No. 52 March-A pril'1990 $3.95 T H E M TEe H CAL J 0 URN A L COPIA
Object Oriented Programming
First it was BASIC, then it was structures, now it's objects. C++ afi<;ionados feel, of course, that objects are so powerful, so encompassing that anything could be so defined. I hope they're not placing bets, because if they are, money's no object. .
C++ 2.0 page 8 An objective view of the newest C++. Training A Neural Network Now that you have a neural network what do you do with it? Part two of a fascinating series.
Debugging C page 21 Pointers Using MEM Keep C fro111 (C)rashing your system. An AT Keyboard Interface Use an AT keyboard with your latest project. And More ... Understanding Logic Families EPROM Programming Speeding Up Your AT Keyboard ((CHAOS MADE TO ORDER~ Explore the Magnificent and Infinite World of Fractals with FRAC LS™ AN ELECTRONIC KALEIDOSCOPE OF NATURES GEOMETRYTM With FracTools, you can modify and play with any of the included images, or easily create new ones by marking a region in an existing image or entering the coordinates directly. Filter out areas of the display, change colors in any area, and animate the fractal to create gorgeous and mesmerizing images. Special effects include Strobe, Kaleidoscope, Stained Glass, Horizontal, Vertical and Diagonal Panning, and Mouse Movies. The most spectacular application is the creation of self-running Slide Shows. Include any PCX file from any of the popular "paint" programs. FracTools also includes a Slide Show Programming Language, to bring a higher degree of control to your shows. (Slide Shows are saved as ASCn text files.) On one level, FracTools is an engaging graphics "toy': On another level, it is great for stress management/relaxation therapy. Last, but not least, FracTools provides a visual example, or windOW, on the evolving science of chaos theory. Each new image reveals patterns not perceivable in its "parent" image. Ifyou are familiar with James Gleick's popular book Chaos-Making a New Science, you are probably aware of the significance of fractals in the visualization of chaos. System Requirements: IBM PC/lIT/AT/PS2 and compatibles, EGA or VGA monitor, DOS 2.0 or higher, 640K oj memory and a hard disk. A math coprocessor is desirable, but not required. Suggested Retail Price: $59.00. To Order Call 1-800-289-1347. _@ __B_o_u_rb_a_k_i_l_n_c_. ______~ ______~ REvoLUTioNARY SOfTWARE P.O. Box 2867 - Boise, 10 83701 - Reader Service Number 190 8280 Clalremont Mesa Blvd., Suite 117 ERACCO. San Diego, California 92111 • (619) 569·1864
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How Soft-ICE Works Soft-ICE uses the power of the 80386 to sur round your program in a virtual machine. This gives you complete control of the DOS environment, while Soft-ICE runs safely in protected mode. Soft-ICE uses the Nasty over-write? No sweat! 80386 to provide real-time break points on Soft-ICE memory range break points help you memory locations, memory ranges, execution, track down memory over-write problems II 0 ports, hardware &: software interrupts. whether you are doing the over-writing or With Soft-ICE you get all the speed and power of another program is over-writing you. a hardware-assisted debugger at a software price. Hung program? No problem! Don't want to switch debuggers? When the system hangs, you now have hope. You don't have to! With Soft-ICE you can break out of hung Soft-ICE can run stand-alone or it can add its programs no matter how bad the system has powerful break points to the debugger you already been trashed. And with Soft-ICE's back trace use. Use your favorite debugger until you require ranges you can re-play the instructions that led Soft-ICE. Simply pop up the Soft-ICE window to set up to the crash. powerful real-time break points. When a break point Program too large? Not with Soft-ICE! is reached, your debugger will be activated automatically. Soft-ICE runs entirely in extended memory. This means MagicCV with Soft-ICE you can debug even the largest DOS programs. And Using Soft-ICE with CodeView gives you the features since your program runs at the same address whether necessary for professional level systems debugging. Soft-ICE is loaded or not you can find those subtle MagicCV and Soft-ICE can work in concert with Code bugs that change when the starting address of your View to provide the most powerful debugging platform code changes. you will find anywhere. System debugging? Soft-ICE is a natural! Soft-ICE is ideal for full source level debugging of TSRs, "These may be the only two products I've seen in interrupt service routines, self booting programs, DOS the last two or three years that exceeded my wildest loadable device drivers, real-time kernels, non-DOS O/Ss expectations for power, compatibility and ease-of-use." and ROMs. Soft -ICE can even debug within DOS &: BIOS. -Paul Mace Paul Mace Software
New Soft-ICE 2.0 features Soft-ICE $386 RUN CODEVIEW~M [] Back Trace Ranges IN 8K - .. MagicCV $199 CI Symbolic &: Source level debUgging >;:, " MagicCV for Windows $199 [J EMS 4.0 support with special EMS MagicCV Buy Soft-ICE &: MagicCV(W) debugging commands Code View is a great integrated debugger. but -Save $86. [] Windowed user interface it uses over 200K of conventional memory. MagicCV uses advanced features of the Buy MagicCV and MagicCVW 80386to load CodeView and symbols in -Save $100. extended memory. This allows MagicCV to Buy All 3 -Save $186. TM~Nu_Mega run CodeView in less than 8K of conven tional memory on your 80386 Pc. NEW VERSION FOR C 6.0 30 day money-back guarantee ~-TECHNOLOGIES Visa. MasterCard and Attention Windows Developers! • l' T • AmEx accepted CALL TODAY (603) 888-2386 Version available for CVW. or FAX (603) 888-2465
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Reader Service Number 110 2 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 THE M I C R 0 TECHNICAL JOURNAL MICRO CORNUCOPIA
MARCH/APRIL 1990 - ISSUE NO. 52
...------_._.. _.------i
Bruce Eckel I 8 c++ 2.0 I 66 Culture Comer Since this is our object-oriented issue, who 'I better to fuel our interest in a super new C than Bruce? C++ version 2.0 is a real i 68 C'ing Clearly high-test improvement over regular.
Russ Eberhart and Roy Dobbins 72 On Your Own 18 Training A Neural Network This is part two of the most popular series in recent Micro C history. 80 Units and Modules Walter Bright Debugging C Pointers Using MEM 21 Shareware Boy, when C steps off a cliff, C steps off a cliff. Add pointers and you'll 84 wonder what happened to level ground. MEM helps you avoid the edge.
Don Rowe 90 Techtips 36 The AT Keyboard Interface
Larry Shannon 44 Filling In The Holes On Your XT
Nathan Engle 50 Logic Families 86 Tidbits Which side of CMOS does MOS grow on? How to get a leg up on Schottky? Nathan comes through when the chips are down. 96 Last Page Karl Lunt 56 EPROM Programming A simple EPROM programmer and a tale about how EPROMs remember.
Deborah Norling 63 Controlling Runaway C With CC-Rider
Cover Illustration by Rob Sanford.
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 3 THE MICR9 TECHNICAL JOURNAL AROUND By David J. Thompson MICRO CORNUCOPIA THE BEND
Editor and Publisher David ,. Thompson
Associate Editors Gary Entsminger Larry Fogg Cary Gatton Preemptive
Contributing Writers Bruce Eckel Editorial Michael S. Hunt Scott Ladd Karl Lunt
Accounting Sandy Thompson Debugging Without Tears Software manufacturers constantly face the question: Advertising & Distribution When is a package clean enough to release? I mean, put Reader Services yourself in their shoes; how much time and money Nancy Ellen Locke & Laura Shaw v , would you want to spend cleaning up when your big Graphic Design & Production gest competitor just unleashed a salvo across your bow Carol Steffy (complete with dealer incentives)? And think of all the copies he's sending to reviewers. MICRO CORNUCOPIA aSSN 0747-587X) is By the time you've finished pest control, he'll be gracing published bi-monthly for $18 per year by Micro the front pages of PC, PC World, PC Week, and PC Re Cornucopia, Inc. 155 NW Hawthorne, Bend, OR source. You may be clean, but you're old news and 97701. Second-class postage paid at Bend, OR and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send you're broke. address changes to MICRO CORNUCOPIA, PO That doesn't have to be the scenario, however. In one Box 223, Bend, OR 97709. @ Recycled Paper quick stroke, you can get your package debugged quickly and cheaply; at the same time, you can prevent SUBSCRIPTION RATES: your competition from reaching the marketplace. 1 yr. (6 issues) $18.00 The process is called preemptive reviews (PR), and it 2 yr. (12 issues) $34.00 works like this: 3 yr. (18 issues) $48.00 1 yr. Canada & Mexico $26.00 1. You cobble together a somewhat complete copy of 1 yr. Other foreign (surface) $36.00 your latest idea. (Make it more of a sub-A-phase version 1 yr. Foreign (airmail) $50.00 than B-phase.) Be sure to include a nicely-bound, un edited manual. Make orders payable in US. funds on a US. bank. 2. Package the software under a competitor's name CHANGE OF ADDRESS: and ship it to every publication, every reviewer, every Please send your old label and new address to: user group .... 3. Sit back and wait for the reviews. MICRO CORNUCOPIA 4. Read the reviews. Reviewers love to find bugs and P.O. Box 223 Bend, Oregon 97709 problems with documentation, so you should soon have
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The Audit .t} Bureau Continued on page 74 4 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 SUPER 25Mhz 386 SYSTEM! ower Cases w/Power Supply with 4MB RAM and Rotary Voice Coil Hard Drive For extra speed and reliability we've included a 66MB Mitsubishi MR535 voice coil hard drive with an access time of 28ms, and a super fast 1: 1 interleave HD controller card. • 25Mhz 80386 CPU, AMI Bios, Full Size MB • 4MB of RAM, expands to 8MB on MB • 1.2MB and 1.44MB Floppy Drives • 12" Amber Monitor w/Mono Graphics Card • 101-Key Enhanced Keyboard, Focus or Maxiswitch • Serial/Paraliel/Game Ports, Clock/Calendar • 200-Watt Power Supply • Socket for 80287, 80387 or Weitek • Full 1 Year Warranty w/Std AT Case ...... $2250 11"5) d'"J) g: (R\ w/1 MB ...... $250 Less Mini Tower Standard Tower $~~~\UI (Mega Tower) 20Mhz386 ...... $100Less $225 $269 AT 386-SX SYSTEMS Includes: 1MB RAM, 1.2MB & 1.44MB FD, 1J~~.···M~~t··•. ~.~s~... Et'f~~tive.·.\V#y./t~· ... sp~.~.~·· .•. 'HP XT fTurbo 4.77/1 OMhz ...... $75 40MB Hard Drive (28ms), Fast Hard Drive . . Y9~ .. >Ar9... 3~~ §ys~~~! AT 6/10 Mhz ...... 189 Controller, Mono Graphics Video Card, AT 6/12Mhz ...... 225 12" Amber Monitor, 101 Key Keyboard, .UI'g#9~.ygUrP~a.¥~~~9~ti:9'I~~·.~~9Y~ith~~~ AT 8/16Mhz ...... 289 SeriavParalleVGame Ports, Clock/Calen g~9~5'PQ~~~g
Reader Service Number 2 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 5 Rack &Desk PC/AT Chassis Integrand's new Chassis/System is not another IBM mechanical and electrical clone. An entirely fresh packaging design approach has been taken using modular Letters construction. At present, over 40 optional stock modules allow you to customize our standard chassis to nearly any requirement. Integrand offers high quality, advanced design hardware along with applications and technical support a/l at prices competi tive with imports. Why settle for less?
Hot Tips Two points not mentioned in Karl Lunt's (very good) article, "Getting Started In Hardware," in Issue #51, were: (1) If your soldering iron falls off the bench, do not try to catch it. I mention this because I and most of my friends have made this mistake at one time or another-admittedly, not more than once each! (2) A beginner often puts too much solder on a joint, and $4 for a cheap de soldering pump (Radio Shack again) makes one worth having from the start. The job ends up much neater when you have the option of cleaning off and starting again. Accepts PC, XT, AT Motherboards I hope you continue with this series, The University of Chicago bookstore and Passive Backplanes which might culminate in descriptions sells these for the use of people who Doesn't Look Like IBM of systems such as wirewrap, Verowire, have to do a lot of reading (everyone at Rugged, Modular Construction and Speedwire. There are a lot of good the University of Chicago has to do a lot Excellent Air Flow & Cooling Optional Card Cage Fan proto typing products in the commercial of reading!). They come in several Designed to meet FCC world that are too expensive for experi sizes-from 2" to 8" or so diagonally. 204 Watt Supply, UL Recognized menters to buy "on spec." But once you Distortion is relatively small, and the 145W & 85Walso available know their capabilities, they more than light transmission is good. One possi Reasonably Priced repay their cost. bility is to mount one of these lenses in front of the monitor. You can adjust how c. W. Rose much magnification you get by moving ~QW 850 State St. #215 the lens with respect to the screen. San Diego, CA 92101 I wish I could remember the name of the manufacturer, but at the moment I'm ~Passive Backplanes Low Cost "Big Screen" squeezed into a coach seat en route to I was reading through "Around the Utah. I do know the price for the largest _•• =-=~~-==- .... •r::::...... -_.... ---- ...... Bend" in your July/August issue and lens I saw was well under $10. Also, the =:~=~~~ ~~~ was struck by the plight of the woman idea isn't original; I believe an ad in who couldn't read normal sized charac your magazine or the late Profiles (I can't ters on a 12" screen. I think I may have remember which) used to sell something Call or write for descriptive brochure and prices: a low cost solution for her. called "Maggie." It was advertised as a 8620 Roosevelt Ave. • Visalia, CA 93291 Every so often you see an ad for a remedy for Kaypro owners who were 209/651-1203 "magnifying sheet." These are sheets of tired of small screens. TELEX 5106012830 (INTEGRAND UD) FAX 209/651-1353 clear plastic that have a flat fresnel lens This might turn out to be a cost-effec We accept Bank AmericardlVlSA and MasterCard cut into one side. Turn the smooth side tive solution for computer users with IBM. PC. XT, AT trademarks of International Business Machines. toward you, and you have a reasonably relatively mildly impaired vision. It cer- Drives and computer boards not included. powerful magnifier. Reader Service Number 22 Letters continued on page 78 6 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 You Asked for more.
