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Volume 1, Number 3 03 February 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | - C News - | | | | International | | C Programming & Compiler Review | | Newsletter | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ US Office: Editor at large Barry Lynch Assistant Editor Ami Dworkin Technical Editor Marshall Presnell Australian Office: Editor David Nugent C News is published bi-weekly by the C BBS as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in C News. Articles should be related to C programming and can be Tutorials, reviews or articles of interest to the C programming community. All Operating systems are fairly represented and this newsletter shows no favoritism to any one in particular. Instruct- ions on how to submit articles for publication is included on the last page. C News is the property of the C BBS and is Copyright 1988 by the the C BBS. All rights are reserved and distribution is limited to electronic distribution and personal printed copies. C News cannot be resold at any profit, by any organization. All material enclosed within the newsletter is the opinions of the writers and not the C BBS or it's Sysop. C News 1-02 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ================================================================= 1. EDITORIAL The Heap: messages from the editor.................... 1 Foreign Distribution Points, New columns, New number 2. PATCHES/MITE REPORTS TurboC 1.5 official patch ................................ 3 3. SHORT SNIPS Magazine Review's by Barry Lynch ........................................ 4 MINIX: What is it? by Barry Lynch ........................................ 6 4. BOOK REVIEWS C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications ............ 7 by James Milne Programming in Windows .................................. 8 by Barry Lynch 5. SOFTWARE REVIEWS Public Domain: .......................................... 9 BPLUS11.ARC, CASM.ARC, DOCU.ARC, MSCPOPUP.ARC, NUC-SUBR.ARC, and TP_TO_QC.ARC by David Nugent 6. NOTES Article Submission Standards ............................. 13 Address's ............................................... 14 USER Response Form ....................................... 15 8. INDEX ................................................... 16 C News 1-02 Page 1 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= The HEAP: Messages from the Editor. FOREIGN DISTRIBUTION POINTS: To ease the distribution of C News to our foreign readers, two Fido/OPus systems have offered to be the distribution points for their respective countries. In Australia, David Nugent - Sysop of Alpha Centuri - will be carrying this newsletter on a regular basis. In Canada, Robert Bowman - Sysop of Another BBS - will be the distribution point for canadian readers. Hopefully, other BBS's will join the distribution list. NEW COLUMNS: Issue 3 of C News continues the expansion charge. A couple of new columns are included for the first time in this issue. One, Short Snips - are a collection of one page articles on a variety of subjects. This month we list the contents of a couple of programming magazines, and define MINIX. If you have idea for an article for Short Snips, send it to me via the variety of addresses listed and we will see if we can include it in a future issue. PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE REVIEWS: David Nugent - our man about town in Australia - has begun a series of reviews of Public Domain/Shareware software. He will be reviewing on a regular basis, most of what is available and placing his comments in his regular column. C BBS NEW PHONE NUMBER: As some of you know, the C BBS now has a new phone number. Due to a recent move the C BBS has changed to (703)-998-8377. This was effective 1/23/88 and a message has been placed on the old number as a reminder. MAJOR NEW SECTION: PROGRAMMING PROJECTS I threatened to do this a few weeks ago, while chatting with a user on-line. So, here goes: The C BBS will begin a series of programming projects which will encompass all stages of software engineering. From the initial design phase, to specifications, to coding , testing and a release version. This section is intended to help out all users by providing the complete picture, not just the code. < Originally, I intended to start this project in this issue. But moving and the Flu have delayed the start. I tried to get the initial articles completed, but was unable to. So I C News 1-02 Page 2 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= NEW FORMAT AND SECTION CONT': decided to include the first articles in the next issue. > INDEX, et al ... The C News letter has also added an Index, so that readers can see what material has been covered by which issue. This will be updated with each issue. I have also included with this issue of C News the official patch from Borland for TurboC version 1.5. Should save a few of you the aggravation of tracking it down on BBS's. Also, a user response form has been designed and included. I hope that a few of you will take the time to fill it out and send it in. I hope that the changes to C News will be welcomed by the readers, if you have suggestions on how this Newsletter can be improved. Then send your comments to the address's included at the end of this issue. B C'ing U.. Barry C News 1-02 Page 3 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================= PATCHES/MITE REPORTS ================================================================= ******************** Borland International ********************** PRODUCT : TURBOC VERSION : 1.5 DATE : 13 January 1988 TITLE : Patch disk for initgraph This disk contains the files necessary to path the medium, large and huge Turbo C libraries for a situation where initgraph may cause a program to halt execution requiring a re-boot. *** Editors Note: The arc file is included with this newsletter. C News 1-02 Page 4 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ SHORT SNIPS - MAGAZINE REVIEWS by Barry Lynch ================================================================ **** Editor's Note: Starting in this issue a review of the