PsL Monthly 1993 December

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The PBClone Library =---------------------= Version 2.1 PBCLONE Copyright (c) 1990-1993 Thomas G. Hanlin III Use of LIBMAT or LIBWIZ is strongly recommended for creating the initial PBClone library. You should be able to get these utilities from the same place you got this library. This is PBClone, a library of over 550 assembly language and BASIC routines for use with Microsoft's BASIC compilers: Bascom, PDS, QuickBasic and Visual BASIC for DOS. The PBClone collection is copyrighted and may be distributed only under the following conditions: All PBClone files must be distributed together as a unit. No files may be altered, added, or deleted from this unit. You use this library at your own risk. It has been tested by me on my own computer, but I will not assume any responsibility for any problems which PBClone may cause you. If you do run into a problem, please let me know about it, and I will do my best to verify and repair it. It is expected that if you find PBClone useful, you will register your copy. You may not use PBClone routines in programs intended for sale unless you have registered. Registration gets you the latest version of PBClone, complete with full source code. The assembly language code is designed for MASM 6.0 and may require alteration for other assemblers. You will need to have a complete set of PBClone .OBJ files for LibWiz to work. Create a fresh subdirectory and extract the BASIC sources from PBC$BAS.ZIP (or .LZH, etc). Compile them all. The following DOS command will do it: FOR %x IN (*.BAS) DO BC %x /o; Now extract the .OBJ files from PBC$MAIN.LIB into the same directory, using the UnLib utility that comes with LibWiz. Finally, extract the .OBJ files from PBC$NEAR.LIB as well. This gives you a complete set of .OBJs for PBClone, allowing LibWiz to create a custom PBClone library for you. The VB-DOS compiler always uses far strings. For it, you must use the .OBJs from PBC$FAR.LIB instead of PBC$NEAR.LIB. With PDS, you have a choice between near and far strings. To use far strings, use the /FS switch when compiling, and use the .OBJs from PBC$FAR.LIB instead of PBC$NEAR.LIB. Creating .QLB files If you like to use the BASIC editor/environment, you will need to create a .QLB version of the library to complement the .LIB version. LIBWIZ can do it for you, or you can do it manually. This is done using the LINK.EXE utility that came with your compiler. The exact parameters differ slightly depending on which version of the compiler you have. For QuickBasic, it looks something like this: LINK libname.LIB/Q/SE:1024,libname.QLB,NUL,BQLB45; The BQLB45 file is for QuickBasic 4.5. This should be replaced by BQLB40 or BQLB41 for QuickBasic 4.0 (check your files to see which you have). For BASCOM 6.0-7.1, also called Professional Development System or PDS, use QBXQLB instead of BQLB45. For VB-DOS, use VBDOSQLB instead of BQLB45. Since you'll probably want to do this again in the future when you get a new version of BasWiz or PBClone, I'd suggest you create a batch file or alias to do the work for you. If you have 4DOS, an alias such as the following will do it: ALIAS QLB LINK %%1.LIB/Q/SE:1024,%%1.QLB,NUL,BQLB45; In this case, you can do the conversion simply by typing: QLB libname The TSR File Viewer Since there are hundreds of routines in PBClone, it isn't always exactly easy to remember which routine you want or how to use it. This is a particular problem when you're in the middle of writing a program. So, I've written a TSR file viewer... it's crude, but it gets the job done. Just type "FV" to install the TSR. Alt-V activates it. "FV /D" removes it from memory. !!! ----== NOTE ==---- !!! Please check FV with a nonessential application first! It appears to work fine in the QuickBasic environment, but it locks up my favorite editor, so I can't guarantee that it will behave properly in all circumstances. First, FV will ask you for the file to view. This may contain drive and subdirectory information as well as the file name. Second, you will be asked for a search string. If you enter a search string, viewing will start at the part of the file that contains that search string. If you just press enter, viewing will start at the beginning of the file. The file will be presented to you one page at a time. I suggest viewing PBCLONE.DOC or PBCLONE.INF. FV was written in BASIC using Crescent's P.D.Q. library, with the "simplified" TSR handler (which doesn't seem to have been entirely debugged). Then again, TSRs are a tricky matter, especially with BASIC... General Notes The initial version of PBClone had only one manual. However, since there are so many routines, I've split the manual into a general documentation file and a reference manual. You won't want to print PBCLONE.MAN unless you have a lot of time and printer paper! In contrast, this file (PBCLONE.DOC) has been kept small to allow ready printing. It contains general notes, cross-reference listings of the routines, and assorted charts. Many of the routines in PBClone are similar to routines of the same name in ADVBAS and/or ProBas. The key here is "similar"-- they don't necessarily work the same way and may not produce the same results. If you intend to convert from ADVBAS or ProBas to PBClone, read the documentation carefully. When a PBClone returns a Boolean (on or