Freelog 38/Freelog038.iso/Graphisme3D/Pov/Dos/povmsdos.exe/POVMSDOS.ZIP/USER_WAT.DOC

Text File | 1998-07-22 | 36KB | 732 lines

                   PERSISTENCE OF VISION RAY TRACER(tm)

                          POV-Ray(tm) VERSION 3.1

      USER DOCUMENTATION FOR POV-Ray FOR MS-DOS USING WATCOM VERSION


This file contains the documentation that is specific to the Watcom
compiled MS-Dos version of POV-Ray.  This contains technical info about
memory usage, how to configure the memory manager and other info that is
specific to the compiler that was used to create the program.  It is not
the full documentation for the program.

Other documentation you will need is:

  POVMSDOS.DOC  This contains information about all MS-Dos versions of
                POV-Ray.  It discucess command-line switches, display
                settings, and other dos-related topics.
  POVUSER.TXT   This is a plain ASCII text file containing the full
                tutorial and reference guide for POV-Ray.  It covers all
                features in detail.

NOTE: The MS-Dos version of POV-Ray no longer contains the hypertext help
program POVHELP.EXE.  It was too difficult to maintain documentation in
that format.  We realize that ASCII text is not a good substitute. However
most MS-Dos users also have Windows 3.x or Windows 95/98/NT available. If
you have Windows 95/98/NT then you should obtain the Windows version of
POV-Ray.  It has POVUSER.HLP which contains the same information as
POVUSER.TXT in nicely formatted hypertext help form with illustrations.
If you don't want to use POV-Ray for Windows 95/98/NT or only have
Windows 3.x then check out POVUSER.PDF in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The
Acrobat Reader is available for free at http://www.adobe.com and runs
on Windows, Mac, & Unix.  Finally POVHTML.ZIP is an archive containing
the povuser information in html format for viewing with an internet
browser.


1.0   Introduction

The Watcom compiled version of POV-Ray is designated by either
".msdos.wat-cwa" or ".msdos.wat-d4g" after the POV-Ray version number on
the opening banner.  Everything in this document ONLY applies to that
version.  Other versions will operate under different rules.  This file is
NOT the only documentation for POV-Ray.  There is a file called
POVMSDOS.DOC which covers the MSDOS-specific features but that still isn't
everything.  There is a hypertext utility POVHELP.EXE that reads a file
POVHELP.PHE which contains the main documentation for POV-Ray itself that
is common to all versions.

This version has been compiled as a 32-bit DOS protected mode application.
It must be run on a 386 or higher system with at least 4 meg of memory.
More memory is preferred.

The program uses one of two different DOS extenders to manage memory and
to create and use virtual memory swap files.  The "wat-cwa" version
uses the CauseWay DOS extender written by Michael Devore & John Wildsmith.
It is linked directly into the official POV-Ray executible.  If you
are using an official version, this is the extender you will use.

Although the CauseWay authors have graciously donated a copy to the
POV-Team, CauseWay is still very much a commercial product.  We cannot
include it with the free source code for POV-Ray for you compile-it-yourself
people.  You will have to purchase it directly from the authors.

Alternatly, another DOS extender called DOS4GW is supplied with the
Watcom compiler.  However it is limited to a total of 32meg of memory.
If your version is designated "wat-d4g" it uses the DOS4GW extender.
The instructions below explain how CauseWay and DOS4GW use memory.  Do
not try to use CauseWay variables with DOS4GW or vice-versa.

Be sure to read POVMSDOS.DOC and run POVHELP to make sure you have all the
remaining documentation.  This file only applies to the Watcom compiled
version.  Also read POVWHERE.GET for more information on POV-Ray archives
and support information.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    CAUSEWAY DOS EXTENDER CONFIGURATION

Excerpted from Chapter 1 of the CauseWay DOS Extender User's Manual.
It is (c) Copyright 1992-1996 by Michael Devore.
Used by permission.

Postal:         Devore Software & Consulting
                PO Box 4283
                Naperville, IL  60567-4283
                USA
CompuServe:     71540,62
Internet:       [e-mail]
Telephone:      [phone]
Fax:            1-708-717-6373
BBS:            1-708-717-9679

Note: The 708 area code changes to 630 in August of 1996.


