ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/MISC/GAPQBDR.ZIP/WHATSNEW.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-05 | 19KB | 486 lines

08/15/94

  GAPQBDR now supports the Fossil Interface. This interface requires
  that a Fossil Device driver be loaded. We recommend X00.SYS.

  In order to utilize the Fossil Interface, your users must add the
  following to Line 5 of the Door Configuration file:

        FOSSIL

  For example:

    DOOR.CNF
    ----------------------
    C:\GAP
    The Crow's Nest BBS
    4
    03F8
    FOSSIL                   <- tells GAPQBDR to use the Fossil Interface
    D000
    320
    4

  If you've modified the source code, you should study the changes
  that were made in INITDOOR.BAS. Specifically, the functions 'read.cnf'
  and 'init.door'. Take note of where and how in sets the variable
  'interface' (it is set to 3 when using the Fossil Interface) and
  how the Fossil port is initialized.

  The following Fossil specific functions have been added:

     DECLARE FUNCTION fos.setport% ALIAS "FOS_SETPORT" (port%)

        ' Used to tell Fossil driver we want to use the specified Port

        ' MUST BE CALLED prior to using any Communications routine (if using
        ' the Fossil Interface).

        ' port = COM Port # (0 based, COM 1 = 0, COM 2 = 1, etc)

        ' Return 0 = success
        '        1 = Device Driver Not installed


     DECLARE SUB fos.resetport ALIAS "FOS_RESETPORT" ()

        ' Tells the Fossil Driver we are finished with the port.


     DECLARE FUNCTION fos.initport% ALIAS "FOS_INITPORT" (baud&, parity%, d.ata%, s.top%)

        ' Initializes the Fossil port

        ' baud   = baudrate (long)
        ' parity = 0 = None, 1 = Odd, 2 = Even
        ' data   = 6, 7, or 8
        ' stop   = 1 or 2

        ' Return 0 = success
        '        1 = bad parameter passed


     DECLARE SUB fos.clrtx ALIAS "FOS_CLRTX" ()

        ' Clears the Fossil port's Transmit Buffer


  Note that Fossil Ports are 0 based where COM 1 = Port 0, COM 2 = Port 1,
  etc.



04/24/93

  GAPQBDR now supports the DigiBoard COM/Xi series of Intelligent
  Serial Communications boards. These boards contain 4 or 8 serial
  ports along with their own on-board processor to control the ports.
  These boards are actually a single-board computer dedicated to handling
  serial port I/O.

  By moving the serial I/O functions from the Host Computer to the
  DigiBoard, the IRQ and Interrupt Latency bottleneck that plagues
  Multi-Tasking users is eliminated.

  GAPQBDR supports the DigiBoard in two ways:

        Direct Programming and INT14/EBIOS calls.

    Direct Programming is the fastest because it eliminates the need
    for costly software interrupt calls to a slower BIOS. In addition
    it does not require the presence of a Device Driver which basically
    performs the same functions as the Direct Programming method.

    INT14/EBIOS requires that a Device Driver be loaded (this driver
    is supplied by DigiBoard). Serial Port I/O is performed by issuing
    software interrupts (Interrupt 14).

  Whether or not to use the Direct Interface or the INT14/EBIOS
  Interface depends on the BBS which will be running the GAPQBDR
  program. If the BBS is utilizing the Device Driver, then that is
  how a GAPQBDR program must be configured. If the BBS is a GAP system
  and the Sysop is using the Direct Interface, then the GAPQBDR program
  must be configred the same.

  The two interfaces can not be intermixed since the Direct Interface will
  essentially put the Device Driver to sleep.

  When using the INT14/EBIOS interface and the DigiBoard supplied Device
  Driver, it is not necessary to turn on the "Character Waiting" flags
  for each of the ports. GAPQBDR does not use these flags as they basically
  defeat the purpose of using a multi-port board in a multi-tasking
  system. To use these flags an IRQ must be dedicated to the DigiBoard.
  If the flags are not used, the IRQ need not be set.

     Imagine running 8 ports under a Multi-Tasker where all 8 ports
     are in use. As characters are received by each of the 8 ports, an
     interrupt is generated. The Device Driver must service the
     interrupt request and since the driver runs on the Host Computer,
     it will be spending a lot of precious time figuring out which of
     the ports generated the interrupt and updating its "Character
     Waiting" flag for that port.

