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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: jeffrey@carlyle.com (Jeffrey Carlyle) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer,alt.msdos.programmer,comp.answers,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ part 5/5 Supersedes: <msdos-programmer-faq/part5_873193441@rtfm.mit.edu> Followup-To: comp.os.msdos.programmer Date: 30 Sep 1997 09:50:12 GMT Organization: The COMP-FAQ Project Lines: 718 Sender: jeffrey@carlyle.com (Jeffrey Carlyle) Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 3 Nov 1997 09:49:05 GMT Message-ID: <msdos-programmer-faq/part5_875612945@rtfm.mit.edu> References: <msdos-programmer-faq/part1_875612945@rtfm.mit.edu> Reply-To: jeffrey@carlyle.com (Jeffrey Carlyle) NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu Summary: Frequently asked questions by DOS programmers with tested answers. X-Last-Updated: 1997/08/04 Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.os.msdos.programmer:92884 alt.msdos.programmer:39081 comp.answers:28272 alt.answers:29279 news.answers:113417 Archive-name: msdos-programmer-faq/part5 Comp-os-msdos-programmer-archive-name: dos-faq-pt5.txt Posting-frequency: 28 days Last-modified: 04 Aug 97 ------------------------------ Subject: comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ part 5/5 For more information about this FAQ list please see Part 1. FAQ updates can be found at <http://www.premiernet.net/~carlyle>. This is part 5 of the frequently asked question list for the newsgroup comp.os.msdos.programmer. Part 5: Section 9. Downloading Section 10. Vendors and products ------------------------------ Subject: comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ Comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ Version 1997.08 Copyright 1997 by Jeffrey Carlyle. All rights reserved. This article is not in the public domain, but it may be redistributed so long as this notice, the acknowledgments, and the information on obtaining the latest copy of this list are retained and no fee is charged. The code fragments may be used freely; credit to the FAQ would be polite. This FAQ is not to be included in any static archive (e.g. CD- ROM or book); however, a pointer to the FAQ may be included. ============================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ============================= Part 1: Section 1. General FAQ and Newsgroup Information Section 2. General Reference Part 2: Section 3. Compile and Link Section 4. Keyboard Part 3: Section 5. Disks and files Section 6. Serial ports (COM ports) Part 4: Section 7. Other hardware questions and problems Section 8. Other software questions and problems Part 5: Section 9. Downloading Section 10. Vendors and products ------------------------------ Subject: Section 9. Downloading <Q: 9.01> - How do I use ftp? <Q: 9.02> - What are SimTel, Garbo, and Wustl? <Q: 9.03> - I have no ftp access. How can I get files from the archives? <Q: 9.04> - Can I get archives on CD-ROM? <Q: 9.05> - Where do I find program <mumble>? <Q: 9.06> - How can I check SimTel or Garbo before I post a request for a program? <Q: 9.07> - How do I download and decode a program I found? <Q: 9.08> - Where is UUDECODE? <Q: 9.09> - Why do I get errors when extracting from a ZIP file I downloaded? ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.01> - How do I use ftp? Date: Sun, 03 Aug 97 21:15:58 CST I was much impressed with {The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog} by Ed Krol (O'Reilly & Associates, second edition ISBN 1-56592-063-5). It gives lots of information on using ftp, email, Telnet, Archie, etc. As a new user of ftp (January 1993), I found the information made me productive quickly. (Disclosure: Though I don't believe it has biased my judgment, you should know that O'Reilly sent me a free evaluation copy.) You may also want to look at the "Anonymous FTP FAQ List". You can get it from: <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/ftp- list/faq> <ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/doc-net/ftp-list.zip> <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/info/ftp- list.zip> When downloading a file by ftp, make sure you have write access to your working directory on your local machine, and that your disk has enough space to hold the files. Also make sure that if it's a ZIP file or other binary file type, you set the protocol to binary before downloading the file. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.02> - What are SimTel, Garbo, and Wustl? Date: Sun, 03 Aug 97 21:15:43 CST These are three of the most popular archive sites, with a few bazillion files available for free downloading by ftp. (For email access, see <Q: 9.03> - "I have no ftp access. How can I get files from the archives?".) Many of the files are shareware and you're expected to send a payment directly to the authors if you use them regularly. In comp.archives.msdos.d, Samuel Ko posts a two-part "Useful MS-DOS Programs at SIMTEL20 and Garbo"; it's downloadable as: <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/info/useful34.zip > <ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/filelist/useful34.zip> <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/msdos- archives/part*> For rtfm.mit.edu instructions, see <Q: 1.13> "Where are FAQ lists archived?" A few words about file names and versions: Many files at the archive sites are updated from time to time. I verified