Tele"'gives the boot to limitations
Berry Computers presents The Tele Toolkit - a complete Operating Systems Kernel
TELE IS BOOfABLE Source code in C and assembly is included for the interlace to MS-DOS. If you have to have MS-DOS idiosyncrasies, you can The Tele operating system is now available in a bootable easily put them in yourself. version that emulates the MS-DOS kernel. Tele executes binary programs intended for MS-DOS in a multitasking. windowing Treat yourself to an operating system where the marketing and environment. financial folks had no say at all in the design. The only con siderations in Tele's design were what it would be like to use and You can use Tele to run several programs at once thereby program under. The result is an efficient, structured program that eliminating boring and unproductive delays. For instance. in either provides or specifically anticipates all features of modern a software development environment. you can set a compiler run mainframe and desktop operating systems. ning and simultaneously edit another source file. The Tele Operating System includes all object modules and the Tele uses a preemptive task scheduler. Its file system is fully com source code for MS-DOS emulation which is an external func patible with MS-DOS. It runs on any processor compatible with tion. The Tele Tool Kit components are only required if you need the Intel 8086 family. the source code for the internal functions. Object modules are Tele improves display perlormance by a factor of 2, whether prOVided for Microsoft eversion 5.1 unless otherwise requested. you use multiple windows or not! On processors slower than Tele Tool Kit 20 MHz the improvement is even greater. Tele windows replace Multitasking (MT)* $ 40 the BIOS display driver with a much superior algorithm. Tele Windows (WI)* $ 40 windows. unlike Microsoft Windows. are simply a way of pack File System (FS) $ 40 ing multiple display screens onto a single physical device. You control the priority tasks with the task scheduler. not the display Tele Operating System algorithm. And your programs will never be asked to repaint and Tool Kit $200 their displays. Demonstration Disk $ 5
Most programs intended for MS-DOS will multi task under Tele. *MT formally c:all~d SK. \\') 'or mall}' l'all~d cn Because MS-DOS was hastily designed. and does not incorporate modern featUres (even for 1980 when it was developed). Microsoft Tele is available from: could find no way to make MS-DOS multitasking and still sup Crosby Associates port all its eXisting applications. Their solution was to give MS P.O. Box ~48 DOS version 5 a new name. OS/2. introduce new and incom patible programming paradigms. require an 80286 or 80386 pro Sutter Creek, California cessor. and consume vast quantities -of memory for the system 95685 to sit in even while idle. CALL NOW TO ORDER: Tele simply does the best possible. Tele services the documented interface to MS-DOS. fits in less than lOOK of memory, and pro (209) 267-0362 FAX (209) 267-0115 vides the important features of OS/2, including installable Visa, Mastercard, American Express 6t Discover Card accepted. file systems. Orders outside U.S.A. please use credit card.
MS· DOS and OS 2 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation,
Reader Service Number 147 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 7 c++ 2.0: A Stable Standard Fo};;:,." '" ~ • t ~ '" The OOP.:beitder?. """" ' ' .. ~~ \... , ~...... " ',,'
" "H J)I .•.. ":':'" -----r' (S) ~ (2) } ~J ~ ~~ ....00000 0 ..__ - =: l .60600 ... - ... 0.'00.. ' .
In C++, a "class" corresponds to a implementing it-in fact, they made it If you're reading this introduction just type and an "object" to a variable (or in easy. You can port their version (cfront) to groan at a few cheap C puns, you're stance) of a type. We invoke an object (or to different computer architectures, a big going to be disappointed. c++ is a serious use a variable) by sending it a message. reason C++ has been so successful. tool for serious programmers and, as you'll OOPs (object-oriented programmers) The C++ which has become popular see, release 2.0 is even seriouser. have been sending messages to objects conforms to AT&T release 1.2. Last sum officially since 1967, when Jens-Ole Dahl mer, AT&T released a new spec for C++ and Kristen Nygarrd developed Simula- which significantly improves the lan n the sixties, Norwegian computer 67, the first OOP language. guage while minimizing incompatibilities scientists found that existing pro ~ince then, and particularly in recent with old code. This article will focus on Igramming languages weren't well- years, new languages have sprung up, the features of this new release (2.0) and suited for simulating and solving real borrowing from Simula's design. And review two of the implementations cur world problems. Simulation is both several existing languages have added rently available for the PC (Zortech C++ data and event driven, so it doesn't fit OOP features (see Gary's Tidbits 2.06 and Comeau Computing's cfront). easily into real-time or batch-processing columns on Turbo Pascal 5.5 in Issues 49 Other implementations of C++ for the categories. and 50 of Micro C for a good look at PC may be available by the time you Simulations generally consist of many OOP, Pascal-style). There's even a move read this. Borland and Microsoft are both entities which have known internal states ment afoot to add OOP extensions to developing C++ compilers. MetaWare is (or properties) and external operations COBOL! creating one for the 386. ]PI has been pro (or behaviors). These entities fall into C++ is an object-oriented extension of mising one for a long time. categories (or types). Types can share C developed in 1985 by another Scandi There are also ports of cfront to other properties with other types. Types which navian-a Dane, Bjarne Stroustrup, who platforms (Oasys makes many) and share some properties and behaviors in works at AT&T Bell labs. Although several native-code compilers (Oregon herit those properties and behaviors from AT&T paid to create the language, they Software C++ for the Sun, and Gnu ) some base type. didn't mistakenly prevent others from C++-from the Free Software Founda-
8 MICROCORNUCOPIA,#52,March-Aprill990 By Bruce Eckel p.o. Box 760 Kennett Square, P A 19348
tion-for the Sun and other UNIX ma explained this phenomenon by showing chines}. There's even a port of cfront the family tree of object-oriented lan (from Lattice) for the Amiga. guages (see Figure 1). Notice that Small Although AT&T talk and similar languages (like Actor) What c++ Isn't are in one branch, C++ is in another, and At OOPSLA '89 (Object-Oriented Pro paid to create the the Common-Lisp Object System (CLOS) gramming Systems, Languages and Ap is in yet another. The point here is that plications conference), Peter Deutsch, one language, they c++ is not Smalltalk. of the key developers of Small talk, called The Smalltalk and C++ designers had C++ a "500 pound gorilla," as in "what didn't mistakenly different goals in mind. Smalltalk is a does a 500 pound gorilla get for its birth "pure" OOP language: everything must day? Anything it wants." prevent others be an object, and all objects are derived There's been some resentment in the from some other object. This allows two object-oriented community because of the from implementing things to be built into the language: gar success of C++. Other languages-like bage collection and a debugger. Smalltalk-have been around longer and it-in fact, they Smalltalk effectively replaces the oper have more mature environments, yet ating system, thereby creating its own C++ has stolen the show. made it easy. environment on non-MS-OOS systems At the "C++ at Work" conference in (this isn't quite the case on MS-OOS sys November, 1989, Stroustrup indirectly tems). All objects in Smalltalk are created on the heap (free store). Smalltalk (which has always been interpreted) only han dles references (addresses) to the objects. When you're done with an object, you simply release it. For example, in the Smalltalk expression:
o := A + (B + C) •
a temporary object is created to hold the result of B+C. This object is then added to A, and the result bound to a second tem porary, which is finally bound to D. (This binding is fast since it only involves copy ing an address.) When the first temporary is no longer needed, it's released. This means that the heap space con tains an object you no longer have a ref erence to. Eventually, the heap will fill up with these "garbage" objects. When you run out of space, the garbage collec tor looks through the heap for objects no longer in use and releases them. c++ creates objects (including tem poraries) on the stack and destroys them when they go out of scope. Yoti can ex plicitly create objects on the heap, but then you're responsible for cleaning them
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 9 up (or you can write your own garbage send a message to an object that has no duction of practical applications. Each ex collector for specific applications). corresponding method. The time re cels in its own area. The designers of Run-time debugging, garbage collec quired to execute a method doesn't de C++, Smalltalk, and all the other OOP tion, an impressive assortment of stand pend on the inheritance hierarchy. languages had different goals in mind. ard classes, and a built-in user interface The difference between the way C++ Remember this, and you can stay out of are built into the Smalltalk environment. and Smalltalk (and CLOS) handle mes religious wars. Having so many built-in tools makes sages is the difference between strong Smalltalk good for prototyping and typing and weak typing. Smalltalk is development. You can try out new ideas weakly typed, which means you can quickly, and your finished applications send any· message to any object at run run from within the Smalltalk environ-· time and the message will be accepted. ment, so you don't have to rebuild an en C++ follows the Simula model: it's vironment for individual applications. strongly typed (Simula also had added In C++, you generate binary execu run-time checks, which C++ does not). In table code (which you c~m distribute!), C++ a message can only be sent to an ob which is neither larger nor slower than ject if the corresponding method exists -- :r its C equivalent. You can also handle for that object. Otherwise, the C++ com real-time situations more reliably because piler can't guarantee that the message U1 ~ ,.(JEs~. .. ---rc.~ there's no automatic garbage collector to can be executed. ... AND TnL TurM WHAT TO DO start up at an inopportune moment. BY SENDING MESSAGES Strengths are weaknesses in the wrong situation-and vice versa. To understand Smalltalk, think in New Features In 2.0 terms of messages. If you send a message Stroustrup and the gang at AT&T foo to an object, and the object has no have added several fascinating features method (definition of what to do with a to the C++ specification in release 2.0. message) for foo, it passes the message These include: multiple inheritance, type up to its base class. safe linkage, explicit support for abstract classes, automatic definition of the copy constructor and operator=O, class-by YOU CAN MAKE LOTS oF' OBJECTS class overloading of the operators new A CLASS JS A MACHINE USING ONE CLASS ... and delete, additional operator overload WI\lCJ.I MAKE:S O$.r!C.1S ing, pointers to members, new qualifiers for member functions, a variety of neat tricks I call "new forms of initialization," and some small changes for clarity. Note that Smalltalk, CLOS, and simi I'll discuss the major changes; you can lar languages emphasize experimentation find the rest in Chapter 11 of Using c++ and flexibility (with the attendant run (or other C++ books which describe re time overhead). C++ is conservative, lease 2.0). 1'lJI\N rll! CP.ANJI,.. ... AND dut ~()~S AN Q8S£c/ which insures the robustness of the final program, and allows the compiler to do Multiple Inheritance most of the work (so the program runs Single inheritance (SI) allows you to If the base class has no method for faster). fan multiple types out from a single base foo, it passes the message up to its base Some insiders call C++ a ''hybrid'' type. You can say "a Porsche is a car, a class, and so on. All this message passing language, since it (1) allows functions Volvo is a car," etc .... If you recall Venn goes on at run-time, so the length of time which aren't associated with any particu diagrams from "new math" (what a it takes. to execute a message depends lar object, and (2) has C's data types joke), you know that most things belong partly on how high up the inheritance which don't have all the properties of ob to more than one set. That is, "a Porsche tree the method is. jects (you can't inherit from them, for in is a car and a vehicle." A bicycle is also a If there's no method for foo, Smalltalk stance). vehicle. flashes a run-time error: "method not In C++, everything doesn't have to be C++ release 1.2 allows only single in found." You can only discover this by an object. (Gary's note: The OOP extensions heritance, which leaves a conceptual hole running your program and sending all in Turbo Pascal are also like c++ in this re when you want to express membership possible messages. During rapid proto spect. You add objects to existing code (or in more than one set. Multiple Inheri typing, this is actually a feature because even new code) when you need to, not be tance (MI) in C++ 2.0 fixes this by allow it means you can execute parts of your cause you have to. C' ers and Pascal program ing you to derive a class from more than Smalltalk program without fleshing out mers who want to OOP (object-oriented pro one base class. MI isn't a prerequisite for the whole thing. gram) can, without learning an entirely new an object-oriented language; Smalltalk, In C++, the equivalent of message system or language.) Actor, and Objective-C don't support it. passing occurs at compile-time. The com Smalltalk optimizes rapid prototyping The syntax of MI is straightforward. piler or linker will complain if you try to and experimentation; C++ optimizes pro- With SI, inheritance is expressed like this:
10 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 class base { /* '" */ }; Presumably, displayableShape and you precede the above call to fooO with class derived: printableShape each contain internal rep a declaration of fooO including the full public base { /* */ }; resentations of a shape. Let's say they're prototype, the compiler will insure that derived: : derived 0 : 0 { /* ... */ } both derived from a base class base the calls are made correctly. Note, how Shape. Now, if you want to change the ever, that function prototypes are only where derived.::derivedO is the construc color of the shape to blue, should you be useful at compile time, and they're tor for the derived class and the empty responsible for making sure that the easily disabled (by not using them!). parentheses after the colon (the initializa baseShape sub-objects in both display Release 2.0 forces you to use proto tion list) is the call to the base class con ableShape and printableShape agree that types. A function called before it's de structor. Since you're only inheriting from the color (and everything else) is the clared will generate an error. Although one base class with 51, it's obvious which same? No, this doesn't make sense be this insures that the function you call constructor should be called, so you use cause you're talking about the same sub matches a declaration somewhere, it empty parentheses with no function name object. doesn't guarantee that the function you in release 1.2. To solve the problem, specify that the declare matches the one the linker finds. Multiple inheritance is expressed this same sub-object be used with the key For this, 2.0 introduces type-safe linkage. way: word virtual.· In this case, make base Type-safe linkage is usually imple Shape a virtual base class in both dis mented by what C++ programmers call class basel { /* '" */ }; playableShape and printableShape: name mangling. When the C++ compiler class base2 { /* ... */ }; comes across a function declaration or class mderived: public basel, class displayableShape : definition, it mangles the function name, public base2 { virtual public baseShape argument types, return values, and class /* ... */ }; /* ... */ } name (if the function is a member of a mderived::mderived() : basel(), class printableShape : class) into a single identifier. For instance, base2() { /* ... */ virtual public base Shape if you put the following piece of code /* ... */ } through AT&T cfront: Notice MI is a simple extension to 51, but that the calls to the base-class con The definition for class storableShape short foo(int,float); structors in the initialization list must use remains the same, but only one sub-ob void fo02(float,float); the names of the base classes (otherwise ject of class baseShape will be created for double fo03(int,int,int); the compiler won't know which one a storableShape. Test this by printing the main 0 { you're talking about). This is exactly how sizeof() the most-derived class with and int x = 0; float f = 0.0; you initialize member objects. without virtual base classes. double d; short y; In the above examples, the explicit call The responsibility of initializing vir y = foo(x,f); to the constructors with no arguments in tual base classes always lies with the fo02(f,f); d = fo03(x,x,x); the initialization lists isn't necessary. The most-derived class-in this case, print compiler will automatically call the de ableShape. If you don't explicitly call the fault constructors if you don't. constructor for the virtual base c1assin and then examine the output, you'll find the most derived class, the constructor these identifiers: Virtual Base Classes with no arguments is automatically Suppose you're welding multiple base called for you. __ly = foo__ Fif (__ lX, __If); classes together using MI. You discover foo__ FfTl (__ If); that two of the base classes are concep Type-safe Linkage __ld = fo03__ FiN21 (__ lx, __lX, tually referring to the same sub-object One problem with plain C is that it __lx) ; which lives higher up in the inheritance lets you use functions improperly. For The information at the end of the tree. example, you can call a function like this: function name is scrambled to reduce the For example (to revert to what Rob size of the identifier (remember the ANSI Murray at AT&T calls lithe bloody x = foo (bar) ; C maximum limit for identifier length is shape example," since we've beaten on 31 characters). You can see, however, that it so many times), consider a class dis If the compiler hasn't seen a prototype there's a lot more information in the playableShape and a class printable for fooO, it'll just assume you know what identifier than simply the function name. Shape which you can display on the you're doing: that fooO takes an argu When the linker looks for your func screen and send to the printer, respec ment of whatever type bar is and returns tion name, it has to find the mangled tively. If you want to create a class a value of whatever type x is. The linker one, which insures that the correct func storableShape which can be displayed will look for a function with an identifier tion is linked (an error is generated if on screen, printed, and stored to disk, that probably looks like _foo. you've made a mistake). This eliminates you could use Ml: H it finds it, it links it in, regardless of a lot of frustrating mistakes. Notice that the arguments and return values for the variable identifiers are also modified. class storableShape fooO. Thus, in plain C, there's no type What happens if you want to call public displayableShape, safety (Le., no type checking) of argu plain C functions from within a C++ pro public printableShape ments and return values during linking. gram? C++ 2.0 has an escape mechanism: /* '" */ Function prototypes in C are, of you declare a function using a linkage } ; course, a big help, if you use them. If specification. This is a string which de-
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 11 scribes the type of linkage you want. functions, the compiler must know how Overloading Operators new & delete Each implementation of C++ must to perform this pass by value (passing C programmers have always said that support the specifications "c" and addresses is easy). In C++ 1.2, the com "C gives you enough rope to hang your "C++," but this also provides a way to piler would complain if you hadn't de self." C++ allows you to change the support other types of linkage, for ex fined a copy-constructor X(X&) in the fol rules, so you can come up with all kinds ample "Pascal." There are two ways you lowing situation: of new ways to do the deed. In particu can specify alternate linkage (linkage is lar, the meaning of operators can be C++ by default): class X { 1* ... *1 }; "overloaded," or redefined, so they mean X nib(X arg) { different things when used with different extern "C" int pop(float); return arg; types of objects. This extends to the memory allocation operators new and or, for a group of functions: Here, arg must be copied into the delete. function frame of nib as the argument, new and delete are like ANSI C's mal extern "C" { and copied out again as the return value. locO and freeO library functions-they int snap(double); This means the compiler must know how allow you to create objects at run-time. int fizz(short); to make an X from another X, which is They differ in that new calls the construc what the X(X&) copy-constructor does. tor, and delete calls the destructor. Specifying C linkage means the identi fiers won't get mangled, and the usual underscore will be prepended.
