Cream of the Crop 3/Cream of the Crop 3.iso/comm/dep309.zip/DEPARC.EXE/COMSW.ZIP/COMSW.TXT

Text File | 1993-09-06 | 12KB | 324 lines

MANUAL FOR COMSW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(version 0.4a, release date 28 Aug 1993)

What is ComSw?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  A DOS utility program which can do three things:
    Report on the settings of the Com ports.
    Alter the settings of the Com ports.
    Act as a simple terminal, mainly intended for debug of some com problems.

Computer hardware required
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IBM compatable, DOS 3 or greater, 8088 or greater, standard serial ports
only, for the monitor function a colour text monitor is recommended.

How to use ComSw to report on the status of the ports.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Simply run the program without command line parameters.
  At the DOS prompt just type (without the quotes): 'comsw'

  The output of the program can, by using DOS, be redirected to a file or
  device and here are examples:
  to file         comsw > myfile.rpt
  append to file  comsw >> myfile.rpt
  to device prn   comsw > prn
  to device lpt1  comsw > lpt1

  And so on.


This is what the status output looks like and an explanation follows.

       ADR   DOS IRQ_E   BAUD BPS FIFO_ON LOOP DTR RTS CTS DSR RI DCD
COM1: 3F8H  3F8H   4 0   2400 8N1   NO  -   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
COM2: 2F8H  2F8H   3 1   1200 7N1   NO  -   0   1   1   0   0   0   0
COM3: 3E8H  3E8H   4 0   2400 8N1  YES  0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
COM4: 2E8H  2E8H   3 0   2400 8N1   NO  -   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
  legend: 1=on 0=off -=n/a  dtr/rts are outputs, cts..dcd are inputs
  for help invoke: comsw h

ADR
~~~
  These are the standard I/O address for the com port. ComSw makes no attempt
  to handle non-standard addresses. It looks at whatever device is at this
  address and reports what it finds. The addresses cannot be altered.

DOS
~~~
  Normally this I/O address will match the setting shown under ADR but DOS
  maintains a table in RAM of where it has found com ports. There are programs
  which attempt to hide a port from DOS and if this has been done or no com
  port was found by DOS on cold boot this field will be shown as 0H.
  ComSw flag 'T' can hide or unhide this field and it ignores what DOS says
  anyway.
  Invokation to hide com3: comsw /3t0
           to unhide com1: comsw /1t1

IRQ
~~~
  This is the hardware interrupt number. ComSw assumes standard IRQ numbers
  and if non standard ones are in use it will cause the program no problems.
  Attempting to auto-detect the true numbers would be very difficult and has
  not been attempted.
  Note: if as in the example shown there are more than two ports, then as
  standard the interrupt lines will have to be shared and this CANNOT be done
  without special software (comms programs etc.)
  This can cause all sorts of bizarre operational bugs in comms software.

E
~
  This is the ENABLE for the UART IRQ hardware interrupt line. As explained
  under IRQ you must not attempt to share IRQs.
  ComSw can enable or disable this connection.
  Invokation to disable com3: comsw /3e0
              to enable com1: comsw /1e1
  If you have a mouse on com1 and a modem on com3 you will probably find that
  a comms program for the modem won't work. This might be fixable by disabling
  com1 and enabling com3 before running the comm program. Unfortunately some
  of these programs will promptly undo the settings. You may find that
  shelling to DOS from within the comm program and running comsw will then
  make things work. Telix is like this. (that is not a criticism of Telix)

BAUD
~~~~
  This should be obvious. ComSw will allow setting of any possible integer
  (whole number) baud rate. The PC UART can manage between 2 and 115200.
  Invokation to set the baud rate of both com1 and com2 :
  ComSw /2b9600 /1b110

BPS
~~~
  B is the number of data bits used for the serial link, valid numbers are 5
  to 8 but only 7 or 8 are generally useful.
  ComSw /4w7
  P is the parity setting for the serial link, ComSw only handles None, Even
  and Odd. Stick parity has not been implemented.
  n is None, e is Even, o is Odd
  ComSw /2pe
  S is the number of stop bits used for the serial link, either one or two.
  ComSw /3s1

  The following example sets lot's of things on com2: comsw /2s2w7pnb19200

FIFO
~~~~
  Some computers are fitted with an advanced type of UART and ComSw will say
  whether one is fitted. It is sometimes refered to as a 16550
ON
  This will be marked if a FIFO is present and enabled. ComSw does _not_ test
  the FIFO. (this is mentioned because there are chips of this type which are
  defective by design). To test for these defects use a FIFO test program.
  Invokation to turn on a FIFO: ComSw /3f1

LOOP
~~~~
  The UART has internal logic which can be used to test the UART or a comms
  program. This is called loopback and connects the UART output directly to
  it's input, CTS to RTS and DTR to DSR.
  You can experiment with this using the monitor facility mentioned later.
  Invokation loopback on: ComSw /1l1
             and all off: ComSw /1l0 /2L0 /3L0 /4l0
  (that's an 'L')

DTR
~~~
  DTR (Data Terminal Ready) is an output from the UART to other equipment and
  is normally used to tell other equipment that the computer is switched on
  and ready for work. It is usually controlled by comms software.
  Invokations: ComSw /1d1  ComSw /3d0

RTS
~~~
  RTS (Request To Send) is an output from the UART to other equipment. It is
  normally used as handshaking between the computer and eg. modem and is
  controlled by the comms software.
  Invokation: ComSw /1r1  ComSw /1r0

CTS
~~~
  CTS (Clear To Send) is an input to the UART from other equipment. ComSw just
  shows the status of the control line.

