Microsoft Programmer's Library 1.3

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README.DOC File Release Notes for Microsoft (R) BASIC Professional Development System Version 7.00 (C) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1989 This document contains release notes for Version 7.00 of the Microsoft (R) Professional Development System for MS-DOS (R) and the Microsoft Operating System/2 (MS(R) OS/2). The information in this document is more up-to-date than that in the manuals. Microsoft improves its languages documentation at the time of reprinting, so some of the information in this online file may already be included in your manuals. ======================================================================= === === === Contents === === === ======================================================================= This file has 5 parts. Part Description ---- ----------- 1 Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Getting Started" 2 Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Language Reference" 3 Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Programmer's Guide" 4 Notes for "Microsoft CodeView and Utilities User's Guide" 5 Miscellaneous Notes and Tips ======================================================================= === === === Part 1: Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Getting Started" === === === ======================================================================= The following notes refer to specific pages in "Microsoft BASIC Getting Started." Page Section\Note ---- ------------ v Distribution of Run-Time Modules -------------------------------- Add the following to the list of run-time modules that may be distributed under the terms and conditions of the Microsoft License Agreement: COURA.FON COURE.FON COURB.FON HELVA.FON HELVE.FON TMSRA.FON TMSRE.FON 9 How Setup Uses Stub Files ------------------------- Replace the first sentence with the following: You can use stub files for programs that use the BRT module, or for stand-alone programs. However, Setup only uses stub files to build the BRT module. If you want to remove functionality for stand-alone programs, you must specify a given stub file on the LINK command line. ======================================================================= === === === Part 2: Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Language Reference" === === === ======================================================================= The following notes refer to specific pages in "Microsoft BASIC Language Reference." Page Section\Note ---- ------------ 37 CHAIN ----- Under DOS 2.1, CHAIN will not work unless filespec$ provides a path. Also under DOS 2.1, if the run-time module is in the root directory, the root directory must be listed in the PATH environment variable. 40 CHDIR ----- Refer to the online Help for CHDIR for a more appropriate example of CHDIR and MKDIR usage. 68 CONST ----- You cannot use ASCII 01 and 02 in string constants if you are going to compile to an executable program. The compiler (BC.EXE) uses ASCII 1 and 2 internally to represent End-of-Statement and End-of-Line, respectively. You can, however, still use 1 and 2 within the QBX environment. 84 DATA ---- You cannot use ASCII 01 and 02 in data strings if you are going to compile to an executable program. See the preceding note for CONST. 116 END --- Syntax 2, END [n%], accepts a range of integers from -32768 through 32767, inclusive. 177 KEY --- The KEY n%, stringexpression$ syntax can also be used to create user-defined keys. Refer to the information on page 180 for specific details on how this is accomplished. 181 KeyBoard Scan Codes ------------------- Add the following to the Keyboard Scan Code chart: Key Code --- ---- F11 87 F12 88 188 LEN --- When passing a string length as an argument to a procedure that may change the value of the argument, ensure that it is passed by value instead of by reference, which is the BASIC default. Do this by placing parentheses around LEN(N$), e.g., (LEN(N$)). Alternatively, you can use a temporary variable, e.g. N% = LEN(N$), and pass the temporary variable in the standard way. Failure to use these techniques will corrupt string space if you change the value of the passed argument. 238 OPEN COM -------- Under OS/2, specifying DS0 to ignore the state of the Data Set Ready (DSR) line, does not work properly. In this case, you will have to either not ignore the DSR line or you will have to jumper the DSR line to an active high signal line. Refer to serial port information that specifically pertains to your hardware, and perform any modifications at your own risk. 345 SOUND ----- The duration argument accepts any positive single-precision, floating-point value between 0 and 65535, inclusive. 