Explicit Support For Abstract Classes We use abstract classes as "common interfaces" for other derived classes. For example, you'd never make a shape ob ject; you'd instead make a specific circle, square, or line object, which all derive from class shape. shape has a virtual method, drawO, which is redefined for each subclass. You can create a list of circle, square, and line objects, which are all shapes, and then go through the list of shapes and drawO each one. Each shape will figure out how AN OBJ£C1 to draw itself. INITIALIZING mtL':' You don't want the user to ever be able to create a plain shape object. In C++ 2:0 you can explicitly prevent this by -making the virtual functions "pure" using a pure-specifier. This means you Similarly, whenever you assign: This insures that you can have no uni simply set the body of the function to nitialized objects to cause errors. To pre zero in the class definition, like so: X a,b; vent these errors, dynamic memory allo II ... cation has become part of the core of the class shape a = b; language instead of library functions (as II ... in C). public: the compiler must have an X& opera C++ 1.2 allowed you to overload the II ... tor:(X&) defined. C++ 1.2 printed confus global meaning of new and delete, but virtual void draw() = 0; ing messages when you tried to pass or this would affect the whole system. If } ; return arguments by value, or to assign, you only wanted to change the way without defining the copy-constructor or memory was allocated for a subset of Now, if the user ever tries to define a operator:. This has been such a problem classes, you had to revert to the abomina plain shape object, the compiler will for novices that C++ 2.0 will automat tion known as "assignment to this," generate an error message. ically generate a copy-constructor and creating all kinds of confusion. See Chap operator: for you if you don't. ter 6 of Using c++ for more details. Automatic Copying & Initialization If your class contains member objects C++ 2.0 eliminates the need for as Novice C++'ers often stumble over as which define copy-constructors and signment to this by allowing you to over signment, copying, and initialization. operator: functions, those are used by load new and delete on a class-by-class You don't realize at first that you're the automatically created functions. Most basis. Here's the (corrected) example building new data types into the system of the time, the automatically created from Using C++: when you define a class. functions do what you want; when they If you're going to pass objects of your don't, you can define the functions your ,include
12 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 ~£EWU AT&T C++ RELEASE 2.0 SPECIFICATION 0J£EWU MS WINDOWS COMPATIBILITY P!1lEWU EASY PORTABILITY FROM MICROSOFT C
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We listened carefully to DEBUGGER, and now the For many, EMS what you wanted in a next wait is over. programming support, built c-~ow Yo Order: Already own Zortech generation MS DOS C++ into the compiler is C++? Call the order compiler. The answer is You wanted expanded and important, so it's in there hotline for details of our Zortech C++ V2.0 improved documentation, too. low cost upgrades. Developer's ----.------we both Edition. ~ \y~, g~ listened You were happy using the To order Zortech C++ for the first time, iu.st call '"":. 0/·71 .. - I-O~ r=1~- - " ..... 1~'lu'-=-" and 18 classes yrovided in v d ::11 \I't~ ~- : ''':' ·HJ~f'" ~!"I.!}II d I' d the order hotline.We ,ou wante (~fr l:!lif~~ .)11'FI~ (Y!l"l~fli~im~J e lVere . C++ TOOLS, but we the latest ~ revised and expanded it accept payment by Mastercara/Visa!COD. AT&TV2.0 (~.. ::. :: ~.\!l...•.. i.I.~.I .. I~.~.; 6H.F:.:'§(~.:.~.11 You anyway. leatures f:;;:: :: U»~!I~l~~IY; m.1I1~~! (~1!·1 wanted to Alternatively, mail the fl ~c :; ~; 1!(e).1~~ ~~dl~~) <:'; be able to l You never asked for a free coupon berow with your with the 111~i(~1~' ~)~,I~l;rcf~ ,~~,il~~> 1~1: . upgrade TSR library to be included, power H
Name DEVELOPER'S EDITION$450 (Save $200) OS/2 COMPILER UPGRADE $ 749.95 Addres-s------o o o C++ COMPILER$199.95 o C+ + VIDEO COURSE $499.95 o C+ + DEBUGGER $149.95 o C+ + Language /Stroustrup $32.25 City State_Zip C++ TOOLS$149.95 C+ + Answer Book/Hansen $26.95 Visa-;-/M~C#-:-:------o o Exp.Date ___Te/ ______o LIBRARY SOURCE CODE $149.95 o C++ forC Programmers/Phol$29.95 o COMPILER & LIBRARY SOURCE $299.95 o C+ + Primer/Lippman $30.25 All MicroSoft trademarks are acknowledged. For US orders please add $5.05 shipping Overseas orders at international mail rates. Reader Service Number 70 static int newcalls; Here, however, you can't call delete to pointer to a class member allows you to public: destroy the object, since you didn't go select a member (data or function) of an void * operator new(size_t sz) { through the "normal" allocation scheme object at run-time. newcalls++; to create it. So, in this situation, you get This is tricky because in plain C, vari return ::new unsigned char[sz]; to call the destructor explicitly: ables and functions occupy specific addresses in memory, while a class void operator delete(void * dp) { ip->toad::~toad(); (which contains the member identifiers newcalls--; from which you get the addresses for : :delete (dp) ; Zortech 2.06 doesn't support the your pointer to member) is just a con placement specifier for operator new. cept. Only objects have physical } ; addresses, so a pointer to a member is ac Additional Operator Overloading tually an "offset" into the class. The The variable newcalls keeps track of C++ 2.0 allows you to overload two physical address can only be resolved at how many objects have been created on new operators: the comma operator, and run-time when the pointer is derefer the free store. Notice the use of the scope the operator ->, sometimes called the enced for the physical object. resolution operator :: to call the global "smart pointer." Pointers to members are particularly versions of new and delete. The comma is used in two places: as a useful for creating functions which apply The only other advantage of assign separator in function argument lists, and an operation (Le., call a member function) ment to this was it allowed you to place to indicate sequential evaluation of ex to each object in a list. If, for instance, an object at a specific memory location. pressions. It's the latter use which you shapelist is a list of shape objects, and In C++ 2.0 you can use a placement can overload. If you use the comma oper class shape has member functions called specifier with operator new to perform ator like this: drawO and flop 0, you could write a the same function. To use the placement function called applyO: specifier, simply put the starting address foo(l), A + B, C * D; in parentheses following new: apply (shapelist, &shape::flop); the function fooO will be called, A will be apply (shapelist, &shape::draw); class toad { /* ... */ }; added to B, and C will be multiplied by toad * ip = new(Oxff) toad; D, in that order. The values produced by Pointers to members have been in the all but the expression C*D will be dis language specification prior to AT&T re carded, and C*D will be the value pro lease 2.0, but they haven't been univer duced by the whole expression. All ex sally supported. Zortech C++ 2.06 pressions in a comma-separated list ex doesn't support pointers to members (but cept the last one are evaluated only for will in a future release). STOMP OUT their side effects. When you overload the comma oper New Qualifiers For Member Functions EPROM MADNESS ator, the expression preceding the For greater programmer control over comma must evaluate to an object (or a classes, C++ 2.0 introduces three new reference to an object) which has the qualifiers for class member functions: overloaded operator comma defined. const, volatile, and static. You use the Overloading operator comma allows you const and volatile qualifiers similarly: to add an extra side effect when evaluat ing expression lists involving objects. class zip The term "smart pointer" is some int i; what misleading, because it implies public: you have control over pointer derefer int f1() const { return i; } The PROM KING emulates EPROMS, saving encing (which you don't). The over void f2() volatile { i++; } both time and money during your development loaded operator->O can only be in } ; cycle. Programmable in seconds via your PC voked on class objects or references to printer port or any computer RS232 port, it can class objects, not pointers to class ob Before C++ 2.0, you could declare an emulate most 27xxx devices. jects. object const, but the compiler wouldn't • 8K-8M bit devices • 8-256 bit downloads • High speed download: • Easily expandable: In addition, note that operator->O is complain if you then called a function -Universal RS232 -4 EPROMS per unit unary, not binary. It must .produce which modified that object. In C++ 2.0, -PC printer port -Up to 8 units either a pointer or an object for which you can only call const member functions • Menu driven software • Also programs like • Battery backup a real EPROM operator->O has been defined. For a for const objects, and const member func complete example, see Dewhurst & tions may not modify the data members $599 for 150nS units with 256K bits Ask for pricing of other options Stark. of an object, or call non-const member functions. volatile objects and member -----Made in USA by:----- Pointers To Members functions have identical constraints. TR4XEL LtlBS INC. In plain C, a pointer to a variable al The C++ compiler prevents const ob BOX 239· RONKONKOMA,NY·11779 lows you to select variables at run-time, jects from being modified in the program 516·737·5147 and a pointer to a function allows you to environment (but they can be modified Reader Service Number 178 select functions at run-time. In C++, a outside the program .environment). The
14 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 compiler treats a volatile object as one which can be unpredictably changed by forces outside the program environment, " " '~I',1" ", ''A~~'l'~'''\i~'' '" "J"" ,'" ,.r,'~." '~!~':" , I IIIII so it makes no assumptions about the ,:1" ",' ,:'",,;' ",:: ," ! ;.I" "a stability of the object during optimiza G tion. Thus, an object (and a member Add lightning fast graphics to your programs quickly and function) can be both const and volatile. easily through the popular PCX file format. Why reinvent the Zortech C++ 2.06 allows the use of wheel? Make your programs immediately compatible with const and volatile as member function hundreds of packages from Aldus Page Maker to ZSoft's PC modifiers, but doesn't support it. Paintbrush with these linkable graphic libraries.
