Power-Programmierung

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Power-Programmierung / CD1.mdf / basic / library / qb_pds / dos / bios / qbbios.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1987-10-14 | 64.0 KB | 3,697 lines

Q B W A R E / 1 QBBIOS.LIB THE QUICKBASIC BIOS INTERFACE LIBRARY Version 1.0 R E F E R E N C E M A N U A L AJM Software P.O. Box 5303 Arvada, Co. 80005-0303 Copyright (c) 1987 AJM Software All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction to QBBIOS.LIB .......................... 2 II. A word about User supported software ................ 3 III. Warranty Information ................................ 5 IV. Registration and License Information ................ 6 V. Product Support ..................................... 10 VI. AJM Software Shareware Products ..................... 11 VII. Using QBBIOS.LIB .................................... 12 VIII. PRECAUTIONS (READ THIS SECTION) ..................... 14 IX. BIOS Video Services ................................. 15 X. BIOS Keyboard Services .............................. 22 XI. BIOS Diskette Services .............................. 29 XII. BIOS Miscellaneous Services ......................... 37 XIII. BIOS AT Disk Services ............................... 43 Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 1- Introduction to QBBIOS.LIB QBBIOS.LIB is the first part of the 3-part QBWARE/1 package. The entire package also includes QBDOS.LIB and QBFILE.LIB. The other packages will are described briefly in this documentation and are available immediately through AJM Software or should be available through normal shareware chan- nels before November 1, 1987. All of these products are sold together as QBWARE/1, but because of the wide functional differences between each library, the documentation and library routines are being kept separate. Any mention of QBWARE/1 in this documentation references all three libraries. QBBIOS.LIB is a series of assembler language subroutines specifically designed to provide an easy to use interface between Quickbasic programs and your computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). The system BIOS is a collection of programs that control most of the fundamental processes or functions of your computer such as system startup or initialization, com- munications with peripheral devices such as video, disks, modems, print- ers, etc., handling of certain error conditions such as Ctrl-Break, Divide by zero, and others. Some of the services presented here are already provided in Quickbasic and many of them are not. They will provide you with a greater degree of control over the environment in which your program executes as well as performing these services much more quickly. You must keep in mind that these routines interact with your computer's BIOS and have been designed and tested on IBM and COMPAQ computers. In order for them to function properly, your computer must be an IBM or Com- patible. These functions have been tested with both version 2 and version 3 of Quickbasic. Quickbasic is a registered trademark of Microsoft. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 2- A Word about User-supported Software User-supported software is a means for the computing community to receive quality software while directly supporting software authors. It is based on the ideas that: The value and utility of software is best assessed by the user on his or her own system. Only after using a program can one really determine whether it serves personal applications, needs and tastes. The creation of independent personal computer software can and should be supported by the computing community. Copying of programs should be encouraged, rather than restricted. The ease with which software can be distributed outside traditional commercial channels reflects the strength, rather than the weakness, of electronic information. Under the user supported concept, anyone may request a copy of a user-supported program by sending a blank, formatted disk to the program author together with an addressed, postage-paid return mailer. A copy of the program, along with documentation on disk, will be sent by return mail on the user's disk. The program carries a notice suggesting registration for the program. You should register if you are going to use the program on a regular basis. Regardless of whether you register and use the program, you are encouraged to copy and distribute the program for the private, non-commercial, trial use of others. User supported software is generally not public domain material; most programs of this nature carry a copyright notice. Rather, the author has licensed you to copy and use the program under certain conditions. Likewise, user supported software is not intended to be free software; it is an experiment in economics, not altruism. It is intended to provide quality software at a low price, while directly supporting the author, without the overhead of distributors, dealers and advertising that produces $500 software packages. User supported software is having a hard time. More and more packages are being taken out of this market, and offered as more traditional, and expensive, products. The reason for this is simple: lots of people are using the packages but very few are paying for them. And without the support of the users, there is absolutely no incentive for software authors to provide their programs in this fashion. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 3- There are many good reasons to register. Besides supporting the author (that is, paying for the software you use), you generally get better support and receive mailed notification of updates and other products. In conclusion, if you regularly use a user supported program (sometimes called Freeware or Shareware) and have not sent in a registration to the author, please do so now. Only through the financial support of users will this kind of inexpensive software continue to be available. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 4- WARRANTY AJM Software makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation, any warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. AJM Software shall not be liable for any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential arising from a failure of this program to operate in the manner desired by the user. AJM Software shall not be liable for any damage to data or property which may be caused directly or indirectly by use of the program. IN NO EVENT WILL AJM Software BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 5- Registration and ordering information A QBWARE/1 registration licenses you to use the product on a regular basis. Registration includes mailed notification of updates and priority support. Users need register only one version of QBWARE/1 - registration includes licensed use of all upgrades. Individual registrations for QBWARE/1 are available from AJM Software at a cost of $39.00. AJM will provide you with the most current release of QBBIOS.LIB in both object and assembly source code form on 5 1/4 inch diskette. The reference manual will also be included on the diskette. A bound reference manual is available for an additional $25.00. Registration entitles you to include any QBWARE/1 routine in your applications for distribution without royalty. Including QBWARE/1 in your applications without registration is strictly prohibited. Quantity discounts are available. Please see the section titled 'Corporate and quantity purchases'. In addition, evaluation disks are available at any time for $10. These disks do not include registration. The fee covers diskette, postage and handling. Please use the enclosed order form when placing an order. ORDERS OUTSIDE THE US: Please include an additional $10.00 to cover additional postage and handling costs. No C.O.D.'s will be accepted on orders delivered outside the US. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 6- Remit to: AJM Software Order Form P.O. Box 5303 Arvada, CO 80005-0303 Please send: ____ QBWARE/1 Disk (Evaluation only) ........... @ $ 10.00 ea $ ______ (includes QBBIOS,QBDOS,QBFILE routines and manual on disk) ____ QBWARE/1 Registration ..................... @ $ 39.00 ea $ ______ (includes QBWARE/1 disk and source code) ____ QBWARE/1 Bound Reference Manual ........... @ $ 25.00 ea $ ______ (includes only the reference manual) Subtotal ______ Less Discount <______> C.O.D. Fee ($5.00) ______ Total $ ______ Payment by: ( ) Check ( ) C.O.D. Name: ____________________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ : ____________________________________________________________ : ____________________________________________________________ Day Phone: _________________________ Eve: ___________________________ ORDERS OUTSIDE THE US: Please include an additional $10.00 to cover additional postage and handling costs. No C.O.D.'s will be accepted on orders delivered outside the US. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 7- Corporate and Quantity Purchases All corporate, business, government or other commercial users of QBBIOS.LIB must be registered. We offer quantity discounts starting at the sixth copy. Orders in quantities of less than 50 units are handled as bulk purchases. Purchases of over 50 units may be handled as quantity purchases or as corporate licensing agreements. Licensing agreements allow duplication and distribution of specific numbers of copies within the licensed institution. Duplication of multiple copies is not allowed except through execution of a licensing agreement. Please write for details. The quantity purchase discounts are as follows: 0- 5 copies: no discount 6- 20 copies: 20% discount 21+ copies: 40% discount ALL PRICES AND DISCOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. Discounts are not cumulative; they apply to single orders of like products only. Unit prices are the same as for individual users. WARNING: YOU MAY NOT USE QBWARE/1 WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION WITHOUT A PRIOR PURCHASE OR LICENSE ARRANGEMENT. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 8- LICENSE All versions of QBWARE/1, including version 1.0, are not public domain software, nor are they free software. QBWARE/1 is copyright (C) 1987 by AJM Software Non-registered users are granted a limited license to use QBWARE/1 on a trial basis for the purpose of determining whether it is suitable for their needs. Use of QBWARE/1, except for this limited purpose, requires registration. Use of non-registered copies of QBWARE/1 by any person, business, corporation, governmental agency or other entity institution is strictly forbidden. Registration permits a user the license to use QBWARE/1 for development purposes, only on a single computer. QBWARE/1 can be included into any program and distributed in library form only without royalty. A registered user may use the program on a different computer, but may not use the program on more than one computer at the same time. All users are granted a limited license to copy QBWARE/1 only for the trial use of others subject to the above limitations, and also the following: QBWARE/1 must be copied in unmodified form, complete with the file containing this license information. The full QBWARE/1 documentation must be included with the copy. No fee, charge or other compensation may be accepted or requested by any licensee, except a handling fee not to exceed $10.00 QBWARE/1 may not be distributed in conjunction with any other product. The ASSEMBLY source code for QBWARE/1 may NOT be distributed under any circumstances. The object modules supplied with a registered copy of QBWARE/1 may NOT be distributed under any circumstances. Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (Sysops) may post QBWARE/1 for downloading by their users only as long as the above conditions are met. Distributors of public domain or user supported software, other than operators of electronic bulletin board systems, may distribute copies of QBWARE/1 subject to the above conditions only after obtaining written permission from AJM Software. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 9- Product Support If you have any questions or comments about the use of QBWARE/1, please fill out a problem log and send it to us. In your note, describe as completely as possible the problem you are having. Let us know your machine configuration, which routine you are questioning, the version of QBBIOS.LIB, and any resident software installed. If possible, include a copy (on paper) of your source code. Describe what steps you take before the problem occurs, and exactly what the program does when it occurs. If you do not provide us with a complete description of the problem there is little we can do to help. We'll do our best to get you past the problem, but if you are not a registered user we do not guarantee to provide support of any kind. Please be patient. We usually respond to registered users within 3 working days at the most. We will provide support to non-registered users at our discretion. It generally depends on how the request is worded and the mental disposition of the staff person assigned to handle requests on that day. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 10- AJM Software Shareware Products AJM Software has developed several software products being released through Shareware channels. These are: QBWARE/1 QBBIOS.LIB The Quickbasic BIOS interface library QBDOS.LIB The Quickbasic DOS interface library QBFILE.LIB The Quickbasic DOS File Mgmt interface library QBWARE/2 QBWINDOW.LIB The Quickbasic windowing system library QBFUNC.LIB The Quickbasic function library QBBIOS.LIB is the Quickbasic - BIOS interface library. This is a collec- tion of assembler routines that can be called from Quickbasic to gain direct access to video, keyboard, disk, and printer services. It also provides a method of determining the computer's configuration, including amount of RAM - conventional, extended, and LIMM expanded, number of hard disks and floppy disks, and more. QBDOS.LIB is the Quickbasic - DOS interface library. This is a collection of assembler routines that can be called from Quickbasic to gain access to most of the DOS facilities. Services include access to the print spooler (DOS V3.00 or higher only), acquisition of an additional 64KB of string space, access to the DOS Video routines, and routines to provide DOS redi- rection in a Quickbasic program, and more. QBFILE.LIB is the Quickbasic - DOS File Manager interface library. This is a collection of assembly language routines that can be called from Quickbasic to gain access to the DOS File Manager facilities. Services include file open, close, and various versions of create, get, set or change current drive or directory, read or write individual sectors, read or write individual records within a file, get or change disk volume names, rename or copy files, get or set file creation dates or times, directly access the disk directory or sub-directories, and more. QBWARE/2 will be released as a Shareware product on December 1, 1987. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 11- Using QBBIOS.LIB All of the QBBIOS.LIB routines can be accessed via the Quickbasic 'Call' statement. The format of this statement is as follows: Call Function(Parm1%, Parm2%, Parm3$) Function is the name of the routine to be executed. It must be spelled exactly as shown in the following chapters. The parameters to be passed to the routine will also be explained in the following chapters. You must use the exact number of parameters shown in each function description and each parameter must be the type (i.e. character or integer) shown in each function description. Using an incorrect number of parameters or using a parameter of the wrong type (i.e. using character instead of integer) will generally result in the abnormal termination of your program. Usually you will get either a 'String Space Corrupt' error or you will start executing the wrong statements in your program. In any event, it is almost impos- sible to predict the results of these two types of errors, so it is criti- cal that you be very careful in coding the call statements. The parameters passed to QBBIOS.LIB routines will be either character or numeric integers. There are no special requirements for passing integers and constants may also be used. There is no functional difference between these two sets of statements: Example 1 Drive$ = "A" 'Indicate drive a Type% = 2 'Indicate 360KB disk Call BsDASTyp(Drive$, Type%, Rc%) 'Call QBBIOS routine Example 2 Call BsDASTyp("A", 2, Rc%) Note that Rc% must not be defined as a constant because the QBBIOS routine will return a value in this field and your Quickbasic program cannot access this field if it is defined as a constant. All character fields must be initialized to the proper length before calling a QBBIOS.LIB func- tion. Failing to do so may result in a 'String Space Corrupt' condition. The following two examples appear similar but Example 1 will fail and Example 2 will succeed because 'Char$' has been properly initialized. Example 1 (incorrect) Char$ = "" 'clear work field Call BsGKey(Char$, Scan.Code%) 'get the next keystroke Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 12- Example 2 (correct) Char$ = space$(1) 'clear work field Call BsGKey(Char$, Scan.Code%) 'get the next keystroke Including the QBBIOS.LIB routines in your programs can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The non-registered user can do one of the following: 1) compile the program from within the Quickbasic interactive develop- ment environment 2) compile the program from the DOS prompt In order to use method 1, place the file QBBIOS.EXE in the directory con- taining your Quickbasic files (i.e. QB.EXE and BRUN20.LIB). When starting Quickbasic, enter the following command at the DOS prompt: QB /L QBBIOS.EXE You may now use any of the QBBIOS.LIB