INTRODUCTION

What is CauseWay for Watcom C++ and Assembly Language?
CauseWay is a 386 DOS extender package for use with Watcom C++ and
assembly language programs. It consists of a DOS extender, provided as
a stub EXE for Watcom C++ applications.

Within the standard DOS, and Windows and OS/2 DOS box
environments, CauseWay supports very large memory models for
applications on PC compatibles with an 80386SX processor or above
without the need to use overlays or crude stopgap measures such as
EMS/XMS swapping. To do this, the DOS extender runs applications in
protected mode, rather than the real mode normally used in the DOS
environments. CauseWay supports both 16-bit and 32-bit protected mode
applications operating under a DOS environment.  It makes full use of
386-level chip capabilities including demand paging of code and data,
variable-sized segments up to 4G in length, mixing 16- and 32-bit
segments as well as support for flat (non-segmented) memory addressing
models. The CauseWay implementation of these powerful capabilities
provides all their benefits while being transparent to the application user.

Applications created using CauseWay are compatible with the VCPI and
DPMI standards and run equally well on systems with no protected mode
drivers or programs. CauseWay applications work with such diverse
environments as normal DOS, DesqView, Windows 3.0 and above in
both standard and enhanced modes, as well as DOS windows within OS/2
2.0 and above. CauseWay allocates memory from DPMI, VCPI, XMS,
and INT 15H services, in addition to conventional DOS memory. This
allows CauseWay applications to allocate memory through the CauseWay
DOS extender without the need to detect or manipulate the various
memory handling schemes.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

CauseWay for Watcom C++ and Assembly Language requires a 386SX
based computer or better. The required operating environment is MS-
DOS or PC-DOS 3.1 or higher, Windows 3.0 or higher, OS/2 2.0 and
above, or compatible operating system that provides a DPMI or VCPI
DOS environment.

DOS 3.3+ and a 386 machine or better are necessary to run CauseWay
applications.

CAUSEWAY MEMORY REQUIREMENTS

The recommended minimum amount of total free physical memory for
CauseWay applications is 500K total. 100-150K of this memory must be
conventional DOS memory, the remainder may be extended memory.
CauseWay applications can run in less memory, down to the 300K range,
provided sufficient virtual (disk-based) memory is available, but
application performance will decline significantly. More physical
memory improves a program's performance, reducing virtual memory
disk access overhead.

When running the DOS-extended application, DOS first loads the
CauseWay DOS extender in conventional memory. CauseWay
establishes the protected mode environment, retrieves the application from
the executable file - loading it first into extended memory, then
conventional memory if extended is exhausted, then virtual (disk-based)
memory if conventional is exhausted - sets up the application for
execution, and finally passes control to the application to begin operation.

No additional files are required to make your application run in 386
protected mode using the CauseWay DOS extender.

OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING CAUSEWAY

The TEMP, TMP, and CAUSEWAY=SWAP environment variables are
used by CauseWay to determine where to build its virtual memory swap
file when an application is not operating under Windows or OS/2
(Windows and OS/2 use their own virtual memory files). Since
CauseWay has integrated virtual memory, disk space is considered part of
total memory. If you use the TEMP, TMP, or SWAP environment
variable to point to a small RAM disk or almost full disk, free memory
will be affected accordingly. If virtual (disk-based) memory is less than
physical (installed on machine) memory, Cause Way turns off virtual
memory. On the other hand, if you have a disk 300M free, CauseWay
will have no problem reporting 300M free memory to your program,
provided that virtual memory is not inhibited or limited by the
CAUSEWAY environment variable memory settings.

Memory operates differently under Windows and OS/2. With OS/2, the
DPMI setting for the session determines available memory. With
Windows, available memory is the total of physical memory plus the
swap file size less any memory already in use by Windows or another
Windows application.

When creating a VMM swap file at application startup under DOS,
CauseWay builds a list of possible paths in order of priority. CauseWay
then works through the list until one of the entries provides both a valid
drive and path specification and sufficient free space to begin operation.
The first entry to succeed becomes the swap file drive with no further
processing of the list. If CauseWay reaches the end of the list without
finding a valid drive, it disables the virtual memory manager. The order
of priority is: CAUSEWAY=SWAP, TEMP, TMP, and application
execution path.

