Power-Programmierung/CD1.mdf/cobol/library/egull/x00.doc

Text File | 1989-09-16 | 20.2 KB | 794 lines

                         X.00 Low Level Communications Driver

                   X.00 Copyright (c) 1987, 1988, 1989 by Raymond L. Gwinn
                                 12469 Cavalier Drive
                              Woodbridge, Virginia 22192
                                 All rights reserved






































          Introduction

          X00.SYS  was  originally  developed  for  generally  unrestricted
          personal use with the  OPUS bulletin board system.   It has  long
          been  obvious to  me that  its use  has extended  far beyond  the
          original  intent.    X00  is now  one  of  the  most  widely used
          communications drivers for PCs in the world.

          X00.SYS  itself  is commercial  quality  software.   However, the
          documentation is not commercial quality.   In the next few months
          I will attempt  to correct the  inadequate documentation.  For  a
          description of the X00 function calls, see the distribution  text
          files FOSSIL.DOC and FOSSIL.CHT.

          I have received  many requests  concerning licensing  of X00  for
          commercial  use.  In general I  have avoided commercial licensing
          because of the documentation problems and the spirit in which X00
          was  originally  developed.   I  now receive  so  many commercial
          licensing requests that I am forced to address the issue.

          To remain within the original spirit  in which X00 was developed,
          personal use will remain  free of any required fees.   Commercial
          licenses  will  be granted  in  return  for a  contribution  to a
          charity or good cause which I define.










































          Non-Commercial License:

          A  non-commercial  license for  use  of  X00 is  included  in the
          distribution file called LICENSE.TXT.

          I have received  several unsolicited  checks from  users of  X00.
          All of  the checks have  been returned or  uncashed.  To  date, I
          have not accepted  any payments for X00.  If you feel that X00 is
          useful enough that  some sort of  payment is justified then  read
          on.

          Our local  (public) High  School  desperately needs  funds.   The
          school officials work at keeping the students off the streets and
          away  form drugs.   The local  School Board is  unable to provide
          needed funds for  non-academic activities.   I  suggest a  $10.00
          contribution be sent to:

               Woodbridge Senior High School
               30013 Old Bridge Road
               Woodbridge, Virginia, 22192

          You can  make the check  payable to "WSHS,  Ballfield Improvement
          Fund".  Please  make a note  "X00 contribution" somewhere on  the
          check.

          Many of  you have used X00 for years.  I believe $10.00 is easily
          affordable to most X00 users.  Please  take the time to sit down,
          make out the check, address the envelop, and mail a contribution.

          Shareware authors that wish to distribute X00 with their  product
          should contact me.  Permission will usually be granted.



































          Commercial License:

          Commercial  Licenses will  be liberally granted  in return  for a
          donation (usually tax deductible).   Each commercial license will
          be individually granted.  That is, there is no single policy that
          can be stated  here.  Some  generally uniform commercial  license
          policies follow.

          1 - X00 is usually licensed by product.

          2 - All commercial  licensees of X00 will receive a  special copy
          of X00 that will identify, at boot time, the commercial product.

          3 - I may require a fully licensed, fully featured, copy  of your
          product for personal use on multiple computers.

          4 - The required  contribution, which is never to  me personally,
          will usually be a one time contribution of $100.00.

          5 - Proof of licensing  belongs to you.  That is, I  am not going
          to be responsible for keeping records.  I suggest that you keep a
          copy of  the donation check so that  you can send me a  copy if a
          question  arises.    Otherwise  you  may  have  to  make  another
          contribution.

          6 - You  may only  distribute versions of  X00 that contain  your
          product name in the X00 banner (at boot time).

          7 -  If you wish to have the  latest version of X00 automatically
          sent to you with your product name in the X00 banner, then do the
          following:  Send  me a check for $10.00, in advance, along with a
          pre addressed mailing label.  If you require a 3.5 inch diskette,
          then write "3.5 inch" on the pre addressed mailing label and send
          $15.00 (instead of  $10.00).   For updates, the  check should  be
          made  out to Raymond  L. Gwinn.   The checks will  be cashed when
          received.   Individuals that wish to receive a mailed copy of the
          latest X00 version may  also use this procedure.   Once you  have
          received an  update, you will need  to resend the update  fee and
          pre addressed mailing  label if  you desire to  receive the  next
          update.

