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- ProPak, Version 2.60 - HISTORY.DOC -
P R O G R A M M E R ' S P R O D U C T I V I T Y P A C K
--------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.60
--------------
U P D A T E H I S T O R Y
------------------------------
Copyright (c) 1988,1989,1990 by Falk Data Systems.
All Rights Reserved.
Last updated: November, 1990
This document describes the changes and corrections made to the
Programmer's Productivity Pack with each version. Versions are
listed in reverse chronological order (most current version
first, original version last).
Version 2.61 (May 12, 1991):
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corrected a minor problem with the Keystroke Reference Center.
Minor modifications to some of the error messages.
Version 2.60 (November 30, 1990):
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Improved error handling when ProSwap attempts to pop up and
cannot find its swap file. Now instead of forcing a reboot, it
simply beeps and refuses to pop up.
Several improved safety features regarding the use of EMS and XMS
memory.
In the pop-up ASCII and Color Attribute Chart, the "single
horizontal and double vertical boxes" representation, the double
vertical bars (ASCII code 186) was incorrectly listed as ASCII
code 179, which has been corrected. Thanks to Armstrong Wong (of
Hong Kong) for finding and reporting this typographical error.
Added FIX-CFG.EXE to translate configuration files from version
2.50 to version 2.60 format - so users wouldn't have to re-
customize everything.
Improved various configuration file error messages in ProPak,
ProSwap, and PCustom. Also improved error handling in general
regarding configuration file access.
ProPak Update History Page 1 of 4
- ProPak, Version 2.60 - HISTORY.DOC -
When setting the hot key for the DOS Shell using PCustom, PCustom
was incorrectly changing the hot key for the calculator. Fixed.
Made sure the speaker was turned off when ProPak and ProSwap
pop-up. If you just happened to pop it up just as another
program turned on the speaker to beep at you, you would have to
listen to the speaker for a while.
In rare cases, if you activated a hot key and held it down until
after ProPak or ProSwap were popped up, it could reverse the
state of the shift key - meaning that the system would think the
shift key was depressed when it wasn't, and vice versa. This
situation is now prevented from happening in the first place.
Version 2.50 (August 12, 1990):
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Added ProSwap - the new swapping TSR with additional features
such as the ability to pop up over an application, swap it out,
and shell to DOS with as much free memory as possible for the DOS
shell.
Deleted ProPakM - it's capabilities were incorporated into
ProSwap.
Deleted ProPakS - it's capabilities were incorporated into
ProPak.
ProPak's overlays were moved from the separate file (ProPak.OVR)
onto the end of the executable file (ProPak.EXE).
The pop-up notes for the Keystroke Reference Center were
rewritten using assembly language table look-ups for speed.
The customizing program (PCustom) received major modifications to
handle the changes and new capabilities added to ProPak and
ProSwap.
The techniques used to customize ProPak (and ProSwap) were
changed. Rather than customizing the .EXE file, PCustom now uses
configuration files (ProPak.CFG and ProSwap.CFG) for controlling
the customizable options in ProPak and ProSwap. It is sometimes
still necessary for PCustom to customize ProPak.EXE when changes
affect the total memory required by ProPak (such as changing the
memory set aside for Keystroke Recordings).
Provisions were added to enable you to safely rename the ProPak
and ProSwap executable files.
Since most 3270 emulators (as well as Windows 3.0) use <Alt><Esc>
as a standard (non-modifiable) hot key, <Alt><Esc> is now ignored
within the calculator. This eliminates the problem of exiting
from the pop-up when pressing <Alt><Esc>. <Alt><Esc> works
ProPak Update History Page 2 of 4
- ProPak, Version 2.60 - HISTORY.DOC -
exactly the same from within the ASCII Chart and Keystroke
Reference Center as it did in previous versions.
Many other subtle internal changes were made for version 2.50.
This version represents substantial changes over previous
versions.
Version 2.02 (October 16, 1989):
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The memory resident versions (ProPak and ProPakS) were modified
to work around problems in the new Microsoft Quick environments
such as QuickBasic 4.5.
Added a DESQview Program Information File (PP-PIF.DVP) so those
of you using ProPakM can plug it right in.
None of the changes affect the documentation. The ProPak User's
Guide is still current.
NOTE: Version 2.02 was developed to work around a problem in the
Microsoft Quick environment. This problem appeared when
attempting to pop up ProPak or ProPakS over the Microsoft
QuickBasic editor, version 4.5. This would always result in the
system hanging and would require the user to turn the computer
off and then on in order to regain control of the system.
Further checking revealed that this behavior occurs with most
"well behaved" memory resident programs, including those which
conform to the TesSeRact standards for memory resident programs.
The problem is caused by a bug in the Microsoft Quick Editor.
The editor contains an ill-behaved Interrupt 16h handler. The
editor appears to have been designed on the assumption that it
would have sole and exclusive control of the computer on which it
runs.
Microsoft admits that they have had many complaints regarding the
behavior of memory resident programs used in conjunction with the
Quick environments. Microsoft admits that they are aware of the
problem and that they know how to fix it. However, Microsoft has
stated that they will NOT correct the problem! Microsoft's
"official policy" is that because "OS/2" and "Windows" are
available as alternatives to DOS, there is no longer any reason
to use memory resident programs. If a user needs the
capabilities provided by a memory resident program then that user
needs to purchase either Windows or OS/2.
ProPak Update History Page 3 of 4
- ProPak, Version 2.60 - HISTORY.DOC -
In order to work around Microsoft's Interrupt 16h handler, ProPak
and ProPakS now use a technique similar to that used by Borland's
original SideKick. When ProPak or ProPakS is popped up it grabs
back the Interrupt 16h handler. When you return to the
application over which ProPak or ProPakS was popped the previous
Interrupt 16h handler is restored.
The original version of SideKick also grabbed back the Interrupt
16h handler, however it did so on a permanent basis. ProPak and
ProPakS only grab the Interrupt 16h handler while they are
activated (popped up) and restore it when they are waiting in the
background.
Version 2.01 (May 21, 1989):
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corrected a problem on some "almost-AT-compatibles."
A minor change was made relating to the way stack switching is
performed.
A minor bug affecting users of IBM DOS 4.00 was also corrected.
None of the changes affect the documentation. The ProPak User's
Guide is still current.
Earlier versions:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier versions were not widely distributed. Version 1.0 even
had a different name (PrgCalc: The Programmer's Calculator).
ProPak Update History Page 4 of 4