Static Member Functions "An exceptional product" - Programmer's Journal, Aug You can declare a class data member NEW! Version 3.5 of the PCX Programmer's Toolkit gives you over 60 to be static. Only one instance of that powerful functions to manipulate bitmapped graphics. Use Virtual screens, Super VGA modes, LIM 4.0 support, a 300 page manual, 9 utilities including data member is created for all the objects screen capture and display, and the fastest routines on the market. $195 in the class-all objects share the in stance, and they can communicate Need Special Effects, but caught in a GRASP? through it. Why create a demo when you can create the real thing? Don't be trapped in C++ 2.0 adds static member functions, a slideshow editor or demo program when you can use PCX Effects for the PCX Toolkit and your favorite programming language. A Music Language which operate on the whole class. static and spectacular effects for exploding your graphics! $99 member functions have no this, so they can only perform general-purpose opera Blazing Graphics Text tions, which don't depend on specific With PCX Text you can display text yvith graphics as fast as it always should have been. Display characters, strings, fixed and proportional text, class members or operations on static background transparency, and more. Includes a font editor, 85 fonts, and data members. text utilities for blazing graphics bitmapped text. $149 Before static member functions, you All packages support 12 compilers for C, Pascal, Basic, had to call the equivalent of a static Fortran, Assembly, and Clipper. All modes of the Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, and Super VGA adapters are supported, up member function using some arbitrary through 800x600x256 (22 modes in all). Assembly Language object (which is nonsensical to the reader, source code is optionally available. Trademarks are property MICROPROGRAMMING of their respective holders. 11315 Meadow Lake. Houston. Texas 77077. (713) 870-0737 and requires the superfluous passing of No Royalties! 30-day Money Back Guarantee. the object's this) or create a friend func VISAIMC/AMEXICOD/PO accepted. tion (which "pollutes" the global name 1-800-227-0918 space). Here's how you define and use static member functions: Notice you must completely specify Now you can make an array of these class H20 { the class membership and type of the ob objects with almost no effort: static float temperature; ject in the initializer. You can also use public: variables and function calls in the initial Q qa[] = {1, 2, 3, Q(l,l), Q(2,2)}; II ... izer. static void heat (float ht) You can make qa global or auto. The temperature += ht; New Forms Of Initialization best feature (which only Zortech 2.06 A lot of your coding time, especially supports) allows you to execute expres } ; with object-oriented programming, goes sions for aggregate initialization, so you into setting up the objects-initializing can make an array of pointers to objects main 0 them to the proper state. Since this can be (all derived from the same base class) in H20: :heat(10.1); tedious and confusing, it's an invitation one statement: to errors. C++ 2.0 allows many new ways to initialize variables. For instance, you base * bar] = { Notice you specify the class, rather can initialize a static object (any object new derived1(1,1), than a particular object, when you call a with global lifetime) using any general new,derived2(2,2,3,4), static member function (although you expression, including a function call new derived3(0) can also call it in the normal way, as using some other static object. } ; sociated with an object). One of my favorite features is aggre static data members are automatically gate initialization of objects. Consider the Future Features initialized by the compiler to O. Release following class: C++ release 2.0 promises to be a stable 2.0 has added a way to initialize static standard for the foreseeable future. How data members explicitly (especially use class Q { ever, some important features are ful for member objects). The statements II '" planned which won't require any are placed outside of all functions (Le., at public: changes to code written for C++ 2.0. Two file scope) like this: Q(int); in particular look promising: parameter Q(int,int) ; ized types and exception handling. float H20::temperature = 80.0; } ; Suppose you're building a matrix
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 15 class, and you find that some of your problems need float matrix elements while others need double elements. In the future, users may require int matrices or complex matrices.' You can't do a search-and-replace of all float types to some other type-what about variables that shouldn't be changed? Parameterized types will let you cre ate a generic matrix class (or any other class composed of other objects> and then create. objects of that class utilizing specific types. The keyword template has been reserved in the language for this purpose. The syntax will look something CONVERTS ACTION DIAGRAMS; like this for our matrix problem: *Print_Character_Set template
extern exception out_of_range; extern exception overflow; II ... try { foo X(1,20); buzz (X) ; II ... } I catch(out~of_range) II code executed for exception
16 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-~prill990 version-it's worth the extra money. • C++ Primer, by Stanley Lippman catch (overflow) Because no implementation of C++ is (Addison-Wesley, 1989). II code executed for exception perfect, I find it extremely useful to have • Programming in C++, by Stephen cfront handy. I can test code for compati Dewhurst and Kathy Stark (pren bility and my compilers for bugs. I've tice-Hall,1989). The try-statement is always executed; been using a beta of Comeau Comput • Using C++, by Bruce Eckel if an exception occurs in the middle of ing's cfront 2.0 for the PC, and it seems (Osborne/McGraw-Hill,1989). the try-statement, the stack is unrolled to work fine-apparently AT&T worked • The C++ Answer Book by Tony (appropriate destructors are called) and hard to make 2.0 easier to port than 1.2 Hansen (Addison-Wesley, 1990). the corresponding catch-clause is ex to strange processors like the 8086. cfront For those of you into numerics, Tom ecuted. You can have any number of is $250, but worth it. Keffer and Rick Romea, collectively catch-clauses. Note that exceptions are known as Rogue Wave Associates, have objects of a class defined by the C++ sys Keeping Everyone Honest a C++ matrix package that will compile tem. We'll be seeing lots of new C++ com with Zortech C++ and on UNIX ma It may be several years before we see pilers in the coming years. It's easy for chines (it should also work with Glocken these additions, but they'll be useful. the compiler writers to miss some of the spiel C++). The package includes vectors subtleties of the language, and hard for and matrices of all kinds, and a very easy c++ 2.0 Compilers magazine reviewers and other evaluators to use Fast-Fourier Transform. I have two implementations of c++ (including end users) to find these prob I've seen it, and it's shipping now for release 2.0 for the PC: Zortech's C++ 2.06, lems in a short time. To help solve this only $99. Tom's a physicist/oceanog and a beta release of Comeau Comput problem, I'm putting together a test suite rapher and Rick's a mathematician, so ing's port of AT&T's cfront (the same for C++ compilers (not a validation suite, these guys know their numbers. I scheme used by Glockenspiel and Guide although it may eventually become that). worked on a project with Tom while I lines, neither of which yet have a 2.0 re Most test suites cost a fortune-this was learning C++ so I know firsthand lease or beta.) one will be freeware, that is, copyrighted that he's an excellent programmer. Looks It's important to realize that C++ is a but freely sharable. I copyright to main like the bottom line in matrix packages. difficult language to implement, and tain control over the sources and prevent Bruce Eckel is the author of Using c++ pointing out unsupported features is by them from being sold (other than by (Osborne/McGraw-Hill 1989) and the owner no means a negative review. In fact, in shareware dealers). of Revolution2, a c++ consulting and the 21/2 years I've worked with C++, I You can at any time get the current embedded-systems development finn. You haven't come across a compiler which is suite (which I will update as I encounter can reach him on BIX as beckel, compuserve even close to being "clean." problems) by sending a check for $25 to as 72070,3256, or the internet as Zortech has done a commendable job Revolution2. If you have a piece of code [email protected]. with C++ 2.06, and I recommend it which breaks a C++ implementation and highly. Their documentation is vastly im you want to add it to the suite, please Products Mentioned proved, and the developer's edition in send it to me on disk or to one of my cludes all the library source (including a electronic addresses. CodeCheck method for ROMing the library code), as Also, Abraxas Software specializes in Abraxas Software, Inc. well as a debugger and a set of C++ portability, especially C portability. One 7033 S.W. MacAdam Ave. classes. of their products, CodeCheck, will ana P.O. Box 19586 I haven't encountered any of the lyze your C code and point out places Portland, OR 97219 "choke and die" problems which were where you will have portability prob (503) 244-5253 present in earlier versions. The only lems. Abraxas has recently added the problems I've discovered are unsup ability to analyze C++. Comeau Computing C++ ported features. The only difficulty I have 91-34120th Street with these is the way the compiler han WrapUp Richmond Hill, NY 11418 dles them: it should say "sorry, not im There are oodles of conferences and (718) 849-2355 plemented" (as cfront does) rather than workshops coming up: OOPSLA, which claiming a syntax error. will be combined with ECooP (the Vector, Matrix & FFf Gasses The debugger is impressive! When European version) and held in Canada; Rogue Wave Associates my code gets more complex, the debug SCOOP (Seminars & Conference in oap, P.O. Box 85341 ger doesn't always deliver the promised June 4-6, 1990, in Boston), put on by the Seattle, WA 98195 . ..,.. information (object member values, same folks at SIGS publications (they (206) 523-5831 dereferencing NULL pointers), but it publish JOOP, the Journal of OOP, HOOT, doesn't die. It does furnish data I'd have Hot-Line of 00 Technology, The c++ Re Zortech C++ Developer's Edition a hard time getting any other way. port, and the Journal of Pascal, ADA & Zortech Inc. Neither the compiler nor the debug Modula-2; the Miller-Freeman Software 1165 Massachusetts Ave. ger is perfect, but they both work well Development Conference (SD90) Febru Arlington, MA 02174 enough, and Zortech is perfecting them ary 6-9; and the venerable Usenix C++ 1-800-848-8408 (617) 646-6703 (there'll be an update by the time you Conference, April 9-11 in San Francisco. read this). I'm pleased with the package. Several new books also cover the 2.0 If you can afford it, get the developer's specification: • • • MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 17 Training A Neural Network: Build An NNT In C, Part 2
Then we sum the error over all nodes, each output PE (see Equation 7). In Part 1 (Micro C, #51), Russ and Roy giving us a grand total for all nodes and led us inside a neural network detailing the all patterns. o[ = (t[ - oI) o[ (1 - oI) Equation 7 theory, algorithms, and C code for program In addition, after we get the grand ming a complete neural network (or NNT as total error, we divide it by the number of We now propagate this error value they call it). patterns to obtain an average sum back and perform appropriate weight ad This issue they'll show us how to train squared error value. Since the number of justments, using either of two methods: (i.e., teach) a network using a simple yet patterns will vary among training sets, (1) Propagate the error back and ad sophisticated technique called, "backward we need an average error to compare just weights after the network "sees" error propagation." Oxymoron? sets. each training pattern. This is online, or For those just joining, check out last Look over Equation 5, the term for cal single pattern training. issue's article or download the. complete C culating error (note: since the factor 0.5 is (2) Accumulate the os for each PE for source for their NNT from the Micro eBBS constant, we usually delete it from our the entire training set, add them, and (503) 382-7643. Note: we've excerpted Parts calculations): propagate back the error based upon the 1 and 2 of this series from Russ and Roy's grand total o. This is batch, or epoch book on neural nets which Academic Press nl training. will publish this year. Ep = 0.5 L (tpl - Opl)2 EquationS We use batch training in our NNT. 1=1 Rumelhart and McClelland assumed that weight changes occur only after a e train a network by combining: Training the network in effect minimizes complete cycle of pattern presentations. (1) feedforward output state, this average sum-squared error over a They point out that it's all right to calcu Wand (2) weight adjustment cal training set of patterns. late weight changes after each pattern culations. We won't rigorously derive any train (online training) as long as the learning This training technique, called ''back ing algorithms in this article. If you're rate 11 is sufficiently small. It does, how ward error propagation," is the key to rigorous-minded (i.e., interested in these ever, add significant computational over the success of a back-propagation NNT. kinds of details), check out Chapter 8 of head. Since we want to speed up train Central to this technique is how we de Rumelhart and McClelland. Even their ing, we batch. fine network error. In other words, what derivation lacks rigor, but reviewing it Before we can update weights, how should we use to measure a network's should give you an insight into where ever, we must have something to update. performance relative to the training sets? these equations come from, and should We initialize each weight to some value. Rumelhart and McClelland (see refer help make you more comfortable using We can't just start with all the weights ence) define an error term that depends them. equal to zero (or all equal to any single on the difference between the output Remember from Equation 4 (last number, for that matter) or the network value an output PE (or neuron) is sup issue) that the output of a PE in the out won't be trainable. You can see why if posed to have (called the target value q) put layer is a function of its input, or, you look at the equations for weight up and the value the PE actually has as a re ol=f(h). The first derivative of the func dating (see Equations 8, 9, etc., below). sult of the feedforward calculations 01. tion, f'(il), is important in error back It's typical to initialize the weights to We define an error term for a specific propagation. We represent the error sig random numbers between -0.3 and 0.3. pattern and sum it over all the output nal by 01 for output layer PEs, and define Why pick -0.3 and 0.3 as the bounds? nodes which that pattern affects. it in Equation 6: Simply put, "it works." And since many Equation 5 defines error. The subscript BP NNTs train fast with these bounds, "p" denotes that the value is for a o[ = f(iI) (t[- oI) Equation 6 we often start training at -0.3 and 0.3. specific pattern. Note that when we cal culate error in the BP training algorithm, For the sigmoid activation function of Living In A Bumpy Bowl we do it on a node-by-node basis over Equation 4, the first derivative is 01(1-01). Let's look at how we use 01 to update the entire set (or epoch) of patterns, So we end up with the expression for the weights that feed the output layer, Wlj. To rather than on a pattern-by-pattern basis. output layer error signal, calculated for a first approximation, Equation 8 de-
18 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 By Russ Eberhart and Roy Dobbins 6770 Halfcrown Court Columbia, MD 21044
