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BASWIND.DOC
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1980-01-01
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BASWIND.MRG
POP-UP WINDOWS FOR COMPILED BASIC PROGRAMS
by
Dave Evers
2500 Larch Rd. #58
Quincy, IL 62301
using CALLS to ADBVAS.LIB
by
Thomas Hanlin III
BASWIND.MRG is a general purpose BASIC subroutine which can be
incorporated into Compiled BASIC programs to allow for simple
windowing capability with a minimum of programming effort. By
"simple" I really do mean simple: about the only thing this sub-
routine does is put the window on the screen. What you do with
the window, what you put in it, and what you do with it once
you're done is all up to you. However, it does give you the
ability to make your compiled programs look "high-tech"; even
if your programming isn't.
I wish I could take full credit for all of the capabilities of
BASWIND.MRG. The truth is, however, that very little of the
"meat" of this program is my doing. BASWIND.MRG relies heavily
on the routines in the excellent assembly language library of
advanced BASIC functions contained in ADVBAS.LIB. Perhaps the
most important of these features is the XQPRINT command, which
writes data to the screen extremely quickly. It is this command
which makes the BASWIND subroutine useful because entire sec-
tions of the screen can rapidly be "painted" into a colored,
framed "window" in a fraction of a second.
True windowing, of course, involves much more than just making a
box appear quickly on the screen. Programs such as TopView,
Microsoft Windows, Desq, and others allow such features as
treating the windows as virtual screens with relative cursor
positioning and independent scrolling; multiple layers of
overlapping panels that can be added and removed from a screen
while leaving the underlying data undisturbed, and delegating
the screen output from multiple programs to their assigned
windows. BASWIND.MRG is not likely to put these companies out of
business. (For that matter, it's not likely going to put me in
business, either). However, other features of the ADVBAS library
can be combined with the BASWIND.MRG subroutine to allow at
least a small percentage of these features to be incorporated
into your programs. Commands are included in ADVBAS.LIB to save
and restore the screen to an array; scroll a rectangular section
of the screen up or down or clear it; print to the screen rapid-
ly, and many other useful functions. Virtually any program that
is compiled can benefit in some way from ADVBAS.LIB; and hope-
fully, from BASWIND.MRG as well.
ADVBAS.LIB was written by Thomas Hanlin III, and I and the rest
of the PC users community owe a debt of gratitude to this talen-
ted and generous man for his contribution to the free distribu-
tion of knowledge. Mr. Hanlin, our hats are off to you!
INSTALLING BASWIND.MRG
Before you can take advantage of the capabilities of this sub-
routine, of course, you must MERGE it into your BASIC program.
BASWIND is distributed as a .MRG file in ASCII format to allow
it to be easily added to any program. Just load your program
into memory, and then type:
LIST 55000-55590
at the command level. This will tell you if your program uses
line numbers that BASWIND might conflict with. BASWIND uses line
numbers beginning at 55000 and ending at 55590; so obviously if
your program already uses these line numbers you should renumber
the .MRG file to another area not used in your program before
MERGEing it. Once you have done this, or if the response to the
above query indicates your program will have no problems, simply
type:
MERGE BASWIND.MRG
After a few seconds, the BASIC ready prompt will return and
BASWIND will be integrated into your program. Before you do any-
thing else, SAVE your program so that your working copy will
have BASWIND installed. Then you're ready to start taking
advantage of the advanced and awesome (ahem!) capabilities of
the subroutine.
USING BASWIND
BASWIND is invoked, like any other BASIC subroutine, by the
GOSUB command. If you MERGEd BASWIND as distributed, you would
use GOSUB 55000. If you had to renumber the subroutine, of
course, you would use the new beginning line number in your
GOSUB statement. However, in order to get anything useful out of
the module (and probably in order to keep your program from
locking up), you first have to set up some parameters that the
subroutine will use. This is done by making assignments to the
following variables prior to the GOSUB statement:
ULR - (Upper Left-hand Row) - the screen row of the Upper
Left-hand corner of your desired window. Value
should be between 2 and 23 (for reasons explained
below). WARNING - the subroutine does not check for
proper values. You must check these yourself or ac-
cept the consequences.