off) value, it will always be 0 if off, -1 if on; this is unlike ProBas, which would often return any non-zero value for an "on" state. Booleans passed to PBClone may still use any non-zero value to indicate a "true" or "on" condition, however. Critical error handling has been incorporated into all disk and device routines. You will never have to worry about "R>etry, A>bort, I>gnore" again, so long as you use PBClone for your disk and device management. PBClone file handling is very flexible but may be confusing to people used to BASIC's strongly-moded files. PBClone file handling is most similar to BASIC files opened in BINARY mode. You may read or write any amount of information at a time. After each read or write takes place, the file pointer is updated appropriately, so you can use sequential access techniques without further effort. Random access is also possible, using FSetLoc/FSetOfs/FSetRec to set the file pointer position. Those of you who are familiar with C or Pascal file handling will notice strong similarities in this approach, which is based on techniques that have long been standard in the industry. Many routines are available both as SUBprograms and as FUNCTIONs. The former is for compatibility with older programs which were designed before BASIC was capable of using FUNCTIONs. You may use either, of course, although the FUNCTION version of a routine is often more convenient. General Notes The PBClone library can be used in conjunction with other libraries. If there is a conflict in routine names between the two libraries, the OBJTOOL utility can be used to rename one or the other routine. Due to the large size of PBClone, you will probably need to select just the routines you need, rather than combining the entire libraries, in order to avoid overflowing LINK limitations. OBJTOOL can help you find out which routines are in what modules. The LIB utility can be used to alter existing libraries, or you can build your own custom libraries from the ground up, using LibWiz. See the LIB_BI.DOC and LIBRARY.TXT files if you are not familiar with libraries. LibMatic, LibWiz and ObjTool are included on the sampler disk that comes with the registered version of PBClone. They should also be available at your local BBS. If you have not used ADVBAS, ProBas, or PBClone before, you may be unfamiliar with the array handling conventions used here. In almost all array routines, you will see a pair of parameters (e.g. DSeg% and DOfs%) used to represent an array. These values are obtained by the BASIC functions VARSEG and VARPTR: DSeg% = VARSEG(Array(1)) ' or whatever the first... DOfs% = VARPTR(Array(1)) ' ...desired element may be This is the way that current versions of QuickBasic and BASCOM pass arrays, TYPEd values, and fixed-length STRING values to assembly-language routines. It tells the routine where in memory to find the value(s). Since these values may move around in memory, it is important to get the VARSEG and VARPTR just before you call the routine. Any routine that accepts a segment and an offset can be used with arrays, TYPEd values, and fixed-length strings interchangeably. This allows for considerable flexibility. Virtually all of the variables used in PBClone are integers. In this manual, integers are indicated specifically by use of the "%" integer postfix. The use of DEFINT A-Z in your program will cause your variables to be integers by default, which I would recommend unless you use floating point heavily. General Notes Most of the routines in ProBas (and all of the routines in ADVBAS) did not require a DECLARE if the CALL syntax was used. This is not true of PBClone, which requires DECLAREs. There are numerous advantages to this: 1) BASIC can more easily detect syntax errors. 2) You may use CALL or the new simplified syntax. 3) Many of the routines are smaller and faster due to use of the DECLARE option BYVAL. The DECLAREs are generated in a .BI file by LIBWIZ. Assuming you named the library PBC, you can include the DECLAREs in your program with this statement: REM $INCLUDE: 'PBC.BI' The PBC.BI file must be in the same directory as your program, or you can put it into a specific directory by setting an environment variable. I keep my include files in a directory called C:\INCLUDE, so I have the following line in my AUTOEXEC.BAT: SET INCLUDE=C:\INCLUDE As mentioned, there are now two ways of calling any subprogram. You can use the CALL keyword or an implicit call. In the case of the CopyFile routine, for instance, you could use either of these calls interchangeably: CALL CopyFile (FromFile$, ToFile$, ErrCode%) CopyFile FromFile$, ToFile$, ErrCode% The latter technique is more elegant, to my tastes, and is the one used throughout the PBClone documentation and examples. You may use whichever method you prefer-- BASIC generates the same code either way. How you capitalize the names of the variables and routines is up to you. I like mixed uppercase and lowercase, but it really doesn't matter. You can also change the names of the variables or even replace them with constants, as long as you maintain the correct type: COPYfile "C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT", "A:AUTOEXEC.BAT", errornumber% General Notes If you have registered PBClone and wish to reassemble all of the routines written in assembly language, first place these routines in their own subdirectory. Then: FOR %x IN (*.ASM) DO