425 DATESERIAL ---------- Change the paragraph that begins "For each of the three arguments..." to read as follows: When converting specific dates, the ranges shown above for each of the arguments should be used. However, when using expressions to calculate date serial numbers for relative dates (e.g., a week from 10 Dec 89) each of the three arguments can be any valid integer as long as the resulting date serial number is between -53688 and 65380, inclusive. Date serial numbers outside this range generate the error message "Illegal function call." 518 Fonts Toolbox ------------- Change the first sentence in the second paragraph to read as follows: Nine font files are supplied: Courier fonts in COURA.FON, COURB.FON, and COURE.FON, Helvetica fonts in HELVA.FON, HELVB.FON, and HELVE.FON, and Times Roman fonts in TMSRA.FON, TMSRB.FON and TMSRE.FON. 523 Fonts Toolbox ------------- Add the following documentation for the GTextWindow before existing documentation for GetTotalFonts: GTextWindow SUB Action Retains the logical coordinates of window boundaries. (See note below.) Syntax GTextWindow (x1, y1, x2, y2, Scrn%) Remarks The GTextWindow procedure uses the following arguments: Argument Description -------- ----------- x1 Integer containing the minimum X value (logical coordinate). y1 Integer containing the minimum Y value. x2 Integer containing the maximum X value. y2 Integer containing the maximum Y value. Scrn% Integer containing either cTRUE (used with WINDOW SCREEN statement to show window Y values increase top to bottom) or cFALSE (used with WINDOW statement to show window Y values increase bottom to top ) This procedure should be called after defining VIEW and WINDOW and prior to calling OutGText. To clear the current window, call this routine with X1=X2 or Y1=Y2. Note: The first call to OutGtext will work without calling GTextWindow, however all subsequent calls treat the coordinates as pixel coordinates of the window; therefore, to retain the logical coordinates call GTextWindow prior to calling OutGText. See Also See OutGText statement for more information. 601 Keyboard Scan Codes and ASCII Character Codes --------------------------------------------- Add the following to the table on page 601: | | | ASCII or | ASCII or | ASCII or | Scan | ASCII or | Extended | Extended | Extended Key| Code | Extended | with SHIFT| with CTRL | with ALT ---|-------|------------|------------|------------|------------ |Dec|Hex|Dec|Hex|Char|Dec|Hex|Char|Dec|Hex|Char|Dec|Hex|Char ---|---|---|---|---|----|---|---|----|---|---|----|---|---|---- F11| 87| 57|133| 85| NUL|135| 87| NUL|137| 89| NUL|140| 8B| NUL F12| 88| 58|134| 86| NUL|136| 88| NUL|138| 8A| NUL|141| 8C| NUL --------------------------------------------------------------- 611 BUILDRTM Utility ---------------- The runtime argument to BUILDRTM should not include a path or a file extension. 620 NMAKE ----- Change the description for the macrodefinitions argument to the following: An optional field that lists macro definitions for NMAKE to use. Macros can also be specified in the makefile. See the "Macro Definitions" section for details. 665 Run-Time Error Message - Overflow ---------------------------------- In the first bulleted item, change "40 indices" to "28 indexes". Entirely remove the sentence that begins, "If there are 32 open tables..." This limitation is not correct and does not cause an Overflow error. See "Using Multiple Files: 'Relational Databases'" in Chapter 10 of the Programmer's Guide for information on open table limitations. 684 Link error L1083 - Cannot open run file ------------------------------------- This error can also be caused by a read-only .EXE file of the same name as specified for the run file. Link will not be able to overwrite the read-only file. ======================================================================= === === === Part 3: Notes for "Microsoft BASIC Programmer's Guide" === === === ======================================================================= The following notes refer to specific pages in "Microsoft BASIC Programmer's Guide.: Page Section/Note ---- ------------ 341 Restrictions on Indexing ------------------------ Add the following to the end of the first paragraph: The maximum number of indexes per table is 28. 344 Setting the Current Record by Position -------------------------------------- Add the following just after the paragraph that begins, "The effect of any of the MOVEdest statements...": If you trap errors while using either a MOVENEXT or MOVEPREVIOUS ISAM statement, and an I/O error occurs (either 57 or 71) on an index that is not the NULL index, you must resynchronize ISAM internal pointers before using another MOVENEXT or MOVEPREVIOUS statement. Synchronization can be done using any valid SETINDEX statement, either a MOVEFIRST or MOVELAST statement, or any of the SEEKxx (SEEKEQ, SEEKGE, SEEKGT) statements. 345 A Typical ISAM Program ---------------------- The command line used for invoking PROISAM for use with the BOOKLOOK program (shown halfway down the page) is stated as PROISAM /Ib:24. The efficiency of the ISAM has improved and the program can now be run in 640K conventional memory, with no expanded memory, with only 9 buffers: PROISAM /Ib:9. If you have EMS available, you need not specify the /Ib option. 