ULC - (Upper Left-hand Column) - the screen column of the
Upper Left-hand corner. Value should be between 2
and 79.
LRR - (Lower Right-hand Row) - the screen row of the Low-
er Right-hand corner of your window. Value should
be greater than ULR but less than 23.
LRC - (Lower Right-hand Column) - The screen column loc-
ation of the Lower Right-hand corner. Value should
be greater than ULC but less than 79.
FRAME - A number between 1 and 4 indicating the type of
frame to be drawn around your window. Valid frame
values are:
1 - Single Line Frame
2 - Double Line Frame
3 - Single Horizontal Line, Double Vertical
Line Frame
4 - Single Vertical Line, Double Horizontal
Line Frame
NOTE: The frame is drawn * around * the window
coordinates specified in ULR,ULC,LRR, and
LRC. Thus, the dimensions of your window
will actually be two columns greater in
width (one on each side) and two rows
greater in length (top and bottom). This
is why you should make allowances in the
value of the window corners. Allowing the
frame to fall outside proper values will
cause unpredictable results.
FORE - The color of the frame in the window. Standard
color attributes are used (Black=0, Blue=1, etc.)
and valid values are 0 to 15.
BACK - The actual color of the window panel. The area de-
fined by the corners of the window will be cleared
to spaces in the background color specified. Val-
ues considered valid are 0 through 7.
GROW - A "switch" used to indicate to the subroutine if
the window should "grow" from a small box at the
midpoints of the coordinates to full size. A value
of 1 indicates the window should grow. A value of
0 indicates it should not. The "growing" illusion
is most effective for windows of medium size; and
is better suited to "wide" windows rather than
"tall" ones.
SHADOW - Another "switch" to indicate if the window should
have a black "shadow" under it offset down and to
the left. This gives a three-dimensional effect
that seems to "raise" the window away from the
screen. A value of 1 indicates a shadow is desired
while a value of 0 means no shadow.
WARNING - Adding a shadow to the window increases
the effective window size by 3 columns
to the left of the window and 1 row
below. These additions must be consid-
ered when assigning the corner values
since invalid values that fall off the
screen will produce unpredictable
results.
NOTE: Windows that grow and windows with shadows
are mutually exclusive. That is, a window
that is desired to grow cannot have a shad-
ow. The on-screen effect of such a combin-
ation was determined to be undesireable.
The "grow" switch takes precedence. If a
window is created which calls for both a
shadow and a growing attribute, the shadow
will be cancelled and the window will grow.
LABEL$ - A character string that will serve as a label for
the window. The label will appear in the top line
of the frame on the left-hand side, enclosed by
square brackets ([ ]). If the length of the label
is greater than the width of the window, the label
will be omitted. The attributes for the label are
the same as for the window frame.
All of the above variables (with the exception of LABEL$) must
either be declared globally as integers by means of a DEFINT
statement early in the program; or must have the specific
integer identifier (%) attached wherever they appear in the
program. The BASIC compiler is picky about this; so be sure to
verify that the type assignment is correct.
EXAMPLE
To produce a window with a blue background, a bright white
single line frame, and a label of "Ye Olde Window"; between
columns 20 and 60 and rows 4 to 20, the following statements
would be required:
100 ULC=21:ULR=5:LRC=59:LRR=19:FORE=15:BACK=1:FRAME=1
110 SHADOW=0:GROW=0:LABEL$="Ye Olde Window"
120 GOSUB 55000
To generate a green window with a black single horizontal,
double vertical line frame, with a shadow; the following
statements would be needed:
200 ULC=13:ULR=3:LRC=45:LRR=15:FORE=0:BACK=2:FRAME=3
210 SHADOW=1:GROW=0:LABEL$=""
220 GOSUB 55000
To "grow" a cyan panel in the middle of the screen with a
yellow double line frame, the program would make the following
call:
300 ULC=10:ULR=5:LRC=70:LRR=19:FORE=14:BACK=3:FRAME=2
310 SHADOW=0:GROW=1:LABEL$=""
320 GOSUB 55000
Of course, once the window is placed on the screen, it is up to
you to fill it with data by means of LOCATE, COLOR, and PRINT
statements. The above window calls only give you the canvas on
which to work. You, as the artist, produce the masterpiece on
your own.
