DP Tool Club 15/CD_ASCQ_15_070894.iso/vrac/x00v201.zip/HISTORY.DOC

Text File | 1993-02-26 | 23KB | 481 lines

          REVISION HISTORY

          V1.20
          This release contains new  versions of CAPTURE and WATCHCD.   The
          older  versions will not work  with this (and  future) release of
          X00.

          Anyone  attempting to share a  single IRQ on  multiple comm ports
          should read SHARE.IRQ

          Extensive changes to improve multiasking performance.

          Many  changes   have  been  made   to  allow  shared   IRQs  with
          mulitaskers.   Eight RBBSs all  sharing IRQ 3  using DESQview has
          been  successfully tested with  this version of X00.   The 8 port
          RBBS system was set up and tested by Dan Fox at:

               Defence Logistics Services Center
               74 North Washington
               Battle Creek, Mi. 49021

          Through  a coding  error,  when the  transmit  buffer size  being
          specified,  a random  memory location  was  being changed.   This
          error has been corrected.

          The NASTY option is now nastier.  Remember, the NASTY option will
          cause some systems to hang (and some to work).

          Status structure  returned by function  1BH (27) now  returns the
          actual transmit and receive buffer size.   Previously the default
          buffer size was returned.

          Code was streamlined for faster execution.

          1.20a
          This is not a beta, in  retrospect possibly 1.20 should have been
          a  beta.  V1.20  introduced code that can  cause X00 to interfere
          with other  communication programs.  This  problems shows  itself
          when an application program exits and leaves the FOSSIL active on
          a given  port.  If  another program uses  the comm port  that was
          left  active,   X00  will   interfere  with  the   program.  Most
          noticeably,  it  will miss  received  characters.   One  way this
          problem could come up is using Binkley with SHARE  in the command
          line.  There appears to be several programs out there that  leave
          the FOSSIL hot  when they exit.   Application programmers  should
          always disable any ports  they may have activated when  they exit
          or  implement the equivalent of the Binkley SHARE option which is
          the correct way to exit with the FOSSIL still active.

          The default buffer size has been changed from 4k to 1k.  I really
          don't think buffers as large as 4k are necessary on most systems.
          However, you can set them back to 4k by using the  R and T option
          in the DEVICE = command line.







          This  version  corrects a  problem  that  made some  Trailblazers
          practically unusable.   Additionally, users of  other modems that
          use RTS/CTS handshaking will see improved performance.

          A problem with mapping ports was corrected.

          Added the quick and  dirty C HLLAPI routines to  the distribution
          file.  See CHLLAPI.DOC in the CHLLAPI.ARC archive.

          I  did not add it  to the semi-formal  command line documentation
          above.  However, a new command  line option has been added.  This
          command  allows the user to  specify the transmit  FIFO size that
          X00 is to use when a 16550 is installed.  The command line option
          is  F{IFO}=n where n is 1 to  16.  The default transmit FIFO size
          is  8.   For  reasons  I do  not  understand,  some systems  have
          problems  if the FIFO size is set to the maximum of 16.  However,
          15 seems to  work on all tested systems.   The F=n statement will
          be  ignored if a 16550  is not installed.   Through a programming
          error, X00 previously  has never used more  than one byte  of the
          16550 transmit FIFO.   Users with 16550s installed will  probably
          see  increased transmit speeds with this version of X00.  Setting
          the  transmit FIFO to a value larger  than the default value of 8
          may yield marginally better transmit speeds.  However, setting it
          to the maximum of  16 may cause some connections  and/or programs
          to miss characters.

          1.20b
          Version 1.20a  lasted only  about  4 hours.   I  apologize.   The
          correction  of  the  port  assignment problem  in  V1.20a  caused
          another problem when  only one comm port  was used and  that port
          was  not  COM1.    That  problem  is  corrected  (with  a  single
          instruction) in this version.  Again, I apologize.

          1.20b, second release
          No  changes  in  X00.SYS  itself from  1.20b's  initial  release.
          Included more HLLAPIs in the distribution file  (Turbo Pascal and
          Quick   Basic).     Cleaned  up   the  documentation.     Changed
          distribution  file from ARC to  ZIP (V1.01) format.   Changed the
          X00 license to a modified version of the BinkleyTerm License.

          1.20c
          Corrected a problem in processing IRQs  8 through 15.  The FOSSIL
          boot function and BOOT.COM will now boot  under DesqView 386.  My
          thanks to Don Carroll of Quarterdeck for checking out  the use of
          IRQs 8 through 15 with BinlkeyTerm.  HLLAPIs for C, Turbo  Pascal
          and Quick Basic are now included in the distribution file.

          1.22
          Added hooks that allow the line monitoring Break Out Box (BOB) to
          do its thing.   No real  documentation is available for  BOB yet.
          If you can figure out how to use it, have fun.