376 Starting ISAM for Use in QBX - /Ie argument ------------------------------------------- The explanation for the /Ie: option for the ISAM TSR states that "...In practice, you only need to specify /Ie if your program code (or a loaded Quick library) actually manages EMS memory." Although this is true, there may be other times when you want to reserve EMS for other uses. Having many ISAM buffers improves the performance of ISAM, but during program development ISAM performance may be less important than the size of your program's source code. For example, your program may only need 10-12 ISAM buffers to prevent an "Out of memory" error at run time. However, with a very large program, the size of the source code loaded in QBX may result in an "Out of memory" error. If you have 1.2 megabytes of EMS available, you can use the /Ie: option to minimize the EMS used by ISAM buffers, reserving the rest for program source code. For example, if your program needs about 10 buffers, you can invoke the ISAM TSR with /Ie:900. This will provide several hundred K of EMS to be used for ISAM buffers. The rest will be reserved for QBX (and your program source code). Note that only program parts whose size is between 512 bytes and 16K are placed in EMS by QBX. You can check the sizes of your procedures and module-level code blocks by pressing F2 to see the View menu's SUBs dialog box. 393 The ISAMCVT Utility ------------------- Add the following sentence just before the section entitled "The Repair Utility": No EMS driver can be loaded when running ISAMCVT. 394 Repair Utility -------------- Replace the paragraph that begins, "When you use the ISAMREPR utility..." with the following: The ISAMREPR utility requires an additional 32K within your database to re-create the system indexes. This adds a least 32K to the size of the database. Do not run the utility if your disk does not have this amount of space available in the current working directory. Also note that the maximum size of a database is 128 megabytes. When you run the ISAMREPR utility, adding 32K to the size of an extremely large database may cause it to exceed the maximum allowed. ISAMREPR deletes inconsistent records in tables, but does not compact after doing so. Compacting a database is described in the next section. 495 BASIC Calling MASM ------------------ Change the first sentence in the paragraph following the "Important" note to read as follows: This MASM code uses the .MODEL directive which establishes compatible naming and calling conventions for BASIC, and it also uses simplified segment directives. 559 Using BC Command Options - /D option ------------------------------------ When using the /D option with dynamic arrays, it is possible to produce incorrect results if you pass an array element to a procedure that changes the value of the element index. For example, the following works properly when compiled with all options except /D: CALL foo(a(i),i) PRINT a(i), i The following performs the same operations and works properly with all compile options including /D. j=i CALL foo(a(i),j) PRINT a(i), j 561 Using Floating-Point Options (/FPa and /FPi) -------------------------------------------- The new CURRENCY data type is not currently supported in the alternate math library. 576 Options ------- Replace /NOD with /NOE in the table at the top of the page. 595 Ignoring Default Libraries (/NOD:filename) ------------------------------------------ Add the following to the paragraph that begins, "In general, higher-level languages..." For example, if you specify the /NOD option when linking a protect-mode BASIC program, you must explicitly specify the run-time library (BRT70xxP.LIB) and OS2.LIB in the libraries field of the LINK command line. 624 Mouse, Menu, and Window Libraries -------------------------------- If you rebuild toolbox Quick libraries, files should be compiled with the /Ah option (allow dynamic arrays to be greater than 64K) if you intend to use QBX with the /Ea option (Put arrays into expanded memory). Also note that Table 19.1 applies to all toolbox files, not just MOUSE.BAS, MENU.BAS, and WINDOW.BAS. 625 Loading and Viewing Quick Libraries ----------------------------------- QBX now requires that the BASIC source for any Quick library be compiled using the /Fs (far string) compiler option. Consequently, QBX will not permit you to load a Quick library file that has the near string features of earlier versions of QuickBASIC. If you encounter an "Invalid Format" error when attempting to load an older Quick library file, you should recompile the files using BC with the /Fs option. You may also encounter the "Invalid Format" error if you invoke QBX with a /Ea option (put arrays into expanded memory) and have not compiled the Quick library with /D (generate debugging code) or /Ah (Allow dynamic arrays of records, fixed-length strings, and numeric data to be larger than 64K). 636 Description Blocks ------------------ The following information applies to the command component of description blocks: The first character after a dependency line in a description block must be a whitespace character, i.e., either a space or a tab. An error occurs if only a carriage return is used on a blank line. 701 Elementary Data Types - String ------------------------------ You cannot use ASCII 01 and 02 in strings of any form if you are going to compile to an executable program. The compiler (BC.EXE) uses ASCII 1 and 2 internally to represent End-of-Statement and End-of-Line, respectively. You can, however, still use 1 and 2 within the QBX environment. 