MASM %x ; Note that you will need to use "%%x" instead of "%x" if you place this statement in a batch file. The .OBJ files created by this process will be compatible with QuickBasic strings and PDS near strings. If you have PDS and would like to create a far string version of PBClone, you must set the FarString label when assembling. Far strings are also required for the VB-DOS compiler. FOR %x IN (*.ASM) DO MASM %x /DFarString ; You can most readily create a library from the resulting .OBJ files by using the LibMatic or LibWiz utilities. Due to the size of PBClone, manual library creation is not recommended. If you find any bugs or problems with PBClone, or have any suggestions to make, please let me know. You can reach me through any of the BBSes listed in WHERE.BBS, or write to me by conventional mail. Please DO NOT call me directly! I loathe a ringing phone. Phones were meant for modem use only! Routine Reference Array Management: AddMatI add to each element of an integer array AddMatL add to each element of a long integer array BinSeekD search a sorted array of double-precision nos. BinSeekI search a sorted array of integers BinSeekL search a sorted array of long integers BinSeekS search a sorted array of single-precision nos. BinSeekSt search a sorted array of strings DRecDel delete a record or element from an array DRecIns insert a record or element into an array InitPtr initialize an array of pointers MeanAverageD calculate the average of a double-prec. array MeanAverageI calculate the average of an integer array MeanAverageL calculate the average of a long integer array MeanAverageS calculate the average of a single-prec. array MulMatI multiply each element of an integer array PSortD pointer-sort a double-prec. array PSortI pointer-sort an integer array PSortL pointer-sort a long integer array PSortS pointer-sort a single-prec. array PSortSt pointer-sort a string array ReverseD reverse the elements in a double-prec. array ReverseI reverse the elements in an integer array ReverseL reverse the elements in a long integer array ReverseS reverse the elements in a single-prec. array ReverseSt reverse the elements in a string array SetMatI set each element of an integer array SetMatL set each element of a long integer array SortD sort an array of double-precision numbers SortI sort an array of integers SortL sort an array of long integers SortS sort an array of single-precision numbers SortSt sort an array of strings Routine Reference Disk: BootDrive$ determine the drive used to boot the computer CDROM see if a CD-ROM is installed and get info CheckDisk see if a disk is ready to be accessed CheckDsk% see if a disk is ready to be accessed CheckShare determine whether SHARE is installed CheckShare2% determine whether SHARE is installed DelSub delete a subdirectory DiskStat get information on disk memory DReadAbs read absolute disk sector (drive <32M) DReadAbsBig read absolute disk sector (any size drive) DriveSpace& see how much space is free on a disk DrvType see if a drive is removeable and/or networked DWriteAbs write absolute disk sector (drive <32M) DWriteAbsBig write absolute disk sector (any size drive) FDescRead$ read a 4DOS-style file description FindFirstF find the first file to match specs FindFirstFx find the first file to match specs FindNextF find any other files which match specs FindNextFx find any other files which match specs Floppies see how many floppy drives are attached Floppies2% see how many floppy drives are attached FloppyType see what types of floppy drives are installed FReadLn read a line of text from a file (LINE INPUT#) GetAttrF get attribute of a file matched by FindFirstF GetAttrFx% get attribute of a file matched by FindFirstFx GetDateF get date of a file matched by FindFirstF GetDateFx$ get date of a file matched by FindFirstFx GetDrive$ get the default drive GetExecPath get drive, subdir, name of current program GetLabel get a disk volume label GetNameF get the name of a file matched by FindFirstF GetNameFx$ get the name of a file matched by FindFirstFx GetSerial get a disk serial number GetSizeFL get the size of a file matched by FindFirstF GetSizeFx& get the size of a file matched by FindFirstFx GetSub get the default subdirectory GetSub1 get the default subdirectory on a given drive GetTimeF get the time of a file matched by FindFirstF GetTimeFx$ get the time of a file matched by FindFirstFx GetVerify determine status of the DOS "verify" setting LoadDir load names of matching files into an array LoadDirAll load all info about matching files into array LogicalDrives% see how many logical drives are available MakeSub create a subdirectory RenSub rename a subdirectory Retries set the retries used for file networking SetDrv set the default drive SetLabel set a disk volume label SetLogiDrive set logical drive (useful for 1-floppy setups) SetSub set the default subdirectory SetVerify set the state of the DOS "verify" switch SubExist determine whether a subdirectory exists SubExist2% determine whether a subdirectory exists Routine Reference Display: BigPrint display text in huge letters BkSpace backspace destructively with wrap BkScroll scroll an area of the screen down Blink switch blinking vs. intense background colors CalcAttr calc color/attribute from fore & background CalcAttr2% calc color/attribute from fore & background CalcSize calc array size needed to save a screen area