latest C programming related magazines will be featured. For some readers going to the local bookstore to see what is available is a chore, so this section will highlight the contents of the latest issues of: Dr. Dobb's, Computer Language et al.. One thing that has always bothered me is the lack of time that I have for reading. With over 20 magazine/journal subscriptions, finding time to read all of the monthly issues can be a chore. So, I have started a review of the contents of all of the latest issues of popular magazines. Alot of new C programmers will be unfamiliar with the periodicals that are available here in the US, and this might provide an insight into what is out there to be browsed. ______________________________________________________________________ Magazine: Computer Language Publisher: Miller Freeman Publications Published: Monthly cost $3.50 US & $4.50 Canadian Subject Matter: Programming Languages Issue: Vol 5 No 2 - Fourth Annual C Issue. Feb 88 As the issue line indicates this the annual C issue of Computer Language, and therefore contains numerous articles on Compilers, TSR's, Porting C and many other aspects of the language. Listed below is the table of Contents: Writing Terminate and Stay Resident Programs in TurboC. Interfacing C and ASM. An Incremental Compilation Package in C Porting C programs Not a bad variety of topics, source code examples are included with the TSR article, C&ASM and Incremental C. Overall, this is an excellent issue, but previous experience with other issues has shown that C is not always as well covered as in the issue: hence the annual issue. The source listings are available from a variety of BBS's and Compuserve. C News 1-02 Page 5 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ SHORT SNIPS - MAGAZINE REVIEWS by Barry Lynch ================================================================ ______________________________________________________________________ Magazine: Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools Publisher: M&T Publishing Published: Monthly, cost $2.95 US & $3.95 Canadian Subject Matter: Programming Languages Issue: No 136 Feb 88 Dr. Dobb's is known as a programmer's journal and is very good in covering technical matter and programming issues in general. This month's issue contains: Debugging the 386 Making Serial Links work C Chest: Storing & Reclaiming program variables. Source code from the articles contained within, is available on the Compuserve Sig DDJ. *** Editors Note: As this is the first short at this type of article. The format may change with time, eventually I would like to just give a short-synopsis of each magazine instead of a full review. (Let me know your thoughts on this subject. C News 1-02 Page 6 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ SHORT SNIPS - MINIX: What is it? by Barry Lynch ================================================================ On some of the BBS around the country you will see some dedicated message/file areas dedicated to the topic of MINIX. What is MINIX? This short snip will attempt to explain this topic to users/readers who have no idea as to what it is. At first glance, the name MINIX, appears to resemble UNIX, or XENIX. Therefore an educated guess as to MINIX being some sort of Operating System(OS) is right on the money. MINIX is the work of Andrew Tannebuam and some of his students. It is based on AT&T's UNIX and is for the most part is written in C, like UNIX. A book is available that explains operating systems in good technical detail, with items concerning MINIX highlighted. The book is hardcover available from better book stores or from the publisher- Prentice Hall directly. The book is called: Operating Systems: Design and Implementation by Andrew Tannebaum. Publisher: Prentice Hall ISBN No: 0-13-637406-9 The MINIX op system itself is also available from the publisher, and of this writing version 1.2 was being shipped in limited quantities. Additional reading on MINIX can be found on USENET in "comp.os.minix". The author is a regular contributor and you can make suggestions, report mites or congratulate or admonish him to your liking. C News 1-02 Page 7 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ BOOK REVIEWS ================================================================ ________________________________________________________________ C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications. Author : Joe Campbell. Publisher : Howard W. Sams & Company. Indianapolis. 1987. Cost : $22.95 (US$) - $54.95 (Aust$) This book is a aimed at providing the programmer with all the tools and knowledge needed in practical work with serial comms and RS232 interfaces. It is a markedly micro-computer book but thankfully not an exclusively IBM compatible. The book starts very steadily, going carefully through the true facts of ASCII, the history of serial communications, error detection, file transfer, modems (including smart ones) and UARTS. All this is done without touching on programming or C code which makes it an excellent book for anyone dealing with Serial Comms, not just C programmers. In the second half of the book the C code starts and the author attempts to develope a set of 'virtual' UART functions to enable portability between the endless variety of UARTs available. I cannot give fair comment on this part of the book because I am still working my way through the code, but the fact that I am investing the time in using the authors code is some indication of the credibility I give to the Author. The book is well written with a good sense of humor and very readable. Anyone who has had much dealing with serial comms will be familiar with 90% of the books content - however the coverage is complete and that extra 10% is well worth the purchase price. James Milne Melbourne, Australia C News 1-02 Page 8 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ BOOK REVIEWS ================================================================ ________________________________________________________________ Programming With Windows Author : Tim Farrel Publisher : Que Corporation. Cost : $22.95 (US$) ISBN No:0-88022-299-9 I