scribes the updating of these weights. term for these units? It isn't as simple to Here, Tl is the learning coefficient. We as figure this out as it was for the output sign it values between 0 and 1. units. There we could intuitively reason train a that the error should be some function of Wlj (new) = Wlj (old) + Tl Bloj Equation 8 the difference between the desired output network by tl and the actual output 01. This kind of weight updating some We don't really have any idea what times has a problem-the system gets combining: feed the value for a hidden PE should be. caught in what we (and others) call local Again we refer to the derivation by energy minima. Imagine a bowl-shaped forward output Rumelhart and McClelland. They surface containing a lot of little bumps showed that the error term for a hidden and ridges. state and weight PE is given by Equation 10: The error minimization process is analogous to minimizing the energy of adjustment our position in the bumpy, ridgelined Bh = f(ih) :LWlh BI Equation 10 bowl. Ideally, we'd like to move our calculations. 1=0 position (perhaps marked by a very small ball bearing) to the bottom of the As was the case in the output layer, bowl, where the energy is minimum. the output of a PE in the hidden layer is This position is called the globally opti Put another way (in words) the new a function of its input, or Oh=f(ih). The left mal solution. weight is equal to the old weight plus the part of the right-hand term in Equation Depending on how much or how little change in weight. The change in weight 10 is the first derivative of this function. we can move the ball bearing at one consists of the B error signal term and the Again, we're using the sigmoid transfer time, however, we might get caught in a momentum factor term. function, so this derivative is oh(1-0h), re some little depression or ridge. This sit The momentum term is the product of sulting in the hidden PE error term de uation is most likely with small limits on the momentum factor a and the previous fined by Equation 11. each individual movement, which corre (old) change in the weight. By taking into sponds to small values of Tl. account the previous movement of the We can help the situation by taking weight, we're imparting momentum to Bh = Oh (1 - Oh) :LWlh BI Equation 11 into account the "momentum" of our ball our ball bearing, and are much more 1=0 bearing. That is, we consider its previous likely to reach the globally optimum so movement as reflected in its previous lution for the network. The weight changes for the connection weight change. We multiply this pre Keep in mind that we have PEs called weights feeding the hidden layer from vious weight change by a momentum bias nodes, or bias PEs, as indicated by the input layer are now calculated in a factor that we label a. the PEs with the letter ''b'' in them in manner analogous to those feeding the The momentum factor a can take on Figure 1. These PEs always have an out output layer. Equation 12 defines the values between 0 and 1. Equation 9, put, or activation value, of 1. weight changes: which is just Equation 8 with the mo They serve as threshold units for the mentum term added, becomes the equa layers to which they're connected. The Wji (new) =Wji (old) + Tl Bj Oi + a [~Wji (old)] weights from the bias PEs to each of the tion we'll use in our BP NNT to update Equation 12 the weights feeding the output layer. PEs in Equation 9 are adjusted exactly like the other weights. In Equation 9, for As before, we include bias nodes in Wlj (new) = Wlj (old) + Tl BI OJ + a [~Wlj (old)] each of the output PEs, the subscript j the calculations. For each hidden node, takes on values from 0 (the bias PE) to nj Equation 9 the subscript i takes on values of 0, repre (the number of hidden PEs). senting the bias node, to nj, the number Watch out! We've just thrown another Now that we have the new values for of input nodes. delta at you. This one, ~wlj(old), stands the weights feeding the output· PEs, we We now have all the equations we for the previous change in the weight. tum to the hidden PEs. What's the error need to implement the backpropagation
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 19 of errors and adjustment of weights for the hidden layer in Equation 11, the old of the training patterns needed to give both of the groups of weights. Equations (existing) weights (rather than new ones you an acceptable average mean-squared 7,9,11, and 12 are the ones we need. you might have calculated from Equation error value. First, pick a reasonable aver We first calculate the error terms ex 9) from the hidden to the output layer age mean squared error value, perhaps pressed by Equation 7 for each output are used. This is a potential problem only 0.04 or 0.05. If you can't train in 1,000 or PE, then by Equation 11 for each hidden if you decide to update the weights after 2,000 iterations, you probably should ad PE, for each pattern in the training set. the net sees each training pattern. If you just 11 or a. You might also need to nor We accumulate the error terms by sum use epoch training, the weights aren't up malize your inputs differently. mation. Then after the network has seen dated until after the net sees all patterns, You'll no doubt have to experiment. all the training patterns (the epoch) once, so you don't have to worry. Just don't be disappointed when your we calculate the weight adjustments ex NNT doesn't train successfully the first pressed by Equations 9 and 12. Experiment time. It almost certainly won't! Keep a few things in mind. One- What values do you pick for 11 and a? Editor's note: you'll find the C and object since we're updating by batch (or epoch), The best choices depend on your applica code for the neural net on the Micro C BBS the os we express in Equations 9 and 12 tion. Rumelhart and McClelland recom (503 382-7643) and on the Issue #52 disk. are grand totals (for each PE) for the en mend values of 0.5 and 0.9, as a place to The disk is $6 ppd. ($8 foreign) from Micro tire training set. Whereas the os in Equa start. We've found, however, that for our Cornucopia, P.O. Box 223, Bend, Oregon tions 7 and 11 are calculated pattern by applications, these values often seem to 97709. (800) 888-8087, VISA/Me. pattern and summed after one epoch. throw the network into oscillation, or put Another thing-while values for 11 the PEs into saturation. (Saturation often Key Reference and a can be assigned on a layer-by-Iayer causes all the outputs in the training and D. E. Rumelhart and J. L. McClelland, basis, or even a PE-by-PE basis, there's test sets to be about the same value, typi Parallel Distributed Processing, Explorations typically only one value selected for each cally near zero or near one.) in the Microstructure of Cognition, Vol. 1: in a given BP NNT implementation. For an electroencephalogram (EEG) Foundations. MIT Press, Cambridge, These values are often adjusted, changed, spike detection NNT we developed, we Mass., 1986. and otherwise fiddled with, in the often have good results with values of process of getting a network to train 11=0.15 and a=0.075. Other times we've successfully; but once chosen, they are used values of 0.04 and 0.02. • • • usually left alone. Another parameter you'll have to ex A third-when calculating the os for periment with is the number of iterations
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20 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 By Walter Bright Zortech Inc. 1165 Massachusetts Ave. Debugging C Pointers Arlington, MA 02174 Using MEM For Anyone Struggling With Dynamic Memory Allocation
mediately for the following reasons: You know how easy it is to write good Stopping it immediately might deane, right? You know the joys of dy avoid rebooting the machine. namic memory allocation; it's right up with • Stopping it as close as possible to self-modifying code, right? the bug makes the bug easier to find. • A runaway program may scram he C programming language is ble the hard disk. powerful, but with that power • If the software is running mission Tcomes the scourge of the pointer or life critical software, it may go bug. Normally confident and capable on and do something terrible. programmers are known to cower at the (Such critical applications should mere mention of the beast. Symptoms of have a human backup, anoth~ pointer bugs include: hung machines, computer running similar soft scrambled disks, failures that occur ware in parallel, or have the abil once-in-lO,OOO iterations, irreproducible ity to reset and restart themselves. results, and male pattern baldness. The self-detected fault should I'll present a technique I've used and alert a human, tell the other com refined in my own code for several years. puter to take charge, and/or reset This process has reduced my code's the system.) pointer bugs by as much as 75%. It's Errors like disk full, out of memory, simple to work into existing programs etc., are not program bugs, unless the and adds little or no overhead. Sound too program fails to deal with these excep good to be true? Of course it does. tions. Symptoms of MEM, of course, subscribes to the first Philosophy philosophy. It aborts the application with pointer bugs Programs are getting larger and more a message if it detects any faults directly. sophisticated (and occasionally better), And it will (we hope) cause the applica include: hung hence more difficult to debug. You can tion to fail quickly on faults that it significantly increase your ability to test doesn't detect directly. machines, and debug programs by inserting code which checks for out-of-range and so UsingMEM scrambled disks, called "impossible" values. The MEM Modify the header file toolkit.h for the package I'll describe here adds as much specifics of your C compiler and operat failures that occur checking as possible for testing and de ing system (see Figure 1). The one in the bugging a program's use of free store. listing is set for Zortech C and MS-DOS. once-in-10,000 Two schools of thought define what The MEM functions exactly parallel should happen when a program finds the storage allocator functions. #include iterations, bugs in itself: (1) the program should ter "mem.h" in all source files (see Figure 2). minate immediately, displaying a mes Then do a global search and replace, re irreproducible sage about the problem; (2) the program placing all functions: should ignore or try to repair the damage results, and male and continue. malloc() -> mem_malloc() I've never quite understood the adher calloc() -> mem_calloc() pattern baldness. ents to the second philosophy. What's the realloc() -> mem_realloc() point in continuing if the program has al free() -> mem_free() ready failed? The program must stop im- strdupO -> mem_strdupO MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 21 At the beginning of mainO, add a call to mem_initO. At the points where the program returns to the operating system, add a call to mem_termO. Add mem.c to the list of files to be compiled and linked in (see Figure 3). MEM has two modes of operation: de bugging-on and debugging-off. Use de bugging-on during program develop ment. Use debugging-off for the produc tion compile (this will eliminate most of the MEM overhead). You control the de bugging status by predefining the macro MEM_DEBUG to turn debugging on; the default is off. If debugging is off, the MEM functions become trivial shells around the malloc, free, etc., functions.
What MEM Does • ANSI-fication of free store: Many older C library implementations don't follow the ANSI C standard on how malloc/realloc/free should work. For instance, in many libraries realloc doesn't behave correctly when passed a 0 for the new size or a NULL for the pointer. You can adjust the correspond ing MEM function to account for this, and still present ANSI behavior to the caller. That way you don't need to re write the library routines, or program to account for the lowest common denomi nator. • Logging of all allocations and frees: All MEM's allocation and free func tions pass the arguments __FILE __ and __LINE_ _ During allocation, MEM makes an entry in a linked list for that allocation and stores the file and line information in that list. Thus, every out standing allocation is represented in that list. This list forms the basis of much of what MEM does. If MEM detects a bug, you can usually print the file and line number where the pointer was allocated, which greatly facilitates tracking down the critter. • Verification of frees: Since MEM knows about all alloca tions, when a pointer is freed, MEM can check to make sure it's an outstanding al location. MEM will only allow a pointer to be freed once. p = mem_malloc(5); mem_free (p); mem_free(p); /* this will cause an assertion failure from mem */
The freed data is overwritten with a
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Using C++ Library (the code from the book by Bruce Eckel and then some; Zortech 20 compatible) $25 A68 (68000 cross-assembler) ...... $20 XLTMacro Processor (general purpose text translator) ...... $20 Data NEW! Mo~ Pronunciator (150,000 words & phrases encoded with full IPA pronunciation & emphasis pointsj 900 distinguished by part-of-speech) $160 NEW! Moby Part-of-Speech (200,000 words and phrases described by prioritized part(s)-of-speech) ...... $120 NEW! Mo~ Hyphenator (150,000 words fully hyphenated/syllabified) ...... $105 Moby Words (500,000 words & phrases, 9,000 stars, 15,000 names) ...... $65 Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory Subset (right ascension, declination, & magnitude of 258,997 stars) $60 U. S. Cities (names & 10ngitudet1atitude of 32,000 U.S. cities and 6,000 state boundary points)...... $35 The World Digitized (100,000 10ngitudet1atitude of world country boundaries) ...... $30 KST Fonts (13,200 characters in 139 mixed fonts: specify 'lEX or bitmap format) ...... $30 Updated! Interactive Computer Ephemerii (high-precision mQOn, sun, planet & star positlOnsj USNO (no source) & Downey 4.8 (C source)) . . . . . $30 U. S. Map (15,701 points of state boundaries) ...... $15 The Austin Code Works Voice: (512) 258-0785 11100 Lea/wood Lane in/[email protected] BBS: (512) 258-8831 Austin, Texas 78750-3409 USA FAX: (512) 258-1342 Free surface shipping for cash in advance For delivery in Texas add 7% MasterCard/VISA Reader Service Number 4 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 23 nonzero known value. This flushes out problems, such as continuing to refer to data after it's been freed. The value writ ten over the data is selected to maximize the probability of a segment fault or assertion failure if the application con tinues to refer to it. MEM obviously can't directly detect "if' instances like: mem_free (p) ; if (*p) ...
But by guaranteeing that p points to gar bage after mem_freeO returns, we hope code like the above will never work, and thus be easy to find. Detection of pointer over and un derrun: Pointer overrun occurs when a pro gram stores data past the end of a buffer. A common programming error does this: p = malloc(strlen(s»; 1* didn't allocate space for terminating 0*1 strcpy(p,s); 1* overrun: storing 0 past end of p *1 Pointer underrun occurs when a pro gram stores data before the beginning. This error occurs less often. MEM detects
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Reader Service Number 162
24 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 Introducing •.• The 1st Family of Low Cost, Powerful Text Editors
VEDIT Jr. $ 29 VEDIT $ 69 VEDIT PLUS $185
Finally, you can choose the best editor for your needs without compromising performance or paying too much. And organiza FREE Evaluation Copy* tions that want the "same" editor for everyone can pick VEDIT® for most users and VEDIT PLUS for their power users. Call 1·800·45·VEDIT The new family of VEDIT text editors are upwards compatible, easy to use and offer exceptional performance, flexibility and stunning speed. (3 to 30 times faster than the competition on large files where speed really counts.) Compare Features and Speed Call for your free evaluation copy today. See why VEDIT has been the #1 choice of programmers, writers and engineers VEDIT BRIEF 2.10 Norton 1.3 QEdil2.07 since 1980. Pull-Down menus Yes No No Yes Pop-Up ASCII table Yes No No No VEDIT Jr,-Unmatched performance for only $29, Keystroke macros 100+ 1 No 100+ All VEDIT editors include a pull-down menu system with "hot Regular Expressions Yes Yes No No keys:' context sensitive on-line help, pop-up status and ASCII "Cut and Paste" buffers 36 1 1 100 table, a configurable keyboard layout and flexible, unlimited Text (book) markers 10 10 No No Undo keystroke by keystroke Yes Yes No No keystroke macros. Edit files of any size and any line length. Undo line by line Yes No No No Perform block operations by character, line, fileorcolumn. Undo Normal/max Undo levels 500/1000 30/300 - - up to 1000 keystrokes- keystroke by keystroke, line by line, or Variable tab positions Yes Yes No No deletion by deletion. Automatic indent, block indent and paren Configurable keyboard Yes Yes No Difficult theses matching speed program development. Word wrap, Integrated mouse support Yes No Yes No paragraph formatting, justification, centering, adjustable mar FILE LIMITS gins and printing for word processing. Run DOS programs. Edit files larger memory Yes Yes Difficult No Maximum line length >8096 512 65,535 512 VEDIT-A best value at only $69. Maximum lines/file 8,388,607 65,535 >65,535 20,000 Simultaneously edit up to 36 files and split the screen into win COMPILER SUPPORT None None dows. Search/replace with regular expressions. Includes the Menu driven Yes No -- best compiler support available-menu driven, easy selection Select Compiler options Menu Difficult -- of compiler options, supports "Include" files and MAKE utilities. Support "Include" files Yes No - - BENCHMARKS 50K FILE VEDIT PLUS-Ultimate programmer's tool for only $185. Simple search 0.2 sec 1 sec 1 sec 0.3 sec VEDIT PLUS adds the most powerful macro programming Save and continue 1 sec 2 sec 2 sec 1 sec language of any editor. It eliminates repetitive editing tasks and 1000 replacements 3 sec 19 sec 17 sec 2.5 sec permits creating your own editing functions. The macro BENCHMARKS 3 MEG FILE language includes testing, branching, looping, user prompts, Simple search 1:40 min 1:36 min Cannot Cannot keyboard input, string and numeric variables and control over Save and continue 1:05 min 3:23 min Cannot Cannot the size, position and color of windows. Source level macro 60,000 replacements 3:18 min 1:44 hour Cannot Cannot debugging with breakpoints and tracing. Macros developed BlOCk-column copy (40 x 200) 2 sec 30 sec Cannot 2 sec with VEDIT PLUS also run under VEDIT. Insert 1 Meg file in middle of 1 Meg file 1:11 min 15:13 min Cannot Cannot 30 day money-back guarantee. Call for pricing of XENIX, OS/2 PRICE $69 $195 $15 $54.95 and FlexOS versions. Very attractive quantity pricing is avail able for schools, hardware and software vendors.