CalcVGAColor calculate a VGA palette color setting ClearArea clear an area of the screen w/ special effects Clock display a clock on the screen constantly ClockSet set various parameters for the clock ClrCols clear between specified columns on a row ClrEOL clear to the end of the row ClrEOP clear to the end of the screen ClrSOL clear to the start of the row ClrSOP clear to the start of the screen CPrintScreen1 send a SCREEN 1 display to the printer CPrintScreen2 send a SCREEN 2 display to the printer CursorInfo return cursor visibility, current & max sizes CWindowManC display pop-up window in CGA graphics mode DClear clear a display being kept in an array DClearSS clear a display of unusual size in an array DelChr delete a character from the screen DelLine delete a row from the screen DGClear clear a CGA virtual screen DGetScreen get an area of the screen into an array DGQPrint write to a CGA virtual screen (SCREEN 1 type) DGXQPrint write to a CGA virtual screen (SCREEN 2 type) DGXQPrint1 write to a CGA virtual screen (SCREEN 2 type) Dissolve clear the screen with special effects DMPrint display text directly through DOS services DOSClrEol clear from the cursor to end of line via DOS DOSCls clears the screen using DOS output DOSColor sets the screen color using DOS output DOSLocate sets the cursor position using DOS output DPutScreen put an array onto an area of the screen DRecolor recolor text of a specified color in an array DRecolorArea recolor a block of text in an array DScrRest restore a saved screen from an array DScrSave save a screen to an array or other memory DWindowMan make a pop-up window in an array DWindowMan2 pop-up window in an array (definable frames) DWindowMan3 pop-up window in an array (array-based parms) DWindowMan4 pop-up window in an array (Spartan version) DXQPrint write text into an array EGARest7 restore a saved screen to EGA SCREEN 7 display EGARest8 restore a saved screen to EGA SCREEN 8 display EGARest9 restore a saved screen to EGA SCREEN 9 display EGASave7 save an EGA SCREEN 7 display to an array EGASave8 save an EGA SCREEN 8 display to an array EGASave9 save an EGA SCREEN 9 display to an array Routine Reference Display: EWindowManC display pop-up window on EGA/VGA graphics EXQPrintC display text at high speed on EGA/VGA graphics FadeOut clear the screen with special effects GetColor get the current colors being used by BASIC GetCRT% determine whether the display is color or mono GetEGA see if an EGA is in use and get info about it GetEGA2% see if an EGA is in use GetHGA% see if a Hercules mono adapter is in use GetLine get a row of text from virtual or saved screen GetRows% see how many rows are on the screen GetScreen get an area of the screen into an array GetVGA see if a VGA is in use GetVGA2% see if a VGA is in use GetVGAColor get the specified VGA palette setting GetVGAPalette get the specified VGA palette settings GetVidMode get display mode and other screen info GQPrint display text quickly in CGA SCREEN 2 mode GrafPrint display sized text at graphics coordinates GrafRest restore a saved CGA graphics screen GrafSave save a CGA graphics screen to an array GXQPrint display text quickly in CGA SCREEN 1 GXQPrint1 display text quickly in CGA SCREEN 1 HCls clear screen in Hercules graphics mode HiLite highlight text on the screen HLine draw a line in Hercules graphics mode HMode switch between text and Herc graphics modes HPrint display text in Hercules graphics mode HSetPixel plot a point in Hercules graphics mode HTestPixel get the color of a point in Herc graphics mode InsChr insert a space onto the screen InsLine insert a blank row onto the screen LScroll scroll an area of the screen left MPrint display text through DOS, obeying MWindow MWindow sets a display region for MPrint PrintBox display a box of characters or strings PrintScreen print the screen on a printer PutScreen put an array onto an area of the screen QPrint display text very quickly ReadScreen read a string from the screen ReColor change text of a selected color to a new color ReColorArea change text in a selected area to a new color RScroll scroll an area of the screen right Scroll scroll an area of the screen up ScrRest restore a saved screen from an array ScrSave save a screen to an array SCrunch compress an 80x25 text screen in an array SCrunchSS compress any size of text screen in an array SetCGAColor set various aspects of CGA colors SetVGAColor set the specified VGA palette info (1 color) SetVGAPalette set the specified VGA palette info (1+ colors) Routine Reference Display: ShowIcon display a Windows icon file (.ICO) Split clear the screen by scrolling different ways TypePrint display text as if it is being typed UnCalcAttr convert color/attribute to fore & background UnSCrunch uncompress a "scrunched" screen (80x25 only) UnSCrunchSS uncompress a "scrunched" screen (any size) UnSplit restore saved screen by scroll. different ways VGARest13 restore a saved screen in VGA SCREEN 13 mode VGASave13 save a VGA SCREEN 13 display to an array WindowMan display a pop-up window WindowMan2 display a pop-up window (user-defined frames) WindowMan3 display a pop-up window (array-based parms) WindowMan4 display a pop-up window (spartan version) XMPrint display text through DOS after translation XQPrint display text very quickly XQPrintOver quick text display, overlaying existing text Equipment: AllExtMem& see how much