If endusers reboot the system or turn off power while executing a
CauseWay application under DOS, a temporary file will be left on the
system by CauseWay. This will usually be a zero length file unless the
application was large enough to exceed physical memory and CauseWay
had started using its virtual memory manager. The temporary file name
is requested using standard DOS functions, meaning the name will vary
with different versions of DOS. It typically is a mixture of letters and
numbers with no extension, although a .$$$ extension may be presented
when operating under a network. Make sure you do not delete this
temporary file while the CauseWay application is still active, as improper
or erratic program operation, including lockups, may occur.

Application startup times may increase significantly if free physical
memory is less than the executable size. In such cases, not only must the
executable be loaded into physical memory, but a virtual memory file of
the executable file size must also be built. This file holds the portions of
the executable that do not fit into physical memory and which have not
been recently accessed. After startup is complete, the program will
operate normally, paging to and from virtual memory as necessary.

CauseWay automatically sets aside 32K of low DOS memory for
allocation and use by developer routines via the GetMemDOS API
function. The 32K memory block is available even if CauseWay needs to
use virtual memory just to load an application. The set-aside amount can
be increased by using the CAUSEWAY environment variable LOWMEM
option although the additional set-aside goal is not guaranteed to be
reached if too little conventional memory is left for CauseWay's
operating requirements.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

CauseWay can make use of three environment variables at runtime:
TEMP, TMP, and CAUSEWAY.

TEMP and TMP Environment Variables

The TEMP and TMP environment variables specify the directory and
drive where a swap file is built by CauseWay's virtual memory manager
(VMM) when operating under DOS. Windows and OS/2 provide their
own memory management functions which override CauseWay's use of
the TEMP and TMP environment variables. The path indicated by
TEMP will be used under DOS if both TEMP and TMP environment
variables exist. Both settings are superseded by the
CAUSEWAY=SWAP environment variable setting.

SET TMP=C:\SWAP

The example above directs the CauseWay DOS extender to create its
swap file, if any, in the C:\SWAP directory.

If no TEMP, TMP and CAUSEWAY=SWAP settings are present or are
invalid, the current drive is used when creating a swap file. If free drive
space is less than physical memory (extended and conventional) available
at startup, then the DOS extender VMM is disabled, no swap file is
created, and virtual memory is not available to the application.

CAUSEWAY Environment Variable

The CAUSEWAY environment variable controls operation of the DOS
extender at application runtime. Seven options are supported, although
they are ignored in a Window or OS/2 DPMI environment. Use any
combination of the seven options in the following format:

SET CAUSEWAY=[setting_1;] [setting 2;] [setting_n;]

Items in brackets ([ ]) are optional. Do not actually type the brackets if
you use the optional items. Items in italics should be replaced with actual
values, separated by semicolons. Following is a description of the seven
valid settings:

DPMI          Force DPMI rather than default VCPI usage whenever
              possible (recommended for 386^Max and BlueMax
              users). The memory manager must support DPMI or
              else this setting is ignored.

EXTALL        Force CauseWay to use all extended memory and sub-
              allocate memory from the bottom up instead of the
              default top-down approach. This setting is most useful
              for processor intensive enviromnents which have a
              small hardware CPU cache. Use of this setting means
              that no extended memory will be available for other
              programs while the application is loaded (including
              shelling to DOS).

HIMEM:nnn     Set maximum physical (conventional plus extended)
              memory that can be consumed by CauseWay. "nnn" is
              the decimal number of kilobytes that can be consumed.
              If memory allocation requests exceed this figure,
              CauseWay will use virtual memory, even if additional
              physical memory is present. If the HIMEM memory
              value exceeds available physical memory, then memory
              allocations operate normally. For example,
              HIMEM:2048 on a 4M machine would force virtual
              memory use after 2M of memory allocations (including
              loading the executable file). The remaining 2M of
              memory could be used by other applications while the
              CauseWay application is active.

