Fritz: All Fritz/All Fritz.zip/All Fritz/FILES/UTILSTEM/DDOSAID.LZH/DOUBLEDO.RVW

Text File | 1985-07-02 | 18KB | 393 lines

                              REVIEW OF:  DoubleDos

        REVIEWED BY:   Andy Schwartz

        PRODUCT NAME:  DoubleDos
        AUTHORS:       SoftLogic Solutions
                       530 Chestnut Street
                       Manchester, N.H.  03101
        CATEGORY:      Utility
        PRICE:         109.00 (plus 6.00 shipping)
        REQUIREMENTS:  DOS 2.0 +

        Whether  you know it or not,  the slowest part of your PC is  not
        the hard disk,  or even the floppy disk.  No, the slowest part is
        that  human animal with the nimble (?) fingers on  the  keyboard.
        Our  PC's are actually capable of performing much more work  than
        we  usually ask of them,  and consequently  many CPU cycles go to
        waste while waiting for results from the keyboard, a COM line, or
        a disk drive.  Wouldn't it be advantageous to be able to use this
        wasted time by having the PC do two tasks at once?

        Think  of  it:    rather than having to schedule that  long  file
        update  program during lunch,  you could start it going and  then
        input some data into another file at the same time.  Do you run a
        bulletin board or some other communications process that needs to
        be  in a "standby" mode?   You wouldn't have to devote an  entire
        machine  to this task,  but could have one job just waiting for a
        call or maintaining the communications line, and be doing active,
        productive work at the same time.

        Do you need to document the running of a program or  application?
        Run  it in one partition,  and keep your word processor active in
        the other partition.  Switch back and forth at will, writing down
        the documentation as you go along.

        DOUBLE-TASKING

        The  process just described is called "Multi-tasking",  or having
        your computer do more than one task at the same time.   In  fact,
        the multiple tasks are sharing CPU cycles,  or taking turns; but,
        if  the  tasks  fit well together,  there may  be  little  or  no
        noticeable  effect on the user.   If both tasks are trying to  do
        exactly the same thing at the same time,  then, obviously, one of
        them has to wait.

        Limited  multi-tasking has been available under DOS 2.0 with  the
        PRINT  command,  which  enables you to start a file printing  and
        then continue doing something else.   The PRINT command  actually
        sets   aside  a  portion  of  RAM  which  contains  the  set   of
        necessary instructions.

        DoubleDos takes this concept a step further:  you are allowed  to
        define two "partitions" of RAM memory,  and to run any (or almost
        any)  job or application in them simultaneously.   One job  could
        be,  of course,  to print a file to the printer,  just as you can


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        currently   do  with  PRINT;   but  rather  than  limiting   your
        capabilities  to just that job,  you could do virtually  any  job
        that   you  would  have  been  able  to  do  without   DoubleDos.
        Virtually.    There  are  some  restrictions,  warnings  and  ...
        undocumented  features that make the use of DoubleDos not for the
        faint  of  heart  or  the novice  user.   I  consider  it  to  be
        "experimental"  at  this  stage,  but  the product  is  bound  to
        improve.

        The  first  restriction  you  need to be  aware  of  is  the  RAM
        requirement of your software.   If you have 320k of RAM, and your
        primary  job needs all 320k,  then you would not be able  to  run
        under  DoubleDos.   Even if the program needs only 256k,  and you
        want  to run a job in the other partition that  needs  128k,  you
        still are out of luck.  But if you had 640k RAM installed on your
        machine,  you  would be able to operate DoubleDos and do both  of
        these jobs at the same time.

        By comparison,  the new Topview program from IBM is an attempt to
        accomplish  some  of  these same results in a  different  manner.
        Whereas  DoubleDos  gives  you two partitions  and  a  "DOS-like"
        prompt  in each partition,  Topview gives you the  capability  of
        creating  layers  of  menus and of  displaying  multiple  windows
        simultaneously.   For a fixed environment,  one in which the same
        tasks  are  performed  all  the time,  Topview  might  have  some
        advantages, were it not for one big difference:  RAM.

        DoubleDos  has  some overhead that it must  consume.   Typically,
        this ranges from 20 to 80k of RAM.   Topview,  on the other hand,
        takes  up 200k of RAM,  thus preventing you from running  two  or
        more  "major"  programs  simultaneously.   There are  some  other
        drawbacks of Topview, but that's a subject for a later article.

        With  DoubleDos,  you  create a configuration file  to  tell  the
        system  how  you  want  your partitions created  and  what  other
        parameters will apply.  You will want to define the following:

             MEMORY SIZE.   The easiest way to define RAM size is just to
             specify  "TOP SIZE = HALF" in the  configuration  file.   By
             default,  the Bottom partition will get the other half.  You
             may  want to be more explicit,  and say "TOP SIZE = 256" and
             let the Bottom partition get what's left  over.   Similarly,
             you could specify the RAM for the Bottom half,  and let  the
             Top have the remainder.