every filename in this FAQ as of 04 Aug 1997 by ftp to the named sites, or by consulting their index files. If you can't find a file given in these articles as mumble12.zip, perhaps there's a newer version; try mumble13.zip or mumble14.zip, or mumble*.zip if your ftp program supports wildcards (most do so). Please let me know of any out-of-date file names. This FAQ should show both Garbo and SimTel directory and file names, if available, for every file mentioned for downloading. If you see a listing for only one of them, it means that the file was not found at the other site, or that the other site's catalog shows an old version. Also remember that caps and lower case filenames are not interchangeable at most archive sites. Other Archives: A comprehensive list of MS-DOS archive sites is downloadable as: <ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/pd2/moder*.zip> <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/info/moder*.zip> ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.03> - I have no ftp access. How can I get files from the archives? First, be sure that you have no ftp access before trying email methods. (Ask your sysadmin, or a knowledgeable user at your site.) FTP is better for you because it's faster, and it uses less net resources too. When using an email server, make sure the Reply-to path in your message is valid. If it's not, you'll get no reply from the server. Do wait a few days before assuming you're not going to get a response; some servers have long pending queues. After a suitable wait, get your sysadmin's help to correct your reply-to, and send your message again. Occasionally, a machine may go down for an extended period which may prevent a timely reply to your message. If you're sure your message bears a good reply path and you haven't got a reply in a week or so, you might send your message again, once. Don't post it as an article in a newsgroup. For files from SimTel, see "How to order SIMTEL20 files via e-mail", posted monthly in comp.archives.msdos.announce; or send email containing only the word "help" to listserv@vm1.nodak.edu. For instructions on using Garbo's email server, send a request to Timo Salmi at ts@uwasa.fi. The DEC Western Research Labs server will get files from any ftp site by ftp and then email them to you. Send email containing "help" to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.04> - Can I get archives on CD-ROM? Copies of the SimTel MS-DOS, Macintosh and Unix-C collections (also of wuarchive, cica, and others) are available from Walnut Creek CDROM, 1547 Palos Verdes, Suite 260, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-2228, telephone (800) 786-9907 or +1 510 674-0783, or FAX +1 510 674-0821, or email rab@cdrom.com. For a catalog of disks available, send email to info@cdrom.com, or ftp the catalog as /cdrom/catalog from cdrom.com. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.05> - Where do I find program <mumble>? You are asking about shareware, freeware, or public-domain programs, right? Commercial software is not legally distributed through the net, in general. (Occasionally vendors will make patches available, but these are useful only to upgrade software you already own.) That said, the quickest way to find a program you are looking for is to use a WWW search utility such as DEC's AltaVista at <http://www.altavista.digital.com>. There are also several newsgroups to help you find a program. Comp.binaries.ibm.pc.wanted is generally the best place to ask your question. Please review the guidelines in <Q: 1.08> - "What other technical newsgroups should I know about?" Download and check the indexes from SimTel and Garbo (see <Q: 9.06> - "How can I check SimTel or Garbo before I post a request for a program?"). Unless what you're looking for is commercial software, there's a good chance it will be at one or both of those sites. The Archie servers maintain directories of many (not all) ftp sites worldwide. You can Telnet to a server or client to search for files, or perform a search by email. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.06> - How can I check SimTel or Garbo before I post a request for a program? SimTel and Garbo have indexes of their contents, which you can download and then search off line. Garbo's index file, /pc/INDEX.ZIP, contains an annotated list, often updated, of the MS-DOS files there. The news file /pc/pd2/news-pd2 contains selected news on all MS-DOS directories at Garbo. SimTel's index files, in /pub/msdos/filedocs, are updated several times a month. simlist.zip contains a list in text format. But you may prefer the file simindex.zip, which is comma-delimited for easy use with any of these search facilities: - Two downloadable search programs are simtel35.zip and simdir22.zip. - dBASE III or IV users can load the index from simindex.zi p using instructions in simibm.inf and simibm.db3. - PC-FILE users should get simibm.hdr, which tells how to use simibm.ibm. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.07> - How do I download and decode a program I found? See the "Starter kit" and "Beginner's guide to binaries" in comp.binaries.ibm.pc, usually posted on the first and 15th of every month. Please wait for these articles to come around; don't post a request. They can be downloaded from <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by- group/comp.binaries.ibm.pc/>. The file names are quite long; try look for names of the form *starter.kit* and *bin.man*. For rtfm.mit.edu instructions, see <Q: 1.13> "Where are FAQ lists archived?" Most binaries are posted and sent through email in 'uuencode' format. The starter kit contains a uudecode program to turn this file back into binary. Since the uuencoded file is bigger than the binary, you'll save connect time if you can uudecode it and then download the binary file. Remember to set file type to binary. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.08> - Where is UUDECODE? You can find it at SimTel and Garbo, but it's easier to take it from the "starter kit" mentioned in the preceding question. If you're logged in at a Unix site, there's almost certainly a uudecode there: just type "uudecode" followed by a space and the file name. The binary file is 25% smaller than the uuencoded file, so you'll save connect time if you can uudecode it on the Unix host and then download the binary file. Remember: set file type binary. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 9.09> - Why do I get errors when extracting from a ZIP file I downloaded? There are many possible causes, but two of them probably account for 95% of all problems. 1) File transmission: You must tell the archive site to transfer ZIP files in binary mode. Depending on your software, you may also need to set your local software to receive files in binary mode. 2) Unzipping program: Make sure you aren't using an obsolete version. Make sure you are using the latest version of the unzipping program used by the site you downloaded your file from. ------------------------------ Subject: Section 10. Vendors and products <Q: 10.01> - How can I contact Borland? <Q: 10.02> - How can I contact Microsoft? <Q: 10.03> - What's the current version of UNZIP? <Q: 10.04> - What is the phone number for a vendor's BBS? <Q: 10.05> - What is the current version of DJGPP? <Q: 10.06> - What and where is DJGPP? <Q: 10.07> - Are there any good shareware/freeware compilers? <Q: 10.08> - Is the source code to MS-DOS available? ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.01> - How can I contact Borland? Date: Wed, 11 Jan 95 15:34:00 CDT Individual employees of Borland post here sometimes. Their addresses all take the form person@borland.com. On the Web: Borland Online at <http://www.borland.com> contains a wealth of information about Borland software. Files from FTP: Patches, examples, and product info can be found at <ftp://ftp.borland.com/pub>. Borland has setup a Borland C++ Newsletter mailing list (BCPP). To subscribe, send a mail message to: listserv@borland.com The subject of the message is not needed. The body of the message must look like the following: subscribe bcpp <your first name> <your last name> Email tech support is available only through Compuserve (GO BOR). Telephone support is provided through separate phone numbers for most products. If you're calling from the U.S., dial (800) 841-8180 for a recorded list of toll numbers to call. Borland's BBS is at +1 408 439 9096. The surface-mail address is Technical Support Department, Borland International, P.O. Box 660001, Scotts Valley CA 95067-0001, USA. You'll need to give your product's name, version, and serial number. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.02> - How can I contact Microsoft? Date: Wed, 09 Oct 95 15:34:00 CDT Microsoft has stopped developing MS-DOS and most of the programming information they now provide is focused more on Windows development instead of MS-DOS programming. Individual employees of Microsoft (not MicroSoft, please!) post here sometimes. Their addresses all take the form person@microsoft.com. However, Microsoft as a company does not answer individual questions via email through the Internet. On the Web: Microsoft's Web server <http://www.microsoft.com> contains information on their products and allows users to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Via ftp: Microsoft's anonymous FTP server <ftp://ftp.microsoft.com> offers a variety of information for developers. This ftp server is run using Windows NT, so it supports both UNIX- like and DOS-like path names. For example \SOFTLIB\INDEX.TXT and /SOFTLIB/INDEX.TXT are both valid. Filenames are not case sensitive. These files in the root directoy may be of interest: index.txt Information about FTP.MICROSOFT.COM dirmap.txt List of all directories at FTP.MICROSOFT.COM ls-lr.zip FTP.MICROSOFT.COM file list. Compressed using PKZip Version 2.04g Information via U.S. Mail: Microsoft Product Support is at 16011 NE 36th Way, Box 97017, Redmond WA 98073-9717, USA. You can subscribe to the {Microsoft Developer News} by mailing a request to Microsoft Developer Network, P.O. Box 51812, Boulder CO 80322-1812, U.S.A. This newsletter appears to be free. Via modem: On Compuserve, GO MICROSOFT; or call Microsoft's BBS at +1 206 936-6735 in the U.S., or +1 416 507-3022 in Canada. Via voice telephone: If you want to place an order or get general pre-sales information, call the appropriate sales and service number: U.S. end-user sales (800) 426-9400 U.S. corporate/gov't/reseller/ educational sales (800) 227-4679 Canadian sales (800) 568-3503 International sales +1 206 936-8661 For tech support you must make an ordinary long-distance phone call. Microsoft has separate incoming phone numbers for many products. Since it's your nickel, first check your documentation to see if a phone number is listed. Here are phone numbers (as of 1 June 1992) for a few products of most interest to the readers of