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1990-06-20
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- 1 -
Ahlgren GEOCLOCK Revision History (4.2) 90/06/20
1. Version 2.3 to version 2.4
CSET, Zoom, and Distance functions were added.
If GEO<n>.DAT exists, it is used for city and time zone information
when displaying MAP<n>.EGA, otherwise GEOCLOCK.DAT is used, e.g., GEO2.DAT
is used while displaying MAP2.EGA.
If the system detects hardware incompatibility, a prompt for
proceed/abort is given. A few EGA boards, and apparently the IBM VGA
board, are not properly detected by this program. However, they do appear
to work.
2. Version 2.4 to version 2.5
The two color graphics version of GEOCLOCK was made compatible with
EGA version and will be distributed as GEOMNOnn.ZIP.
Offset from local PC time to display time added.
Latitude and Longitude Lines were added with the LINE parameter. MAP1
has been modified to remove the lines so that all maps are under the
control of this feature.
Graphics hardware detection software removed. As opposed to most
software changes, this "feature" has proven to be only an annoyance. If
you do not have proper graphics hardware to support the version, the
results are unpredictable. A fatal message is still issued if the version
requires an 80x87 but your system does not have one.
3. Version 2.5 to version 2.6
Version 2.5 was not distributed correctly. Version 2.6 corrects this
error. The version 2.5 code does not execute correctly on systems without
a Numeric Co-Processor.
4. Version 2.6 to version 2.7
The code which generates latitude and longitude lines was improved to
give additional control over line colors.
An option to label the latitude and longitude lines was added. The
latitude lines are drawn from North to South.
The function "CSET" was added to the non-registered version of the
program.
The registration of the markers and the location names was improved
for the EGA version. Cities whose names would overlap cities already
displayed are suppressed.
The processing of Longitudes was generalized so that maps with 180
degrees in as an interior longitude can be processed. The processing for
the zoom function was generalized to preserve cursor locations for these
maps.
The DARK and LIGHT options were added to the display control.
The SHOWCH and HIDECH options were added. The use of the display
buffer was improved in the EGA version.
A function giving a help screen when function key F1 is pressed was
added.
5. Version 2.7 to version 2.8
- 2 -
Ahlgren GEOCLOCK Revision History (4.2) 90/06/20
The TIMEB command was added to display time and time zone name at the
bottom of the screen.
The COLOR command was added to change the palette without interacting
with CSET.
The implementation of city name was changed to allow longer city
names.
Users can control the position, font size, and color of city names
(registered users only). These features were extended to include the
monochrome version.
Local time for each city may be displayed (registered users only).
Precision of the cursor used for zoom and distance improved.
The SHOWMN and HIDEMN commands were added to display the map name and
number on screen.
The PS2BUG command was added to help users work around a bug in the
PS/2 VGA BIOS. Some changes in screen handling were made to minimize the
effect of this problem even when PS2BUG is not selected.
The speed of the non-80x87 version was substantially improved
(approximately 1/3 faster) by reorganizing the terminator line
calculations.
6. Version 2.8 to version 3.0
The handling of time zones was completely revised. The GECONFIG.DAT
file contains the descriptions of all world time zones, including the names
of summer and standard times, their offsets from GMT, and the times of the
year that summer time is in effect. The GEO<n>.DAT file formats were make
consistent with this standard. Therefore, all time zone information can be
concentrated in one place, and the GEO<n>.DAT files can refer to this
information symbolically. The old format is still accepted, but mixing the
two is not recommended.
The map file format, and the display palette, were changed to reduce
map file size and drawing time. The program CVTMAP was developed to
convert the old map file format to the new map file format. Conversion is
not required but is recommended.
A problem affecting the distance measuring function, and use of the
mouse, for the hercules and ATT 400 versions was fixed.
A problem which sometimes caused city name and time data to overwrite
the legend data at the bottom of the screen was fixed.
The control of the "zoom" feature was improved so that the left button
"zooms-in" and the right button "zooms-out".
A serious error in GEOCONVT affecting the MCGA mode was fixed. That
is problem was not noticed earlier tells me that the MCGA is not exactly
widely used!
The format of the GECONFIG.DAT file was extended so that the default
command line parameters can be set and time zone characteristics can be
defined.
The separate versions for systems with and without math co-processors
were eliminated. The program automatically detects the math co-processor,
and uses it or emulates it as appropriate. This slows the program slightly
but reduces the size of the distribution file dramatically. The FAST and
SLOW parameters were added to control the method used to draw the
terminator (the FAST method is much faster on systems without an 80x87).
The EQUINOX parameter was added to optionally improve the accuracy of
GEOCLOCK near the equinoxes, although this degrades the overall accuracy of
the program.
- 3 -
Ahlgren GEOCLOCK Revision History (4.2) 90/06/20
7. Version 3.0 to 3.1
The NORAM and USERAM command line parameters were added, and the
default was changed to NORAM.
The calculation of sun rise and sun set times was improved, especially
in areas in extreme latitudes. The display uses "Dark all day" or "Light
all day" when the sun never rises or sets. The parameter SUNANGLE was
added to allow the definition of sun rise and set to be changed.
Support for polar projection maps was added to the EGA/VGA version.
It is not available in the MNO version.
The response time for a key press during the generation of the next
display frame was greatly decreased. Except during a fill operation on the
polar projection maps, the response to a key press should be less than 0.3
seconds.
A larger marker for the two fixed points in the distance function was
incorporated, replacing the almost invisible symbols.
