The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2

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Text File | 1991-02-11 | 27KB | 535 lines

Getting Started "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." Franklin D. Roosevelt Installing the Toolkit The Toolkit is available in a variety of disk densities and sizes. This section assumes that you are installing the software from a two disk set. If you are using a single disk set, simply assume that all the files are contained on a single disk and ignore the instructions for inserting the second disk. The program disk includes an installation program INSTALL.EXE. This program can be used to automatically install the software onto your hard disk. It will prompt you to enter the appropriate source and tar- get directories, and will not modify your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Alternatively, you may install the Toolkit manually. Please note that the files are stored on disk in compressed form, and must be uncompressed (decompressed?) before they can be used. Using INSTALL.EXE The Install program will transfer the Toolkit files from the diskettes to a specified hard drive. To run the install program, insert the Source Disk in drive A (or another floppy drive) and then: q Type the command: A:INSTALL [KEYCAP]. q Press [KEYCAP] at the installation screen. q Follow the prompts. It is recommended that you install the source files in a sub-directory TOT beneath the main Turbo Pascal directory. Similarly, the demo files should be installed in a TOTDEM subdirectory. During the installation process, files will be copied from the Toolkit disks to your hard drive. The files will then be compressed. Once the files have been installed, the Installation program will ask if you want to view the README file. This file contains last-minute details about the Toolkit. A following section describes how to view the README file after installation. If the installation is not successful, follow the manual installation method described in the next section. 2-2 User's Guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manual Installation The disks contain the following files: INSTALL.EXE the Toolkit Installation program SOURCE.EXE a self-extracting file which contains the .PAS source files for the Toolkit units DEMO.EXE a self-extracting file which contains the .PAS demon- stration files, which illustrate how to use the Toolkit DOCS.EXE a self-extracting file containing all this documenta- tion in ASCII form README.COM a self-displaying text file which lists all the last- minute changes and enhancements REGISTER.EXE a self-extracting file which contains all the ShareWare information and instructions We recommend that the source files are installed in a separate sub- directory "underneath" the compiler directory. For example, if your compiler is stored in the directory C:\TP, then create a directory C:\TP\TOT. You can insert the source disk in the A drive and install the source files as follows: C: [KEYCAP] MD\TP\TOT [KEYCAP] CD\TP\TOT [KEYCAP] A:SOURCE [KEYCAP] The SOURCE.EXE program will then place all the source code files in the newly created directory. The README.COM file should also be copied to the TOT sub-directory. COPY A:README.COM [KEYCAP] Although not essential, the demonstration files are referred to throughout the documentation and it is recommended that you do install them. Furthermore, it is recommended that you install them in a sepa- rate subdirectory as follows: C: [KEYCAP] MD\TP\TOTDEMO [KEYCAP] CD\TP\TOTDEMO [KEYCAP] A:DEMO [KEYCAP] Getting Started 2-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You do not need to install the DOCS.EXE and REGISTER.EXE files, since you are a registered user and you are reading the documentation. These files are included so that you may give an evaluation copy of the Toolkit to a colleague who may try the software. Refer to the License Agreement for further information. The Toolkit Files Listed below are the source files that have been installed on your hard disk: TOTFLAGS.INC contains global compiler directives TOTLOOK.PAS controls the overall look and feel of your programs TOTREAL.PAS provides numeric co-processor support and supports extended reals TOTSYS.PAS contains objects for ascertaining hardware and operat- ing system configurations TOTINPUT.PAS provides mouse and keyboard support TOTFAST.PAS supports writing to physical and virtual screens TOTWIN.PAS contains a variety of window objects TOTMSG.PAS provides objects for displaying messages and prompts in Pop-up windows TOTLINK.PAS includes a variety of objects for managing linked lists TOTLIST.PAS provides objects for displaying string arrays or linked lists in a window TOTDIR.PAS includes a directory display object TOTIO1,2,3.PAS three units for building full screen input TOTMENU.PAS includes routines for building pop-up and pull-down menus TOTSTR.PAS contains a host of string manipulation functions TOTDATE.PAS includes a set of functions for managing Julian and Gregorian dates TOTMISC.PAS provides a potpourri of procedures and functions TOTBUILD.PAS