DSR
~~~
  DSR (Data Set Ready) is an input to the UART from other equipment. ComSw
  just shows the status of the control line.
  The word 'dataset' is a name given to a modem or other equipment of that
  sort. It has the same meaning as DTR (see above) but in the opposite
  context.

RI
~~
  RI (Ring Indicator) is an input to the UART from other equipment. ComSw just
  shows the status of the control line.
  This line normally waggles when a modem 'hears' the phone ring.

DCD
~~~
  DCD (Data Carrier Detect) is an input to the UART from other equipment.
  ComSw just shows the status of the control line.
  It is normally used to indicate when a modem is fully connected to anouther
  modem.

How to get help on the command line switches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Run the program using a help flag:
  comsw /h OR comsw /?

Here is the help screen and it is complicated.

ComSw V0.3a (c)1992/3 T N Channon
Usage: comsw {/<flags>}
 Flags are /fbwpsedrlqtmh? but most take numeric args. There may be none or
 more sets of flags separated by spaces. Invoked with no args just displays
 status.
  /<port> where port is 1..4 eg. /3 is flags for COM3
  f0|1 where 0 is disable and 1 is enable FIFO if present
  b<baud> where baud is a number eg. b38400
  w5|6|7|8 number of databits in Word
  pE|O|N Even, Odd or No Parity
  s1|2 One or two stop bits.  L0|1 sets Loopback state.
  e0|1 where 0 is disable and 1 is disable IRQ for port
  d0|1 sets DTR state.  r0|1 sets RTS state
  q    Quiet mode, no display.
  t0|1 Remove or add entry to DOS com port table.
  m    Run monitor program
  h|?  display this text!
 All flags are case insensitive. Errorlevel returned.
 Flags may be in any order and ports may be in any order.
 Example: comsw /1b9600w8pns1e1 /3e0


Command line flags.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/
  Followed by 1 2 3 or 4 indicates to which comm port any immediately
  following flags apply. There may be one two three or four sets of flags on
  the command line and they can be in any order, the flags for com4 can
  preceed the flags for com1.

f
  FIFO on or off. f0 or f1

b
  Baud rate. Anything valid, ranging from b2 to b115200

w
  Bits per word. Anything from w5 to w8

p
  Parity. pe po pn  Even Odd or None.

s
  Stop bits. s1 or s2

e
  Enable the IRQ. e0 or e1

d
  DTR on or off. d0 or d1

r
  RTS on or off. r0 or r1

l
  Loopback on or off. L0 or L1

q
  Quiet mode. Suppresses text output to the screen.
  Just q

t
  Table for DOS. t0 table entry is removed, t1 table entry is inserted if a
  UART is found at the standard address.

m
  Monitor. See below.

h
?
  Invoke help screen.

The Terminal or Monitor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  If a valid command line flag set contains 'm' a monitor will be entered. Any
  flags which change port settings will be invoked before the monitor is
  entered.                                         ~~~~~~
  You can monitor one two three or four ports with the screen adjusting
  accordingly.
  The status of the UART control inputs is shown on a simple moving display.
  Any incoming characters are displayed and you can send characters from the
  keyboard to any one UART.
  Some of the UART settings can be altered from the keyboard.

  The program is very simple and polls the ports, it is NOT interrupt driven.
  This method was chosen to avoid disturbing any installed comm driver
  software which will do nothing because the hardware interrupts are switched
  off on all ports being monitored.

  When you run the monitor TO ACCESS ON LINE HELP JUST PRESS KEY <F1>

  The main keyboard does what you would expect, including the control keys and
  all special ComSw keys use the <alt> key.

  <alt>1 keyboard connected to com1
  <alt>2 keyboard connected to com2
  <alt>3 keyboard connected to com3
  <alt>4 keyboard connected to com4
  <alt>5 5 data bits
  <alt>6 6 data bits
  <alt>7 7 data bits
  <alt>8 8 data bits

  <alt>D toggle DTR
  <alt>L toggle loopback
  <alt>P toggle parity (rolls none, even, odd)
  <alt>R toggle RTS
  <alt>S toggle number if stop bits
  <alt>X exit monitor program

  <alt><cr> toggle add linefeed to <cr>
  <alt><cursorup> raise baud rate
  <alt><cursordown> lower baud rate

Release notes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V0.4a
Altered text output to use common ASCII so that redirected output prints and
displays correctly on simple devices. Now uses '_' '0' and '1'

Reports of malfunction in this software (ie. bugs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are welcome and if you find one please take the trouble to tell me.
There are known to be a few computers where the software does not work as
intended, reason not known.

Conditions of usage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The program is (c)1992/3 Tim Channon.
All rights reserved. The program may be freely distributed.
The program is not for resale. (you may not sell it)
Only private individuals, registered charities and companies employing less
than 10 people may use the program without restriction. Others please contact
the author for a licence in which case the author may at his discretion charge
a small fee.
Anyone may evaluate the program for a reasonable period.

The author disclaims liability for any damage directly or indirectly caused by
the use of this program the use of which is outside of the authors control.

Contact details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The author may be contacted by email:
[e-mail] or [e-mail]

Real mail:
Mr T Channon
25 Stanley Road
Newbury
RG14 7PB
United Kingdom

The end is right here ==>