          8  -  Your   contribution  check  should  state   "X00  Licensing
          contribution" in the Memo or comment field.

          If you  write me  about a  commercial license,  please include  a
          voice phone number.   You may not receive a response if the voice
          phone number is omitted.  Correspondence should be sent to:

                    Raymond L. Gwinn
                    12469 Cavailer Dr.
                    Woodbridge, Va. 22192

          Prior to making  the special version of X00 available, I will may












          wait for  the check to clear  the bank.  If the  check bounces, I
          will,  most  likely, not  give  any  further consideration  to  a
          commercial license.

































































          The latest version of X00.SYS is available  for down-loading from
          The Renex BBS (FidoNet 109/106), 703-690-7950.

          I make Beta/test versions of X00.SYS readily available.  This has
          caused some confusion  among various  users.  That  is, they  are
          using beta  versions of X00.SYS and think  they are using a fully
          tested  (if  there is  such  a  thing) versions.    Starting with
          version 1.02 of X00.SYS, I am  going to use the following  method
          in numbering  the versions.  If  the version number ends  with an
          odd number, then it  is a beta version.  If it  ends with an even
          number, then it is a tested version that is (relatively) safe for
          general use.  Then,  versions 1.01, 2.15  and 1.07 would be  beta
          versions.  Versions 1.00, 1.02,  2.00 and 2.14 would not  be beta
          versions.  The  beta versions will  always have (and always  have
          had) a  lower case letter  appended to  the version number.   For
          example,  1.01f  is  one way  that  you  will  see beta  versions
          identified.  If you find a problem in a beta/test version, let me
          know about it by direct mail.

          X00.SYS  and  associated utilities  comes  with no  guarantees or
          warranties.  Use it at your own risk.











































          X00.SYS provides  enhanced/extended support of INT 14H functions.
          Documentation of the enhanced/extended functions  can be found in
          the included file FOSSIL.DOC by Vincent E. Perriello.

          DoubleDOS.  Since  writing X.00, I  have learned more about  DDos
          than I ever wanted  to know.  A few  rules for DDos users that  I
          know are: 1 -  Do not assign the comm ports  in DDCONFIG.SYS, 2 -
          Be sure to  execute CAPTURE after  you execute DOUBLEDO.   To  be
          safe,  execute CAPTURE  in  both partitions.    3 -  If  you have
          problems with your clock, try  the Defer option.  4 -  Be sure to
          replace  ANSI.SYS with  DBLDANSI.SYS.   For  some  reason, I  had
          problems if the  TOP partition  was not  delayed.   That is,  the
          BOTTOM partition must initialize before the TOP partition does.

          The semi-formal  syntax for  the statement  to be  placed in  the
          CONFIG.SYS file is as follows:

          DEVICE=X00.SYS <options>

          <options> ::= <none>  | <eliminate>  <defer> <port specs>  <baud>
          <size> <fifospec>

          <none> ::=

          <eliminate> ::= E{LIMINATE}

          <defer> ::= D{EFER}

          <fifospec> ::= NOFIFO

          <baud>  ::= B,<port number>,<baud rate>

          <size>  ::= R=<receive buffer size> T=<transmit buffer size>

          <receive buffer size> ::= <buffer size>

          <transmit buffer size> ::= <buffer size>

          <nasty> ::=N{ASTY}

          <buffer size> ::= 256 | 512 | 1024 | 2048 | 4096 | 8192 | 16384 |
          32768

          <baud rate> ::= 300 | 1200 | 2400 | 4800 | 9600 | 19200 | 38400

          <port spec> ::= <number of ports> | <hardware port assignment>

          <number of ports> ::= 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

          <hardware port assignment> ::= <port number> = <assignment>

          <port number> ::= 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

          <assignment> ::= <logical> | <absolute>













          <logical> ::= <comn> {, <irqn>}

          <comn> ::= <COM1> | <COM2> | <COM3> | <COM4>

          <irqn> ::= <IRQ0> | <IRQ1> ........ <IRQ15>

          <absolute> ::= <hex port address> , <irqn>

          <hex port address> ::= Any hex number 0 through 0FFFF.  The first
                                 character must be 0 through 9.
























































          The simplest statement for the CONFIG.SYS file is as follows:

               DEVICE=X00.SYS

          This statement will be all that  is required on the vast majority
          of systems.   It says  that you  wish to support  one comm  port.
          Exactly  which comm  port  will be  specified by  the application
          program.