functions in your programs. If you compile your program using the 'Exe' output option, the appropriate QBBIOS.LIB functions will be available to the EXE file. In order to use method 2, place the file QBBIOS.EXE in the directory con- taining your Quickbasic system files. The following example shows how to create an executable file from the Basic source code in the file 'FILECHK.BAS': QB FILECHK /L QBBIOS.EXE; LINK FILECHK; Doing this will create the executable file 'FILECHK.EXE' Additionally, registered users will have the ability to create their own custom user library (see the file BUILDLIB.QBB on the QBBIOS.LIB disk for instructions) or they can include the appropriate functions into their program when it is linked. For example, if the program 'INPUT.BAS' uses the QBBIOS.LIB routines BSKGET and BSKNXT, an executable file can be created using the following commands at the DOS prompt: QB INPUT; LINK INPUT BSKGET BSKNXT; This assumes that all of the files on the QBBIOS.LIB disk have been placed into the directory containing the Quickbasic system files. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 13- PRECAUTIONS!!!!!! These routines were designed to used with Quickbasic on an IBM PC or com- patible computer. Using this product with any Basic compiler or inter- preter other than Quickbasic version 2 or 3 will probably not work and may cause loss of data. Using this product on a non-IBM compatible computer will give hit or miss results. Some things will work, some things won't work. The only way to find out is to try. A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT HARD DISKS - there are many manufacturers and vari- eties of hard disks available for the IBM PC and compatible computer. Many of these hard disks work through the traditional BIOS functions and many provide their own proprietary software to function properly. These disks with proprietary software may not respond properly to some of the BIOS interface routines. IN ANY EVENT, DO NOT TEST ANY HARD DISK OR FLOPPY DISK ROUTINES WITHOUT FIRST BACKING UP YOUR DISK - REPEAT - DO NOT TEST ANY HARD DISK OR FLOPPY DISK ROUTINES WITHOUT FIRST BACKING UP YOUR DISK. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 14- The BIOS Video Services Function Summary BSVMODE - Get or set video mode BSVSCUR - Set or get cursor size BSVSWID - Get screen width BSVSPOS - Get or set cursor position BSVSPAG - Get or set video display page BSVSCRUP - Scroll up or clear a window BSVSCRDN - Scroll down or clear a window BSVRCHR - Read a character and attribute from the screen BSVWCHR - Write a character to the screen BSVWTTY - Write in teletype mode Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 15- BSVMODE - Get or set video mode Usage - Call BsVMode(Function%, Mode%) Function% 0 - set video mode 1 - get video mode Mode% (When Function% = 0, Mode% must be initialized to one of the following values. When Function% = 1, Mode% will return one of the following values.) Mode Type Adapter 0 40 X 25 B/W text CGA 1 40 X 25 16 color text CGA 2 80 X 25 B/W text CGA 3 80 X 25 16 color text CGA 4 320 X 200 4 color graphics CGA 5 320 X 200 4-Grey graphics CGA 6 640 X 200 B/W graphics CGA 7 80 X 25 B/W text MA(Monochrome) 8 160 X 200 16 color graphics PCjr 9 320 X 200 16 color graphics PCjr 10 640 X 200 4 color graphics PCjr 10 640 X 200 16 color graphics EGA 13 320 X 200 4 color graphics EGA 14 640 X 200 16 color graphics EGA 15 640 X 350 4 color graphics EGA 16 640 X 350 4 or 16 color graphics EGA Programming notes: For RGB monitors, there is no functional difference between modes 0 and 1, or between modes 2 and 3. The EGA will support all modes except 8 and 9. Normally, the screen buffer will be cleared when you set the video mode - even if you set it the same mode. This is not, however, a recommended method for clearing the screen as it could cause some delay in many PC- compatibles. Using a mode that is not supported by your video adapter card will have unpredictable results. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 16- BSVSCUR - Set or get cursor size Usage - Call BsVSCur(Function%, Start%, End%) Function% 0 - set cursor size 1 - get cursor size Start% Starting scan line End% Ending scan line Programming notes: The scan line is a row of pixels that make up a character on the screen. On monochrome monitors, there are 13 scan lines numbered 0 thru 12. On RGB monitors, there are 8 scan lines numbered 0 thru 7. The default val- ues for cursor size are as follows: Mode Display Start End 0-3 RGB Monitor (text modes) 6 7 7 Monochrome 11 12 The hardware causes the cursor to blink and it normally cannot be dis- abled while in text mode, however, some machines will cause the cursor to disappear when a starting scan line of 32 is used. A technique that always makes the cursor disappear is to move it off the screen using BSVSPOS (e.g. move it to column 1, row 26). Using a starting scan line that is greater than the ending scan line will make the cursor wrap and cause a two-part cursor to show on the screen. Function% must be initialized prior to calling BSVSCUR. If function% is 0 then Start% and End% must be initialized to proper values prior to making the call. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 17- BSVSWID - Get screen width Usage - Call BsVSWid(Wid%) Wid% Number of characters that can be displayed on the screen - either 40 or 80. BSVSPOS - Get or set cursor position Usage - Call BsVSPos(Function%, Row%, Column%, Page%) Function% 0 - set cursor position 1 - get cursor position Row% Cursor coordinate Column% Cursor coordinate Page% Display page whose cursor position is to be set or retrieved. Programming notes: A separate cursor is maintained for each display page (See BSVSPAG for more on display pages). The cursor is affected only in the display page specified. Coordinates (1,1) represent the upper left hand corner of the screen. Coordinates (80,25) represent the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Positioning the cursor outside the limits of the current display will cause the cursor to disappear. In graphics modes, Row% and Column% should be interpreted as pixel coordi- nates. Function% and Page% must be initialized prior to calling BSVSPOS. If Function% is 0 then Row% and Column% must be initialized prior to making the call. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 18- BSVSPAG - Get or set video display page Usage - Call(BsVSPag(Function%, Page%) Function% 0 - set current page 1 - get current page Programming Notes: Valid page ranges are as follows: Page range Mode Adapter 0 - 7 0 CGA 0 - 7 1 CGA 0 - 3 2 CGA 0 - 3 3 CGA 0 - 7 2 EGA 0 - 7 3 EGA 0 - 7 13 EGA 0 - 3 14 EGA 0 - 1 15 EGA 0 - 1 16 EGA Changing pages has no effect on their contents and text can be written to any page regardless of which page is active. Using multiple pages is not possible on a monochrome monitor with an MDA adapter. Function% must be initialized to 0 or 1 prior to calling BSVSPAG. If Function% is 0 then Page% must be initialized to a valid page number. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 19- BSVSCRUP - Scroll up or clear a window Usage - Call BsVScrup(Lines%, FgColor%, BgColor%, Ulc%, Ulr%, Lrc%, Lrr%) Lines% Number of lines to scroll up. If Lines% is zero, then the entire window is blanked. FgColor% Foreground color - 0 thru 31 are valid foreground colors. BgColor% Background color - 0 thru 7 are valid background colors. Ulc% Coordinate of the left column of the scroll window. 1 indicates the far left column. Ulr% Coordinate of the top row of the scroll window. 1 indi- cates the top row of the screen. Lrc% Coordinate of the right column of the scroll window. 80 is the far right column. Lrr% Coordinate of the bottom row of the scroll window. 25 is the last row of the screen. Programming notes: This function affects only the currently active display page and any data scrolled off of the window is lost. Blank lines are inserted at the bot- tom of the window. If the number of lines to scroll equals zero, then the entire window is blanked out. All fields must be initialized prior to calling BSVSCRUP. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 20- BSVSCRDN - Scroll down or clear a window Usage - Call BsVScrdn(Lines%, FgColor%, BgColor%, Ulc%, Ulr%, Lrc%, Lrr%) Lines% Number of lines to scroll down. If Lines% is zero, then the entire window is blanked. FgColor% Foreground color - 0 thru 31 are valid foreground colors. BgColor% Background color - 0 thru 7 are valid background colors. Ulc% Coordinate of the left column of the scroll window. 1 indicates the far left column. Ulr% Coordinate of the top row of the scroll window. 1 indi- cates the top row of the screen. Lrc% Coordinate of the right column of the scroll window. 80 is the far right column. Lrr% Coordinate of the bottom row of the scroll window. 25 is the last row of the screen. Programming notes: This function affects only the currently active display page and any data scrolled off of the window is lost. Blank lines are inserted at the top of the window. If the number of lines to scroll equals zero, then the entire window is blanked out. All fields must be initialized prior to calling BSVSCRDN. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 21- The BIOS Keyboard Services Function Summary BSKGET - Get a character from the keyboard BSKSTAT - Determine the status of the toggle keys BSKCLR - Clear the keyboard buffer BSKNXT - Preview the keyboard buffer BSKSTOG - Set keyboard toggles BSKTOGH - Determine whether toggle keys are pressed Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 22- BSKGET - Get a character from the keyboard Usage - Call BsKGet(Char$, Scancode%) Char$ The character entered at the keyboard. Scancode% The scan code of the character entered at the keyboard. A partial list of scancodes is provided in Appendix A. Programming notes: This function retrieves the next character in the keyboard buffer. If there is nothing in the buffer, it will wait until a character is ready and thereby suspend program execution. BSKNXT, discussed later, will allow you to peek into the keyboard buffer to determine if a key has been pressed without suspending the program. Char$ will either the standard ASCII code of the key pressed or CHR$(0) if a special key was pressed (i.e. the function keys, PgUp, Home, etc.). If Char$ is a CHR$(0), then Scancode% will indicate which key was pressed. See Appendix A for a list of scancodes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 23- BSKSTAT - Determine the status of the toggle keys Usage - Call BsKStat(Insert%, Caps%, Num%, Scroll%, Alt%, Ctrl%, LShift%, RShift%) Programming notes: For Insert%, Caps%, Num%, and Scroll% - If the returned value is 1, then that mode has been toggled on (i.e. - Caps light is on). If the value returned is 0, then that mode has been toggled off. For Alt%, Ctrl%, LShift%, RShift% - If the returned value is 1, then that key is currently depressed. If the value is 0, then that key is not depressed. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 24- BSKCLR - Clear the keyboard buffer Usage - Call BsKClr Programming notes: BSKCLR is not passed any parameters, nor does it return any values. It simply clears any keystrokes that have not been read into your program but are waiting in the keyboard buffer. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 25- BSKNXT - Preview the keyboard buffer Usage - Call BsKNxt(Char$, Scancode%, Rc%) Char$ The character entered at the keyboard. Scancode% The scan code of the character entered at the keyboard. A partial list of scancodes is provided in Appendix A. Rc% Return code 0 indicates that no key has been pressed. Return code 1 indicates that a key has been pressed. Programming notes: This function will not remove a character from the keyboard buffer. If the return code indicates that a character is in the buffer, you must use BSKGET to get the character out of the buffer. See notes for BSKGET and Appendix A. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 26- BSKSTOG - Set keyboard toggles Usage - Call BsKSTog(Insert%, Caps%, Num%, Scroll%) Programming notes: Each parameter must be initialized to 0 or 1. If the parameter is ini- tialized to 1 then that toggle will be turned on. If the parameter is 0 then that toggle will be turned off. For example: Call BsKSTog(0,1,1,0) will turn CapsLock and NumLock on, and it will turn ScrollLock and Insert mode off. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 27- BSKTOGH - Determine whether toggle keys are pressed Usage - Call BsKTogH(Insert%, Caps%, Num%, Scroll%) Programming notes: No parameters need to be initialized prior to making this call. If any of the returned values is 1, that indicates that the corresponding key is currently being held down. If any of the returned values is 0, that indi- cates that the corresponding key is not currently being held down. Note that this function does not tell us the status of the toggle keys, only whether or not someone is physically pressing them at that moment. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 28- The BIOS Diskette Services Function Summary BSDSTAT - Get diskette controller status BSDRESET - Reset floppy disk controller BSDVRFY - Verify sectors on a diskette BSDREAD - Read a sector from a diskette BSDWRIT - Write a sector to diskette BSDFMT - Format a track on a diskette *********************** IMPORTANT ************************* Before using any of these functions, please read the documentation care- fully and when testing your programs, please use blank diskettes. These functions will also work with a hard disk, so if you have a hard disk installed, please take extra precautions. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 29- BSDSTAT - Get diskette controller status Usage Call BsDStat(Rc%) Rc% Reason - Diskette drives only 0 Successful 1 Invalid function 2 Address mark not found 3 Write protect error 4 Sector not found 6 Diskette change detected 8 DMA failure 9 DMA boundary overrun 16 bad CRC: parity check 32 controller malfunction 64 seek failure - move to requested track failed 128 time out - drive did not respond (the door is open) Rc% Reason - Hard disk drives only 0 Successful 1 Invalid function 2 Address mark not found 4 Sector not found 5 Reset failed 7 Drive parameter activity failed 9 DMA boundary overrun 10 Bad block flag detected 16 Uncorrectable ECC data error 17 ECC corrected data error 32 controller malfunction 64 seek failure - move to requested track failed 128 time out - drive did not respond 170 Drive not ready 187 Undefined error occured 204 Write fault active 255 Sense operation failed Programming notes: This function always returns the status of the last disk operation. The messages normally seen when accessing a diskette with DOS, such as: Not ready error reading drive a Abort, Retry, Ignore will not be seen when using this function (and any other BIOS diskette function), therefore, you must always determine whether a disk operation has failed or succeeded when using the BIOS disk services. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 30- BSDRESET - Reset floppy disk controller Usage - Call BsDReset Programming notes: This function resets the disk controller and prepares it for I/O. It will force the BIOS diskette support routines to recalibrate the disk drive's read/write head. It should be used only after an error is detected during a disk drive operation. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 31- BSDVRFY - Verify sectors on a disk Usage - Call BsDVrfy(Buffer$, Drive$, Head%, Track%, Sector%, Rc%) Buffer$ Not used for this function. Drive$ Letter designation for to drive containing the diskette to be verified. Head% Cylinder head Track% Track containing sector to be verified. Sector% Relative ID of the sector to be verified. Rc% Return code - see function BSDSTAT Programming notes: For 1.2 Meg drives, the diskette drive parameter table must reflect the type of media installed for correct operation. It is the responsibility of the programmer to ensure that the diskette drive parameter table is correct. Unpredictable results can occur otherwise (See BSDASTYP). This service will verify only a single sector with each call. If needed, the Assembler source can easily be modified to verify more than one sector (up to an entire track). The verify service reads the specified sector and insures that it passes the CRC check. See Appendix C - Miscellaneous diskette information. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 32- BSDREAD - Read a sector from a disk Usage - Call BsDRead(Buffer$, Drive$, Head%, Track%, Sector%, Rc%) Buffer$ The string where the data read from disk will be placed into. Drive$ Letter designation for to drive containing the disk to be read. Head% Cylinder head containing the track to be read. Track% Track containing sector to be read. Sector% Relative ID of the sector to be read. Rc% Return code - see function BSDSTAT Programming notes: It is the responsibility of the programmer to ensure that Buffer$ is long enough to hold the sector read from disk (usually 512 bytes). If it is not long enough, the results are unpredictable. Generally you will see a 'String Space Corrupt' message returned from BASIC. This service will read only a single sector with each call. If necessary, the Assembler source can easily be modified to read more than one sector (up to an entire track). See Appendix C - Miscellaneous diskette information. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 33- BSDWRIT - Write a sector to disk Usage - Call BsDWrit(Buffer$, Drive$, Head%, Track%, Sector%, Rc%) Buffer$ The string containing the data to be written to disk. Drive$ Letter designation for to drive containing the disk to be written Head% Cylinder head containing the track to be written. Track% Track containing sector to be written. Sector% Relative ID of the sector to be written. Rc% Return code - see function BSDSTAT Programming notes: When testing, first backup your diskette. It is very easy to inadver- tently erase usable data or render a diskette unusable with this service. This service will always write a complete sector. If Buffer$ is shorter than the length of a sector (usually 512 bytes), the contents of the sec- tor written will be unpredictable. This service will write only a single sector with each call. If needed, the Assembler source can easily be modified to write more than one sector (up to an entire track). See Appendix C - Miscellaneous diskette information. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 34- BSDFMT - Format a track on a disk Usage - Call BsDFmt(Buffer$, Drive$, Head%, Track%, Sector%, Rc%) Buffer$ The string containing the track format table (See Appen- dix C). Drive$ Letter designation for to drive containing the diskette to be formatted. Head% Cylinder head containing the track to be formatted. Track% Track containing sector to be formatted. Sector% Number of sectors to be formatted. Rc% Return code - see function BSDSTAT Programming notes: For 1.2 Meg drives, the diskette drive parameter table must reflect the type of media installed for correct operation. It is the responsibility of the programmer to ensure that the diskette drive parameter table is correct. Unpredictable results can occur otherwise (See BSDASTYP). When testing, first backup your diskette. It is very easy to inadver- tently erase usable data or render a diskette unusable with this service. This service will always format a complete track. If Sector% is less than the maximum number of sectors that can fit on that track, then the unfor- matted sectors will no longer be available. If you format track 0 on a diskette with this service, the diskette will not be usable until a boot record is written to sector 0. If needed, the Assembler source code can be modified to write a boot record to the dis- kette. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 35- The BIOS Miscellaneous Services Function Summary BSEQPMT - Get installed equipment BSPINIT - Initialize printer BSPSTAT - Get printer status BSPRINT - Print a string of characters BSPRTSC - Print screen Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 36- BSEQPMT - Get installed equipment Usage - Call BsEqpmt(RomDate$, RAM%, ExtRAM%, ExpRAM%, Printers%, RS232%, Floppies%, Gameport%, Disks%) RomDate$ ROM-BIOS revision date RAM% Amount, in Kilobytes, of installed RAM. ExtRAM% Amount, in Kilobytes, of extended memory. ExpRAM% Amount, in 16K pages, of LIMM expanded memory. Printers% Number of printer ports installed. Rs232% Number of serial ports installed. Floppies% Number of floppy disk drives installed. Gameport% Number of gameports installed. Disks% Number of hard disks installed. Programming notes: Some of these fields may not be reliable in certain hardware configura- tions. Items to be wary about are RomDate$, ExtRAM%, and in particular, the number of hard disks. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 37- BSPINIT - Initialize printer Usage - Call BsPInit(Printer%, Rc%) Printer% The printer port number - 0 is LPT1, 1 is LPT2, etc. Rc% Return code - see BSPSTAT Programming notes: This service will initialize the printer. That is to say, it will: - Reset top-of-form - Return the printer to its default setup - poll the printer for printer status Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 38- BSPSTAT - Get printer status Usage - Call BsPStat(Printer%, Rc%) Printer% The printer port number - 0 is LPT1, 1 is LPT2, etc. Rc% Return code Programming notes: The return code is actually a series of bit settings that indicates the following conditions: - Printer ready - Acknowledge - Out of paper - I/O error (on some printers, this indicates an off-line condition) - Timeout - Selected When checking printer status, the 'selected' indicator tells you that the printer is on-line and ready to go. Some printers will return a "Printer ready' status even when turned off (this, incidentally, is why Quickbasic will occasionally print to a printer that is turned off and never return an error condition). Before issuing an LPRINT (or equivalent) command in Quickbasic, make sure that the printer is selected. ***************************** IMPORTANT ********************************* See the next page for a Quickbasic program segment that properly inter- prets Rc%. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 39- The following code segment will extract the appropriate values. It is included in the sample program archive(Registered owners only). Printer% = 0 'Use LPT1 Call BsPStat(Printer%, Rc%) 'Get status of printer Printer.Ready% = (Rc% and 128) = 128 '1st bit indicates printer ready Acknowledge% = (Rc% and 64) = 64 '2nd bit indicates Ack Out.of.Paper% = (Rc% and 32) = 32 '3rd bit indicates out of paper IO.Error% = (Rc% and 8) = 8 '5th bit indicates I/O Error Timeout% = (Rc% and 1) = 1 '8th bit indicates Timeout Selected% = (Rc% and 16) = 16 '4th bit indicates Selected Locate 1,1: Color 15,1: Cls If Printer.Ready% then Print "Printer at LPT1 reports Ready" End if If Acknowledge% then Print "Printer at LPT1 reports Acknowledge" End if If Out.of.Paper% then Print "Printer at LPT1 reports Out of Paper of Paper jam" End if If IO.Error% then Print "Printer at LPT1 reports I/O error or Printer off-line" End if If Timeout% then Print "Printer at LPT1 has timed out" End if If Selected% then Print "Printer at LPT1 is selected" End if Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 40- BSPRINT - Print a string of characters Usage - Call BsPrint(Text$, Printer%, Rc%) Text$ String to print Printer% Printer port Rc% Return code Programming notes: See BSPSTAT for an explanation of return codes. This service sends whatever is in Text$ to the appropriate printer port. All special printer codes such as NewLine, TopofForm, etc, will be inter- preted correctly by the printer. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 41- BSPRTSC - Print screen Usage - Call BsPrtSc Programming notes: This service is the equivalent of pressing the 'PrtSc' key on the key- board. The screen will be printed to LPT1. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 42- The BIOS AT Disk Services Function Summary BSDAPARM - Get current drive parameters BSDATST - Test for drive ready BSDARST - Alternate disk reset BSDARCL - Recalibrate drive BSDADIAG - Perform controller diagnostics BSDASTAT - Detect diskette change BSDATYPE - Get disk type BSDASTYP - Set diskette type BSDASEEK - Position heads over a specified cylinder *********************** IMPORTANT ************************* These functions are documented only for AT type machines. These machines generally use a 1.2 Meg diskette drive whose characteristics are different enough from the 360KB drive to warrant these new BIOS services. These services also provide additional support for hard disks. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 43- BSDAPARM - Get current drive parameters Usage - Call BsDAParm(Drive$, Heads%, Cylinders%, Sectors%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Heads% Maximum number of heads on the disk Cylinders% Maximum number of Cylinders/Head Sectors% Maximum number of Sectors/Cylinder Programming notes: This service will not function on a diskette drive. It is intended for use with a hard disk only. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 44- BSDATST - Test for drive ready Usage - Call DsDATst(Drive$, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service will not function on a diskette drive. It is intended for use with a hard disk only. This service tests the status of the DRIVE READY signal on the selected drive. See BSDSTAT documentation for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 45- BSDARST - Alternate disk reset Usage - Call BsDARst(Drive$, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service is the same as BSDRESET documented earlier except that BSDARST can be used only with hard disk controllers. See BSDSTAT documentation for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 46- BSDARCL - Recalibrate drive Usage - Call BsDARcl(Drive$, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service will not function on a diskette drive. It is intended for use with a hard disk only. This service instructs the specified drive to recalibrate. This is done by seeking track 0. This service should be used only after an error has been detected and before any retries are made. See BSDSTAT documentation for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 47- BSDADIAG - Perform controller diagnostics Usage BsDADiag(Rc%) Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service will not function on a diskette drive. It is intended for use with a hard disk only. This service instructs the hard disk controller to perform its internal diagnostic routines. See BSDSTAT documentation for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 48- BSDASTAT - Detect diskette change Usage - Call BsDAStat(Drive$, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service will detect whether or not the disk drive door has been opened since the last disk operation. It is meaningless for hard drives. This service should be used only with those drives that can detect disk changes (See BSDATYPE). See BSDSTAT documentation for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 49- BSDATYPE - Get disk type Usage - Call BsDAType(Drive$, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Rc% 0 - drive is not present 1 - diskette without change detection 2 - diskette with change detection% 3 - fixed disk Programming notes: This service will work with both hard and floppy disk drives. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 50- BSDASTYP - Set diskette type Usage - Call BsDASTyp(Drive$, Type%, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Type% 1 - Double-density drive 2 - 360KB diskette in a 1.2MB drive 3 - 1.2MB diskette in a 1.2MB drive Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service is meaningless for fixed disks. This service should be used prior to all Format and Verify requests to any 1.2MB diskette drives. See BSDSTAT for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 51- BSDASEEK - Position heads over a specified cylinder Usage - Call BsDASeek(Drive$, Head%, Cylinder%, Rc%) Drive$ Letter designation of the target drive Head% Head to be positioned Cylinder% Cylinder over which the head will be positioned. Rc% Return code Programming notes: This service will not function on a diskette drive. It is intended for use with a hard disk only. This service can be used to park your fixed disk See BSDSTAT for an explanation of return codes. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 52- Appendix A Keyboard Scan Codes Decimal Character 3 NUL 15 Shft-tab 16-25 Alt+(Q,W,E,R,T,Y,U,I,O,P) 30-38 Alt+(A,S,D,F,G,H,J,K,L) 44-50 Alt+(Z,X,C,V,B,N,M) 59,68 F1-F10 71 Home 72 Up cursor 73 PgUp 75 Left cursor 77 Right cursor 79 End 80 Down cursor 81 PgDn 82 Ins 83 Del 84-93 Shft-(F1-F10) 94-103 Ctrl-(F1-F10) 104-113 Alt+(F1-F10) 114 PrtSc 115 Left cursor 116 Right cursor 117 End 118 PgDn 119 Home 120-131 Alt+(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,-,=) 132 PgUp Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 53- Appendix B BASIC Colors Color code Color 0 Black 1 Blue 2 Green 3 Cyan 4 Red 5 Magenta 6 Brown 7 White 8 Gray 9 Light Blue 10 Light Green 11 Light Cyan 12 Light Red 13 Light Magenta 14 Yellow 15 High-Intensity White Notes: The only valid background colors are 0-7. Add 16 (sixteen) to the color to cause blinking. Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 54- Appendix C About Disks and Diskettes This Appendix is available only to registered users until December 1, 1987. It consists of a discussion about topics: - disk and diskette formats - the FAT - Formatting a diskette - Copy protection - the 1.2MB drive and how to use it - Diskette drive interrupts Copyright (c) 1987, AJM Software -Page 55-