used to re-build all the TOT TPUs In addition to the source code files, there are a host of demonstration files. All the demonstration filenames begin with DEM. The files which demonstrate how to extend the Toolkit begin with EXT. The major demon- 2-4 User's Guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- stration file is DEMTOT.PAS. All the other files are designed to be small and concise illustrations of how to get the most from the Toolkit. The README File The file README.COM is actually a self-displaying text file which con- tains any last-minute changes or additions to the documentation. To view the contents of the README file, simply change the default directory to the TOT source and execute README, e.g. CD\TP\TOT [KEYCAP] README [KEYCAP] Configuring Turbo Pascal Having installed the Toolkit, you must configure Turbo Pascal so the compiler knows where to locate the Toolkit files. Configure the inte- grated environment as follows: q Execute the IDE by changing the default directory to the main Turbo Pascal directory, and enter TURBO. q Select the Directories item from the Options menu. The Directories dialog box will then be displayed. Fig 2.1 illustrates the Pascal 6.0 dialog box. q You must now add the C:\TURBO\TOT directory (or whichever direc- tory you have chosen for the Toolkit) to the Unit, Include and Object input fields. If an entry already exists in the field, press the right cursor and add a semi-colon before entering the Toolkit directory. Note: do not have more than one directory in the EXE/TPU input field - this must be a single directory identi- fying where the compiler should locate compiled files. q Save the options by selecting Save from the Options menu. Figure 2.1 [SCREEN] Configuring the IDE If you are using the command line version of the compiler, i.e. TPC.EXE or TPCX.EXE, then you must add the Toolkit directory to the Unit, Include and Source parameters in the TPC(X).CFG file. Listed below is an example of a TPC.CFG file: Getting Started 2-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /L /M /IC:\TURBO\TOT;C:\TURBO\MISC /UC:\TURBO\TOT /OC:\TURBO\TOT /EC:\TURBO\MYPROGS Turbo Pascal 5.5 users can use the TPCONFIG.EXE program to create a TPC.CFG file from the IDE settings, and vice verse. For further configuration information refer to the Turbo Pascal User's Guide. Unit Summary Listed below is a description of the features in each of the major units: totLOOK This unit is designed to help you control the look and feel of large programs. A global object, LOOKTOT, defines the default colors to be used when displaying windows, menus and lists. totREAL This small unit controls the REAL type. Unless the compiler directive FLOAT is specified (in the TOTFLAGS.INC file - discussed later), the types SINGLE, DOUBLE, EXTENDED and COMP are type cast to the base type REAL. totSYS This unit provides four objects which can be used to deter- mine the hardware and operating system configurations of the PC on which your programs are running. The DisplayOBJ object provides information about the display: whether it is color or monochrome, what is the width and depth of the screen, and the object includes methods for setting the screen into and out of condensed mode, i.e. 43 or 50 line mode. The EquipOBJ object provides information about the PC peripheral devices, e.g. how many serial and parallel ports there are, if a math chip is present, how many floppy drives, etc. The MemOBJ object provides information about base memory, as well as extended and expanded memory. The OSOBJ provides information about the operating system, e.g. the DOS version number, the country configuration, and the characters used for currency, date and time separators. 2-6 User's Guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- totINPUT The two main objects in this unit, MouseOBJ and KeyOBJ, are used to detect and control mouse and keyboard activity. The MouseOBJ detects if a mouse is present and includes a variety of methods for controlling the mouse shape and location. The KeyOBJ is the primary input object and detects both keyboard and mouse button activity. There are methods to get and set the status of the Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock keys, as well as routines to stuff or erase characters with a special keyboard type-ahead buffer. totFAST The totFAST unit provides the main screen writing primi- tives, and contains four main objects: WriteOBJ, ScreenOBJ, ScrollOBJ and ShadowOBJ. The WriteOBJ object controls the screen writing techniques used throughout the Toolkit. If you do not want to use the Toolkit screen writing algo- rithms, you can create a descendent object and substitute any of the WriteOBJ methods. The ScreenOBJ object contains all the methods for writing formatted data to the screen. There are routines to write text to any location on the screen with right, left or center justification. As well as routines for drawing boxes and lines which automatically use line joining characters if they cross over another line. ScreenOBJ also supports virtual screens which can be slid or popped onto the