is a
great environment for program development of DOS programs.
Microsoft compilers and assemblers run in either OS/2 protected mode or
the real mode of the compatibility box. I haven't received my 5.1 update
to the C compiler, but my macro assembler runs in either mode. Dick
Gillmann uses the Microsoft Pascal compiler to compile his multi-user BBS.
Under previous versions of the compiler it ran out of symbol table space.
Now under OS/2 these space limitations are removed.
The programmer's editor Epsilon has been mentioned in INFO-IBMPC many
times. Lugaru was the first company to offer an editor that runs in
protected mode. I have both versions of Epsilon. The protected mode
version of Epsilon appears identical to the older versions. Your EEL code
will run unchanged.
Forget the myth that you have to spend $3000 for the programmer's toolkit
to get anything done in OS/2. If you have kept your Microsoft languages up
to date, you can get the OS/2 versions of these languages for less than
$100. Also you can get the documentation you need for writing OS/2
programs at your local book store.
Besides a techno-fanatic like myself who else would want to run OS/2? CAD
programs and large scale project management software long ago ran out of
space under DOS. These sorts of programs are moving to OS/2. If you use
your PC for word processing and spread sheets, OS/2 can't do anything to
improve your life.
OS/2 is still weak in the area of networking. It won't move into this
community until there are networking features developed for OS/2 that
can't be built under DOS. In environments like ISI where network
connectivity is of primary importance, Unix is the only choice. As
network based features such as e-mail, file service, remote database
access, and file archival systems get built into OS/2 I expect to see it
start to replace Unix based workstations.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 1988 11:11 MDT
From: Keith Petersen <W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA>
Subject: PKARC, PKWare and SEA Court Suit
Brad, "a rose by any other name...". The PK361.EXE file extracts to PKPAK
and PKUNPAK. Phil complied with the court order to cease using the name
"ARC". The programs are functionally the same as PK36, only the name has
been changed and some bugs fixed. Phil added some new features in 3.61,
too.
In my opinion the court erred in stating that "ARC" was a valid trademark.
I have a CP/M program in the archives here at SIMTEL20 that used the name
ARC long *before* there was even anything called MSDOS. It was written by
Jim Loposhinski, the author of the machine language "SQ120.COM", a Hoffman
compression program for CP/M. I hope someone will file a class-action
lawsuit to invalidate SEA's trademark because of prior (and "common") use.
The CP/M program created files with the extension ".ARC" and the program
was called ARC. If SEA's trademark is allowed to stand, every software
author that creates utilities to deal with ARC files is in danger of being
sued by SEA.
--Keith Petersen
Maintainer of the CP/M and MSDOS archives at SIMTEL20.ARPA [26.0.0.74]
Arpa: W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA
Uucp: {decwrl,harvard,lll-crg,ucbvax,uunet,uw-beaver}!simtel20.arpa!w8sdz
GEnie: W8SDZ
RCP/M Royal Oak: 313-759-6569 - 300, 1200, 2400 (V.22bis) or 9600 (USR HST)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 88 11:35:49 GMT
From: Christoph Fischer <RY15%DKAUNI11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
From: Turgut Kalfaoglu <TURGUT%TREARN.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Simtel20 Clones in Europe
Since there are quite a few IBMPC-L readers in Europe and the trafic on
the intercontinental chanels is so high, I think it would contribute to
the acceptance of the other SIMTEL-20 clones, if you could insert in your
IBMPC-L title page the following two servers SIMTEL20.ARPA can be accessed
from BITNET
TRICKLE at TREARN (Turkey)
TRICKLE at DKTC11 (Denmark)
Their performance will be greatly improved since the more people go via
these servers the more files will be directly "on stock" in Europe and the
less cogestions by RPICICGE to single user transfers will appear
Sincerely yours
Christoph Fischer
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 24 May 88 08:36:04 EDT
From: "John S. Fisher" <FISHER@CICGE.RPI.EDU>
Subject: More up-to-date info on the server at RPICICGE.BITNET
The following is a more up-to-date collection of information about using
the server at RPICICGE.BITNET (aka CICGE.RPI.EDU).
[The entire note has been forwarded to all BITNET subscribers of the
Info-IBMPC Digest. If anyone else wants it, send me a note and ask for
file <sim-bit.ftp>... gph]
------------------------------
Date: 10 Aug 1988 16:29-CDT
From: SAC.LGSM@E.ISI.EDU
Subject: DBFAST
I'm looking for some information on DBFAST, a DBIII compiler sold by
DBFAST, Inc., and recently advertised in BYTE magazine. DBFAST is
supposed to compile quicker than industry standard DBIII compilers such as
CLIPPER. Additionally, it only costs $99.OO. Sounds like a good deal.
Is there anyone who has used DBFAST, and can give me some info on it, such
as bugs, likes, dislikes, etc.?
