home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- ID:MS Explanation of Memory Size Field
- Quarterdeck Technical Note.
- By Joe Wilder
-
- The Memory Size (in K) option is a number set to allow DESQview the
- opportunity to tell the user whether there is enough memory to open a
- particular program. That is to say, DESQview compares the number in the
- Memory Size (in K) field to the Largest Available fields (conventional and
- expanded) in Memory Status (which varies according to which and how many
- programs are running). If Mem Size in K is larger than BOTH conventional
- and expanded Largest Available, DESQview puts a message on the screen telling
- the user there is not enough memory to open that window. At this point DV
- hasn't even tried to open the program. It's just telling the user there's
- not enough memory according to the user's specification to try to run the
- program. This is useful to prevent a program from attempting to run and then
- freeze for lack of available memory. Note: Programs running under Desqview
- require approximately 9K extra memory for DV overhead.
-
- The Maximum Program Memory Size (in K) is the amount of memory which DV will
- try to acquire for the particular program. If this number is higher than the
- Largest Available fields in memory status (both conventional and expanded) DV
- will acquire every last byte that is available in the partition it chooses to
- use whether the program needs that much memory or not. If there is ample
- memory on the computer you might want to set Max Prog Mem Size to some very
- high number that you know is beyond what is actually available - possibly for
- purposes of testing. This of course may not be desirable for people with
- machines with limited memory that are trying to multitask a couple of small
- programs. They may want to try to squeeze multiple small programs into the
- first partition which would be completely used up if the first program's
- Maximum Program Memory Size (in K) was set higher than necessary.
-
- Maximum Expanded Memory Size (in K) is used to limit a program by the
- amount of expanded memory it may use. If Maximum Expanded Memory Size is
- left blank, a program may take or leave as much expanded memory as it wants.
- If a number is put in this field, the program may take as much memory as it
- wants up to that number. If a program doesn't use all the Expanded memory
- allocated by this field, the rest is still available for other uses. This is
- especially useful for running programs that grab all of the expanded
- memory available, leaving nothing for other uses. This convention is
- not to be confused with the usage of a blank with the Maximum Program
- Memory Size (in K). In the case of Max Prog Mem Size a blank means this
- field will default to the number in Program Memory Size (in K).
-
- Copyright (C) 1990 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
- * * * E N D O F F I L E * * *
-