          Added additional code to the booting code to insure booting under
          DesqView.  BOOT.COM received the same additional code.







          Added DesqView Pause functions  at strategically selected places.
          This  should cause  systems operating  under DesqView  to operate
          better.  Use  the DV  option flag to  enable the DesqView  calls.
          Users of the  DEFER option should  note that a  lone D no  longer
          specifies the DEFER option.  With the addition  of the DV option,
          DE must be specified to enable the DEFER option.

          Rearranged memory  to make  it easier for  X00 to be  loaded into
          high  memory using  utilities  like LOADHI.SYS  from Quarterdeck.
          Using the STACKS  command in  CONFIG.SYS to specify  a DOS  stack
          smaller  than the  DOS  default may  cause  a problem  with  this
          version of X00.   If you have  problems, try removing the  STACKS
          command from the CONFIG.SYS file.

          Corrected a problem in function 1BH (27).  IBUFR - IFREE will now
          yield (always) the number of bytes in the receive buffer.

          I wish  to thank John  Bierrie for testing  the BIOS emulator,  a
          major addition of this version described below.

          A BIOS emulator for INT  14h was added.  This BIOS  emulator will
          allow many programs that are not FOSSIL aware, such  as BBS DOORS
          programs,  to operate.  The addition of this feature also changes
          the  way that X00  passes on INT  14h calls for  serial I/O ports
          that are not currently active (FOSSIL active).

          In previous versions of X00, all INT 14h  calls to inactive ports
          were  passed on to  BIOS's INT 14h  routine.  If you  wish X00 to
          continue to operate as it has with previous versions, add USEBIOS
          to the DEVICE=X00.SYS command line.

          USEBIOS is  sort of a halfway  CAPTURE OFF.  Most  users will NOT
          want to use this directive.  If USEBIOS  is in effect and X00 can
          not figure out what to  do with an INT 14h call, the call will be
          passed on  to BIOS.  If USEBIOS is specified, many DOORS programs
          will have problems (especially under DESQview).

          Unless overridden  with the USEBIOS directive  or XU CAPTURE:OFF,
          this version of X00 will process all INT 14h calls.  If  the port
          is FOSSIL active then the FOSSIL  specification will be followed.
          If the port is not FOSSIL active than the BIOS INT 14h rules will
          be followed except as follows:

          1 - The port address mapping will remain in effect.   That is, if
          you  have mapped port  0 (COM1) to  0280h then the  BIOS emulator
          will use 0280h for the address of COM1.

          2 - 16550 support is maintained.

          3 - Locked baud rates are maintained.

          4  -  BIOS functions  1 and  2  (transmit and  receive character)
          specify a timeout.   However, I could not find  any documentation
          on  what the timeout is supposed  to be.  I have  set a 30 second







          timeout for both functions  1 and 2.   As the BIOS  specification
          requires, a timeout is indicated by  the high bit of AH being set
          to 1 upon return from function 1 or 2.  If function 1 or 2 return
          with the high bit of AH set, the remainder of the returned status
          is not valid.  Use function 3 for accurate status in this case.

          5 - The  BIOS emulator will  support up to 8  ports while a  real
          BIOS only supports 2 (4 on some).

          By default, X00 will now update BIOS ram to reflect the existence
          of up to 4 SIO ports at initialization.   Previously, the program
          POSTPORT was  needed for this  function.  Additionally,  X00 will
          put the port addresses in BIOS ram in the same order and with the
          same port addresses that have been assigned (or defaulted) by the
          user.   This means  that programs that  use COM1 via  DOS or BIOS
          will address the  same port as  X00's port 0  etc.  This  feature
          will allow many programs to work when non standard port addresses
          are  used.  A  new command line  option NOPOST has  been added to
          override this feature.

          If you wish  this version of X00 to handle BIOS  ram and BIOS INT
          14h calls as previous  versions, you must add USEBIOS  and NOPOST
          to the command line in your CONFIG.SYS file.

          A  new utility (XU.EXE) has  been added in  the distribution file
          and several utilities have  been eliminated.  XU allows  the user
          to  change most operational  characteristics of X00  such as baud
          rate  locking and  unlocking.    If  you use  XU  to  change  the
          operational characteristics  of a FOSSIL active  port within X00,
          the change will not take effect until the port is deactivated and
          re-activated.  Note  that you  can deactivate  and re-activate  a
          port with XU itself.

          I wish to thank Bob Juge and Bob Davis for testing a rats nest of
          doors programs with this version of X00.

          A point about FOSSIL function 1Bh (27).  The FOSSIL specification
          states  that the  baud rate  returned by  this call  reflects the
          computer to modem  baud rate.   X00 supports baud rates  that are
          not  allowed by  the  FOSSIL specification  and cannot  correctly
          reflect the computer  to modem baud rate.  When function 1Bh (27)
          is called, X00 returns the baud rate that the application program
          last attempted to set using FOSSIL function 0.