     By disabling the "Character Waiting" flags and not utilizing the
     IRQ, the Host Computer will not know it has 8 serial ports running
     at high speed at the same time.

  If, however, the Sysop has the IRQ and Character Waiting flags enabled,
  no harm is done. GAPQBDR simply will not utilize the flags.

  The Character Waiting flags are provided because making Interrupt
  14 calls takes longer than simply checking a memory address (which,
  by the way, is what the Direct Programming interface does).

  To use a DigiBoard with a GAPQBDR program, 4 additional lines have been
  added to the Door Configuration file. These 4 new options are:

    Line 5 - The COM Port Interface to use:

             STANDARD    = Regular Communications Port Interface. This
                           is what you would normally use.

             DIGIBOARD   = Direct DigiBoard Programming Interface. Must
                           be used in conjunction with a program called
                           RESETDIG.EXE. If you don't have this program
                           but have a DigiBoard, then use the following
                           option.

             INT14/EBIOS = Indirect DigiBoard Support via a Device Driver.
                           All Communications to the DigiBoard (or any
                           board that supports INT14/EBIOS) are performed
                           via a Software Interrupt that the Device Driver
                           handles.

    Line 6 - This is the DigiBoard Memory Window, or the address the
             card uses as a communications area between the card and
             the Host Computer. Only needed if using an Interface set
             to DIGIBOARD. If using STANDARD or INT14/EBIOS, this can
             be set to 0. This address must be entered in Hexadecimal.

               Valid entries are: C000, C800, D000, and D800

    Line 7 - This is the DigiBoard I/O Port address that the Board is
             attached to. Only needed if using an Interface set to
             DIGIBOARD. If using STANDARD or INT14/EBIOS, can be set
             to 0. This address must be entered in Hexadecimal.

               Valid entries are: 100, 110, 120, 200, 220, 300 and 320

    Line 8 - This is the DigiBoard Channel Number for the port this
             program will be utilizing. This is REQUIRED for DIGIBOARD
             and INT14/EBIOS Interfaces. This is 1 - 8 for the
             DIGIBOARD Interface and usually 4 - 11 for the INT14/EBIOS
             Interface. This number tells the program which of the
             Com Ports on the DigiBoard it should use.


  The new configuration file for a GAPQBDR that will be using a DigiBoard
  Serial port would look like the following:

    DOOR.CNF
    ----------------------
    C:\GAP
    The Crow's Nest BBS
    4
    03F8
    INT14/EBIOS
    D000
    320
    4

    Lines 3 and 4 are ignored by the program and can be set to 0.
    Because this is an INT14/EBIOS interface, lines 6 and 7 are also
    ignored. Line 8 is the Channel Number and in this case, it is the
    first serial port on the DigiBoard (Channel Numbers 1 - 4 are
    generally reserved for COM 1 - COM 4 on the Host Computer, although
    this is up to the Sysop and how he/she configured the Device Driver).


  To use the Direct Programming Interface, the configuration file
  would look something like:

    DOOR.CNF
    ----------------------
    C:\GAP
    The Crow's Nest BBS
    4
    03F8
    DIGIBOARD
    D000
    320
    1

    Lines 3 and 4 are ignored by the program and can be set to 0.
    Line 6 is the Memory Window that the DigiBoard and the program
    use to communicate with each other. Line 7 is the I/O port that
    the board uses. Line 8 is the Channel Number which, in this case,
    is the first serial port on the DigiBoard.


  To use the Standard Com Port Interface, the configuration file
  would look something like:

    DOOR.CNF
    ----------------------
    C:\GAP
    The Crow's Nest BBS
    4
    03F8
    STANDARD
    0
    0
    0

    Lines 3 and 4 are used ONLY if the program will be using a COM port
    other than COM 1 or COM 2. They can be set to 0 if the program will
    not be using non-standard COM ports. Line 5 tells the program to
    use its own internal interrupt handler. Lines 6-8 are not used and
    can be set to 0.

  Note that even if the DigiBoard specific options are not used or needed
  they must still be present in the Configration File and all Door Specific
  options now begin on Line 9.


