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READ.ME
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1991-04-28
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********************************************************************
***************************** READ.ME ******************************
********************************************************************
Before you start looking at the documentation, I just want to
outline the seven units in this archive.
FSWAP A TP5.5 unit written in assembly language for very fast swapping
of variables with no "storage space" that is typical of Pascal
swapping procedures. Three routines. Ver. 1.0
FMISC Another TP5.5 unit written in assembler. This one is for fast
conversion between Pascal and C (null-terminated) strings, and
faster Move and FillChar procedures. Five routines. Ver. 1.0
FSTACK A TP5.5 unit written in assembly language for array-based stacks.
Handles only byte and word sizes, but there is no per item
overhead, and using getmem and freemem you can even arrange
it so there is no overhead anywhere at all! Fourteen routines.
Ver. 1.0
FBIOS Another TP5.5 unit written in assembly language. This one calls
various BIOS interrupts. Interrupts are called much much faster
from assembly language than the INTR procedure supplied with
TP. Only relativly "safe" routines have been included; I don't
want any disks ruined. Twenty-two routines. Ver. 1.0
FWRITE A fifth TP5.5 unit written in assembler. This one has ultra-high
speed routines to read and write from the screen. It is
supposed to cause snow on "snowy" CGA cards (I haven't tried it
out, however) and it doesn't autodetect EGA or VGA cards. But
you can read characters, lines or whole screens, and write
likewise. You can also redirect the output from the screen to
a predefined type (Vram_ScrBuf), or ANY buffer large enough (4000
bytes for a 80*25 screen). There used to be a bug in the scrolling
routine; it is fixed now. Ninteen routines. Ver. 1.2
XWIN A windowing program in TP5.5. It uses FWRITE, so it has the same
snow and detection problems as FWRITE. As well as the windowing
routines, there are also some general-purpose procedures and
functions, GetXY being an example. It handles windowing well
enough for most programs. Fourteen routines. Ver. 1.0
FILE1 A TP5.5 unit for more advanced file routines with error checking.
Uses heap for typing and copying buffer. Buffer adjusts from
1k to 64k depending on the amount of free heap available.
Five routines. Ver. 1.1
That's all of them. I just want to warn of one thing: do NOT use
mark and release when you use XWIN! You can release the window
memory, which would be disasterous to both the windows and your
program. Also, check the free heap before you call CreateWindow in
XWIN. You need roughly 5k free for a window the size of the screen,
and less for smaller ones (but never more than 5k). If you know you
have plenty of space to spare, you don't need to check, but if you're
getting close, it won't hurt and it could save a run-time error.
Generally, none of the units check that the values passed are in a
valid range. (FILE1 is an exception.)
>>Shareware<<
These units are shareware. You can have as long as you want to
try them out. When and if you decide you like them and want to use
them, you will be expected to register them. Registration is $20.
When you register, I will send you the latest versions of the utilites
(if they have changed), and the pascal and assembly source code for
the various units.
If you have any ideas about other units or additions to one or
more of these units, don't hesitate to contact me. Also, if you find
bugs in any of the units, I would also like to know about it! The best
way to contact me is through EasyPlex on CompuServe. If you don't want
to do it that way, or you are not a member of CompuServe, you can always
mail a letter to me. My address is
8301 Buckingham Drive
El Cerrito, CA 94530
and my CompuServe ID number is
71550,3147
I will return any mail or messages the same way I got it unless
you specify to do otherwise.
I hope you find at least one of the units useful, and if you do I
hope to hear from you.
I would also be glad to help you out with any problems you have
with any of the units. If you are not registered, I'll still be glad
to help, but I would greatly appreciate it if you do register.
Rex Kerr