          A point  about  programs that  have their  own interrupt  drivers
          (like DSZ).  The  port that the program  is to use should  NOT be
          FOSSIL active.  If the port is left FOSSIL active, X00 will cause
          interference.

          Additional locked  baud rates of  115200, 28400 and  57600 (58kb)
          have  been added.   The total list  of lockable baud  rates is in
          X00.DOC.

          Starting with version 1.21g of X00, FOSSIL functions 1 and 2 have







          a 30 second timeout.  Normally these functions will return status
          in AX.   The status  returned is the  same as returned  by FOSSIL
          function 3.  Under  normal conditions, the high bit will never be
          on in  the returned status.   However,  if a timeout  occurs, the
          high bit  of AX  will be  set and the  remaining status  bits are
          undefined.   This is  not something I  dreamed up, it  is the way
          that (IBM and most other) BIOS INT 14h works.   I discovered this
          when I added the BIOS INT 14h emulator.  I could not determine  a
          value  (defacto standard) for the timeout.  I arbitrarily set the
          timeout to 30 seconds.

          ********NOTICE******    The   default  port  addresses  and   IRQ
          assignments for COM3 and COM4 have been changed to match COM3 and
          COM4 on the PS/2.  If you were depending on the old defaults, you
          must  change your X00 command  line to provide  the port address.
          The  previous defaults were COM3 at 3E8h  using IRQ 4 and COM4 at
          2E8h using IRQ 3.  You can execute XU S to see the new defaults.

          X00 now acknowledges  the existence  of COM5 through  COM8.   The
          PS/2 address and IRQ assignments are used for those ports.

          The  file size  of X00  is larger  however, the  amount remaining
          resident after initialization is smaller.

          X00 now detects the existence of the Intel 82510 chip  which is a
          FIFOed version  of the 8250 etc.  The code  the use the FIFOs has
          not been added.  I  believe the 16550A is still the  best choice.
          The 82510 is used by a lot of lap tops.

          Previous  versions of X00 monitored  the comm port  too much when
          WATCHCD was  in effect  for a  port.   This caused  problems with
          other interrupt driven programs  like DSZ.  The problem  has been
          corrected in this version.

          This version of X00 will load either as a TSR or a device driver.
          To  use X00 as  a TSR, rename  X00.SYS to X00.EXE  and execute it
          with the  same command line parameters.   If you wish  to have it
          both ways, you can leave X00 named X00.EXE and still load it as a
          device driver using DEVICE=X00.EXE in the config.sys file.

          If  X00 is  loaded as  a TSR,  it can  be un-installed  by simply
          executing X00  with no parameters.  If you want to make sure that
          you  do not accidently un-install X00, execute it with a harmless
          parameter.   For  example X00 E.   If  a copy  of X00  is already
          resident, another  copy  will not  be loaded  and the  parameters
          specified  have no  effect  on the  previously  loaded X00.    XU
          commands  are  the  only   method  of  changing  the  operational
          characteristics of a previously  loaded X00.  In the  near future
          XU  will be able to change any of the operational characteristics
          of X00.

          X00 will refuse to un-install under certain conditions.  Usually,
          this is because another program has been loaded after X00 and the
          interrupt vectors cannot be restored without the possibility of a







          system  crash.   However,  X00  will un-install  with  hot FOSSIL
          ports.  So, all of your  FOSSIL comm programs should be shut down
          prior to un-installing.

          Loading  of  multiple copies  of  X00  inside different  DESQview
          windows is  allowed.  The method I used should work on any multi-
          tasking system.  However, I have only tested under DESQview.

          The TSRing  of X00 has not had a  lot of testing.  Please provide
          feedback if you have  problems.  Before providing the  feed back,
          please  attempt to  insure  that it  is not  pilot error.   Think
          through what you are attempting to do.  If you are using a multi-
          tasker, look over the  configuration for the window and  think it
          through.

          The  HLLAPI routines have NOT  been updated to  recognize a TSRed
          X00.

          BOB  version 0.04 (released with  this version) will  work with a
          TSRed X00.  A problem in  BOB with monitoring of ports other than
          0 has been corrected.

          Earlier versions of XU refused to work on DOS versions below 3.1.
          This was a code left  over from a previous program.  XU  will now
          work on any DOS version above 2.00.

          X00 will refuses to load high as a  TSR.  I have not yet found  a
          foolproof way to locate a TRSed  X00 when it is loaded high.   If
          X00  is allowed  to load  high as a  TSR, XU  may not  be able to
          locate it.  Worse, X00 may install itself twice.

          A comment to  those that are attempting to get  a CTTY command to
          work in  DESQview.  I  have had some  success by  configuring the
          window to enable Printer Management.