extended memory was found at boot BootDrive determine the drive used to boot the computer BootDrive2$ determine the drive used to boot the computer CDROM see if a CD-ROM is installed and get info CPUSpeed% get the CPU speed in MHz Equipment find out about basic equipment (ports, memory) ExtMem see how much extended memory is available Floppies see how many floppy drives are available Floppies2% see how many floppy drives are available FloppyType see what types of floppy drives are installed Get4DOSv get installed version of 4DOS, if any GetCRT% determine whether the display is color or mono GetDOSv get the DOS version GetEGA see if an EGA is in use and get info about it GetEGA2% see if an EGA is in use GetExtM see how much extended memory is available GetHGA% see if a Hercules mono adapter is in use GetLIMm see how much expanded memory is available GetLIMv get the EMS driver version GetMouseVer get mouse driver version and hardware info GetVGA see if a VGA is in use GetVGA2% see if a VGA is in use GetXMSm see how much XMS memory is available GetXMSv get the XMS driver version KbdType see if the keyboard is enhanced (101-key) KbdType2% see if the keyboard is enhanced (101-key) LogicalDrives% see how many logical drives are available MMCheck see if a mouse is available and # of buttons MMCheck2% see if a mouse is available and # of buttons NumProc see what kind of numeric coprocessor is in use NumProc2% see what kind of numeric coprocessor is in use PCDat$ get the date of the ROM BIOS PCDate get the date of the ROM BIOS PCType get the machine I.D. from the ROM BIOS PCType2% get the machine I.D. from the ROM BIOS Processor see what kind of CPU is in use Processor2% see what kind of CPU is in use WinCheck see what version of Windows is running, if any Routine Reference File: BRead read a byte from a file into an integer BWrite write a byte to a file from an integer CloseA close an archive opened by FindFirstA CopyFile copy a single file DelFile delete a file DFRead read from a file into an array or other mem. DFWrite write to a file from an array or other memory Exist see if a file exists Exist2% see if a file exists ExplainFAttr$ return a text explanation of a file attribute ExtendFSpec check, complete, and format a filespec FClose1 close a file FCreate create a file and open it for access FGetLoc get the position of a file pointer FGetLoc2& get the position of a file pointer FileCopy copy one or more files FileCount count the number of matching files FileCRC calculate a 32-bit CRC for a file FindFirstA find the first file in an archive FindNextA find any other files in an archive FindPatch find where to patch an .EXE FLock lock any part of a file FlushToDisk flush a file to disk (force it to be updated) FOpen1 open a file ForceMatch$ force a filename to match a wildcard pattern FSetEnd move to the end of a file FSetLoc move to a specific location in a file FSetOfs move backwards or forwards within a file FSetRec move to a specific record location in a file FSetSize set the size of a file FSize get the size of a file FSize2& get the size of a file FUnlock unlock any part of a file (use w/ FLock) GetCRCA get CRC-16 of a file matched by FindFirstA GetCRCAL get CRC-32 of a file matched by FindFirstA GetDateA get date of a file matched by FindFirstA GetFAttr get attribute of a file GetFDate get the date of a file GetFSize& get the size of a file GetFTime get the time of a file GetNameA get the name of a file matched by FindFirstA GetSizeAL get the size of a file matched by FindFirstA GetStoreA get storage type of file matched by FindFirstA GetTimeA get the time of a file matched by FindFirstA GLoad load a binary image from a file (like BLOAD) IdentifyFile try to identify a file IRead read an integer from a file IWrite write an integer to a file LIRead read an integer from a file into a long int LIWrite write an integer to a file from a long integer LRead read a long integer from a file LWrite write a long integer to a file Routine Reference File: MatchFile see if a filename matches a wildcard filespec ObjScan scan an .OBJ file, return publics & externals ParseFSpec split filespec into drive, subdir, filename PatchDone terminates patching of an .EXE file Rename rename a file SetFAttr set the attribute of a file SetFTD set the time and date of a file SetPatch installs a patch into an .EXE file SFRead read from a file into a string SFWrite write from a string into a file Input: AltKey returns letter from ASCII & scan codes of key BarMenu bar menu (single row) for keyboard only BarMenuM bar menu (single row) for keyboard or mouse BIOSInkey get a key from BIOS if any is waiting BoxMenu box menu (single column) for picking one item BoxMenu1 box menu (single column) for picking items BreakCheck see if Break has been pressed BreakOff make sure Break doesn't interrupt the program BreakOffDone remove Break handler CheckKey get a key if any is waiting, or a mouse button CheckKey3 get a key if any is waiting, or a mouse button ClrKbd clear the keyboard buffer CtrlKey returns letter, given ASCII code of Ctrl key DInput formatted dollar input routine DOSInkey get a key from DOS if any is waiting DOSInky$ get a key from DOS if any is waiting EnhKbd enable/disable enhanced keyboard handling FileMenu menu for picking a file GetKbd get state of keyboard toggles (CapsLock, etc) GetKbd1 get state of shift keys (Control, Alt, etc) GetKbd2 