ADVANCED WINDOWING FUNCTIONS
The basic BASWIND subroutine calls give you a fair amount of
flexibility in producing simple windows on the screen; but to
really add some "pizzazz" to your programs, you need more
capability than just these humble beginnings. This is where some
of the additional features in the ADVBAS library come into play.
By combining some of these functions with the easily-used
BASWIND subroutine, some very powerful and exciting possibili-
ties are generated. Actually, compiled BASIC becomes a very
effective development medium with some impressive capabilities
when all of these advanced tools are put to use.
Making "Pop-ON/Pop-OFF Windows"
Most programs which use windows make very effective use of the
screen by allowing a window to "pop on" to the screen over the
existing information, display some important data such as help
or statistics, and then "pop off" on demand; leaving the screen
data undisturbed. Obviously, the simple commands introduced
earlier would not be of use by themselves because they destroy
the information on the screen at the window coordinates. In
order to allow "non-destructive" windows on the screen, the
contents of the screen must be saved prior to adding the window,
and then quickly restored when the window is removed.
Fortunately, the ADVBAS library includes two special commands
that make this work extremely easy. The SCRSAVE and SCRREST
functions allow the virtually instantaneous transfer of screen
data to and from a numeric array. Once the array has been
dimensioned and the space reserved in memory, the entire screen
can be saved in just a fraction of a second. The window can then
be drawn anywhere on the screen without regard to the loss of
screen data. The SCRREST command performs the dual function of
erasing the window and restoring the screen's previous contents.
And all of this magic can be accomplished with just a few lines
of simple BASIC code.
A typical use of the SCRSAVE and SCRREST commands would be as
follows:
10 OPTION BASE 1:DIM SCR%(4000)
.
.
.
100 WHER%=VARPTR(SCR(1)):CALL SCRSAVE(WHER%)
110 CURSX%=pos(0):CURSY%=CSRLIN
.
.
.
150 REM Add window to screen
.
.
.
200 WHER%=VARPTR(SCR(1)):CALL SCRREST(WHER%)
210 LOCATE CURSY%,CURSX%
.
.
.
While it is theoretically possible to maintain multiple arrays
to allow for several levels of non-destructive windows, each
array uses 8000 bytes and thus rapidly depletes free memory
space. Most programs can do nicely with only one array and one
level of windowing support.
Scrolling and Clearing Data Inside a Window
Another powerful feature made possible by the ADVBAS library is
the ability to scroll and clear a selected area of the screen,
independent of the rest of the data displayed. When combined
with the effective display techniques described above, this
impressive capability mimics that of expensive commercial prog-
rams. And best of all, the function calls are as easy to use as
the routines described above for BASWIND.
The SCROLL and BKSCROLL commands take five parameters; four of
which are already defined as ULC,ULR,LRC,LRR in the BASWIND
window definition and display routine. Since the frame of the
window is drawn around the area defined by these coordinates,
the scrolling can take place within the confines of these
windows without any further complications. The fifth parameter,
the number of lines to scroll, is easily set. Most often, it
will only be one line; so that another line can be PRINTed into
its place either on the top or the bottom depending on whether
the scroll is up or down. In the special case that the number of
lines is zero, the entire area is cleared with spaces of the
background attribute; so an easy way of clearing a window is
available as well.
As with the BASWIND parameters above, all of the SCROLL
variables must be integers. Thus, either a DEFINT statement must
be in place early in the program or the variables must carry the
"%" type identifier throughout the program.
The program statements required to scroll up the contents of a
window defined and displayed by BASWIND would be as follows:
100 LINS=1
110 CALL SCROLL(ULC,ULR,LRC,LRR,LINS)
To scroll the same window down instead, the following series of
statements would be used:
100 LINS=1
110 CALL BKSCROLL(ULC,ULR,LRC,LRR,LINS)
And to clear the window of any data:
100 LINS=0
110 CALL SCROLL(ULC,ULR,LRC,LRR,LINS)
FURTHER ENHANCEMENTS
The routines presented here allow a good start in providing
advanced windowing features in almost any compiled BASIC
program; but there is certainly room for improvements and
enhancements to these basic ideas. A few of which that come to
mind immediately are:
- Being able to move the window on the screen in real
time under the control of the cursor keys. Such a
procedure would involve rapidly restoring the orig-
inal screen and redrawing the window at the updated
position; something that seems feasible with the
ADVBAS features.