Thanx in advance,
Godfrey Daniels
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1988 10:45:49 LCL
From: Nelson R. Pardee <SASMAINT@SUVM.ACS.SYR.EDU>
Subject: DOS restore and system files
I just backed up a hard disk with
BACKUP C:*.* A: /s (CD was root directory)
and restored with
RESTORE A: C:*.* /s
The 2 hidden system files were backup up and restored, with a warning
message that I don't exactly remember but something about altering my
system files and I should check. I was running MS DOS 3.2 on an EPSON
EQUITY I+. Any ideas what's going on?
Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: 5-AUG-1988 14:08:24 GMT
From: F026@CPC865.UEA.AC.UK
Subject: Request for Microsoft WORD glossary file format
Can anyone tell me what the structure of a Microsoft WORD glossary file
is?
Many thanks
Mike.
Mike Salmon, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
JANET: m.salmon@uea.cpc865 | BITNET: f026@cpc865.uea.ac.uk | BIX: msalmon
Anywhere else: f026%cpc865.uea@ukacrl.bitnet | Time Zone: BST (GMT + 1)
[The MS Word file format consists of a header, text, and trailer. The 128
byte header contains pointers to the end of text and pointers to the
various structures in the trailer. The text portion consists purely of
text with no control codes. The trailer contains structures that define
the formatting with pointers back into the text that attach the formatting
to the correct places. Reading text is trivial, changing the length of the
text portion or changing the formatting info is non-trivial.
Microsoft makes the details of the file format available under
non-disclosure to those working on a product for sale or private use that
requires this info (file conversion, post processor, etc). To get this,
write to Mr Greg Slyngstad, Sr. Program Manager at the following address:
Microsoft
16011 NE 36th Way
Box 97017
Redmond, WA 98073
Include a short explanation explaining why you need the information.
Another solution might be to use RTF. RTF defines everything in the Word
file in an ASCII stream format. The benefit you get is that you won't
have to worry about the format changing from version to version and it is
much easier to read and write. Any new versions of RTF will be a superset
done in such a way that you can ignore new things you don't care about.
The binary format will change. You can get an RTF spec by writing to DEPT
T41 at the below address (Not me). A non-disclosure is not required. The
conversion between Word binary and RTF will be included in the next
version of Word and will be handled as a Save option from within Word. It
is available today for Word 4 through the Microsoft product support dept.
--gph]
------------------------------
Date: 9 Aug 1988 00:44-EDT
From: WAGREICH@G.BBN.COM
Subject: Are Books available on the IBM PC Family of Computers?
I'm interested in finding out the best book(s) to learn about IBM hardware
and software so you can do things like make a C program RAM-resident and
turn the cursor off in a C program. I don't know assembly language but I
know C (not the DOS interface though). Should I learn assembly language?
If so, what are the best book(s) for this/ I have an AT clone (80286
chip).
Thanks for your help.
msimtel20
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 88 13:46 EDT
From: Elefante@RADC-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: Keyboard Macro Programs
Does anyone know of a keyboard macro program (commercial or otherwise)
that permits mapping FROM a sequence of more than one key?
For example, WordStar, Emacs and others use multiple control-keystroke
sequences for some commands. If you wanted to map those to something
else, are there any programs that will do it?
Don Elefante
------------------------------
Date: 11 Aug 88 13:14:09 GMT
From: mcvax!tnosel!hin@uunet.UU.NET (Hin Oey)
Subject: Logitech VGA + Mouse
Sometime ago Logitech has announced an VGA graphics card with a mouse
connector. I could need this 'contraption' because my Compaq 386 portable
only has two expansion slots, and I want to use the two serial port for
other stuff'
Has anybody heard of this board, and how does it performs ??
Regards,
Hin Oey (Netherlands) hin@tnosel
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 88 11:45:57 MEZ
From: Christoph Fischer <RY15%DKAUNI11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Music note editor
I am looking for a IBM-PC program to edit musical notes (similar to a
text editor) and print-output on dot or laser printers.
Christoph Fischer RY15@DKAUNI11.BITNET
(direct responses will be summarized to the list)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 88 14:54:46 PDT
From: Robert Hodges <MAINT%UWAGEM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Public Domain C++ Compiler
Does anyone know of public domain C++ compilers for DOS? I would like to
find a C++ compiler that I can use to learn and evaluate the language-- it
need not be particularly robust or well-documented. Any suggestions?
Robert Hodges (MAINT@UWAGEM.BITNET)
Gemini System Manager
University of Washington, Seattle
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 88 15:04:02 edt
From: BRUCE_KAHN@VOID.CEO.DG.COM
Subject: Ports on the PC
Can someone tell me more about the various ports on the PC? In
particular Im interested in any sort of map that I can find for them. I
have an old Tech Ref and its about as helpful as a box of tacks in a
rubber life boat. I need some info on port 21 in particular but would
appreciate any references for all others as well.
Bruce
(KAHN@ADAM.DG.COM)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 88 16:06 CST
From: <DEAN_A%WUMS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Strange Behavior on a Spear 286 AT Clone
We have been having some strange rebooting behavior on a Spear 286 AT-
clone equipped with an Everex Micro-Enhancer EGA card, Everex Magic I/O
card and hard disk controller.