visible screen at any time. Virtual screens can either be copied from the visible screen or created from scratch. The ScrollOBJ object controls the look and feel of the scroll bars used throughout the Toolkit. The ShadowOBJ controls the look and feel of the shadows used throughout the system. Shadows may be set up or down, right or left, and the depth and color of the shadow can be defined. totWIN This unit provides a variety of window objects for writing text in a window. The primary object is WinOBJ, which provides the methods for popping a window onto the display. You can specify the window attributes such as display colors, size and title. When a window is activated, the Toolkit automatically restricts screen writing to within the window area. When the window is removed, the original screen contents are restored and the cursor is repositioned in its original position. The MoveWinOBJ offers all the features of the WinOBJ, but the user can drag or move the window around the screen. The ScrollWinOBJ is a moveable window object that optionally supports horizontal and vertical scroll bars. Finally, the StretchWinOBJ is a moveable, scrollable window that allows the user to stretch the window into different shapes by dragging the lower-right window corner. totMSG The totMSG unit provides a suite of objects for displaying pop-up messages to the user. In the next section, this unit forms part of a demonstration on how to use the Toolkit. Getting Started 2-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- totLINK One of the least understood elements of contemporary pro- gramming techniques is the creation and maintenance of linked lists. This unit provides a number of objects for building doubly-linked lists. Linked lists allow you to create lists of variable size, unlike arrays where you have to specify the total size of the array at compile time. Linked lists are ideal for reading directories, text files or database records. The linked list engine provides rou- tines for adding, deleting and moving entries in the list, as well as automatic sorting. totLIST This unit provides the ListOBJ for displaying arrays or linked lists in a stretchable window. List objects can be used to display text files, data base records, or any list in a window. Lists can be displayed in multiple columns, and the user may optionally select one or more items from the list. totDIR Most programs require the user to select a filename. The DirOBJ provides a very quick and convenient way of display- ing a dialog box from which the user can choose a file, or enter a new filename. totIO1 The most used element of TechnoJock's Turbo Toolkit was the screen IO, i.e. the full screen input routines. The Object Toolkit dedicates three units to full screen input objects. The totIO1 unit provides objects for defining hotkeys, buttons, 3D buttons, check boxes and radio buttons, as well as the IO event manager ActionOBJ. totIO2 totIO2 provides objects for string input (including lateral scrolling), integer/real/date/hex input with automatic input and range validation, formatted string input for telephone number input and the like, and a list unit for displaying a scrollable list as an input field. totIO3 totIO3 provides objects for creating memo fields, i.e. multi-line fields that provide full word wrapping. Either a linked list or an array can be assigned to the memo field. totMENU The totMENU unit provides objects for displaying full-screen menus, as well as multilevel pull-down menus. totSTR The totSTR unit provides a wealth of routines for formatting and converting strings. There are routines to convert inte- gers, reals and HEX to string and vice verse. There are also routines to truncate and extend strings, delete characters from strings, count words, adjust case, etc. 2-8 User's Guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- totDATE Date manipulation is a snap with the totDATE unit. This unit provides a set of functions for converting to and from Julian dates. The unit supports eight (count 'em) different date formats for national and international use. totMISC This unit contains a potpourri of procedures and functions that didn't fit anywhere else in the Toolkit. There are routines for validating filenames, checking the status of the printer, copying files, range checking integers, and more. Compiling the Demo Programs - A Quick Start Enough is enough. You must want to try it by now. If you have not yet installed the Toolkit or configured Turbo Pascal, do so now. Full instructions were provided earlier in this chapter. Start the IDE and use the File Change Dir option to change the working directory to C:\TURBO\TOTDEMO (or wherever you installed the demo files). Choose File Open and load the file DEMMS1.PAS. This filename is an abbreviation of DEMO-MESSAGE-ONE, the first demo of the totMSG unit. Listed below are the file contents: program DemoMessage1; {demms1} Uses DOS, CRT, totFAST, totMSG; Var MsgWin : MessageOBJ; begin Screen.Clear(white,'░'); {paint the screen} with MsgWin do begin Init(1,' Message '); AddLine(''); AddLine('The message unit provides