07/25/92

  Note, with this release of GAPQBDR, you MUST change your Door
  Configuration files such that you remove line 3 (the PCB flag).
  This line is no longer needed since PCB is capable of writing
  a DOOR.SYS file.

  Your configuration files will now have 4 required lines:

        Path to BBS Directory
        Name of the BBS
        IRQ
        Base Address

   The 'do.pcb' flag has been removed. GAPQBDR will work with any
   BBS system that writes a correct DOOR.SYS file. This includes GAP,
   WildCat, and PCB.


05/23/91

   Turned on the routines that allow for ports other than
   COM 1 and 2.

     This requires a change to your Door configuration file.

     Lines 4 and 5 of the CNF file are now reserved for use
     by GAPQBDR. If your door programs are using these lines
     for their own use, you must now begin your own configuration
     options on line 6.

     Line 4 of the configuration file is the IRQ for the port.
     Line 5 of the configuration file is the Base Address for the port.

     If the user is using COM 1 or COM 2, then they may enter
     a zero (0) on both of these lines, as the default port
     assignments are always used for COM 1 and COM 2.

     The IRQ (line 4) must be in the range of 1 - 7.

     The Base Address (line 5) must be a Hexadecimal number in the
     format of:

       02E8
       03E8
       etc.

     A sample configuration file is included.

     If you are using modified GAPQBDR source code, the two routines
     that were changed are read.cnf and init.door (contained in
     INITDOOR.BAS).


12/02/90

   Modified the COM routines so that all local data is contained
   in the Code Segment of the GAPCOM module instead of the
   default Data Segment.

   This will eliminate the problem some programmers were having
   with their doors in that the door could only be run once (under
   DesqView). On any subsequent runs, all incomming data from the
   remote caller was being vectored to some unknown interrupt handler,
   instead of GAPQBDR's own handler.

   Hopefully, this will also eliminate the lock up problems some
   were having when their door exits back to the BBS system.

12/01/90

   Modified the timecredit variable so that it is no longer
   initialized with the timecredits as written to DOOR.SYS.

   When writing DOOR.SYS, GAP writes the actual time
   remaining and this time includes any timecredits the caller
   may have.  However, when figuring time left, GAPQBDR takes
   into consideration the time credits, so if a caller had
   10 minutes left and -10 time credits (in GAP), the door
   program would log the caller off for lack of time.

   You may still use the timecredit variable as before, however
   if you intend to update DOOR.SYS with any timecredits given
   or taken away from the caller, you must add your timecredits
   to a new variable called

                       realcredit

   before updating DOOR.SYS.

   Realcredit contains the actual BBS timecredits. It is not used
   in figuring time left for a caller while in the door, since
   the BBS program is supposed to write the actual time left to
   DOOR.SYS.


07/08/90

   GAPQBDR has been updated so that it now reads the new fields
   in DOOR.SYS. In addition, in a PCB system, the 3 files,
   PCBOARD.DAT, PCBOARD.SYS, and USERS are no longer read.
   Instead, GAPQBDR will read the DOOR.SYS file that PCB now
   writes to obtain the information required to operate.

   The following variables have been declared and are available
   for use. These variables are read from some of the new fields
   in DOOR.SYS:

     COMMON SHARED dflt.color AS INTEGER    ' BBS default color
     COMMON SHARED maxfiles   AS INTEGER    ' Max files available
     COMMON SHARED curfiles   AS INTEGER    ' Current files downloaded

     COMMON SHARED doors.open AS LONG       ' Total doors opened
     COMMON SHARED mesleft    AS LONG       ' Total messages left
     COMMON SHARED downbytes  AS LONG;      ' total download bytes

     COMMON SHARED handle     AS STRING      ' caller's Handle
     COMMON SHARED event.time AS STRING      ' event run time
     COMMON SHARED last.new   AS STRING      ' last new files scan


   GAPQBDR is now compatible with BASIC 7. This required but a very
   minor change to one of the functions. However, it was a frustating
   time, to say the least.  In our 'C' programming, we use the
   Alternate Math Library as this results in a 10k decrease in CODE
   size. So, we set out to install BASIC 7 using the Alternate Math
   Library. To utilize this library, you compile your modules using
   the /FPa switch. Everything compiles just fine, but when trying
   to create the GAPQBDR Quick Library, the Linker complains of
   "unresolved external references". After many frustrating hours, we
   decided to install BASIC 7 with the Emulator Library (the
   default).  This Math Library works just fine and so we will just
   leave it at that and not attempt to waste any more time trying
   to determine why the Alternate Math Library does not work.