LOWMEM:nnn    Set DOS (conventional) memory to restrict it from use
              by CauseWay. This memory is in addition to the
              default 32K low DOS memory block reserved by
              CauseWay for use by any applications which need to
              allocate DOS memory. nnn is the decimal number of
              kilobytes to reserve. If there is not enough
              conventional memory to satisfy the nnn request value
              then CauseWay will leave all conventional memory
              free that is not required by the extender to operate.
              Note that tnis option does not guarantee the amount of
              free DOS memory, just how much needs to be free
              before CauseWay will consume DOS memory after
              exhausting all extended memory. For example,
              LOWMEM:200 will attempt to reserve 200K of DOS
              memory, even if CauseWay has exhausted all extended
              memory and is using conventional memory to fill
              memory allocation requests.

MAXMEM:nnn    Set maximum linear address space provided by
              CauseWay. nnn is the decimal number of megabytes of
              linear address space. This setting is similar to HIMEM
              except that it includes any virtual memory. For
              example, MAXMEM:32 on a 16M memory system
              restricts VMM disk space usage to 32M, even if more
              disk space is present. MAXMEM:8 on the same
              system would restrict the application to 8M of memory
              (all physical). Note that the setting is in megabytes,
              rather than kilobytes used in the LOWMEM and
              HIMEM options.

NOVM          Disable all virtual memory use by CauseWay. If
              physical memory is exhausted, CauseWay will fail
              further memory allocation requests.

SWAP:path     Set CauseWay's virtual memory manager swap file
              path. This path takes precedence for choosing the
              location of a swap file over the TEMP and TMP
              environment variables.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This concludes the information on the CauseWay DOS Extender which is
linked into the official POV-Ray executible.  The information below
applies ONLY if you have compiled the program yourself using the Watcom
compiler and the DOS4GW extender.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     DOS/4GW Configuration Guide

                  WATCOM International Corporation

                      Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

This chapter explains how to use the DOS4G environment variable to
suppress the banner that is displayed by DOS/4GW at startup.  It also
explains how to use the DOS16M environment variable to select the switch
mode setting, if necessary, and to specify the range of extended memory in
which DOS/4GW will operate.  DOS/4GW is based on Rational Systems' DOS/16M
16-bit Protected-Mode support; hence the DOS16M environment variable name
remains unchanged.

1.1 Suppressing the DOS/4GW Banner

The banner that is displayed by DOS/4GW at startup can be suppressed by
issuing the following command:

  set DOS4G=quiet

Do not insert a space between DOS4G and the equal sign.  A space to the
right of the equal sign is optional.

1.2 Changing the Switch Mode Setting

In almost all cases, DOS/4GW programs can detect the type of machine that
is running and automatically choose an appropriate real- to protected-mode
switch technique.  For the few cases in which this default setting does
not work we provide the DOS16M DOS environment variable, which overrides
the default setting.

Change the switch mode settings by issuing the following command:

  set DOS16M=value

Do not insert a space between DOS16M and the equal sign.  A space to the
right of the equal sign is optional.

The table below lists the machines and the settings you would use with
them.  Many settings have mnemonics, listed in the column "Alternate
Name", that you can use instead of the number.  Settings that you must set
with the DOS16M variable have the notation req'd in the first column.
Settings you may use are marked option, and settings that will
automatically be set are marked auto.

+------+---------------+-------+---------+-----------------------------------+
|      |               |       |Alternate|                                   |
|Status|Machine        |Setting|Name     |Comment                            |
+------+---------------+-------+---------+-----------------------------------+
|auto  |386/486 w/ DPMI|0      |None     |Set automatically if DPMI is active|
|req'd |NEC 98-series  |1      |9801     |Must be set for NEC 98-series      |
|auto  |PS/2           |2      |None     |Set automatically for PS/2         |
|auto  |386/486        |3      |386,80386|Set automatically for 386 or 486   |
|auto  |386            |INBOARD|None     |386 with Intel Inboard             |
|req'd |Fujitsu FMR-70 |5      |None     |Must be set for Fujitsu FMR-70     |
|auto  |386/486 w/ VCPI|11     |None     |Set automatically if VCPI detected |
|req'd |Hitachi B32    |14     |None     |Must be set for Hitachi B32        |
|req'd |OKI if800      |15     |None     |Must be set for OKI if800          |
|option|IBM PS/55      |16     |None     |May be needed for some PS/55s      |
+------+---------------+-------+---------+-----------------------------------+

The following procedure shows you how to test the switch mode setting.