VEDIT and CompuView are registered trademarks of CompuView Products. Inc. BRIEF is a trademark of UnderWare.lnc. Norton Editor is a trademark of Peter Norton Computing Inc. OEdit is a trademark of SemWare. 'Supports IBM PC. XT. AT. PS/2 and clones with CGA. MGA. EGA. VGA. Wyse 700. Amdek 1280 CompuView and other displays. Also supports Concurrent DOS. DESOview. Microsoft Windows. PC-MOS/386 and most networks. 'Also available for MS-DOS (CRT terminals). TI Professional and others. 1955 Pauline Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 'Free evaluation disk is fully functional and can edit small files. Reader Service Number 7 (313) 996-1299, Fax (313) 996-1308 this error by allocating a bit extra at each end of the buffer. A known value, called a sentinel, is placed at the ends. When the buffer is freed, if the sentinels have changed then there's been an underrun or overrun. • Dependence on values in buffer obtained from malloc: The most common value in a buffer obtained from malloc is O. Programs can develop creeping dependencies on things being 0, or other specific values, in data returned by malloc. mem_mallocO pre vents this by always setting the data in a buffer to a known nonzero value before returning a pointer to it. This also prevents another common error: MS-DOS doesn't clear unused memory when loading a program. Thus, memory returned by mallocO may con tain values left over from' a previous pro gram. mem_mallocO prevents this. • realloc problems: Common problems with using realloc are: (1) depending on realloc not shifting the location of the buffer in memory, and (2) depending on finding certain values in the uninitialized region of the realloc'd buffer. MEM flushes these out by always moving the buffer and stomping on values past the initialized area. p = mem~alloc(S); memset(p,O,S); mem_realloc(p,lO); /* error: p may be shifted */ memset(p+S,O,S); mem_free(p); /*will flag an error*/
• Memory leak detection: Memory "leaks" are areas that are al located but never freed. This can become a big problem in programs that have to run for many days at a time (like bulletin board software). If there are leaks, even tually the program will run out of memory and fail. Editor's note: Explains why people put memory catch pans beneath the drain holes on their PS/2s. Another problem is that a memory leak may indicate that a piece of memory allocated should have been added into some central data structure, but wasn't: this is a bug. MEM finds memory leaks by keeping track of all allocations and frees. When mem_termO is called, a list of all unfreed allocations is printed, along with the files and ,line numbers where the allocations occurred. • Pointer checking: Sometimes it's useful to verify that a
26 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 End diskette compatibility problems. Call Emerald Microware. CompatiCard I by Micro Solutions Copy II PC by Central Point Software This four drive universal floppy controller will let you Don't let a damaged copy protected diskette stop you run up to 16 disk drives (4 per CompatiCard), including cold. Copy II PC lets you back up your master disks so standard 360K, 96 TPI, high density 1.2M, 8" (SSSD you can keep going even when your key disk can't. or DSDD), and 720k/1.44M 31f2" drives. The Compati [ ~ ] Copy II PC ...... $ 24.95 : Card I comes with its own MS-DOS driver, utility pro CP/M \, grams, and will let you boot on an Xl (must be used MS·OOS Copy II PC Deluxe Option Board as a secondary controller on an AT or 386). Use it I with UniForm-PC for maximum versatility. by Central Point Software CompatiCard I Board...... $ 119.95 Have a copy protected diskette with a particularly' CompatiCard I with UniFORM-PC. . . .. $ 179.95 ~AP:; [1] stubborn protection scheme? Would you like to be 8" drive adaptor board...... $ 15.00 able to read your Macintosh disks in your 31/2" in External drive cable set...... $ 15.00 ternal drive in your PC or AT? Repair a disk that's UniForm-PC by Micro Solutions damaged, even between sectors? How about speed CompatiCard II by Micro Solutions Have you ever needed to use your CP/M diskettes ing up your hard disk backups (if you are using PC Two drive version of the CompatiCard, for the XT or on your PC? Now you can access your CP/M files Tools Deluxe)? The Copy II Deluxe Option Board can AT. Same drive support as the CompatiCard I except and programs on your MS-DOS computer just as you help you do all of this, and more. A must for the no 8" or single density. would a standard MS-DOS diskette. UniForm allows sophisticated user. CompatiCard II ...... $ 89.95 you to use standard DOS commands and programs Copy II Deluxe Option Board ...... " $ 139.95 *** Special *** CompatiCard II with right on your original diskette without modifying or internal 1.2M or 1.44M drive. . . .. $ 199.95 copying your files. UniForm-PC allows you to read, write, format, and copy diskettes from over 275 CP/M and MS-DOS computers on your PC, Xl, AT, OR 386. Central Paint CompatiCard IV by Micro Solutions With UniForm-PC and the CompatiCard, you can use So-fi-t I 'are" Meet the newest four drive controller in the Compati 5114" high density, 96TPI, 31f2" (720k/1,44M), and ~ 1':.r:';X~RATED Card family. This CompatiCard may be used as a even 8" drives. primary or secondary controller in almost any PC, AT, UniForm-PC by Micro Solutions ...... $ 64.95 or 386 System. Boot or use 360k, 720k, 1.2M, 1.44M, Also available for Kaypro, & other CP/M computers or 2.88M, at any location in your system. The Com patiCard IV has a BIOS ROM on board so no external driver software is required. CompartiCard IV...... $ 139.95 CP/M .. MS-DOS UniDOS ZSO Coprocessor Board by Micro Solutions PC Tools Deluxe VS.S Don't throw out all of those old, reliable CP/M pro by Central Point Software grams, run them at LIGHTNING speed on your PC This is one of the great bargains in MS-DOS utility:' or AT with the UniDOS 8MHz. Z80 coprocessor software. But with so many features built in, we think board. And the UniDOS Z80 runs so smoothly and that many people are overlooking the REAL value'. transparently" that you won't even be able to tell in PC Tools: DISASTER RECOVERY I Sure, the shell whether you're running DOS or CP/M. UniDOS emu is great for copying, viewing, editing, and deleting lates most common computers and terminals such files, and the desk top environment is nice for its: as Kaypro, Xerox 820, Morrow, Osborne, VT100, and appointment calendar, note pad, phone dialer, calcu many others. Supports all standard CP/M system lators, and ASCII table. The fast hard drive backups calls, and now works with MS-DOS version 4. In can't be beaten by any other program, and the file cludes UniForm-PC. unfragmenter speeds up hard drive accesses. But UniDOS Z80 Coprocessor Card ...... $ 169.95 where else can you get all of that along with UN DELETE, REBUILD, and UNFORMAT? Have you ever entered "ERASE *. *" and realised when all was UniDOS by Micro Solutions said and done that you were in the wrong directory? If you have a fast machine or have a V20 chip in How about those dreaded messages from CHKDSK, Megamate by Micro Solutions stalled, you may not need to use a card slot to run like "File allocation error.... "? The very first time you' You don't have to be a computer expert to install this your CP/M programs. Run 8080 code directly on the recover your missing files will make you a believer. attractive 31/2" external drive on your PC or AT. Just V20, or use emulation mode for Z80 programs. Don't wait until it happens. plug the MegaMate controller board into any empty UniDOS by Micro Solutions...... $ 64.95 PC Tools Deluxe V5.5 ...... " $ 99.95 slot, attach the drive cable, run the installation soft UniDOS w/UniForm & V20-8 chip. . . .. $ 135.00 ware, and you're ready to run 720k or 1,44M diskettes. Megamate ...... $ 329.95 MatchMaker by Micro Solutions Now you can copy your Macintosh diskettes right on your PC/XT/ATwith the MatchMaker. Just plug your EMERRLO Apple .. MS-DOS external 31/2" Macintosh drive into the MatchMaker board and experience EASY access to your Mac disk MICRO~RRE MatchPoint-PC by Micro Solutions ettes. Includes programs to read, write, initialize, and delete files on your single or double sided Mac disks. Apple II or NorthStar diskettes in your IBM? The MatchMaker Board...... $ 139.95 MatchPoint-PC board for the PC/XT / AT works with MatchMaker w/External Mac Drive. .. $ 325.00 your standard controller card to let you read and write P.o. Box 1726 to NorthStar hard sector and Apple II diskettes on your PC. INCLUDES UniForm-PC program, as well as utilities to format disks, copy, delete, and view files (503) 641-8088 Beaverton, OR 97075 from Apple DOS, PRODOS, and Apple CP/M disks. VISA and Mastercard accepted. Please include $6.00 MatchPoint-PC Board...... $ 179.95 Call or write for our complete catalog of shipping and handling, $8.50 for COD, UPS-Blue or software, parts, accessories and RED Label additional according to weight. Prices complete repair services for the subject to change without notice. Please include your Kaypro, Xerox 820, and IBM PC/ AT. phone number with all correspondence. .
Reader Service Number 10 • MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 27 pointer is actually pointing into free store. mem_checkptr(void *p) does this. • Consistency checking: Occasionally even MEM's internal data structures get stomped on by a wild pointer. When this happens, you can track it down by temporarily sprinkling the code with calls to mem_checkO, which does a consistency check on the free storage. • Out-of-memory handling: An irritation in using dynamic storage is handling the cases where the storage allocator runs out of memory. MEM can be set to exhibit various behaviors when out of memory. They are: (1) Present an "out of memory" mes sage and terminate the program. This is the most common usage and relieves the burden on the programmer to check the return value of every malloc. (2) Return NULL to the caller. This mimics the behavior of the ANSI mal loci calloc/ realloc/ strdup. (3) Call a specified function. This is useful if the program has an "emergency reserve" pool of memory. If a program is using software virtual memory, this func tion can flush buffers to disk, thereby freeing up memory. If a program needs to do special cleanup before terminating, this function can do that before invoking case 1. • Companion techniques: To take advantage of mem_free's strategy of stomping on freed data, here's a method of detecting if pointers point to valid data or not. For each structure in general use, add the definitions:
struct ABC ( #if MEM_DEBUG #define ABC_SIGNATURE Ox1234 /* arbitrary value */ #define abc_validate(p)\ assert «p) ->id == ABC_SIGNATURE) #define abc_init(p)\ «p)->id = ABC_SIGNATURE) int id; #else #define abc_validate(p) #define abc_init(p) #endif .. other members } ;
Whenever a struct ABC is allocated p = (struct ABC *) mem_malloc(sizeof(struct ABC»; abc_init (p);
28 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 VOICE MASTER KEY ® 1* Avoid linking in buffered I/O *1 VOICE RECOGNITION static char msg£) = "Fatal error: out SYSTEM write(l,msg;sizeof(1DBg) - 1); FOR PC/COMPATIBLES & TANDY 1000 SERIES fputs(nFatalerror: out A FULL FEATURED VOICE I/O SYSTEM
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Reader Service Number 143
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 29 ~ 've used MEM for years with several large and successful products. It incorporates the suggestions of mflny users, and hq.s proved to be very useful. sprinkle the code in strategic locations with: abc_validate(p); /* verify that p points to a valid ABC */
If p doesn't point to a valid ABC, abc~ valida teO will cause an assertion faih.ire.
When All Bets Are Off MEM is no panacea (the bad news) for pointer bugs. For example, if a pointer bug trashes MEM or MEM's in ternal data structures, all bets are off. But I've used MEM for years with several large and successful products. It incor porates the suggestions of many users, and" has proved to be very useful. It's been successfully used on MS-DOS, OS/2, Suns, VMS, UNIX, and even (che~rs rising from the audience) the Macintosh! Many people resisted at first. Then after they were victimized by obscure bugs in their program, they became frustrated enough to try anything. So they installed MEM, and frequently it found the problem. Another MEM convert. In short (bets back on), a little bit of overhead for MEM is a small price to pay for :the improved debuggability. Grab it from the .Micro eBBS (503-382-7643) or order the Micro C Issue #52 disk, $6 ppd. ($8 foreign). Micro Cornucopia, P.O. Box 223, Bend, Oregon 97709, 800-888-8087. • • •
30 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 on·ulS™INTRODUCING. 4 CHAN N EL 24· b ; " QUADRATUDE-MODE COUNTER Acquires and displays position infor mation from optical encoders. Resolu tion is four times the encoder. Com plete with demo software and driver source code. $299!!!! INTRODUCTORY PRICE (add $150 for optional connector to Bauch & Lomb "glass scales".)