702 Elementary Data Types - Numeric ------------------------------- A math coprocessor (80x87) handles rounding of extremely small numbers differently from the way numbers are rounded by the BASIC emulator math package. Because of this difference, some numbers that are properly displayed using a coprocessor are rounded and displayed as zero when using emulator math. The range of single-precision floating-point numbers that are properly displayed as input, using the emulator math package, is +/- 2.802597E-45. For double-precision floating-point numbers, the range is +/- 4.94065645841247D-324. ======================================================================= === === === Part 4: Notes for "Microsoft Codeview and Utilities Users === === Guide" === === === ======================================================================= The following notes refer to specific pages in "Microsoft CodeView and Utilities User's Guide." Page Section\Note ---- ------------ 76 Add the following BASIC intrinsic functions to Table 4.8, "BASIC Intrinsic Functions Supported by the CodeView Debugger": Argument Function Name Definition Type Type ------------------------------------------------------- CCUR Data-type conversion Numeric Currency CVC Data-type conversion 8-byte string Currency SADD Offset of string String Integer SSEG Segment of string String Integer SSEGADD Far pointer of string String Integer 100 Add the following format specifier to Table 6.1, "CodeView Format Specifiers": Output Sample Sample Character Format Expression Output ----------------------------------------------- m Currency ?1.2345678, m 1.2346 101 Add the following note after the paragraph that begins, "You can specify individual members..." ----------------------------------------------------------- Note Individual members of a BASIC user-defined type are displayed in reverse order from the way they are defined within the user-defined type. ----------------------------------------------------------- 102 The last example on the page is incorrect for Codeview version 2.35. The members of a BASIC user-defined type are displayed in reverse order. "? mystruct" should display: {c3 =0x1000:2d34, c2={b=2, a=1}, c1=123} 117 Add the following to the list of Dump commands in Section 6.4, "Dump Commands": Command Command Name ------- ------------ DC Dump Currency 133 Add the following note after the first paragraph of Section 7.1, "Breakpoint Set Command": ----------------------------------------------------------- Note If the BASIC program being debugged was compiled with the /Ot option, you cannot set a breakpoint on the line containing a SUB, FUNCTION, DEF FN statement. If you do set a breakpoint there, it will be ignored by CodeView; the program will not halt. You will be unable to unassemble from the correct beginning address and CodeView will not display the correct address when issued a "?" command. ----------------------------------------------------------- 144 Add the following to the list of size specifiers in Section 8.2, "Setting Watch-Expression and Watch-Memory Statements": Specifier Size --------- ---- C Currency 151 Add the following to the list of size specifiers in Section 8.4, "Setting Tracepoints": Specifier Size --------- ---- C Currency 175 Add the following to the list of Enter commands in Section 10.2: Command Command Name ------- ------------ EC Enter Currency 199 Add the following to the Note in Section 11.7, "Shell Escape Command": If there is insufficient memory to perform a shell escape, the resulting "Not enough memory" message is printed to the output screen but you are returned immediately to the debug screen. Since you will not normally see the output screen you can use the Screen Exchange command to confirm that this is what caused the Shell Escape to fail. ======================================================================= === === === Part 5: Miscellaneous Notes and Tips === === === ======================================================================= The following notes refer to specific issues that may not conveniently fall into any of the previous categories. I/O within LPRINT, PRINT #, PRINT # USING, WRITE, and WRITE USING ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you use any of these output statements with an argument that is, itself, an input/output statement, the output will go to the console screen rather than the expected file or device. To avoid this problem, use a variable to get input, and use that variable as the argument to the statement that will perform the output. In the following example output will always go to the screen: OPEN "Test1.dat" FOR INPUT AS #1 OPEN "Test2.dat" FOR OUTPUT as #2 PRINT #2, INPUT$(10, #1) The following rewritten example will send output to the proper place: OPEN "Test1.dat" FOR INPUT AS #1 OPEN "Test2.dat" FOR OUTPUT AS #1 TEXT$ = INPUT$(10, #1) PRINT #2, TEXT$ Output is also sent to the screen if you use an argument that is a user-defined function that also performs input/output. You must not use user-defined functions that perform I/O as arguments to any of the above listed output statements.