have finally found a book that was written by a Windows programmer who experienced the agony of this subject. Programming in Windows is no picnic. First your code must be in C or Pascal and then you integrate with the Microsoft Libraries that constitute the actual Windows development kit. It must be remembered that MS Windows is an operating system and when programming in Windows you are not only writing the application, but communicating with the Windows OS. This book contains excellent examples of true workable programs that can be used by the reader. An example of this is the first program featured, which is none other that a programmers editor. Nothing fancy but a good choice for a working example, that allows you to experiment while using a learning tool. Topics covered include: Using the Development Tools, Guidelines for Creating Windows Applications, Creating a Program Editor, Creating menus, and many others. All in all, I have found this book to be an excellent source of information. The documentation provided my Microsoft is excellent technically, but not does teach the material. This book fills that void nicely. Barry Lynch C News 1-02 Page 9 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE REVIEWS: ================================================================ *** Editor's Note: This section is brought to us by the users of the Alpha Centuri BBS in Melbourne, Australia. << Thanks, David >> ________________________________________________________________ File Name: BPLUS11.ARC This file provides a full set of routines for creating and maintaining index files using the Binary Tree ISAM B+ technique. These classic algorithms support the fastest known indexing system so far devised for manipulation of random access data files. The routines are complete in themselves and are very useful, supporting up to 8 levels of keys. Some prior knowledge of binary tree theory and techniques is a must to gain the maximum benefit from the package, which comes with full C source. This is a later version (1.1) of the original public domain BPLUS routines. One drawback of the packages, as I see it, is the inability to handle non-ASCII keys. However, with some work, it is possible to modify the routines to work with any kind of data field, depending upon specific requirements. This, however, adds a degree of complexity which the author seemed to avoid in the interests of clarity. Overall, an excellent package, not at all compiler specific. It is both fast and flexible, providing excellent algorithms for searching a sequencing by key values. Certainly it aided me in coming to grips with ISAM file techniques, as all these are provided. A couple of short demos are thrown in for good measure, showing how index files are created and maintained. Source code: Yes - no executables. Language: C Compiler: K & R standard code, suitable for most compilers. __________________________________________________________________ Filename: CASM.ARC If there was one wish that I wanted granted, it would be to allow inline assembler with MicroSoft's optimising C compiler. It is one of the few MS-DOS C compilers left which do not support inline assembly. C News 1-02 Page 10 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE REVIEWS: ================================================================ Filename Cont': CASM.ARC Well, that wish was answered when this ARC showed up. It's a program that enables inline assembler instructions within C programs, and is specifically directed at MSC 4.0. Whether you agree with using inline assembler or not, this is well worth taking a look at. Imagine not having to call a separate routine to enable/disable maskable interrupts! Just do it "inline"! In addition to MSC 4.0 (probably works with MSC 5.0, too, but I haven't tried it), MASM 4.0 or above is also required. It seems to work by "filtering" the C source prior to submitting it to the preprocessor, assembling it separately, them merging the two into a single .OBJ file. Very ingenious. Source: No, executable only (pity). Language: C, MSC/MASM 4.0+ required. __________________________________________________________________ Filename: DOCU.ARC This is an excellent way to manage C projects and have them self documenting. The documentation is placed in the .C and .H files themselves (it is NOT limited only to C source, but the way) and extracted using this utility. Just mark the block with a heading and a footer, surrounded by C (other language) comment indicators. A real BARGAIN at the price! B-) By the way, this program was uploaded by the author himself to this BBS. Thanks James! Source included: Yes - No executables. Language: C Compiler Required: Originally intended for Turbo C, but would be a trivial port to most other compilers. Get Turbo's header files from a friend though, if you intend to port it; there are some structure declarations specific to Turbo C, but other compilers have equivalents. C News 1-02 Page 11 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE REVIEWS: ================================================================ Filename: MSCPOPUP.ARC This seemed an interesting file when I downloaded it, but it is unfortunately incomplete. The file contains C and ASM source for a memory resident pop-up calculator/alarm utility, and shows "how its done". It also includes an example printf() function to show how a standard function interprets control strings and parses a variable number of arguments. As a learning tool, this file is worth the download. As a complete application - forget it. I was MOST disappointed that the critical TSR.ASM source file was missing: the one which does all the initialization, hot-key setup and TSR call. However, the file does include some nifty routines to make it interesting, including some general-purpose windowing routines, screen/buffer save routines (in ASM), an on-screen calculator (in C), and a no- wait keyboard input routine. Source included: Well, MOST if it. Also includes OBJs but no executables. Compiler: Written for MSC 3.0 or 4.0 (probably 5.0, but I haven't received my update yet!). Would take some hacking for other compilers, but individual routines