a'); AddLine('very easy way of displaying'); AddLine('pop-up messages in a move-'); AddLine('able window.'); AddLine(''); Show; Done; end; end. Getting Started 2-9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The demo program uses methods from the totFAST and totMSG units, so they are included in the Uses statement. The VAR statement declares an object variable called MsgWin which is of type MessageOBJ. This is the main object used for displaying messages. The first statement of the program: Screen.Clear(white,'░'); calls the Clear method (or procedure in the old terminology) from the Screen object. Screen is a globally declared object in the totFAST unit and controls the writing to the screen. The Clear method is used to clear the screen, and the two parameters identify the display color and the character used to fill the screen. The remaining statements all affect the MsgWin object, so to abbreviate the code, the "with var do" shortcut is used. Every Toolkit object must be initialized before the object methods can be called, and this is always achieved with the INIT statement. In the case of MessageOBJ objects, INIT must be passed two parameters: the first indicates the window border style (1 for a single line box), and the second the window title. The AddLine method is called multiple times to add the message text. The Show method is then called to instruct the Toolkit to display the message. Finally, when the user has removed the message, the WinOBJ is disposed of by calling the DONE method (known as a destructor). That's all there is to it. Select Run Run (or press [KEYCAP]) to execute the demo program. Fig 2.2 illustrates the screen that should be displayed. (If the program did not run successfully, refer to the next section for the probable cause.) The message window can be dragged around the screen using the Mouse by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the window, and holding down the left mouse button. While the button remains depressed the window can be dragged around the screen. Using the keyboard, the window can be moved by pressing the [KEYCAP] key and then using the cursor keys. The move is terminated when [KEYCAP] is pressed. The message can be removed by clicking the left mouse button on the close icon [■] at the top left of the window, by clicking the left mouse button on the OK hot spot, or by pressing [KEYCAP] or [KEYCAP]. Figure 2.2 [SCREEN] The Message Demo Program 2-10 User's Guide -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Problems Listed below are a few of the common problems that occur when you first try to run the demo programs, together with some quick remedies. Error 15: File not found (TOTFAST.TPU) This error is generated when the compiler cannot find the TPU file or the associated PAS file. The most likely cause is that you have not correctly entered the Toolkit path in the Options Directories Unit Directories dialog box. Correct the path and try again. Error 15: File not found (TOTFLAGS.INC) Make sure that you have correctly added the Toolkit directory to the Options Directories Include Files dialog box. Error 15: File not found (TOTFAST.OBJ) Make sure that you have correctly added the Toolkit directory to the Options Directories Object Files dialog box. Error 1: Out of memory Turbo Pascal lacks sufficient room to compile, link, and execute your program. The first obvious step is to remove any unnecessary memory resident programs, not forgetting items in CONFIG.SYS like BUFFERS and ANSI.SYS. A number of IDE settings influence the amount of memory required to run a program. The following actions will minimize the memory consumed: q Set the Compile Destination to disk. q Set the Options Linker to disk. q Set the Options Linker mapfile to off. q Set the Options Debugger so that both stand-alone and integrated options are not selected. q Edit the TOTFLAGS.INC file and enable the FINAL directive (dis- cussed in the next chapter). q If the file you are editing is large, switch to a smaller file, and specify the program filename in the Compiler Primary file field. q If you are using Turbo Pascal version 6, there are a number of other ways to save memory, particularly if you have expanded memory. Refer to page 147 of the 6.0 User's Guide for further information. Getting Started 2-11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there is still insufficient memory, remove any unnecessary memory resident programs from memory and try again. If you can compile the program, but not run it, drop to DOS and execute the program from the command line. If all else fails, use the command line version of Turbo (TPC or TPCX) to compile the program. Note that all the demo programs included in the Toolkit will run from the integrated environment on a 640k machine when compiled in the FINAL state. Error 72: Unit file format error (...) This problem usually occurs when you switch from one version of Turbo Pascal to another - TPUs created with one version of Pascal cannot be used by another version. The solution is to select Compile Build and force the compiler to recreate the TPU files.