             DISPLAY.  Choices are B&W (monochrome graphics), COLOR, MONO
             and  something  called VISIBLE,  which,  if you have both  a
             color monitor and a monochrome monitor,  assigns one  screen
             to each partition.

             PROGRAMS.   You  can  have DoubleDos automatically  start  a
             program  in each partition for you.

             MENU OPTIONS.   DoubleDos has its own control  menu,  which,
             once DoubleDos is started,  allows you to perform such tasks


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             as   switching   partitions,   changing   partition   sizes,
             terminating  a job or stopping DoubleDos.   This menu can be
             displayed  in the Long or Short mode,  and,  if  Short,  can
             appear on any line of your choice.   Keys to control  access
             to the menu may also be changed;  the default is Ctl-Alt-Del
             to  see the menu,  but since this would prevent a warm  boot
             with the same keys, I changed mine to Alt-Space.

        Installation  of  DoubleDos on my hard disk was  simple,  once  I
        ignored the body of the manual,  and read the special green sheet
        that  pointed  me to an INSTALL command.   It took 30 seconds  to
        install the programs,  and from then on,  I have been able to run
        DoubleDos  without a system disk in my "A" drive.   If you  order
        DoubleDos,  be  sure to specify the hard disk version if you have
        one.


        MIXED RESULTS

        To  initiate  DoubleDos,  at the DOS level you  type  "DOUBLEDO",
        which is the name of their EXE file.   (Remember,  DOS  filenames
        can  have a maximum of 8 characters.   I renamed my file "DD.EXE"
        just  to make it easier.)  It takes about 10 seconds to  fire  up
        DoubleDos.

        The regular DOS prompt is now replaced with one that tell you:

        1. You are under the control of DoubleDos
        2. The partition you are in (this is really important).
        3. How much RAM has been assigned to the partition.

        I say that is's really important to know which partition you  are
        in, because if you've ever been confused about which subdirectory
        you  are in,  now the problem is compounded.   You can be in  one
        subdirectory  in one partition and in another subdirectory in the
        other  partition.   At the DOS level,  DoubleDos tells you  which
        partition,  but  your  application program will not  remind  you.
        Care must be taken.

        Other than the new prompt,  and a few minor undocumented features
        which I will discuss below,  you can now go ahead to run whatever
        you want to in each partition.  DoubleDos calls the partition you
        can  see the VISIBLE program,  and the other one,  the  INVISIBLE
        program.  A good example might be a print or a file update taking
        place in the INVISIBLE partition, and keyboard entry taking place
        in the VISIBLE portion.

        Remember,  the  VISIBLE  partition can be either the top  or  the
        bottom  partition.   You can toggle back and forth  between  them
        with  the Alt-Esc combination.   Or,  you can go to the DoubleDos
        menu to perform the same task.

        Who  gets priority?   I tried to answer this question by  running
        two BASIC programs simultaneously.   Each program consisted of  3
        lines  that incremented a counter,  printed the new value to  the


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        screen, and then looped back to the 1st statement.  The result of
        this  experiment  was that the program in the  VISIBLE  partition
        counted  twice as fast as that in the INVISIBLE partition.   When
        the VISIBLE was at 10000, the INVISIBLE was at only 5000.

        The conclusion is that the file update that normally takes 1 hour
        in  the  normal  DOS  mode might take 2  hours,  if  the  job  in
        foreground is calling for the same resources.

        But normally,  you would not be using the same computer resources
        in both partitions.   Let's say you were doing keyboard entry  in
        the   VISIBLE  partition.    You  would  experience  the  "sticky
        keyboard"  results that users have found with the PRINT  program.
        The letters you type would not immediately appear on the  screen,
        and  then would show up in bunches.   This may or may not disturb
        you.

        If a sticky keyboard is the only problem you experience, consider
        yourself  fortunate.   Since  DoubleDos gets to the "heart"  (not
        just the brain) of the PC, several other problems can occur, with
        varying levels of resolution.

        The first thing you must know is that some programs,  for reasons
        of  speed,  write directly to the screen,  without going  through
        DOS.   Lotus  1-2-3  is  probably the most  common  offender,  so
        DoubleDos comes with a special "driver" to handle the  situation.
        The driver,  in effect,  forces 1-2-3 to direct its output to the
        correct  area  of  memory,  so  that when you  go  back  to  that
        partition, your output is there waiting for you.

        Some  interesting results happen without a driver when you run  a
        program that writes directly to the screen.   I fired up SMART in
        the top partition, and, before the screen appeared, I switched to
        the bottom partition.   After a few seconds,  the SMART main menu
        appeared ...  in my bottom partition!  This was not what I wanted
        at  all,  so I cleared the screen and went on.   However,  when I
        went back to my top partition to continue with SMART,  what did I
        have?   NOTHING!   The screen was blank,  of course, since  I had
        cleared the screen.

