Frostbyte's 1980s DOS Shareware Collection

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Text File | 1985-02-13 | 19KB | 619 lines

CBHFT HF-GECOVER UTILITYHF- HF-GEfor IBM PC, XT, or ATHF- HF-GE(PRINT SORTED DIRECTORY)HF- HF- November 1, 1984 Dan Daetwyler Route 5, Box 518A Springdale, AR 72764 (501) 756-0212 - COVER UTILITY GContents G Introduction ................................................. 1 G Operation .................................................... 2 G Source Code .................................................. 3 G Patching ..................................................... 6 G Modifications ................................................ 7 G Rights and Data .............................................. 8 - Contents ii - COVER UTILITY GE-INTRODUCTIONHF-HF- Just what you always needed! Yet another redundant, dupli- cative, and space occupying utility... Hopefully, this fills a niche left open in the array of PC-DOS utilities. This one sorts and formats the directory data and prints it so its "just right" to fit inside the diskette envelope. You have to provide your own paper cutter... the utility does the rest. The program runs under PC-DOS Versions 1.x, 2.x, or 3.0 and will operate on any normal configuration. It does expect the IBM or Epson MX80 printer (or equivalent), but should be easily modified to apply to any printer that offers "condensed" print and 8 lines per inch line spacing. It has two known limitations. It ignores hidden files, and if you're a Version 2.0 or later user and have implemented the "tree" directory paths with multiple directories on a diskette, only the "root" directories will be printed. Since the "path" logic seems primarily aimed at fixed disk, and this utility is directed towards diskettes, these limitations should not effect most users. - Introduction 1 - COVER UTILITY GE-OPERATIONHF- Simply place the diskette containing COVER.COM in a diskette drive, and enter the command: COVER. The utility will prompt with a console message asking which drive contains the diskette to be listed, so enter the single character drive designator appropriate (A-G). No colon or carriage return will be required. The program will then prompt for the title you wish to appear on the top line of the list. A 37 character field is provided. If you do not want the title, simply hit the "Enter" key, and the top line of the listing will be blank except for the date, and the diskette label (if it has one). When the first listing is complete, the utility will loop back and ask for another drive. This iterative process will continue until you respond with an "Escape" key to the drive request prompt. Exit is then made to the DOS. Note that although the utility prints two envelope covers per page, forms will be advanced to the "top of form" position in effect when the utility was started. The printer will also be restored to "power up" status. If you use Control-Break to exit the utility, this will not be true, so you'll have to manually re-aline and reset your printer. - Operation 2 - COVER UTILITY GE-SOURCE CODEHF- For those of you who do not wish to modify or extend COVER, this section will contain little of value. If your need is only that of trying to "fit" COVER to a different printer, read the section on "patching" first. The program is composed of seven separately assembled modules: COVER, COTITL, COFREE, COSCAN, COSORT, COPRNT, and COENDP. The listings are commented, but I'll include a few words on each of the modules. COVER is the main control module, and contains the major loop. Its first action is to preset the printer to 8 lines per inch, condensed print, and a 44 line page. If you have a "different" printer, you may need to change the control stream defined at SETPRT. The final zero in the control stream is not sent to the printer, but marks the end of string for DOPRT. Next, COVER checks for the DOS Version. The return from the 30H call (which is valid on release 1.x), is the release and version numbers under V2.0 of DOS. On prior releases it returns a zero. This code simply sets a switch that will be tested later. The "default" drive is then determined and saved, and finally, the number of drives on the configuration is determined. COVER then prompts for the drive letter for the drive containing the diskette to be listed. The single character input is first checked for an "Escape" (all done, so get off), and then the drive character is verified for a "legal" drive designator. The prompt starts the main loop, which ends after all processing is done for one diskette. COVER then calls GETTTL (Get Title), GETFRE (Determine free space on diskette), SCAN (Load all directory entries into an internal stack), SORT (Sequence the stacked entries), and PRINT (which formats and prints the stacked entries). When the Escape character is sensed, COVER resets the "default" drive to its value on entry, conditionally forces out one more "page" to restore the paper to the true top of forms, and then resets the printer to "power up" status. The control string for the latter is at RESPRT so the "different" printer users may modify that string if required. GETTTL is a primitive module which solicits a "title" from the user. 37 characters are allowed, and the standard DOS function is used to get this string. Null titles are permissible. The DOS function is also used to get the system date. DECMAL is a local subroutine that converts the content of the AL to two decimal digits in the AH and AL and then stores them in the area defined by the DI register. This code section also makes an attempt to get a "label" for the diskette. If the attempt is successful, the title "Label: ", and the actual label are placed in the title line. - Source Code 3 - COVER UTILITY GETFRE computes the "free" space available on the diskette and places the ASCII decimal result in the title line. This program is the reason COVER checked for the DOS Version. V2.0 provides a "nice" function that will give the free space directly, but does not allow you to gain addressability to the File Allocation Table (FAT). V1.x did not have this feature, but did provide addressability to the FAT. Since this program was to be used in both environments, this code has two paths. The code following the version test is for V2.0 (or later). Code starting at the label VERS1 is that process necessary to determine free space under the older versions of DOS. VCOM marks the point where the two paths re-join. If you're only running V2.0, you can decrease the size of the utility by removing the code from the instruction "JMP VCOM" to the instruction before that labeled VCOM. Finally, CONVRT is a public subroutine that converts the AX/DX content to a max of a seven digit number, leading zero suppressed, and places the result at the area pointed to by the DI register. SCAN does the normal DOS function calls to "find" an all "wild card" file name. This process repeats until the entire directory has been scanned. The result is placed in a stack and a pointer to the start of the entry is placed in a pointer list. The format of the stack entries is the file-name.typ followed by a zero byte, and then the four byte file size field from the directory. Since the data transfer area (DTA) has not been reset this module finds it input in the default DTA at 80H in the program prefix. SORT is a simple "bubble" sort of the stacked entries, but is driven from the pointer list. Yes, I know a shell sort is faster, but for a max of 224 entries, an old fashioned bubble uses less memory! PRINT simply uses the sorted pointers to form the final output. The title line has already been formed by the prior modules. The local subroutine PRTENT uses CONVRT to format the file sizes. Four columns will "fit" within the print size required, so PRINT initially computes column length. An inner and an outer loop controls the print process. The inner loop prints one entry each execution, and is executed four times per line. The outer loop is cycled once per entry in a single column. The source module COENDP includes no code. This module simply provides addressability to the memory above the program code. V2.0 provides this function in a much "cleaner" manner, but since this utility is to run on either Version, this subterfuge is necessary. That's a very quick "walk through" for the code, but together with the source comments, it should provide sufficient information for any extensions or modifications you may choose to make. Key the source in, and assemble the seven modules. The Link control stream is also included in the listings. Be very sure that the module COENDP occurs last in - Source Code 4 - COVER UTILITY the control stream, as shown in the listing. Otherwise you'll be stacking directory entries over some of the code. For those of you who are not familiar with "COM" files, ALL segment registers are preset by the operating system to the same value, so although you see no code for setting the DS and ES segment registers, they contain the same value as the CS and SS at program initiation so change is not required. The stack is automatically allocated at the "top" of the segment (64K) the program is loaded to, so no stack establishment is required. Finally, the established stack is initialized so that a "NEAR" return at end of program will return you to DOS correctly, so long as the CS register has not been changed. This program uses the 20H termination call, but could do a simple near RET with the same result. Link will provide console messages saying that there is no stack segment (that's right), and that there is one error (that's false). This response is normal when you're preparing a "COM" file. If you get more errors or other indications, you'd better re-check your work. Now you're ready to run EXE2BIN, and then rename the resultant file (COVER.BIN) to COVER.COM. That's all it takes. - Source Code 5 - COVER UTILITY GE-PATCHINGHF- If you have a printer other than those normally supported, and if your printer can be set for compressed print, 8 lines/inch, and variable page length, then you can probably "patch" COVER to suit your printer. Patching is simple. Bring up COVER under DEBUG, by entering: DEBUG COVER.COM Now enter a D 100, and debug will display (in hex) the data found at offset 100H in the data segment. Since COVER is a COM file, the code segment is the data segment. You'll notice two 12 byte strings at location 103H and 10FH, followed by a 4 byte string at location 11BH. The first string is the control codes necessary to set your printer to the following condition: Compressed print 44 Line Page 8 lines/inch print Check your printer manual and find out the set of codes required, and then use debug to key them into the area beginning at 103H. Be sure the string ends with a zero byte (null), and that no nulls are required in your command string. Your command string must be contained within 11 bytes plus the null byte to end the string. At location 10FH, you need to code a similar string, but this time it is the control codes necessary to cause your printer to restore itself to your "normal" settings. Again, this string must terminate with a zero byte. At location 11BH, code the control codes necessary to cause your printer to "restore" or advance the form to the next "top of form". Typically, this is a single byte, but even so, it must be followed by at least one zero byte. Having made those changes, simply enter the W command, and Debug will write back you changed file. Try it and see if it works. If it does not, you'd better recheck your changes (you were working with a backup, weren't you?), and your printer manual. - Patching 6 - COVER UTILITY GE-MODIFICATIONSHF- The original "COVER" has been modified to remove a few bugs. A correction was made to stop the utility from going into an endless loop when you attempted to list a diskette containing zero or one files. When V3.0 arrived, I found that the version check was faulty, and version 3.0 was considered to be the equivalent of V1.x. Ugh. That has been fixed. V3.0 also fixed a DOS "bug" that's been around "forever", so it now became possible to print the diskette label on the cover page title line, and that provision was "picked up". To provide space for this addition, the "title" was reduced from 40 to 37 characters. V3.0 supports high capacity diskette drives, which now makes it likely to have free space in the million byte or above ranges. Cover didn't like numbers greater than 6 digits, so that has been expanded to permit 7 digit numbers. The new drive permits a diskette to have up to 224 directory entries in the root directory. That really doesn't "fit" on the old cover page, soooooo..... COVER will now use its normal cover page for directories containing up to 132 entries. Over that, it will simply keep printing until it runs out of directory entries. You'll have to fold the page to stuff it in the envelop. Yes, COVER is smart enough to get to the true top of a physical page, before it starts one of the "extra long" cover pages. - Modifications 7 - COVER UTILITY GE-RIGHTS AND DATAHF- Cover has been formally declared "Public Domain", which gives you full rights for use, copy, modification, destruction(?),.... This version is also placed in "Public Domain". If you wish to be placed on a mailing list for notification of future versions (if any), and a moderately friendly reaction if you turn up trouble, the price is $5, to be sent to the address given below: This program is covered under no warranty of any kind, and the writer is not liable for any damages, direct or indirect, suffered through its use, or through inability to use this program. Dan Daetwyler Route 5, Box 518A Springdale, Arkansas 72764 501-756-0212 - Rights and Data 8CBHFT - Rig