Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d21/dvsi1_21.arc/README.1ST

Text File | 1991-10-09 | 13KB | 286 lines

                    DESQview System Information
                        DVSI Version 1.21
                         October 8, 1991

                        by Daniel J. Bodoh



INTRODUCTION
     DVSI is an attempt to bring some Unix commands to DESQview (T),
     and provide information on DESQview's status. Many Unix-utility
     packages exist, but are intended for non-multitasking DOS.
     With the advent of DESQview, multitasking on a DOS machine became
     possible, and I found myself wishing I had some of the Unix
     commands at my fingertips.

     This package is not only restricted to Unix-like commands, though.
     DESQview System Information sums it up well, although there
     is (and will be) utilities that don't necessarily provide
     information.  Maybe "Helpful DESQview Stuff" would have been
     a better name.

     All the DVSI programs may be run from the DOS command line.
     All may be run in their own window, and some can be run continously
     for monitoring.

     DVSI 1.21, although it doesn't contain any new programs, has
     a few new features.  Read the rest of this file and WHATSNEW.DOC for
     more information.

THE DVSI PACKAGE
     The files in this package include

          README.1ST   - This file
          MANPAGES.DOC - A formal description of each command
          WHATSNEW.DOC - Changes since version 1.0
          DVSIXDI.COM  - DVSI's external device interface
          PS.COM       - Process status: Handle, switch windows #,
                         memory info, cpu time and utilization, etc.
          DF.COM       - Free and used disk space
          PERF.COM     - DESQview performance: CPU Utilization, task switches
          KILL.COM     - Kills processes
          WN.COM       - Kills, raises, lowers, tops, suspends or hides                         processes
          UPTIME.COM   - Displays time DESQview has been running
          MEMSTAT.COM  - An alternative to DESQview's Memory Status
          PS-PIF.DVP   - DVP for PS.COM
          PF-PIF.DVP   - DVP for PERF.COM
          DF-PIF.DVP   - DVP for DF.COM
          UP-PIF.DVP   - DVP for UPTIME.COM
          MT-PIF.DVP   - DVP for MEMSTAT.COM

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
     - DESQview 2.26 or newer
     - DOS 3.3 or newer
          (the programs may work with older versions of DOS; I haven't
           tested)

HOW IT WORKS
     The heart of DVSI is DVSIXDI.COM.  This is a Terminate-and-Stay-
     Resident (TSR) program which is required by most of the programs.
     DVSIXDI should be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and run before
     DESQview is started.

     Unfortunately, the DESQview API provides no way to get a list
     of the current processes.  However, DESQview 2.26 introduced
     a way to "hook" into DESQview and collect this information.
     This "hook" is called an eXternal Device Interface (XDI).  Every
     time DESQview starts a process, kills a process, swaps a process
     out, switches to a new process, etc, it calls all the XDIs that
     have been loaded.  DVSIXDI keeps track of the current processes
     in a list, and adds other information to this list such as
     Open Keys and CPU Time.

     The utilities that I provide communicate with DVSIXDI and
     get their information from it.  Some programs, such as DF.COM
     and MEMSTAT.COM, don't require DVSIXDI loaded because they don't
     use any of this information.

     Just what you needed was another TSR.  I have attempted, however,
     to make DVSIXDI as small as possible.  In fact, I employed some
     tricks to keep the size down.  Version 1.0 required 1.1K of memory;
     version 1.21 requires 1.3K of memory.  If I hadn't used these
     tricks, version 1.21 would be about 2K.

     In order to save precious memory, load your TSRs (including
     DVSIXDI) before you set a PATH or any other environment variables.
     That will keep the environment which is loaded with the program
     at about 0.1K or less.

GETTING STARTED
     I am going to assume you know what AUTOEXEC.BAT is, and how to
     use Add A Program.  If you don't, take a look at the manuals
     or find a guru.

     CD to the DESQview directory.  Type SETUP to run DESQview's setup.
     Hit RETURN for advanced setup, and choose Performance.  Make
     sure the Common Memory field is AT LEAST 14K.  If this field
     is not large enough, the programs will error out with
     "not enough common memory".

     If you have an older version of DVSI, get rid of the files, and
     use Delete A Program to get rid of all old DVSI programs on
     the Open Windows menu.

     Put all the DVSI files in an appropriate directory, such as
     C:\DVSI.

     Install DVSIXDI.COM in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.  If you use loadhi,
     DVSIXDI requires about 2K of run-time memory and 1.3K of
     resident memory (if you place it before any environment variables).
     If you want to run the DVSI programs from the DOS command line,
     add the DVSI directory to your PATH.

     Reboot so DVSIXDI.COM gets installed.  You can only install it
     once.

     Start DV, and run Add A Program.  Choose OTHER (Add Program Not
     on List) and enter the name of the DVSI directory in the PATH field.

     A list of the DVP files in the DVSI directory will be shown.
     Select the programs that you want to install on the Open Windows
     menu, and hit ENTER.  You don't have to install all the programs,
     for they can be run from the DOS command line.  The most useful
     ones to install on the Open Windows menu are PS, MEMSTAT and
     DF because they can continously show status.  The others can
     just as well be run from the command line.  PS, MEMSTAT, and
     DF don't have to be run in a continous mode; they can be run from
     the command line as well.

     Read the rest of this file.  Read MANPAGES.DOC to learn
     about the commands and the options that are available.  And if
     you are a user of an older version of DVSI, take a look at
     WHATSNEW.DOC for a list of bug fixes and changes.

     MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Send me comments, gripes, suggestions, bug reports,
     etc.  I want to hear from you!  I can be reached at
          Internet: [e-mail] or [e-mail]
          AT&T net: [phone]
          USPS net: UW-Madison
                    Electrical and Computer Engineering
                    Dan Bodoh, Graduate Student
                    1415 Johnson Drive
                    Madison, WI 53706
          BBS's:    Quarterdeck's BBS  [phone]
                    comp.os.msdos.desqview

DISTRIBUTION
     The DVSI package is copyright 1991 by Daniel J. Bodoh.  You
     may freely distribute it in its unmodified form.  No files
     may be added to the package or removed from the package, nor
     can any executable or doc file be modified.

     In MANPAGES.DOC, I provide the programming interface for DVSIXDI.COM.
     If you write a program to communicate with DVSIXDI, you may not
     include it as part of the package.  You must distribute it
     separately, and provide pointers to the DVSI package.  You can
     upload DVSI to the same place as your program, but they must
     be 2 distinct entities.  Basically, I don't want to claim your credit,
     or conversely, be associated with your bad programming.  If you
     write it, you are responsible for it!

     If you want to include you program as part of the package, you
     must send me the source code.  It must be compileable under
     Turbo C using the DVGLUE package from Ralf Brown.  I will not
     claim credit to the code; your name will appear in it.  I may
     or may not spend my time fixing bugs in it.  If it is too full
     of bugs, I will not distribute it.


ADVERTISEMENT
     During the month between the release of DVSI 1.11 and 1.21, I've
     been busy with another DESQview program.  Richard Reiner and I
     have written DvpEdit.  It replaces "Change A Program", and
     also

        ■ provides superior field editing and context-sensitive help
        ■ provides access to DVP fields which Change a Program conceals
        ■ can edit DVP files which are not on DESQview's Open Window menu
        ■ can edit DVP files which are not named something of the form
          ``xx-PIF.DVP''
        ■ can be run from the command line.

     DvpEdit has two modes of running.  The default allows the user
     to choose any DVP file from a list.  With "dvpedit -o", a psuedo-
     Open Window menu is provided.

     As of the release of DVSI 1.21, DvpEdit is still in Beta test.
     It will soon be released, and will be available on SIMTEL20,
     as well as DVNET.

THANKS
     Thanks to...

     Ralf Brown, for his DVGLUE package and his interrupt list

     All those who sent me bug reports and comments on DVSI 1.11.
     Unfortunately, I deleted the file that contained all your names,
     so I can't credit you individually here.  As I remember, a lot
     of my old bug reporters helped me out again with this release.
     A few new names that I did not delete are

        Doug Dougherty - Found some documentation errors, and a bug
                         in PS with programs launced with DVC.

        Erik Fichtner  - Reported bugs in Uptime and PS with big
                         CPU time numbers

        Jessica Tufte  - Found Divide by 0 error in PS if auto-loaded
                         at DV initialization

        And a couple of old names,
        Shannon D. Appel - Also found Uptime and PS big-number bugs.
                           Suggested hh:mm:ss.hh format for numbers,
                           which I implemented.

        Richard Reiner   - Lots of suggestions, including 'A' and 'B'
                           in drive list and the "-" as well as "/"
                           for a switch character.

     Those that sent me comments on DVSI 1.10:

     Richard J. Reiner - Many, many thanks to Richard for his help in
                         locating a severe bug.  Reqested that KILL and
                         other commands ignore "%" preceding PID.  Also
                         found minor bug in the way the programs died
                         outside of DV.  Suggested a quiet switch
                         which will be in the next release.

     Jim Reisert -  Found a bug which I have hopefully fixed.  Thanks
                    to Jim for testing and sending me info on the
                    DV configuration.

     Greg Alheid -  Uploaded DVSI to Compuserve.

     Shannon D. Appel - Found bug in WN with orphaned windows.  Suggested
                        the more Unix-like DF, as well as some changes
                        in how CPU time is reported which will be in
                        the next version.  Also made good suggestions
                        for future window manager.

     Those that sent me comments on DVSI 1.0:

     JC Pollman - Suggested the grain of an idea: a "window manager"
                  which I intend to write for the next version

     Nikolaus R. Haus - Suggested taking output from one window and
                        routing it elsewhere.  This may come in a future
                        version; it will require a lot of thought and
                        work.

     Shannon D. Appel - Suggested using "?" in the PS SW column for
                        orphaned processes.  Also suggested KILL (which
                        I already had plans for), and asked for the
                        ability to show TSRs in PS.  That may be coming,
                        but there are a lot of utilities for displaying
                        TSRs already.

     Yehiel Greenbaum - Suggested a remote call in utility for DESQview.
                        I'm thinking about that, but it could be a while
                        before I attempt that.

     Chia-Chi Chao - Suggested that PS search C:\DV if /d is not
                     specified.  Good idea!

     Chris Webster - Pointed out some memory problems for those who are
                     not blessed with 4 or more megabytes.

     Richard Reiner - Discussion on TSR memory usage.  Prompted me to
                      shrink DVSIXDI.COM.  Also told me about DVCOMMANDER.

     Ward Engle - Discovered bug in NAME and KEY fields for certain
                  cases when programs are started from a script.  I hope
                  I have that bug fixed now.

     Mike Pawka - Suggested not erasing window in continous mode, which
                  I had already implemented.


FUTURE WORK
     Well, I had planned a window manager, but I think that project
     will be a lot of work.  Besides, DESQview/X should provide us
     with a much nicer window manager (if it is ever released).

     Another idea I do have is a TCSH or CSH like shell for DV, with
     real pipes and ``&''.  Maybe.