- Adding clipping to the display of data in the window.
For example, moving a window across a text file under
cursor control.
- "Collapsing" windows which are removed from the screen
in the opposite manner to "growing".
- A means of providing "point and select" functions with-
in a window by moving a highlight bar up and down a
list of options.
I am sure that with a little experimentation with these
routines, you will think of many more possibilities. Should you
come up with a routine that you like, please upload it to your
favorite bulletin board to help pass along this free exchange of
information. Drop me a line also, as I would like to keep up
with all of the developments these initial offerings inspire.
COMPILING PROGRAMS
As mentioned before, the routines in BASWIND and ADVBAS are
available only in Compiled BASIC. DON'T TRY TO USE THESE
PROGRAMS IN INTERPRETED BASIC!!!! At the very least, your
computer will probably lockup requiring a re-boot. At worst,
your system could go crazy, maybe even to the point of erasing
data on disks in the drive. You are forewarned!
BASWIND requires no special handling when it comes to compiling
your program. Just make certain that all of your variables
passing parameters to the BASWIND subroutine are identified as
integers, and you will be able to proceed with the compile
operation as with any other program.
The actual compilation of your program should be straight-
forward. However, once you get to the LINK operation, you MUST
remember to list ADVBAS in response to the LINK program's
request for library (LIB) files. Failure to do this will result
in unresolved external reference errors. This is true even if
you are using only BASWIND functions with no ADVBAS routines in
your program, since BASWIND uses the XQPRINT function in ADVBAS
as the heart of its operation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As mentioned earlier, the ADVBAS.LIB library upon which all of
the routines in BASWIND.MRG are based was developed by Thomas
Hanlin III. For convenience sake, I have included this library
along with the accompanying .DOC file as part of the BASWIND.ARC
package. Tom has done an excellent job of providing many useful
features in an economical and well documented package. In the
.DOC file, Tom asks for a minimal contribution if you find these
routines useful. I have sent him my check; and I strongly urge
you to do so as well. To keep this spirit of information
exchange alive, those people who make such a generous effort
deserve to be rewarded.
I am deeply indebted to Tom for his routines which are key to
the operation of BASWIND. But as I look at my bank account, I
find that I am deeply indebted, period. Thus, I humbly request
that if you find BASWIND to be of some use to you that you
acknowledge your appreciation in a similar contribution of $10.
Unlike Tom, I don't guarantee you anything back for your money.
I don't have any other programs to give you; and I've included
all the source code in this package. But I do promise that I'll
like you a lot if you do send me money. And just the fact that I
haven't burdened down the code with a message that pops on the
screen and begs for money until you "PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE"
ought to be worth something!
Whether or not you feel BASWIND is worth anything, please feel
free to use it to your hearts content; copy it shamelessly and
give it to all your friends and enemies; use it in your
commercial programs and sell them for hundreds of thousands of
dollars. But whatever you do, keep contributing to the Public
Domain and FreeWare/ShareWare community. The best people in the
world live here!
Dave Evers
2500 Larch Rd. #58
Quincy, IL 62301
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
I, David Evers, as author of the BASWIND.MRG subroutine
contained in this package, hereby disclaim all responsibility
for any consequence arising from the use, misuse, or non-use of
any of the materials included herein. If this scares you and you
feel that you can't in good conscience use this product without
deposits and bonds and insurance policies for millions of
dollars, THEN DON'T USE THIS SOFTWARE. If you are afraid that
use of this product will damage your reputation, turn your green
screen monitor amber, change your house AC voltage from 110 to
220, or make your hair fall out; THEN DON'T USE THIS SOFTWARE.
And if by chance you DO use this software, and your spouse
leaves you, your children sell the house, your health fails, and
your hard disk crashes, THEN DON'T COME CRYING TO ME. With this
software, "you don't pays your money, but you still takes your
chances"!
ME CRYING TO ME. With this
software, "you don't pays your money, but you still takes your