8. Version 3.1 to 3.2
The accuracy of the sun position calculations was improved. It is now
within about 5 minutes (time) in both latitude and longitude for the rest
of the 20th century. Section G.1 gives details.
The accuracy of the distance calculation was improved. Distances are
calculated on a sphere with the same volume as the Earth, i.e., with radius
6371.22 kilometers.
The control over latitude and longitude line placement was greatly
enhanced with the addition of the GLINC, TLINC, GLSPEC, TLSPEC, and CLINE
commands. See section C.2.
The symbols used in the distance function now blink.
The help system was completely revised. Pressing F1 or ? or "H"
during GEOCLOCK display brings up a menu. Selecting a menu item brings up
more detailed information.
The REM command was added to allow users to document their GEOn.DAT
files, and commands will be processed from GEOCLOCK.DAT and GEOn.DAT files
in addition to GECONFIG.DAT.
A bug that sometimes caused ZOOM and DISTANCE to ignore cities in the
GEOn.DAT files was fixed.
The GEOCONVT program was improved to allow map file conversions,
control file deletion and GECONFIG.DAT processing from the command line,
and another MCGA problem was fixed. The speed of the map conversion
process was doubled.
9. Version 3.2 to 3.3
The tab character is now treated as a space in the input files.
The map select (S) function was added.
The update interval (U) function was added.
10. Version 3.3 to 3.4
The DRAWLINE, DRAWCIRCLE, and INCLUDE commands were added.
All files are opened for read-only, so all files used by GEOCLOCK can
have the READ-ONLY attribute. This simplifies the use of GEOCLOCK in
networks.
Command processing was changed so that the effects of commands in the
GEOn.DAT files are local to MAPn.
- 4 -
Ahlgren GEOCLOCK Revision History (4.2) 90/06/20
The speed of the "S" command was improved.
The sun drawing system was changed so that the sun symbol is not
displayed unless it is on the map being displayed.
The ZONE commands are automatically updated when the year changes.
The program assumes that the PC-s clock will remain in the time zone
in effect at the time the program is started.
11. Version 3.4 to 4.0
Support for the VGA 640x480 and SVGA 800x600 modes was added. This
includes the NOSCR, SHOWVGA, VGA, and SVGA commands. The use of color was
changed slightly to support these new modes. The sun symbol was changed to
a color 5 symbol in the VGA and SVGA modes, and in EGA mode when NOSCR is
specified. The NOSCR also solves the screen blinking problem found on some
EGAs.
An azimuth computation facility was added to the "D" function, as was
the option of displaying coordinates in degrees and fractions.
An option to sort the maps appearing in the "S" command was added.
The sort used also determines in what order maps will be selected when
using the "Zoom" function.
The list of maps used by "S" and "Z" is written to a file, which
greatly speeds up the first use of these functions.
The INCLUDE function can be used as a "P" command.
The Page-Up and Page-Down keys were added as synonyms for the left and
right mouse buttons, and "Enter" was added as a synonym for the mouse
center button. Mouse handling was changed so that the INT33 mouse driver
does not have to specifically support VGA and 800x600 to use these modes.
Any color can be used for city names, rather than just colors 5 and 7.
Support of the polar projection maps was added to the MNO version.
12. Version 4.0 to 4.1
This was primarily a maintenance release for GEOCLOCK 4.0. The
FLICKER and NOBLINK directives were added to (I hope) finally end all the
flicker problems. Also, an error in GEOCONVT.EXE was fixed that
occasionally caused maps to be incorrectly converted.
The SHOWSVGA directive was added, similar to SHOWVGA.
The processing speed for long GE*.DAT and INCLUDE files was greatly
improved.
The accuracy of the terminator line with using the FAST directive (the
default for systems without a co-processor) was improved. This is
especially noticeable on small maps.
The MAP directive was added to enable the map selection menu to be
displayed when the program is first started.
The MCOLOR directive was added to allow control over the color of the
Markers with the distance function.
13. Version 4.1 to 4.2
The MNO version was frozen at 4.1. The features below work only with
the GEOCLK version.
Azimuthal-Equidistant (also called great circle or circle bearing) map
hamdling was added.
The SUNLIGHT and TWILIGHT commands were added to control the area
highlighted as sunlit and half-tones as twilight.
- 5 -
Ahlgren GEOCLOCK Revision History (4.2) 90/06/20
The TLMASK command was added to control the halftone pattern used to
indicate twilight.
The SHOWMONTH and NOMONTH commands were added to allow text versions
of the month to be displayed.
The SHOWDAY and NODAY commands were added to allow display of the day
of the week.
The YEAR4 and YEAR2 commands were added to control the number of
digits in the year display.
The SHOWSEC and NOSEC commands were added to control the display of
seconds in time displays.
The SCREEN command was added to reverse the effect of NOSCR. SCREEN
was made the default. The drawing of the sunlight and twilight areas was
changed so that the first screen shows the drawing taking place under both
SCREEN and NOSCR. SCREEN may be dropped at some future time.
The "F", "T", "U", and "P" commands were changed to work in pop-up
windows rather than in text mode.
A HAM add-in package was developed to support HAM radio operation.
The package, which requires a registered copy of GEOCLOCK but is not being
marketed as shareware, includes a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant map, a HAM
call sign data base, and GEOCLOCK modifications to all call sign look-up
and data display. The HAMDB, HAM, and NOHAM commands were added to support
this package.