this group: C/C++ (206) 635-7007 MASM (206) 646-5109 DOS Upgrade Users (206) 646-5104 (for 90 days after first call) Windows Users (206) 637-6098 If you can't find the direct number any other way, call the "master" numbers below or the sales numbers a few paragraphs above. You'll get the "voice mail phone tree from h-ll" but you'll eventually get to the right department. They don't provide technical assistance, but a voice menu will help you find the current phone number for the department you need. U.S. end-user product support (206) 454-2030 U.S. languages support (206) 637-7096 ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.03> - What's the current version of UNZIP? Date: Sun, 03 Aug 97 21:17:50 CST The current version of PKWare's PKZip is 2.04g. The current version of InfoZip's ZIP is 2.0.1. The current version of InfoZip's UNZIP is 5.12. The primary source of the free Info-ZIP programs is at ftp.uu.net, directory /pub/archiving/zip; or at quest.jpl.nasa.gov, directory /pub. Files are in those directories or in subdirectories as shown below. The DOS executable for UNZIP is self extracting; all others require UNZIP 5.0, 5.1, 5.11 or 5.12: MSDOS/unzip512x.exe - DOS executable and doc, UNZIP 5.12 unzip512.zip - source code for UNZIP 5.12, all platforms MSDOS/zip20x.zip - DOS exe and doc, ZIP without crypt support zip201.zip - source code for ZIP 2.0, all platforms MSDOS/zcryp20x.zip - DOS exe and doc, ZIP with crypt support zcrypt21.zip - source code for ZIP crypt support WINDOWS/wunz20x.zip - Windows 3.1 WIZUNZIP 2.0 exe and help file WINDOWS/wunz20sr.zip - Windows 3.1 WIZUNZIP 2.0 source The essential files are also available at <ftp://ftp.coast.net/pub/msdos/zip>. PKZip and PKUNZIP are shareware products of PKWARE Inc. The current version is 2.04g, which is the third official version after 1.10. They are downloadable: From <http://www.pkware.com> From PKWare's bulletin board, +1 414 354 8670, or From <ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/arcers/pkz204g.exe> From <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/zip/pkz204g.exe> By the way, if you want to develop your own utilities, you will find the ZIP 2.0 data structures described in the downloadable file <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/zip/appnote.zip> ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.04> - What is the phone number for a vendor's BBS? Robert Baker (rbakerpc@delphi.com) uploaded a list of 800 bulletin-board support numbers operated by software vendors as of August 1993. It is downloadable as <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/bbslist/bbs_9308. zip>. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.05> - What is the current version of DJGPP? See <Q: 10.06> - What and where is DJGPP? ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.06> - What and where is DJGPP? DJGPP is a 32-bit C/C++/Ada95 development environment for the MS-DOS environment, based on the GNU tools. DJGPP can be retrieved from the following sites: <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp> <ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp> <ftp://archie.au/micros/pc/oak/vendors/djgpp> <ftp://ftp.ibp.fr/pub/pc/SimTel/vendors/djgpp> <ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/ofc> <http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/dl/ofc/> More information on DJGPP ca be found in the following places: The DJGPP FAQ: <ftp://ftp.coast.net/SimTel/vendors/djgpp/faq*.zip> <ftp://oak.oakland.edu/SimTel/vendors/djgpp/faq*.zip> <ftp://archie.au/micros/pc/oak/vendors/djgpp/faq*.zip> <ftp://ftp.ibp.fr/pub/pc/SimTel/vendors/djgpp/faq*.zip> <ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/ofc/faq*.zip> <http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/faq/> WWW Home Page: <http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/> Newsgroup: (preferred over the mailing list) <news:comp.os.msdos.djgpp> Mailing lists: Two DJGPP mailing lists have been setup. djgpp-announce is for announcements relating to DJGPP, and djgpp is a mirror of the comp.os.msdos.djgpp newsgroup. To subscribe, send a mail message to: <mailto:listserv@delorie.com> The subject should either be "subscribe djgpp-announce" or "subscribe djgpp" depending on which mailing list you are subscribing to. ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.07> - Are there any good shareware/freeware compilers? There are several shareware/freeware compilers for MS-DOS, here are just a couple. DJGPP See <Q: 10.06> - What and where is DJGPP? Magic Assembler Magic Assembler is a small easy-to-use x86 assembly language compiler. It can produce .COM files as well as boot sector programs. It can also print the source using the correct addresses. (Public Domain) <ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/asmutl/asm110.zi p> ------------------------------ Subject: <Q: 10.08> - Is the source code to MS-DOS available? Date: Sun, 03 Aug 97 21:23:56 CST No; however, source code to the Free-DOS project is available at <http://www.freedos.org>. ------------------------------ Subject: End (FAQ updates can be found at <http://www.premiernet.net/~carlyle>.) (End of comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ Version 1997.08 Part 5/5) (This text is copyright 1997 by Jeffrey Carlyle. All rights reserved.) // Jeffrey Carlyle, Bowling Green, Kentucy USA // // comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ maintainer // <http://www.premiernet.net/~carlyle>