  1. If you have one of the machines listed below, set the DOS16M
    environment variable to the value shown for that machine and specify a
    range of extended memory.  For example, if your machine is an NEC
    98-series, set DOS16M=1 @2M-4M.  See the section, "Fine Control of
    Memory Usage" later in this chapter for more information about setting
    the memory range.

       +--------------------+---------+
       | Machine            | Setting |
       +--------------------+---------+
       | NEC 98-series      | 1       |
       | Fujitsu FMR-60,-70 | 5       |
       | Hitachi B32        | 14      |
       | OKI if800          | 15      |
       +--------------------+---------+

    Before running DOS/4GW applications, check the switch mode setting by
    following this procedure:

  2. Run PMINFO and note the switch setting reported on the last line of
    the display.  (PMINFO, which reports on the protected-mode resources
    available to your programs, is described in more detail in the
    chapter, "Utilities".)

    If PMINFO runs, the setting is usable on your machine.

  3. If you changed the switch setting, add the new setting to your
    AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Note:  PMINFO will run successfully on 286 machines.  If your DOS/4GW
application does not run, and PMINFO does, check the CPU type reported on
the first line of the display.

You are authorized (and encouraged) to distribute PMINFO to your
customers.  You may also include a copy of this section in your
documentation.

1.3 Fine Control of Memory Usage

In addition to setting the switch mode as described above, the DOS16M
environment variable enables you to specify which portion of extended
memory DOS/4GW will use.  The variable also allows you to instruct DOS/4GW
to search for extra memory and use it if it is present.

1.3.1 Specifying a Range of Extended Memory

Normally, you don't need to specify a range of memory with the DOS16M
variable.  You must use the variable, however, in the following cases:

  * You are running on a Fujitsu FMR-series, NEC 98-series, OKI
   if800-series or Hitachi B-series machine.

  * You have older programs that use extended memory but don't follow one
   of the standard disciplines.

  * You want to shell out of DOS/4GW to use another program that requires
   extended memory.

If none of these conditions applies to you, you can skip this section.

The general syntax is:

  set DOS16M= [switch_mode] [@start_address [- end_address]] [:size]

In the syntax shown above, start_address, end_address and size represent
numbers, expressed in decimal or in hexadecimal (hex requires a 0x
prefix).  The number may end with a K to indicate an address or size in
kilobytes, or an M to indicate megabytes.  If no suffix is given, the
address or size is assumed to be in kilobytes.  If both a size and a range
are specified, the more restrictive interpretation is used.

The most flexible strategy is to specify only a size.  However, if you are
running with other software that does not follow a convention for
indicating its use of extended memory, and these other programs start
before DOS/4GW, you will need to calculate the range of memory used by the
other programs and specify a range for DOS/4GW programs to use.

DOS/4GW ignores specifications (or parts of specifications) that conflict
with other information about extended memory use.  Below are some examples
of memory usage control:

set DOS16M= 1 @2m-4m    Mode 1, for NEC 98-series machines, and use
                        extended memory between 2.0 and 4.0MB.

set DOS16M= :1M         Use the last full megabyte of extended memory, or
                        as much as available limited to 1MB.

set DOS16M= @2m         Use any extended memory available above 2MB.

set DOS16M= @ 0 - 5m    Use any available extended memory from 0.0 (really
                        1.0) to 5.0MB.

set DOS16M= :0          Use no extended memory.

As a default condition DOS/4GW applications take all extended memory that
is not otherwise in use.  Multiple DOS/4GW programs that execute
simultaneously will share the reserved range of extended memory.  Any
non-DOS/4GW programs started while DOS/4GW programs are executing will
find that extended memory above the start of the DOS/4GW range is
unavailable, so they may not be able to run.  This is very safe.  There
will be a conflict only if the other program does not check the BIOS
configuration call (Interrupt 15H function 88H, get extended memory size).

To create a private pool of extended memory for your DOS/4GW application,
use the PRIVATXM program, described in the chapter, "Utilities".

The default memory allocation strategy is to use extended memory if
available, and overflow into DOS (low) memory.

In a VCPI or DPMI environment, the start_address and end_address arguments
are not meaningful.  DOS/4GW memory under these protocols is not allocated
according to specific addresses because VCPI and DPMI automatically
prevent address conflicts between extended memory programs.  You can
specify a size for memory managed by VCPI or DPMI, but DOS/4GW will not
necessarily allocate this memory from the highest available extended
memory address, as it does for memory managed under other protocols.