get state of shift keys (Left/Right Alt, etc) GetKey get a key or mouse click (wait; 2-button) GetKey3 get a key or mouse click (wait; 3-button) GetPrtSc% get whether Print Screen was pressed GetValidKey get one of a list of valid keys KbdType see if the keyboard is enhanced (101-key) KbdType2% see if the keyboard is enhanced (101-key) KeyPress see if a key is waiting to be retrieved PrtSc disable the PrtSc/PrintScreen key ScanKey get a key, if any, w/o taking it from buffer SetKbd set state of keyboard toggles (CapsLock, etc) SetMouseLoc set the mouse cursor position (text mode) SInput flexible replacement for LINE INPUT SInputSet set SInput parms (fill, exitmode, beeps, fast) SInputSet1 set SInput parms (cursor position, full exit) SInputSet2 set SInput parms (capitalize, tab exit) SpeedKey change the keyboard repeat rate TypeIn stuff keys into buffer as if they were typed Routine Reference Memory: BlockMove copy data from one area of memory to another DataSeg determine the default data segment (dgroup) DataSeg2% determine the default data segment (dgroup) EMSBuffer get the bytes needed to save EMS array state EMSClose close an EMS array EMSGet get an element from an EMS array EMSOpen create an EMS array EMSPut put an element into an EMS array EMSRest restore the EMS array state EMSSave save the EMS array state ExtGet get data from extended memory ExtMem see how much extended memory is available ExtPut put data into extended memory FarPeek% get byte from memory (like PEEK w/o DEF SEG) FarPeekI% get word from memory (like two PEEKs) FarPeekL& get dword from memory (like four PEEKs) FarPoke put byte into memory (like POKE w/o DEF SEG) FarPokeI put word into memory (like two POKEs) FarPokeL put dword into memory (like four POKEs) GetExtM see how much extended memory is available GetLIMHandles get the number of EMS handles being used GetLIMm see how much expanded memory is available GetLIMv get the EMS driver version GetMemBox get location and size of MEMBOX TSR memory GetPSP% get the segment of the Program Segment Prefix GetXMSm see how much XMS memory is available GetXMSv get the EMS driver version LClose close a block of expanded memory LGet get a block of data from expanded memory LOpen open a block of expanded memory LPut put a block of data into expanded memory MemSwap swap contents of one area of memory w/ another Miscellaneous: Command2$ get the original DOS command line DOSErrM$ convert a DOS error code into a text message DOSInt% execute a DOS function (like CALL INTERRUPT) DupeVar copy a TYPEd variable into a different TYPE CatchError set up to grab exit code from SHELLed program GetError get the exit code from a SHELLed program GetError2% get the exit code from a SHELLed program GetSwitch$ get the DOS switch character HandleInfo see if a handle refers to a file or a device IntVector get the address of an interrupt handler Reboot boot the computer (like Control-Alt-Del) RedirectIn see whether input has been redirected RedirectOut see whether output has been redirected SetError set exit code to return when program ends TVIdle return clock ticks to TopView, DESQview, et al Routine Reference Mouse: CheckKey get a key if any is waiting, or a mouse button CheckKey3 get a key if any is waiting, or a mouse button GetKey get key or mouse click (wait for it; 2-button) GetKey3 get key or mouse click (wait for it; 3-button) GetMouseLoc get the mouse cursor position (text mode) GetMouseVer get mouse driver version and hardware info MMButton see which mouse buttons are pressed (2-button) MMButton3 see which mouse buttons are pressed (3-button) MMCheck see if a mouse is installed & no. of buttons MMCheck2% see if a mouse is installed & no. of buttons MMClick see which buttons have been pressed (2-button) MMClick3 see which buttons have been pressed (3-button) MMCursorOff make the mouse cursor invisible MMCursorOn make the mouse cursor visible MMGetLoc get the mouse cursor position MMSetLoc set the mouse cursor position MMSetRange set the allowable range of the mouse cursor MouseBuffer get no. of bytes needed to save mouse state MouseCursor set the mouse graphics cursor type MousePen turn light pen emulation by the mouse on/off MouseRest restore a saved mouse state MouseSave save the current state of the mouse SetMouseLoc set the mouse cursor position (text mode) Routine Reference Numeric: Any2Dec convert a number from any base into an integer CeilD# return the smallest integer >= number CeilS! return the smallest integer >= number Dec2Any convert an integer to any base FloorD# return the largest integer <= number FloorS# return the largest integer <= number HiByte% return the high byte of an integer HiWord% return the high word of a long integer IVal% convert a string to an integer KVal% convert a string to a long integer / 1024 LoByte% return the low byte of an integer LoWord% return the low word of a long integer LVal% convert a string to a long integer Max% return the greater of two integers MaxD# return the greater of two double-prec. numbers MaxL& return the greater of two long integers MaxS! return the greater of two single-prec. numbers Min% return the smaller of two integers MinD# return the smaller of two double-prec. numbers MinL& return the smaller of two long integers MinS! return the smaller of two single-prec. numbers Num2Phone$ convert a compressed phone number to a string NumFormat format a number as a