          I have found  that communications ports  on some systems must  be
          initialized at boot time.  In the  simplest case shown above, X00
          knows that it  will serve  only one communications  port, but  it
          does not  know  which comm  port.   Thus, the  port  will not  be
          initialized.  In many cases, the port to be used is COM1.  If the
          above statement is changed to:

               DEVICE=X00.SYS 0=COM1

          X00 then knows  that you intend to  use COM1.  In  this case, X00
          will initialize COM1 to a know state.  If you have problems, like
          "modem  not   responding",  then  try  specifically  stating  the
          communication port(s) you intend to use.

          Option descriptions:

          DEFER - DO NOT  USE THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND ITS PURPOSE
          AND  YOU  NEED TO  USE IT.    IF YOUR  SYSTEM WORKS  WITHOUT THIS
          OPTION,  THEN DO NOT  USE IT.   If you needed  to use this option
          with past versions of X00.SYS, then  try this version without it.
          Do not  automatically assume that  you still need  it.  At  least
          half of the  reported problems  with X00 have  resulted from  the
          casual use of this option.  This option specifies that X00.SYS is
          not to take  any DOS interrupt  vectors during the boot  process.
          If DEFER is  specified, then  CAPTURE must be  executed prior  to
          executing a program that requires X00.  Your AUTOEXEC.BAT file is
          the  best  place to  execute  CAPTURE.   With  MultiLink, CAPTURE
          should be executed before multi-tasking  is started.  However, as
          with 99% of all systems, MultiLink systems  should work correctly
          (and better) without the DEFER option.  Unless you are using some
          strange software, you  should not need  to use the DEFER  option.
          If your system does not boot correctly with X00.SYS, then try the
          DEFER  option  followed  by CAPTURE  in  your  AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
          X00.SYS only checks for the D in DEFER.

          ELIMINATE will  eliminate the  5 second  commercial at boot  time
          (which is a direct screen memory write).

          NOFIFO will cause  X00 to  NOT enable the  FIFOs of the  National
          16550.  Some Multi-Tasking systems have problems when the 16550's
          FIFOs  are  enabled.   NOFIFO  allows  the user  to  override the
          automatic use of the 16550's FIFOs by X00.

          Number  of  ports.    When  you  wish  to  use  the  default  IBM












          communication port addresses and IRQs,  you should simply specify
          the number of  ports that you wish to support (the default is 1).
          Although X00 V1.00 and up can support up to 8 ports, you can only
          specify 0 through 4 supported ports.  The reason is that there is
          only  4  defined ports  (COM1,  COM2,  COM3, COM4)  that  X00 can
          default to.   If you use  the absolute method (described  later),
          you can specify up to 8 devices.   X00 assumes that COM1 and COM2
          are addressed as originally defined by IBM.  The default hardware
          characteristics of COM3 and COM4 are  03E8H, IRQ4 and 02E8H, IRQ3
          respectively.  This seems  to be a defacto standard,  although no
          real standard exists that I know of.

          The T and R  options (or help, the sky is falling).  Trying to be
          all comm  drivers to all  protocols on all  computers (especially
          betas) is not easy.  The T and R options allow you to specify the
          size  of the transmit and receive buffers.   The buffer size must
          be a power of 2.  The sum total, in bytes, of all buffers can not
          exceed 48k bytes.  For example, DEVICE=X00.SYS T=32768 R=16384 is
          valid (only one port).  However, DEVICE=X00.SYS 2 T=16384 R=16384
          is not valid (2 ports each with a 16k transmit and receive buffer
          =  32k per port or 64k).  In  the second example the total buffer
          size  exceeds  the  maximum   of  48k.    X00  SHOULD   (but  not
          necessarily) beep the bell  and display an error message  at boot
          time if you attempt to define too much buffer space.