          A comment to those that use GATEWAY.  On my system, I got GATEWAY
          to work  by adding XU  PORT:n:ON.  Note that  n for XU  is 1 less
          than the n in  GATEn.  You may have to issue  an XU PORT:n:OFF at
          the end of the redirection.

          Revision history prior to V1.20 has been deleted from this file.

          V1.22A
          X00 V1.22  would not un-install  from the OS/2  compatibility box
          gracefully.  V1.22A corrects this problem.

          The  HLLAPI routines are not in the  V1.22A distribution file.  I
          will  add  them  back to  the  distribution  file  when they  are
          upgraded to work with a TSRed X00.







          V2.01+

          It seems  the change to use  the PS/2 defaults for  COM3 and COM4
          has caused many problems.   Simply checking for the  existence of
          the  ports using the PS/2  addresses caused problems  on non PS/2
          systems.   Those  that read  the  documentation and  tried NOPOST
          probably did not have a problem.

          X00 now  detects that it is working on  a PS/2 or compatible.  If
          the host system is a PS/2,   then the PS/2 port address for  COM3
          and COM4  are used as the  defaults port addresses.   If the host
          system  is not a PS/2,  then the defacto  standard port addresses
          for COM3 and COM4 are used as the default port addresses.

          V1.22n  of X00 enabled  the FIFOs of  the 16550a (et  al) at load
          time.   This was done  at the request of several  users.  At load
          time, X00  does not  know which  comm ports will  be used  so all
          16550's FIFOs were enabled.   However, some (dumb) communications
          programs will not recognize the existence of a comm port that has
          a 16550a installed with the FIFOs enables.  X00 no longer enables
          the 16550's FIFOs  at load  time.   However, the  FIFOs are  left
          enabled when X00 shuts down a FOSSIL active port.

          The HLLAPI routines are now back in the distribution file but are
          largely untested.  They should now correctly find and use a TSRed
          X00.  Please report any problems that you find.  Future additions
          will include selective tracing with BOB.

          BOB  will not  write the  trapped communications  data to  a disk
          file.   A program written by Bob Hartman called ANALYZER.EXE will
          convert the BOB  files to text.  ANALYZER.EXE is  included in the
          BOB.ZIP  file.   See  the HISTORY.TXT  file  in BOB.ZIP  for more
          information.

          I am  somewhat dismayed to note that the X00 distribution file is
          now over 100k.








          V2.01+

          An echomail conference tagged X00_USER is  now available from the
          FidoNet Backbone.  This  conference is intended for users  of X00
          to exchange solutions to  problems.  Additionally, the conference
          should eliminate the  need for  me to answer  the same  questions
          from several users via net-mail.

          Corrected an embarrassing problem in flow control.  The lower end
          threshold  was not being checked  correctly.  The  net effect was
          that receiver was being enabled after only a few bytes were taken
          from the buffer.   This problem has been  in X00 for a  long time
          and explains some speed comparisons reports that I have received.

          X00 now detects  the processor types 808x, V20/V30, 8018x, 80286,
          80386 and 80486.  Based on the processor type, X00 selects one of
          three  routines  to  service  communications  interrupts.    808x
          processors have there own interrupt routine.  8018x and  V20/V30s
          share a second  routine.  80286, 80386 and 80486  share the third
          interrupt routine.   The  use of  three different  routines allow
          processor  specific  instructions to  be  used,  which result  in
          faster execution.    The  manner  that I  implemented  the  three
          individual interrupt service routines requires  approximately 100
          bytes of additional code.

          Strangely  enough, users of 808x  and V20/V30s will  see the most
          dramatic increase  in speed  of serial communications  when using
          high speed modems.

          Users of other processors  will probably not notice  any increase
          in  speed.    However,  the  overhead  caused  by  communications
          interrupts will be reduced.

          Some correction have been made to the HLLAPI routines.  The C and
          Quick Basic HLLAPIs are no longer X00 specific.








          V2.01+

          For those that believe  that larger buffers mean faster  I/O, you
          will be glad  to know that  X00 is no  longer limited to a  total
          size of 64k.  The sum total of the buffer sizes for a single port
          can be up to 48k.  Future plans include moving the buffers to EMS
          memory.    This is  the first  step.   If  you are  using  a slow
          computer, be sure to try  a small buffer (256 bytes or so).  Many
          times,  a small  buffer on  a slower  computer will  yield better
          throughput.

          Two problems were corrected in BOB.  One problem would cause some
          systems to  crash.   The other  problem was  that BOB would  stop
          monitoring a port if an active  port was re-activated.  Both have
          been corrected.


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

          Time  permitting,  I  will  respond  to  messages  pertaining  to
          X00.SYS.  Please do not get upset if I am slow.

          Ray Gwinn