string, like PRINT USING Odd% return whether an integer is odd OddL% return whether a long integer is odd Phone2Num& compress a phone number into a long integer Rand% return pseudo-random number in specified range ReadBitF read value of given bit length from an array RotateL rotate the bits in an integer left RotateLL rotate the bits in a long integer left RotateR rotate the bits in an integer right RotateRL rotate the bits in a long integer right SetBit set a specified bit in an integer ShiftL shift the bits in an integer left ShiftLL shift the bits in a long integer left ShiftR shift the bits in an integer right ShiftRL shift the bits in a long integer right WriteBitF write value of given bit length into an array Printer: CPrintScreen1 send a SCREEN 1 display to the printer CPrintScreen2 send a SCREEN 2 display to the printer GetPrtAddr get the address of a printer port PrinterReady% see if a printer is ready PrinterInit initialize a printer PrintFile send a file to the printer PrintScreen print the screen on the printer PrtSc disable the PrtSc/PrintScreen key PrtSwap swap any two printer ports SetPrtAddr set the address of a printer port Spooler see if DOS print spooler (PRINT.COM) is loaded Routine Reference Serial: Carrier determine if a carrier is present Checksum calculate a checksum for a string Checksum2% calculate a checksum for a string CRC calculate a CRC for a string (obsolete) CRC1 calculate a CRC for a string DTR set the state of the DTR line GetCommAddr get the address of a comm port SetComm set communications parameters SetCommAddr set the address of a comm port String: AndSt AND the bytes in two strings together AscI% get the ASCII value of a character (like ASC) AscM% get the ASCII value of any char in a string Bickel compare two strings using Bickel's algorithm BSq compress the blanks out of a text string BUsq restore a string that was compressed by BSq BUsqLen determine expanded length of a BSq'ed string CenterSt$ center a string Cipher perform simple string encryption/decryption CipherP like Cipher, only the results are printable CRC calculate a 16-bit CRC Crunch remove repeated values from a string DGetRec get a string from memory in a record format DGetSt get string from numeric array or other memory DPutRec put a string into memory in a record format DPutSt put string into numeric array or other memory ExtendFSpec check, complete, and format a filespec Extract extract a delimited substring from a string ForceMatch$ force a filename to match a wildcard pattern FromPostal$ convert a postal abbreviation to a state name IsAlNum% test whether a char. is alphabetic or numeric IsAlpha% test whether a character is alphabetic IsASCII% test whether a character is ASCII IsCntrl% test whether a character is a control code IsDigit% test whether a character is a digit IsLower% test whether a char. is lowercase alphabetic IsPrint% test whether a character is printable IsPunct% test whether a character is punctuation IsSpace% test whether a character is white space IStr$ convert an integer to a string (like STR$) IStrNB$ convert an integer to a string w/o blank IsUpper% test whether a char. is uppercase alphabetic IsXDigit% test whether a char. is a hexadecimal digit Locase convert a string to lowercase (U.S. only) Locase1 convert a string to lowercase (international) LRotate rotate the characters in a string left once Routine Reference String: MatchFile see if filename matches a wildcard filespec Month0 return the name of the month, given month no. MultiAND perform an arithmetic AND operation on string MultiOR perform an arithmetic OR operation on a string MultiXOR perform an arithmetic XOR operation on string NameCase capitalize a string correctly for a name NameCase2$ capitalize a string correctly for a name Num2Phone$ convert a compressed phone number to a string OrSt OR bytes in one string with those in another Phone2Num& compress a phone number into a long integer Replace replace one character with another ReplaceSt replace one substring with another Reverse reverse a string RInstr find last occurrence of substring w/in string RolSt rotate the bits in a string left RorSt rotate the bits in a string right RRotate rotate the characters in a string right once SFRead read a string from a file SFWrite write a string to a file ShlSt shift the bits in a string left ShrSt shift the bits in a string right Soundex determine what a string "sounds" like SSrch see if one string is within another StrDel delete a character from a string StrIns insert a space into a string Strip strip the blanks from both sides of a string Strip2$ strip the blanks from both sides of a string StripBlanks strip the blanks from side(s) of a string StripChar strip a specified list of chars from a string StripRange strip a specified range of chars from a string StripSpaces strip the spaces from side(s) of a string StrSqu$ compress text string using 2&3-gram compress. StrSqu2 compress text string using 2-gram compression StrSqu3 compress text string using 3-gram compression StrSquLen2 determine 2-gram compressed length of string StrSquLen3 determine 3-gram compressed length of string StrUnsq$ uncompress a 2 & 3-gram compressed string StrUnsqu2 uncompress a 2-gram compressed string StrUnsqu3 uncompress a 3-gram compressed string StrUnsquLen2 calc full length of 2-gram compressed string StrUnsquLen3 calc full length of 3-gram compressed