   There are two ZIP files contained within GAPQBDR that contain the
   actual LIB and QLB files. One is for BASIC 7 (or QBX) and the
   other is for QB 4.5.

   NOTE (09/02/90):
     The Quick Library for BASIC 7 has been removed from GAPQBDR.
     It seems that the only way to create a 'workable' QLB for
     QBX is to use /Fs (far strings). This will create a GAPQBDR.QLB
     that QBX can load, but your programs will not work correctly.
     GAPQBDR was not written to take advantage of any so called
     "features" of BASIC 7 (Far Strings being one of them), so if
     you use BASIC 7, you will need to do your compiling using BC.



12/16/89

   Updated the GAPDOS record structure to be compatible with the
   current version of GAP.

   Fixed a problem with dropped carriers and PCB.


10/01/89

   Changes to your source file:

   If you called previously undocumented GAPQBDR routines,
   you will need to include GAPQBSRC.BI right after GAPQBDR.BI.
   Previously undocumented functions are now fully referenced
   in the printed manual. GAPQBSRC.BI contains the function
   declarations for these routines as well as declarations
   for the private variables. If you receive a "Sub Program
   Not Defined" or an unresolved external reference, you
   probably need to include GAPQBSRC.BI.

   The error handler is now part of your source modules. It
   is in GAPQBERR.BI and MUST be included AFTER any declarations
   but BEFORE any basic statments.

   ' $INCLUDE: 'gapqberr.bi'

   In other words, it is in included after any variable
   declarations and before any executible statments. Note
   that A$ = "This is a sting" is a statment and not a variable
   declaration.

   Because the error handler is now a part of your program, you must
   use the /x switch when compiling your source module.

   Please refer to the EXAMPLE.BAS program for more information
   as to how the error handler is included in your programs.


   A number of new routines were added to this release. These new
   functions (as well as descriptions of previously undocumented
   routines) are fully referenced in the printed manual.

   This release of GAPQBDR requires that the GAP system be at
   version 4.3 or higher. New fields were added to DOOR.SYS and
   only GAP versions at or above 4.3 are able to write them.
   Your previously compiled doors will continue to operate
   normally. This change affects only newly compiled programs.

   If you licensed the source code, there is additional information
   contained within SRCREAD.ME.  In addition, you will find that
   the source modules were broken up into smaller pieces and that
   most of the private routines are now provided.


08/28/89

   GAPQBDR now utilizes all new communications routines. It is no
   longer dependant upon QB to handle communications I/O. What
   this means to you, the programmer, is that you no longer need
   worry about your end users having a DTR patched version of
   BRUN45.EXE. In addition, those "device time out" and "bad file
   number" errors QB gives us when it has problems with the COM
   port are eliminated.

   The communications routines are written in assembler for speed
   and compactness. They are capable of handling any com port you
   have set up, however we have limited them to COM 1 - COM 4. They
   support speeds to 38.4k, and will automatically use the 16550
   FIFO buffer if that chip is installed.

   Because of these modifications, you will need to make changes to
   your source code if you accessed the com port directly or
   through file #9.  The communications routines are documented in
   the printed manual only.

   It is of vital importance that you exit your door via the
   leave function. Failure to do so will leave communications
   interrupts active which will cause your computer to lock up at
   some point.

   The GAPQBDR environment variable is no longer used to specify
   that the BBS is a PCB system.  Instead, line 3 of the door
   configuration file is used for this purpose.  On line 3 of that
   file, enter (or have your end users enter) a 1 if the BBS
   is PCB, or 0 for a GAP system. The default is still GAP mode so
   if anything other than a 1 is found on line 3 of the configuration
   file, GAPQBDR will assume the BBS is GAP. Any options you may
   need for a particular door will begin on line 4.