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READ.ME
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1993-10-02
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Ted Gruber Software Voice: (702) 735-1980
PO Box 13408 FAX: (702) 735-4603
Las Vegas, NV 89112 BBS: (702) 796-7134
CIS: 72000,1642
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Fastgraph
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Fastgraph is a versatile, high-performance programmer's graphics library for
DOS-based PC systems. It is powerful enough to satisfy the most demanding
graphics application, yet it is easy enough for even the novice graphics
programmer. Fastgraph includes more than 200 hand-optimized routines, from
pixel display to sophisticated animation tools. This collection of routines
provides a programmer with proven, powerful tools to take command of the PC
and PS/2 text and graphics video environment.
Fastgraph's major functional areas include:
* Video mode detection and initialization
* Support for 28 video modes, including SuperVGA, standard and extended VGA,
MCGA, EGA, Hercules, Tandy, CGA, and color and monochrome text
* SVGA support for 20 chipsets plus VESA in resolutions of 640x400x256,
640x480x256, 800x600x256, 1024x768x256, 800x600x16, and 1024x768x16
* SVGA chipset autodetection
* Colors, virtual colors, and palettes
* Graphics fundamentals, including points, solid and dashed lines,
polygons, circles, ellipses, solid and dithered rectangles, region
fill, and clipping
* Redefinable world space coordinate system
* A scalable stroked character font
* GIF and PCX display and creation routines
* Bit-mapped image support, including mode-specific and mode-independent
images, transparent pixels, clipped and reversed images, image retrieval,
pixel run maps, and masking maps
* Fast block transfer routines (BitBlt)
* Physical, virtual, and logical video page management
* Resizeable video pages for smooth, flicker-free panning
* Animation and special effects
* Keyboard, mouse, and joystick support
* Low-level keyboard handler, ideal for game development
* Sound effects and music, both synchronous and asynchronous
* Support for most popular C, Pascal, BASIC, and FORTRAN compilers
* Support for small, medium, and large memory models where appropriate
* Extensive tutorial-style user's guide and reference manual
* No royalties
Fastgraph is an ideal development tool for entertainment and educational
software, presentation graphics products, scientific and engineering
applications, CAD/CAM, animation, and any application that requires robust
graphics. With Fastgraph, it's possible to write programs that run in many
different video modes by changing only a few lines of code, resulting in fast
program development.
Originally developed for use in commercial video games, Fastgraph represents
the cutting edge in graphics technology for the IBM PC. It has been used in
commercial products such as Accolade's Test Drive III, Day of the Viper, Steel
Thunder, and Gunboat; ComputerEasy's Video Poker a la Carte; Compu-Teach's
Once Upon a Time series, Puppet Playhouse, and Destination Mars; and all our
shareware products.
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Fastgraph/Light
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Fastgraph/Light is the shareware version of Fastgraph. It includes all the
features of Fastgraph except the world space coordinate system, stroked
character font, and GIF file support. Unlike Fastgraph, Fastgraph/Light uses
an external video driver (FGDRIVER) that you load before running a program
developed with Fastgraph/Light, just as you load a mouse driver before you
run a program that uses a mouse. Fastgraph does not use the external video
driver but instead includes the necessary functions directly in your EXE or
COM file.
Any programs developed using Fastgraph/Light are 100% source code compatible
with Fastgraph. If you purchase Fastgraph after trying Fastgraph/Light, all
you need to do is re-link your programs. As with Fastgraph, we don't charge
royalties for using Fastgraph/Light. The registered version of FG/Light
includes a software license agreement that lets you distribute the external
video driver without charge as part of your applications.
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Terms of Fastgraph/Light Evaluation
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This is an EVALUATION VERSION of Fastgraph/Light and is distributed as
shareware. It is a full-functioned version with all features found in the
registered version of Fastgraph/Light. However, programs created with the
evaluation version will display an evaluation notice when run. In addition,
programs created with the evaluation version may not be sold, given away, or
distributed in any form.
The Fastgraph/Light evaluation version is provided so you can see firsthand
what Fastgraph can do in the context of your own applications. You may use
the evaluation version for 30 days, after which you must purchase Fastgraph
or Fastgraph/Light, or discontinue using the evaluation version.
The Fastgraph and Fastgraph/Light purchase price includes disks containing
the latest version of the product and a license agreement that entitles you
to use the product without royalties in any programs. Orders for Fastgraph
include professionally printed versions of the Fastgraph User's Guide and
Reference Manual (you can purchase Fastgraph/Light with or without printed
manuals). You'll also receive access to special conferences on our technical
support bulletin board. Please see "Ordering Information" at the end of this
file for complete registration information.
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Notice to Shareware Vendors
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Shareware vendors must obtain WRITTEN PERMISSION from Ted Gruber Software to
distribute the evaluation version of Fastgraph/Light. See the LICENSE.DOC
file for details. If you do not find a LICENSE.DOC file, contact Ted Gruber
Software.
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Installing Fastgraph/Light
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The Fastgraph/Light evaluation kit is distributed in two formats -- in ZIP
files or on the Fastgraph demo disk.
If you received the Fastgraph demo disk from Ted Gruber Software, it's very
easy to install Fastgraph/Light. Just make A:\FGLIGHT your current directory
(you can use any available diskette drive besides A:) and type INSTALL. From
this point, just follow the directions on the screen.
If you obtained Fastgraph/Light from a bulletin board, shareware distributor,
or other on-line service, it should include two ZIP files named FGL303A.ZIP
and FGL303B.ZIP or something similar. In addition, there should be one or
more of the optional ZIP files named FGL303C.ZIP through FGL303F.ZIP; these
files respectively contain the C, BASIC, Pascal, and FORTRAN versions of the
example programs in the Fastgraph User's Guide. To install FG/Light from the
ZIP files, create a directory (preferably called \FGTEMP) and extract the
contents of the ZIP files into that directory. After doing this, run the
INSTALL program (included in FGL303A.ZIP) to move the necessary files to their
required locations. You can delete the files in the temporary directory when
INSTALL completes.
In either case, the INSTALL program will ask you for the compilers and memory
models you wish to use. It also will ask for the name of the directories for
the Fastgraph utilities, include files, and libraries. For the utilities, we
suggest usin