1.3.2 Using Extra Memory

Some machines contain extra non-extended, non-conventional memory just
below 16MB.  When DOS/4GW runs on a Compaq 386, it automatically uses this
memory because the memory is allocated according to a certain protocol,
which DOS/4GW follows.  Other machines have no protocol for allocating
this memory.  To use the extra memory that may exist on these machines,
set DOS16M with the + option.

  set DOS16M=+

Setting the + option causes DOS/4GW to search for memory in the range from
FA0000 to FFFFFF and determine whether the memory is usable.  DOS/4GW does
this by writing into the extra memory and reading what it has written.  In
some cases, this memory is mapped for DOS or BIOS usage, or for other
system uses.  If DOS/4GW finds extra memory that is mapped this way, and
is not marked read-only, it will write into that memory.  This will cause
a crash, but won't have any other effect on your system.

1.4 Setting Runtime Options

The DOS16M environment variable sets certain runtime options for all
DOS/4GW programs running on the same system.

To set the environment variable, the syntax is:

  set DOS16M=[switch_mode_setting]^options.

Note:  Some command line editing TSRs, such as CED, use the caret (^) as a
delimiter.  If you want to set DOS16M using the syntax above while one of
these TSRs is resident, modify the TSR to use a different delimiter.

These are the options:

0x01       check A20 line -- This option forces DOS/4GW to wait until the
           A20 line is enabled before switching to protected mode.  When
           DOS/4GW switches to real mode, this option suspends your
           program's execution until the A20 line is disabled, unless an
           XMS manager (such as HIMEM.SYS) is active.  If an XMS manager
           is running, your program's execution is suspended until the A20
           line is restored to the state it had when the CPU was last in
           real mode.  Specify this option if you have a machine that runs
           DOS/4GW but is not truly AT-compatible.  For more information
           on the A20 line, see the section, "Controlling Address Line
           A20" in this chapter.

0x02       prevent initialization of VCPI -- By default, DOS/4GW searches
           for a VCPI server and, if one is present, forces it on.  This
           option is useful if your application does not use EMS
           explicitly, is not a resident program, and may be used with
           386-based EMS simulator software.

0x04       directly pass down keyboard status calls -- When this option is
           set, status requests are passed down immediately and
           unconditionally.  When disabled, pass-downs are limited so the
           8042 auxiliary processor does not become overloaded by keyboard
           polling loops.

0x10       restore only changed interrupts -- Normally, when a DOS/4GW
           program terminates, all interrupts are restored to the values
           they had at the time of program startup.  When you use this
           option, only the interrupts changed by the DOS/4GW program are
           restored.

0x20       set new memory to 00 -- When DOS/4GW allocates a new segment or
           increases the size of a segment, the memory is zeroed.  This
           can help you find bugs having to do with uninitialized memory.
           You can also use it to provide a consistent working environment
           regardless of what programs were run earlier.  This option only
           affects segment allocations or expansions that are made through
           the DOS/4GW kernel (with DOS function 48H or 4AH).  This option
           does not affect memory allocated with a compiler's malloc
           function.

0x40       set new memory to FF -- When DOS/4GW allocates a new segment or
           increases the size of a segment, the memory is set to 0xFF
           bytes.  This is helpful in making reproducible cases of bugs
           caused by using uninitialized memory.  This option only affects
           segment allocations or expansions that are made through the
           DOS/4GW kernel (with DOS function 48H or 4AH).  This option
           does not affect memory allocated with a compiler's malloc
           function.

0x80       new selector rotation -- When DOS/4GW allocates a new selector,
           it usually looks for the first available (unused) selector in
           numerical order starting with the highest selector used when
           the program was loaded.  When this option is set, the new
           selector search begins after the last selector that was
           allocated.  This causes new selectors to rotate through the
           range.  Use this option to find references to stale selectors,
           i.e., segments that have been cancelled or freed.

1.5 Controlling Address Line 20

This section explains how DOS/4GW uses address line 20 (A20) and describes
the related DOS16M environment variable settings.  It is unlikely that you
will need to use these settings.