When certain software is used, we find that the ctrl-alt-del sequence
instead of rebooting the machine throws the machine into a CGA-type video
mode (screen cleared with fat cursor at top) that is unresponsive to
further input from the keyboard. Hitting the reset button at that point
does a cold reboot with power on self tests. Offending software includes
the PC-DOS 3.3 keybxx command (we never really needed to use it; it was
mistakenly included in our autoexec.bat) and the fansi console driver
available from Simtel20. We suspect that the problem may be some
idiosyncrasy in performing warm reboots on this machine as any of the
rebooting programs available from Simtel 20 and elsewhere cause the same
problem when they are executed (i.e. independent of cntl-alt-del) from the
command line or in a batch file. If none of these programs are run or
installed, warm rebooting occurs normally when cntl-alt-del is pressed.
Does anyone have any explanation for this behavior and/or solutions so
that we can reboot in batch files or use the much faster fansi console
rather than ansi.sys? Thanks in advance.
Andy Dean
DEAN_A@WUMS
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 88 13:33:49 EDT
From: Robin Rohlicek <rohlicek@bbn.com>
Subject: UDP/TCP library for MSDOS
I'm looking for a software library for TCP or UDP communication for a PC
using ethernet. I want to set up a PC as a data acquisition server and
ship the results directly to a Sun over ethernet. I'm not too worried
about the Sun end but I don't know what is available for the PC end. I'm
interested in both commercial and public domain solutions.
Thanks,
Robin Rohlicek.
BBN Labs, Cambridge MA.
(I'm not on the info-ibmpc mailing list so please reply directly to
rohlicek@bbn.com).
[There is a very comprehensive program available from SIMTEL20 called
PCIP... It's available in directory PD1:<msdos.pcip> ... It's in
Unix TAR format. A tar recoverer is also available. It will build
the proper structure on your hard disk as it unpacks the sources.
Be warned, it's HUGE! --gph]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1988 11:48 PDT
From: Gene Hart <MLD3600@UWACDC.ACS.WASHINGTON.EDU>
Subject: What DBMS for a HUGE database?
We are considering ways to cut mainframe costs and are considering putting
a large (huge) amount of data into a PC database for easy retrieval.
Could a PC with a WORM drive handle this? Is there a PC DBMS that could
handle this amount of data? I would like to do this with MS DOS so that
people do not need to be retrained.
The large amount of data is a pharmacy prescription database. We have 10
years of data with up to 2.5 million records a year. I would prefer all
the data to be on one device, but if we need to split it up we will.
The fields we need are:
Name Description Bytes?
---- ----------- ------
ID 9 char num. 9
Drugno 5 char num. 5
Date MMDDYY 6
Original or refill 1 (really 1 bit)
SIG 6 char 6
DOC 3 char 3
Clinic 1 char 1
Quantity 4 char num 4
Total Bytes 35 bytes per record
(several bytes per record could be saved by storing numerics more
efficiently)
2.5 million * 35 bytes = 88 Mbytes per year
10 year * 88 Mb = 880 Mbytes
I would want to key on the ID field and the Drugno field since these are
the 2 ways we access the data 90%+ of the time. A WORM drive would work
here because we would never want to change existing data although we would
be adding new data.
My questions:
A. Is this possible? Am I crazy to be considering doing this on a PC?
If it is possible, would it be possible on a LAN?
B. Is there a PC DBMS which could handle this much data efficiently?
Our major uses will be to print out drug use profiles for people and to
dump out small subsets of the data which we will analyze using SAS PC.
C. What kind of hardware would I need to handle this?
D. How do I figure out how much space will be taken up by the keys?
There are about 400K unique values of ID and 4K unique values of drugno.
Could keys be on a separate drive since they would need to be updated each
time new data were added?
Thanks much for any advice.
[I believe this very same question was asked about 6 months ago. I don't
recall seeing any answers at that time though.
Yes, such a thing can be done on a PC. Probably a -386 would be advisable.
That way you'd have enough horsepower to service the LAN as well as the
DBMS. Billy Brackenridge, the previous editor for this newsletter, said
"How much money are you willing to spend? Any problem can be solved if you
throw enough cash at it." (Or words to that effect...) --gph]
------------------------------
Date: 12-AUG-1988 16:39:57.14
From: A5000002%LAUVAX01.BITNET@CORNELLC.CCS.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Two Monitors on a COMPAQ Portable II
We'd like to use our Compaq Portable II in experiments where a subject and
experimenter look at different screens (ie. one machine, two monitors).
The machine has a feature where Control-Alt-Some-Key (Probably \) will
send the image on the internal monitor to an outside video port but we'd
like to do this under software control. Mainly 'cause we want to flash up
test results for the experimentor to see but not the subject since that
might bias future trials. So, we'd be switching the outside 'echo' on and
off during different parts of the program. Sure we can use the keyboard
but it would be sooo much nicer in the program.
Asking Compaq Canada about this proved fruitless. I would guess that you
would go OUT <some port>, <some value> but no one can fill me in to more
detail than that! Any takers on the net?
Thanks in advance.
- George Nassas
Laurentian University
George@LAUVAX01.Bitnet
' There are two doors to success:
one marked "push" the other marked "pull" '
------------------------------
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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