would be useful. _________________________________________________________________ Filename: NUC-SUBR.ARC This is an update for the earlier review file C-SUBR.ARC, and is the third in the series (the first, not reviewed, is CSUBR.ARC, also on this system). This file contains further sometimes useful handy routines for the C programmer. Source only, some ASM, some C. If you do download these files, ensure you write a short doc for yourself and keep it somewhere handy to remind you that you have them - REAL time savers on occasion. If fact, after you write the doc, why not upload it. I'll include it with the set of three in a single downloadable ARC! (now that's an invitation!) Some of this subroutines in the package include: a subroutine to parse upper/lowercase letters, count bits in a byte (how's that for bit-picking!), calculate the nth power of an integer, demo of various type conversions, different ways for copying i/o channels (good benchmarks, if you're interested in finding out C News 1-02 Page 12 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE REVIEWS: ================================================================ Filename: NUC-SUBR.ARC cont' what's best for *your* compiler), and a routine to count different character types in a file and return stats. Nothing over-awing, but nevertheless useful. These routines were born under the BSD CP/M compiler. Before you groan too load, most routines are completely portable to other environments, and are good samples of C programming pre se. Source included: that's it, that's all. 55 files in all. Compiler: Apart from two or three files, pure K&R stuff. __________________________________________________________________ Filename: TP_TO_QC.ARC This file is a VERY LATEST RELEASE, December 1987, and comes all the way from Dublin, Ireland. In short, it is a set of programs which enable Turbo Pascal programs to be converted directly into MS-Quick C. It comes with two programs (it is apparently a two-pass process) and an include file which is called by the converted program. This defines several macros that makes the code quite readable. I cannot verify that this program works (yet: I'm STILL waiting for my upgrade!), so I would appreciate any comments from anyone who downloads it. It also comes with a Quick C library. From all comments from the States, this program is capable of porting a complete Turbo application to C with LITTLE OR NO extra hacking required. I ran this on a couple of TP programs and I could not fault it. It did not compile under MSC 4.0, though, because this compiler lacks some of the MSC 5.0 features etc. I'll be able to give it the acid test in a couple of weeks. As a point of interest, the program converts only to large model C programs. This attempts to preserve pointer compatibility between the two languages (TP ALWAYS uses 2-word pointers). Some of Turbo's advanced features are not supported, and these must be implemented differently in C. Source included: Executables only. Compiler: Strictly MSC 5.0 and Quick C only. Libraries use the Quick C format. Also requires MS Overlay Linker 3.61 or above (which comes with QC 1.0 & MSC 5.0). C News 1-02 Page 13 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ ARTICLE SUBMISSION STANDARDS AND ADDRESSES ================================================================ As I have repeatedly stated in this newsletter and previous issues, I would like to see user-submitted articles, reviews or questions. Listed below are the standards that should be followed to make my job easier as an editor. - Articles should be submitted in a ASCII non-formatted file. - If the article include code fragments as examples. Then you can include the entire source file if you like for inclusion with the newsletter. - Book or magazine reviews should follow the same format, that is outlined in this issue. The publisher, author, title, and ISBN number are a must. - Compiler/and or product reviews, should include the version number and manufacture. If possible, reviews should include a sample program with benchmarks. If you have any questions you can contact me at the address's included on the next page. C News 1-02 Page 14 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ ADDRESSES ================================================================ The C BBS is located at: C BBS % BCL Limited P.O. Box 9162 McLean VA, 22102 or you can send netmail to: 1:109/713 < The phone number in the current nodelist is inaccurate. At this time it is not known when it will be corrected. > My home phone number is : (703) 998-8350. C News 1-02 Page 15 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ USER RESPONSE FORM: ================================================================ This form will be included as a regular feature in all future issues of C NEWS. What did you think of the content of this Issue? _____________ _______________________________________________________________ What improvements can you think of that would make C News a better tool for the C Community? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ What is your favorite section or sections? ___________________ _______________________________________________________________ What don't you like about C News? ____________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Additional Comments: _________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ C News 1-02 Page 16 03 Feb 1988 ================================================================ INDEX ================================================================ Subject: Issue: Articles: TurboC and Interrupts: A few Questions 2 Book Reviews: C Database Development 1 C Programming Guide 1 C Programming Language 1 C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications 3 C Programmer's Library 1 C Primer Plus 1 C the Complete Reference 2 Crafting C Tools for the IBM PC 2 Learning to Program in C 1 Microsoft C Programming on the IBM PC 1 Programming in Windows 3 Reliable Data Structures in C 1 TurboC Programmer's Reference Book 2 Compilers: QuickC 1 Software Reviews: Bplus11.arc 3 Casm.arc 3 Docu.arc 3 Mscpopup.arc 3 Nuc-subr.arc 3 Tp_to_qc.arc 3