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©1990 Silicon Alley Inc. etude and on-axis are trademark of Silicon Alley Inc. Other brand or prod uct names are trademarks or registered trade marks of their respective holders. Prices & speci fications subject to change. Reader Service Number 177 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 31 .:;6t ",,,;
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32 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 free«void *) dl): Confusing Code? lendif IInclude
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Reader Service 72 34 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 1"'printf (nfree (x%lx) \n" ,ptr) ; *1 if (ptr != NULL) { assert(mem count> 0): mam_count--=; #if DLe int i;
i= free(ptr); assert(i = 0);
#else free(ptr): Iendif } } #endif 1* MEM_DEBUG "'I void mam init () { - if (mem inited == 0) { -mam count = 0: #if MEM_DEBUG - Bill. Bolton mem numalloc = 0: mem-maxalloc = 0; Software Tools m~alloclist.next = NULL: P.O. Box 225 #endif St. Ives, NSW Australia 2075 void mam te:rm () Scott Ladd { - 705 W. Virginia if (mam inited) Gunnisonj·.CO 81230 ( .. - #if MEM_DEBUG (303)641-6438 registerstruct mam_debug *dl: BBS: (303)641-5125 for (dl = mam alloclist.next: dl: dl = dl->next) Duck Tower { fprintf(ferr,"Unfreed pointer: "): mamyrintdl (dl) i FidoNet·1 :104/708
#if 0 fprintf(ferr,"Maxamount ever allocated=%ld bytes\n", Barney Lejeune mem_maxalloc) : 412 Estelle Dr. Carencro, LA 70520 BBS:(318)78~-7522 4p.m.· to7a.m;weekdays #endif ./* MEM DEBUG·'" / 24. hours on weekends - assert(mem count = 0); mam_inited-= 0: 300, 1200~ 2400 baud SWLVTS-BBS
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MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 35 The AT Keyboard Interface Roll Your Own
either AT only or are ~witchable between Data transmits one bit at a time. The Ever hanker to cobble up one of those ATandXT. keyboard handles clocking in both direc fancy AT keyboards to your latest project? The interface presented here offers a tions at about 10K bits per second. The If so you'll understand why this is a key ar simple, general purpose solution for current data bit is placed on the data line, ticle. (Touchy, touchyJ many one-of-a-kind or small volume ap the clock line is forced low, and then re plications. You can easily interface the leased. The data bit is then changed and venerable old 8251 USART to most CPUs, the process continues until all bits have customer of my consulting firm and it works with both the 84 key and been sent. needed a new keyboard for his 101/102 key models. A complete character transmission AZ80-based composite-video char consists of a start bit (always 0), 8 data acter generator. He liked the IBM AT The IISlandard" bits (least significant bit first), an odd par type keyboards because of their ready The AT keyboard DIN connector has: ity bit, and a stop bit (always 1). Key availability in a variety of styles. Also, (1) Clock board data should be valid on both the the size made them easy to incorporate (2) Data falling and rising edges of the clock. into his product. (3) No connection·(sometimes reset) When the keyboard receives data, it After a quick reading of the IBM AT (4) Ground latches it on the clock's rising edge. Technical Reference Manual, I figured the (5) +5 volts Either the keyboard or the computer project was easy enough. Later experi XT keyboards use pin 3 for a reset (ac can initiate a transmission, but the com ments with clone keyboards indicated, tive low), and some AT versions retained puter is always in charge. When the com however, that if you like the RS-232 this. IBM's AT Technical Reference says pin puter is too busy to be bothered by the "standard," you'll love the AT keyboard 3 is reserved, so the keyboard has to do keyboard, it pulls the clock line low. "standard." its own power-on reset. Open collectors Before the keyboard sends a character, The AT type keyboard is more com drive pins 1 and 2 so when neither side it checks the clock line. If the clock line is plicated than the XT type but offers about has anything to say, these lines stay high. high, the keyboard sends the data; other twice the speed and error checking. Be (They're pulled up by resistors on the wise, it stores the character. It can store sides, most keyboards sold now are keyboard.) up to 16 keypresses.
36 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 By Don Rowe Digital Arts P.O. Box 323 Julian, CA 92036 (619) 765-2463
The computer can interrupt a charac clock line low, the keyboard resends both ter (by forcing the clock line low) as long bytes when the clock line is released. Fig as the keyboard has not sent the 10th bit. ure 1 shows the make codes in hex for an After the 10th bit, the computer has to let 1e AT type 84 key keyboard. the keyboard finish the current character. IBM 101/102 key keyboards support If there's an error, the computer can re keyboard is more three different sets of make/break codes. quest retransmission. Set 1 is the XT code set. Each key is as When the computer has a command complicated than signed a 7 bit code. The eighth bit is 0 for to send to the keyboard, it forces the data a make code and 1 for a break code. line low. When the keyboard sees the the XT type but Set 2 is an extended 84 key code set. data line low and the clock line high, it The keys common to both the 84 and 101 clocks 10 bits (start bit, 8 data bits, parity offers about twice key keyboards use the same make/break bit), forces the data line low in acknow codes. The new keys on the cursor pad ledgement, and clocks once more. the speed and are sent with a hex EO prefix. (In other The keyboard takes the initial low words, it sends the same code sent by the level on the data line as the start bit; the error checking. equivalent key on the 84-key unit, but the first data bit must be valid on the rising code is prefixed by EO.) edge of the first clock. The keyboard re The up arrow key normally has a sponds to most commands by returning make code of hex 75 on an 84 key key a hex FA. If it detects an error, it requests when you press a key), or ''break'' codes board. Pressing the up arrow key on the retransmission with a hex FE. (sent when you release a key). A break cursor pad of a 101 key keyboard sends code is usually hex FO followed by the hex EO 75 if numlock is off and the shift The Data make code and treated as a two byte key is up. The break code would be hex Most characters are keycodes sent sequence. EO FO 75. If the Numlock key is down, from the keyboard to the computer. Key If the computer interrupts transmis the make code is hex EO 12 EO 75, which codes are either "make" codes (sent sion of the second byte by forcing the is equivalent to shift up arrow on an 84
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 37 key keyboard. The break code would be EO FO 75 EO FO 12. If the shift key is down, the make code would be EO FO 12 EO 75, which is the break code for shift and the make code for the up arrow key. The break code would then be EO· FO 75 EO 12, which is the break code for the up arrow key and the make code for the shift key. Gesundheit! Mode 3 eliminates all the confusion of mode 2 by assigning each key a unique code. Figure 2 shows the make codes in hex for mode 3 on a 101 key keyboard. Not all keyboards support mode 3. The BTC 101 key keyboard my customer ulti~ mately selected did not accept the "change mode" command, leaving me stuck in mode 2. This wouldn't be bad if we used each key for its originally intended function the computer could just ignore the hex EO prefixes. Unfortunately, some cursor pad keys were assigned new functions unrelated to their counterparts on the numeric keypad. I had to treat the EO code as an alter nate code selector, much as the regular shift, ctrl, and alt keys work on a stand ard keyboard. This gets complicated with my application because the shift and con trol key make/break codes within an EO sequence require special handling. If you must use a 101 key keyboard, I recom mend getting one that supports mode 3. Besides the keycodes, there are several command codes that the computer can send to the keyboard, and status codes which the keyboard sends to the com puter. Figure 3 shows the status codes sent from the keyboard to the computer, while Figure 4 shows the commands from the computer to the keyboard. On power up, the keyboard runs a self-test and sends a hex AA if all is well, or hex FD if it detected a problem. Ohce the diagnostics finish, the keyboard starts scanning keys and sending keycodes. It also monitors the data line for commands from the computer. I discovered an "interesting" variation in the BTC keyboard. It ran the self-test and sent a hex AA, but continued send ing hex AAs as fast as it could. If the data line was forced low, the keyboard clocked in the data, but it ignored all commands and immediately resumed sending hex AAs. After much hair pulling, teeth gnash ing, and fruitless phone calls to BTC, I fi nally noticed that the AAs were sent with even parity rather than the usual
38 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 ;9682:9991 »xref=<9b817>« call sl Built-in BIOS Unlimited file EV ax : 9682: 89M ) >xref ==<96888>( < Preprocessor size ... Fully :coBVersioB ta\le automatic ..v is -.... Ie- ;8682:9987 .ov al Subrout iwe ; 869Z:ee99 xor si ItIh' ;e69Z:eeeb Origin :Load register WI 9 ..v : e69Z:ee8Il All Data formats ;9692:9919 .av bx including DB, OW, Batch mode and :»») Conversion Section Xref address DO & DUP interactive les di Yard :9692:9912 »xref==<96888>« Address ;coaversioa table l£s bx l ------b ; 969Z : 8916 EVZX ex Help ;969Z:891b get byte count repz s t t=:=== ;9692:991£ ;Store AL at £S:[DI] EXE Unpacker Locates sti ;9692:9921 included! Data/Code :Turn 0" Interrupts boundaries : : ;a69Z:992Z ;9692:9925 DOS:1c-tcraiaate
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40 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 The /DTR output connects to the clock line via an open-collector driver, Figure 7-Program Structures forcing the line low as needed to inhibit further transmissions. /DTR can clock IF condition the 8251 "manually," giving it a push to Routine to do only if condition is true Branch to END_IF get started. Once the start bit appears on ELSE the data line and the clock line is re Optional routine to do only if condition is false leased, the keyboard takes over. END_IF What happens if the keyboard and WHILE condition 8251 both. try to transmit at the same Test condition and branch to END WHILE if condition is false time? A fi{hht! Suppose the keyboard was Routine to do if condition is tr;e . Branch back to WHILE and check condition again on the 10 bit. The keyboard continues END_WHILE clocking with both the 8251 and key board driving the data line simul UNTIL condition Routine 'here is always done taneously. The keyboard might notice Test condition at the end of the routine that the clock line was forced low. But if If condition is false, branch back to UNTIL END_UNTIL the 8251 shifted a 1 onto the data line, the keyboard would not notice that a charac CALL subroutine ter was waiting, possibly hanging the RETURN from subroutine system. I used the other half of the 74LS74 as ;;Comments are preceded by semicolons a ''keyboard now transmitting" detector. Whenever the data line goes low, as it • • • must on a start bit, it clears the 74LS74, forcing the Q output to O. The rising edge of RxRDY sets Q high again, which is monitored via /DSR. Since the computer still can't tell how
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Reader Service Number 194 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 41 many bits have been sent, it just waits to receive the character. It won't matter if both begin sending at the same time as long as the clock line is forced low before the keyboard sends its 10th bit. Either way, the computer wins.
The Software Rather than present a complete pro gram for a particular CPU, I'll stick to pseudo-code. See Figure 7 for the pro gram structures I use. For an overview of the 8251's internal registers, refer to Figure 8. See Figure 9 for the 8251 initialization.
Alternate Solutions Since all the action takes place on just two lines, you could do everything "manually" if your system had a couple of spare I/O bits and lots of spare time. The software would be much more com plicated since you would have to con tinuously monitor the clock and data lines. One approach would be to leave the clock line low, raising it only when con venient and watching to see if the key board has anything to say. If no trans mission begins within a reasonable time, lower the clock line again and go about your business. If an interrupt is available for the clock line, you could avoid timing loops, but you must service the interrupt quickly. XTs can get by with just a shift regis ter, but the XT data format only requires a start bit and 8 data bits. You could use other serial chips, but the "old fashioned" 8251 with its dedi cated RxRDY line is simple. Newer chips usually have a single interrupt line that triggers on several different events. This may not be a problem if you can always service interrupts quickly. The 2651 is similar to the 8251. It costs more and may be harder to find, but timing is less critical and no chip clock is needed. If CPU overhead must be kept to a minimum, you could add more logic to control the write sequence completely. You can only determine the ultimate solution for your system by carefully studying your needs. If you only need to receive, you can get by with a simpler circuit. A few spare gates or chips may also influence your design. And, of course, if you hand-select keyboards .... • • •
42 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-Apri11990 RECEIVE Write character to 8251 FLAG=false Set /DTR high UNTIL FLAG=true Set /DTR low ;:Clock start bit to serial output CALL RX CHAR Delay 1ms with clock low in case kbd wants to send IF this-character is a hex FO break code Set /DTRhigh ; ; Clock high, let kbdsee l,ow data Set /RTS low UNTIL 8251.transmitterempty flag is set UNTIL not hex FO break code Check 8251 transmitter status CALL RX_CHAR ;;FO may be re-sent END_UNTIL. END UNTIL Set /DTRlowtoinhibit keyboard Set-/RTS high Delay 1ms while kbd forces data low to acknowledge IF this is a shift key Enable 8251 receiver SHIFT = false Set /DTR high END_IF CALL RX_CHAR ;;Get FA or FE ELSE ;;Make codes processed here END_UNTIL IF this is a shift key RETURN SHIFT = true ELSE FLAG = true ;;Got a keeper END_IF • • • END_IF END_UNTIL RETURN
i;TRANSMIT subroutine ;iSend a command to the keyboard
TRANSMIT IF /DSR input is 0 ;;Keyboard is sending if /DSR=O CALL RX CHAR ;;Wait for transmit from kbd Do something with keypress just received END IF UNTiL character received is hex FA acknowledge Set /DTR low Disable 8251 receiver;;will hear its own echo Enable 8251 transmitter
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Reader Service Number 127 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 43 Filling In The Holes On Your XT Adding Memory The Cheap Way
wasn't long before I found out how Figure 1 lists all the significant lines. Want an extra 128K to house TSRs or handy it was to have a private chunk of for a RAM disk? Want a battery backed memory. The Home Brew Approach memory space? Stay tuned. This project is Since I don't have a Kaypro at home, Since I had a couple of 32K static classic Micro C. Cheap. I began casting about for a way to im RAMS on hand, I decided to take the plement this feature. It had to follow build-a-board approach. I priced out the Shannon's Rules of Projects: standard prototype boards, but they're a o, I'm not talking about your (1) It must be cheap. little pricey and have much more room XT's ventilation holes, I'm talk (2) It must be easy to do. than I needed. Then, whilst wandering Ning about those interesting gaps (3) It must have a good chance of around my local Radio Shack store, I in its memory map. You can use them' working. noticed they have a new board (Part quite profitably. (4) It must be cheap. Number 276-192) which has the proper Most of you know that, even though Did I mention it shouldn't cost very finger spacing (0.1 ") and more contacts the 8088 can address up to 1 megabyte, much? Well, it boils down to a classic (72) than needed (62). It's only big DOS limits you to the first 640K. The build-or-buy decision. Naturally, I de enough to make a half card, but that's 8088 has what is known as a segmented cided to do both. big enough for me. Also, it's only $5. architecture, and we refer to the seg You have to nibble off the extra con ments as 0000:0000, 1000:0000, and so What We Have To Work With tact fingers (don't use your teeth) and forth, up to FOOO:OOOO. For convenience, The makers of the IBM PC (and the cut the board down to size (use another let's call these the 0 block, 1 block .. , F clone folks) have thoughtfully provided half-size card as a template), but this block. The first ten block~ (blocks 0 us with access to all the signals and con takes only a minute or two. Fashion through 9) access the normal 640K. trol lines we'll need; we call them slots. some sort of attachment to a spare blank
What's The Rest Of It For? The remainder of the addressable memory has been set aside for special purposes. In the B block we find the space for 'video, both monochrome and CGA. Right in the middle of the C block is where the hard disk controller BIOS lives. Finally, up in the attic at the F block we find the ROM BIOS and, if you have a true-blue XT, ROM BASIC. On a monochrome XT, blocks A, D, and E are empty (an EGA or VGA sys tem will also use the A block and the beginning of C block). Anyway, at least D and E blocks (128K) aren't doing any thing.