          The  <baud> option  allows you  to lock  the  baud rate  from the
          computer to the modem.  When this option is specified for a port,
          the baud rate from the computer to the modem will remain constant
          regardless  of  what  the  application  program  (such  as  RBBS)
          requests the baud rate to be.  This option is to  accommodate the
          higher speed  modems like  the  Telebit TrailBlazer  and USR  HST
          modems.  When this option is used, RTS/CTS handshaking is implied
          (forced)  even  if  the  application  program has  not  requested
          RTC/CTS handshaking.   Both Telebit  and USR  recommend in  their
          manuals that  the computer to  modem baud rate  be constant.   My
          personal  experience  has  shown that  both  modem  types operate
          better when  the computer to modem  baud rate is  faster than the
          actual phone line baud rate.

          The <nasty> option  makes X00 get  very aggressive about  keeping
          the COMM  interrupts.  Many  multi-tasking systems and  some TSRs
          mess  around with the  COMM IRQs and  thus, slow things  down.  I
          finally figured out how to keep them  at bay.  However, the NASTY
          option may cause  problems on some systems.  If you are running a
          multi-line system, try the  NASTY option.  If it does  not crash,
          you will  probably see  improved throughput.   Running COMM  type
          code in LIM memory may crash with NASTY enabled.  The default for
          NASTY is disabled.

          The required  communications buffers  are allocated  dynamically.
          All code used  for initialization is  overlaid by the buffers  or
          released to DOS by  X00 when it completes initialization  at boot
          time.













          IRQs.  The AT's additional 8 IRQs are supported.  X00 can support
          multiple ports on  a single interrupt.   When multiple ports  are
          assigned to a  single interrupt, X00 will poll  each of the ports
          to find the interrupting device(s).

          If  you   plan  to  reassign   the  port(s)  to   a  non-standard
          configuration or use some  strange hardware, it is best  to think
          in  port numbers  instead  of COMn.    Most application  programs
          documentation refers  to  COM1  and  COM2.    However,  when  the
          application program communicates  with a FOSSIL driver,  it calls
          COM1 device/port 0 and COM2 is device/port 1.

          Some examples of CONFIG.SYS statements are as follows:

          DEVICE = X00.SYS E
          Which means one port, no commercial.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 2
          Allocate  space  for buffers  (at  the  default size  of  1k) and
          provide support for COM1 and COM2.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS T=1024 R=4096
          One port supported,  all transmit buffers  are to  be 1k and  all
          receive buffers are to be 4k.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 2 B,1,19200
          Same as the above  except COM2 will always operate at 19200 baud.
          COM1  will  operate  at the  baud  rate  set  by the  application
          program.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 2 B,0,19200
          Same as  the above  except COM1  is fixed  at 19200.   COM2  will
          operate at the baud rate set by the application program.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 2 B,0,19200 B,1,9600 NOFIFO
          In this example  the baud rate for  COM1 is locked at  19200 baud
          and COM2 is locked at 9600 baud.   Additionally, the FIFOs of the
          National 16550 will not be enabled.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM3
          One  port supported  but, use COM3  on IRQ4  (the default).   The
          application program will  think (and must be  configured) that it
          is using COM1 in this case.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM3,IRQ4
          Exactly the same as above.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM3,4
          Exactly the same as above.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM3,IRQ1
          Same as above except IRQ1 is to be used.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM4 1=COM3












          Two ports supported,  Opus thinks COM4 is  COM1 and that COM3  is
          COM2.  Use the default IRQs for COM4 and COM3.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=COM4 1=COM3 NASTY
          Exactly the same as the previous  example except the NASTY option
          is enabled.  Note that NASTY may cause problems on some systems.

          Now  some absolute assignment examples.   When hex port addresses
          are used, the IRQ must be specified.

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=0FE8,IRQ4
          Support one serial (8250 type) device with a base port address of
          0FE8H and use IRQ4

          DEVICE = X00.SYS 0=3F8,IRQ4 1=2F8,IRQ4
          Support  2 serial devices at the given  hex port address and both
          will interrupt on IRQ4.

          etc, etc, etc.

          If you are not confused by now, I am, so I'm giving up