        That  should be easy to solve by getting get a SMART driver  from
        SoftLogic  Solutions.   "SMART?   No,  we don't have a driver for
        that  one yet," I was told.   They do have drivers for Multimate,
        Wordstar,  Crosstalk,  Symphony  and dBase II and possibly  dBase
        III.   The price for each driver is only 5.00, which is certainly
        reasonable.

        What do you do if you have the need for a driver,  but don't have
        one?   The  only answer is to take it slow and easy,  or  execute
        those portions of the job that do not write to the screen.   If I
        had waited for the SMART main menu to come up,  before  switching
        to  the bottom partition,  I would have been OK.   Waiting for  a
        process  to finish takes some of the benefit away from DoubleDos,
        but you may be able to operate anyway.



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        Some  other problems I have found have been easily  resolved.   I
        was  running  Wordstar  (without a driver) and  was  having  some
        trouble with the Control key functions working.   Try as I might,
        some  would  just  not  work.   I had some  other  questions  for
        SoftLogic,  so I placed a "help" call.   Yes,  they were aware of
        the problem,  and was I familiar with DEBUG?   So,  on the phone,
        the support staffer walked me through the DEBUG process to  patch
        my program.

        I  began  to understand why the manual was out of date  with  the
        software.   (This  is a problem with many software items.)   It's
        much faster for the authors to make the change to the program, as
        I did with DEBUG,  than it is to get new manuals printed up.  The
        most  recent  files on my copy of DoubleDos were dated  only  two
        weeks before I received the software.  Rather than a fancy binder
        and  slip  case,  the  READ_ME.1ST file on the disk  should  have
        included the entire manual.

        You  may be able to get around other problems  by  yourself.   In
        Personal  Editor,  for example,  a Ctl-Backspace deletes a  line.
        Even  after  the patch which solved the Control key  problems  in
        wordstar,  I  still  could not delete a line in Personal  Editor.
        Fortunately,  PE allows your own key function definitions,  so  I
        simply  defined  an  additional key combination  to  perform  the
        delete line.  Problem solved.

        Some  other handy utilities I have always had in my  AUTOEXEC.BAT
        file  have had to be removed and executed either after I got into
        DoubleDos,  or, in one case, not at all.  DoubleDos does give you
        fair warning:  "If you have another device which uses IRQ7,  then
        you must include BUFFERS = 0 in your DDCONFIG.SYS file."  Thanks.
        I needed that.

        Some  problems  have remained a mystery.   One application I  was
        running reported an error message and froze the keyboard, forcing
        me  to turn the power off.   The same error,  without  DoubleDos,
        gave  me  just  an error message.   I have also  had  the  cursor
        disappear from one of the partitions.

        Another user of DoubleDos reported to me that the CHKDSK  command
        destroyed his directory, but I have not had this happen, nor do I
        want to try to duplicate it.

        ENHANCEMENTS OUTDATE DOCUMENTATION

        Documentation,  as I started to point out,  is typeset on  heavy,
        glossy paper and comes in a binder with a fine looking slip case.
        The  manual's  instructions were clearly written,  but since  the
        software has changed so much,  the authors have had to include an
        extra    green   sheet  to  provide  new  instructions   on   the
        installation process,  and the READ_ME.1ST file to give even more
        timely information.  If the software keeps changing as fast as it
        has, they will have to reprint the manual every month.

        WHAT'S NEXT?


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        What does the future hold for DoubleDos?   Clearly,  when some of
        the  bugs  get worked out,  DoubleDos will have  more  widespread
        appeal.   The  addition  of  various  drivers  will  broaden  the
        attraction; if SoftLogic is charging only 5.00, why not raise the
        price  by  10.00 or so and give away the drivers at the  time  of
        original purchase?

        DOS, as we know, can address only 640k of RAM.  If you physically
        had  1 meg of RAM,  the possibility exists for DoubleDos to  each
        have  512k for its own use.   Then you would be able to  run  two
        major jobs at the same time.

        Does DoubleDos allow you to run a multi-user machine?  If you ran
        CTTY in one partition, the possibility exists.  But watch out ...
        your  software had better be "well behaved," because you  are  up
        against the restrictions of both DoubleDos and CTTY.

        USE WITH CARE

        Will  I continue to use DoubleDos?   My answer is a strong "YES."
        In  the right circumstances,  I have found it to  be  invaluable.
        Will  I  ever  be thoroughly comfortable using it?   Not  in  its
        present release.  There are too many unusual and unknown results.
        Would I recommend the use of DoubleDos to others?  At this point,
        I   would  recommend  it  to  individuals  who  either  have   an
        overwhelming need for the unique DoubleDos capabilities or  those
        who  feel  comfortable dealing with some of the peculiarities  of
        the product.  SoftLogic offers a 30 day money back guarantee,  so
        if  you think DoubleDos is the product for you,  you may want  to
        give it a try.


























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