Because the 8086 and 8088 chips have a 20-bit address spaces, their
highest addressable memory location is one byte below 1MB.  If you specify
an address at 1MB or over, which would require a twenty-first bit to set,
the address wraps back to zero.  Some parts of DOS depend on this wrap, so
on the 286 and 386, the twenty-first address bit is disabled.  To address
extended memory, DOS/4GW enables the twenty-first address bit (the A20
line).  The A20 line must be enabled for the CPU to run in protected mode,
but it may be either enabled or disabled in real mode.

By default, when DOS/4GW returns to real mode, it disables the A20 line.
Some software depends on the line being enabled.  DOS/4GW recognizes the
most common software in this class, the XMS managers (such as HIMEM.SYS),
and enables the A20 line when it returns to real mode if an XMS manager is
present.  For other software that requires the A20 line to be enabled, use
the A20 option.  The A20 option makes DOS/4GW restore the A20 line to the
setting it had when DOS/4GW switched to protected mode.  Set the
environment variable as follows:

  set DOS16M= A20

To specify more than one option on the command line, separate the options
with spaces.

The DOS16M variable also lets you to specify the length of the delay
between a DOS/4GW instruction to change the status of the A20 line and the
next DOS/4GW operation.  By default, this delay is 1 loop instruction when
DOS/4GW is running on a 386 machine.  In some cases, you may need to
specify a longer delay for a machine that will run DOS/4GW but is not
truly AT-compatible.  To change the delay, set DOS16M to the desired
number of loop instructions, preceded by a comma:

  set DOS16M=,loops

2.0  VMM

The Virtual Memory Manager (VMM) uses a swap file on disk to augment RAM.
With VMM you can use more memory than your machine actually has.  When RAM
is not sufficient, part of your program is swapped out to the disk file
until it is needed again.  The combination of the swap file and available
RAM is the virtual memory.

Your program can use VMM if you set the DOS environment variable, DOS4GVM,
as follows.  To set the DOS4GVM environment variable, use the format shown
below.

  set DOS4GVM= [option[#value]] [option[#value]]

A "#" is used with options that take values since the DOS command shell
will not accept "=".

If you set DOS4GVM equal to 1, the default parameters are used for all
options.

Example:
  C>set DOS4GVM=1

2.1 VMM Default Parameters

VMM parameters control the options listed below.

MINMEM      The minimum amount of RAM managed by VMM.  The default is
            512KB.

MAXMEM      The maximum amount of RAM managed by VMM.  The default is 4MB.

SWAPMIN     The minimum or initial size of the swap file.  If this option
            is not used, the size of the swap file is based on VIRTUALSIZE
            (see below).

SWAPINC     The size by which the swap file grows.

SWAPNAME    The swap file name.  The default name is "DOS4GVM.SWP".  By
            default the file is in the root directory of the current
            drive.  Specify the complete path name if you want to keep the
            swap file somewhere else.

DELETESWAP  Whether the swap file is deleted when your program exits.  By
            default the file is not deleted.  Program startup is quicker
            if the file is not deleted.

VIRTUALSIZE The size of the virtual memory space.  The default is 16MB.

2.2 Changing the Defaults

You can change the defaults in two ways.

  1. Specify different parameter values as arguments to the DOS4GVM
    environment variable, as shown in the example below.

      set DOS4GVM=deleteswap maxmem#8192

  2. Create a configuration file with the filetype extension ".VMC", and
    call that as an argument to the DOS4GVM environment variable, as shown
    below.

      set DOS4GVM=@NEW4G.VMC

2.2.1 The .VMC File

A ".VMC" file contains VMM parameters and settings as shown in the example
below.  Comments are permitted.  Comments on lines by themselves are
preceded by an exclamation point (!).  Comments that follow option
settings are preceded by white space.  Do not insert blank lines:
processing stops at the first blank line.

  !Sample .VMC file
  !This file shows the default parameter values.
  minmem = 512            At least 512K bytes of RAM is required.
  maxmem = 4096           Uses no more than 4MB of RAM
  virtualsize = 16384     Swap file plus allocated memory is 16MB
  !To delete the swap file automatically when the program exits, add
  !deleteswap
  !To store the swap file in a directory called SWAPFILE, add
  !swapname = c:\swapfile\dos4gvm.swp