madler@tybalt.caltech.edu (Mark Adler) (03/20/90)
HP-48SX PCLINK FILES ... I have uploaded the following files to the directory "new" at the anonymous ftp site gmuvax2.gmu.edu: NAME LENGTH appt 124 appt.txt 4920 clk 6877 clk.txt 9376 epsprint.lib 1229 epsprint.txt 4768 grob2tif.exe 5504 grob2tif.txt 1353 inprt 865 inprt.txt 2660 pclprint.lib 1136 pclprint.txt 4777 stpwatch.lib 2831 stpwatch.txt 3928 usag 1401 usag.txt 3822 and also the file: pclink48.tar.Z which is the above files tar'ed and compressed, ala Unix. These were obtained from the HP Calculator Bulletin Board System, and then fixed. "What do you mean 'fixed'?", you're asking. Here's the story: (Though before I begin, I would like to know what planet they got that bulletin board system from.) In the "conference" hp.programs, there are several messages of March 13th with "attached" files that appear to be the files that come with the PC cable for the HP-48SX. I downloaded these, and then the fun began. First, there is a missing file, probably named APDIR which contains most of the APPT program, as described in APPT.TXT. (Only APPT and APPT.TXT was attached to the message.) Therefore, there is no appointment calendar program in what I ftp'ed to gmuvax2. This is rather a disappointment (no pun intended) to me, since that's the main reason I called the bulletin board in the first place. Second, every single file had garbage at the end, preventing loading the ones that are to be loaded into the HP-48SX, and adding junk to the end of .TXT files. It appears that somewhere along the way, the files got to the bulletin board with their lengths rounded up to a multiple of 128. (When it asks if you want to queue a download, it gives the file length, so I know it wasn't me.) After a little experimenting, I determined the proper length of all the loadable files (the calculator would make a string out of them if they were the wrong length), and I edited the .TXT files to eliminate the garbage at the end. That is what I have sent to gmuvax2. Hopefully, HP is listening and will fix the files on the bulletin board, especially including APDIR. In the meantime, I hope some may find the stuff on gmuvax2 useful. Mark Adler madler@hamlet.caltech.edu