string TInstr search for a specific kind of char in a string ToPostal$ convert state name to its postal abbreviation Upcase convert a string to uppercase (U.S. only) Upcase1 convert a string to uppercase (international) UpcaseI convert an ASCII code to uppercase (U.S. only) UpcaseI1 convert ASCII to uppercase (international) Xlate run each char of a string through translation XorSt XOR bytes in one string with those in another Routine Reference Time: CalcDate get date a number of days from a starting date CheckDate check a date to determine whether it is valid Clock display a clock on the screen, constantly ClockSet set the parameters for the clock Date2Int squash a date into a single integer DateA2R convert a date to a number you can calc with DateN2S convert a date from numbers into a string DateR2A convert a number to a date DateS2N convert a date from string form into numbers DCal draw a calendar into an array for ScrRest DCalendar draw a calendar & let user to select date Delay delay for a given number of seconds Delay18th delay for a given number of 18ths of seconds DelayV delay for a very small amount of time Elapsed determine the elapsed time between two times ElapsedTime$ determine the elapsed time between two times EuropeDate convert a date to European format FormatDate convert a date to any desired format GetDateA get the date of a file matched by FindFirstA GetDateAT get the date from the AT hardware clock GetDateF get date of a file matched with FindFirstF GetDateFx$ get date of a file matched with FindFirstFx GetFDate get the date of a file GetFTime get the time of a file GetTick& get timer tick count (1/18th seconds) GetTime get time from DOS, including 100th seconds GetTimeA get the time of a file matched by FindFirstA GetTimeAT get the time from the AT hardware clock GetTimeF get time of a file matched with FindFirstF GetTimeFx$ get time of a file matched with FindFirstFx Int2Date unsquash date from single integer to numbers Int2DateSt$ unsquash date from single integer to string Int2Time unsquash time from single integer to numbers Int2TimeSt$ unsquash time from single integer to string Month0 return name of month, given the month number Sec2Time$ convert seconds past midnight to time string SetDateAT set the date of the AT hardware clock SetTimeAT set the time of the AT hardware clock Time2Int squash a time into a single integer Time2Sec& convert time string to seconds past midnight TimeN2S convert a time from numbers into a string TimeS2N convert a time from a string into numbers WeekDay0 get the day of the week WeekDay1 returns the day of the week for a given date Enhanced Key Codes This is a list of the new key codes available when you use EnhKbd to enable enhanced keyboard support. Note that the codes are direct from the BIOS, and may not always match what INKEY$ returns. QuickBasic 4.5 provides only minimal support for the enhanced keys; QBX does much better. As long as you use PBClone for input, of course, you don't have to worry about it. The format used is ScanCode, ASCIIcode. Middle keypad key (num lock off): 0,76 Middle key, with Control: 0,143 plain shift control alt ----- ----- ------- ----- F11 0,133 0,135 0,137 0,139 F12 0,134 0,136 0,138 0,140 The middle cursor pad returns the same scan codes as the cursor/numeric pad when NumLock is off, but with an ASCII code of 224 instead of 0. If you want the middle cursor pad and cursor/numeric pad to return the same values, you should have your code do this: ' ...get key code... IF ASCIIcode = 224 AND ScanCode <> 0 THEN ASCIIcode = 0 Why test both ASCII and scan codes? Because it is possible for the user to enter a plain 224 by holding ALT and using the numeric keypad, which could cause confusion. The arrows in the middle cursor pad will return special codes if pressed in combination with an ALT key: up arrow 0,152 down arrow 0,160 left arrow 0,155 right arrow 0,157 Finally, the arrow keys on either cursor pad will return special codes if pressed in combination with a CONTROL key: middle pad cursor/num pad ---------- -------------- up arrow 224,141 0,141 down arrow 224,145 0,145 left arrow 224,115 0,115 right arrow 224,116 0,116 DOS Error Codes Note that the number of error codes available depends on the version of DOS in use. Older versions return fewer error codes, meaning that the nature of the error may not be specified as precisely as you might like. This is not a complete list of all possible codes, but it covers the most common ones. The DOSErrM$ function can be used to generate a complete error list if needed, current at least through DOS 3.31. If later versions of DOS have new error codes, I'm not aware of 'em. -1 Unable to read or write all of the data requested 0 No error 1 Invalid function number 2 File not found 3 Path not found 4 No handle available (too many files open) 5 Access denied (file already in use or "read only") 6 Invalid handle 15 Invalid disk drive 16 Attempt to remove current directory 18 No more matching files 19 Disk is write-protected 20 Unknown unit 21 Drive not ready 22 Invalid command 23 Data CRC error 25 Seek error 26 Disk is not in DOS format 27 Sector not found 28 Printer is out of paper 29 Write fault 30 Read fault 31 General failure 32 Sharing violation 33 Lock violation 34 Invalid disk change 35 No FCB available 36 No room in file sharing buffer 80 File already exists 82 Unable to create subdirectory