How Can I Get At It? I had known all this, in a vague way, for some time, but I didn't think much about it until my last job (working with Kaypro PCs). These PCs used three rows of 256K RAM chips and mapped the upper 128K into blocks D and E. It Board Photo by John Zack.
44 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 By Larry Shannon 5615 Truscott Terrace Lakeview, NY 14085
suIting in MEMRQ going low. This Figure l-IBM Pc/XT JJSlot" would gate off the 74LS138 decoder and also Read/Write. By inverting 1e makers of MEMR I get MEMW. A little bit back REAR OF COMPUTER wards, but it works fine. the IBM PC (and Address lines A18 and A19 are al t ways high when accessing this part of the clone folks) memory so I used them to generate the negative gating signal for the decoder. have thoughtfully The '138 generates chip select for blocks DODO, D800, EOOO, and E800-one CS provided us with for each chip. The spare gate on the '~O can be used access to all the with another '138 for selecting the A block region. signals and control There are· a lot of spare select lines doing nothing, but the chips cost about lines we'll need ... 50¢ apiece so I figured it wasn't much of a waste.
Tips From The Top bracket; I used a short piece of 1/2." Some tips I either figured out or aluminum angle and #4-40 hardware. stumbled onto: After setting up the board, the rest of (1) Most of the connections are to the the project went swiftly. I obtained two "A" side of the slot. Orient the board so more static RAMs and the junk box the solder side faces the "B" side, and yielded some wire wrap sockets. use a strip of single post headers. Solder The circuit is very simple (see Figure through and you can now wire to a firm 2). I've done no buffering since my post. motherboard (a Wavemate Bullet) (2) Spot solder the sockets a few buffers all the slots. The IBM is not places to anchor them, but don't solder buffered, except on slot J7, so be a little all the pins. Not necessary. careful. I've tried my board on an IBM (3) Use wire-wrap wire (#30) and XT with no problems. The additional tweezers to wrap the wires around the complexity of buffering would have posts. After you've soldered all wires to edged it out of the simple project class, a pin, clip it short. If you wire wrap so I didn't do it. them, the board will wind up too thick and will slop over to the next slot. Some Details (4) Use different colored wire for IBM thoughtfully brought out data lines, address lines, etc. Much eas memory read (MEMR) and memory ier to debug. Wire all the same-color write (MEMW) to separate pins. I connections at once. figured that if a memory access was (5) Take frequent breaks! You can go going on, one of them would be low, so buggy peering at those teeny wires for the output of the 74LSOO nand gate too long. would be high. If no memory requests (6) I built the board to cover the D were going on, both would be high, re- and E blocks first; one more 74LS138
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 45 decoder gives me chip selects for the A After carefully studying Computer Prime It! . block. You can add this on later. The Shopper, I located two sources. Elec These boards use nine chips per additional memory chips can be piggy trified Discounters sells the board fully bank (with parity). DOS does not initial backed on existing chips. Solder all legs populated for $69, and American De ize anything above 640K, so if you try except chip select (pins 20 and 22). sign Components sells the board and to use it you'll get a "parity check" Connect the supply voltage to the memory separately. Don't overlook flea message. The solution is to write up TTL chips if you're going to battery markets and swap meets. You can rec there before reading anything. I have a back up the board. You need not back ognize the board by its three rows of little utility that fills a given block with up the A block. twelve memory sockets and the DIP zeros and I run it in the AUTOEXEC switch in the upper right-hand corner. file. The Commercial Approach Figure 3 shows the dip switch con At one time, IBM apparently sold an figurations and memory requirements How Fast Is It? add-on memory card that could be for either a 64K chunk for the A block This commercial board is fully mapped almost anywhere, and clone or a 128K piece for the D and E blocks. buffered so there should be no problem manufacturers followed suit. This was Unfortunately, it isn't possible to map with any machine. But, because of their the so-called 64/256 memory card and both onto a single board. If you're using delay structure, they only run at a is now considered obsolete. To you and EGA, you probably can't use the A pokey 4.77 MHz. This is okay, too, me, obsolete means cheap! block anyhow. 'cause most clones run their I/O chan-
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Reader Service Number 129 nels at this speed to ensure compati bility. The home brew board can run up to 10 MHz or so, depending on the speed of the SRAMs you get, so you can also use it on an AT clone. While nobody seems to spell it out, you can run 8-bit cards in the 16-bit slots of an AT. It checks its auxiliary slot .to determine if you have a 16-bit board. .
Now That I've Got It, What Do I Do With It? Actually, I'm presenting this back wards; I had definite plans for the extra memory and then went about finding a way to get it. Now, I'm showing you how to build it and then telling you at the end what to do with it. Offhand, I've found one poor and three very good uses for. this virgin territory. (1) Use it as an extra data storage area. This is the poor reason. It's per fectly doable, of course, but it requires some extra programming and hardly seems worth the effort. We'll say no more about this option. (2) Make a RAMDISK. This makes sense. If you're using MS-DOS version spooler, WAITASEC (scrollable screen phy, I wired up the circuit of Figure 2. 3.2 or so, you got a program called buffer), and a handful of miscellaneous The jack Jl was scrounged from an old VDISK. This can be used to establish a other TSRs. All told, they took up over transistor radio. I used that rather than RAM DISK in the D and E blocks. By 200K of my precious DOS memory. a coin battery because I didn't have a the way, the IBM version of VDISK (in So ... I had to find a way to put these holder (or a battery). Besides, I didn't PC-DOS) won't let you do it. guys out of the way and ease the know how much current these little fel While this is an excellent use for this dreaded ramcram. lows would draw under standby condi newfound memory, there is an even I dood it. It wasn't really that tough, tions. better method. The public domain pro but you have to be careful in controlling The XT bus has two 5 volt pins. I gram EDISK is specifically written to set the revectoring a typical TSR does. If it used one for the TTL chips and the up a RAM DISK in the D and E areas. It wants to capture INT 21H, which it also other for the RAM. This separation has the additional virtue that it will sur uses to reset the vectors, the self refer made it easy to wire in the backup cir vive a reboot! ence can get out of hand! cuit. You don't want to provide back-up As I do a lot of assembly program Anyway, it's done. Now my TSRs power for the TTL chips! ming, I'm always crashing the system. politely get out of the way and I make Diode Dl blocks the system 5 volts With this program, I just reboot and my do with 576K of available RAM for from back-charging the battery, and files are still there. In fact, the way my DOS. diode D2 keeps the battery from trying BIOS works, this RAMDISK even sur (4) Add more DOS memory-It to run the whole computer. You can use vives a reset, so I'm really protected. seems that an old trick is to take any diode for Dl. D2 has special re Since I use static RAM to cover the D memory in the A block and fake DOS quirements, and thereby hangs a tale. and E blocks, I modified EDISK slightly into thinking it has more than 640K (to EDISK-S) for use with a battery (704K, actually). I have some PD soft Silicon Follies backup system I'm building. With this ware that purports to do this and I I initially used a little silicon diode in place, it will survive everything, even would dearly love to make it happen. for D2, but operation of the board was a power off. You can't imagine how But my BIOS is such that I haven't erratic: IIbad sector" messages at ran handy that is when you're debugging figured out how to make it work. do~, etc. When I measured the voltage code that plays around with the system. You're welcome to tryon your machine. it turned out my system voltage was Dynamite stuff. 4.86 volts. This is within spec and (3) Load your TSRs up there. This Battery Backup everything works reliably, but the volt notion occurred to me after I played I've always found battery backup age drop across the silicon diode was with the board for a few days. I usually schemes more complicated than they about .5 volts. So the operating voltage run with SideKick and CED (command need be-at least in my opinion. So, in on the RAMs was about 4.4 volts. This editor) in place, a good size print line with my "keep it simple" philoso- is out of spec and caused weird things.
48 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 I assumed a germanium diode idle at several milliamps and wouldn't from any number of sources-look for would solve the problem, but the cur hold data worth beans. the best prices. rent load worried me. The spec sheets Quarter-watt resistors are fine; use a The speed doesn't matter on an XT; talked about 60 mA operating current. resistor pack if you have one, but it's they don't make static RAM slow With 4 RAM chips, that's nearly a quar easier to thread separate leads among enough to make a difference. If you ter of an amp. the wires. The value isn't critical, but I build the board for an AT, 120 ns parts I had visions of popping noises and wouldn't go much below 5K. should work on an 8 MHz bus with no little wisps of smoke. I don't mind light Final current draw in backup mode wait states. Try to get low-power (LP) emitting diodes, but I didn't want a is about 2 JlAmp. I still don't have a versions if you want to make the board flame emitting diode! coin battery or a holder, so I put two battery backed up. Don't forget flea AA cells in a little holder and connect it markets. But I Measured It to the jack Jl. Makes it easy to replace The commercial boards (XTs only) So ... get out the old Simpson and batteries without removing the case. are available from the sources men let's see. What's this-l00 microamps? They should last a long time. tioned and surely other places. And 64K Hmmm. Let's try reading and writing memory chips (200 ns is okay) should to it. Aha! The needle bounces around be a drug on the market. I've seen them when there's memory activity, but for less than a buck apiece. otherwise almost nothing. Apparently, that 60 mA figure only applies to Software read/write action. It appeared a ger All (non-commercial) software men manium diode would handle the A RAMdisk that tioned above is available from me for $5 steady state load no problem, and a and a blank floppy. It includes source small electrolytic helps with the pulse is a "little bit (where I have it) and ready-to-run load. .COM files. Lengthy .DOC files describe By the way, I still had to select unreliable" is just what you need to know to set them up diodes to get one with low forward in excruciatingly minute detail. (Editor's voltage drop. Old style lN34s won't like a "little bit note: You can also find the software on the hack it. I had a batch of unknown com Micro C BBS (503-382-7643) or on the puter diodes and tested them until I pregnant." Issue #52 disk, available from Micro C for found some with less than 0.25 volt $6 U.S., $8 foreign.) drop. The system now perks along hap Incidentally, the software I wrote pily with about 4.7 operating volts. If was written for Eric Isaacson's A86 as your system board is closer to a nomi VVarning!VVarning!VVarning! sembler. It's no big deal to make it nal 5 volts, you may not have this prob This battery backup system is rather ready for MASM. But A86 is so much lem. simple minded though I've been using slicker and faster than MASM, there's it with no problems for some time. But, no real reason to do that. If you haven't And To Cap It Off ... you never know .... Manufacturers tried A86 you're in for a very pleasant Originally I had used a 10 JlF capaci specify power up and power down surprise. While this article is not about tor as an aid to smoothing out the cur sequences for static RAM and I'm prob A86, I'm so hot on it that I'll send you rent peaks when writing, and to save ably violating at least some of the rules. the latest version (v3.19) for another $5 the diode as explained above. It turns (An engineer from Hitachi told me that and a blank floppy. out that with this relatively skimpy if I used HCT instead of LS TTL chips, amount of capacitance, some memory I'd have less trouble with RAM losing Sources Mentioned positions would change during the its memory. But I haven't had any power off/on cycle. problems.) American Design Components A RAMdisk that is a "little bit unreli 815 Fairview Ave. able" is just like a "little bit pregnant." An Embarrassment Of Riches P.O. Box 220 Drove me crazy until I thought of beef It's just not possible to put every Fairview, NJ 07022 ing it up. Using 2000 JlF worked but thing in just 192K; I can't put all the (800) 524-0809 was a bit of overkill; 100 - 200 JlF is TSRs I want up there and still run the (201) 941-5000 (in NJ) plenty. nonvolatile RAMDISK, too. Small batch (Editor's note: Tantalum electrolytics are files rename preset AUTOEXEC and Electrified Discounters definitely better than standard because of CONFIG files so I can set the machine 1066 Sherman Ave. their low impedance.) up as I need it. You'll probably think of Hamden, CT 06514 other ways to do what you want. The (203) 287-1976 ... The Piece de Resistance possibilities are endless. The 10K resistors ensure that the Static RAMs - 43256 etc. chip select and write lines will be nailed VVhere To Get The Stuff I've seen these as low as $10 each high except when driven low. When the As mentioned, the boards for the (120 ns). Check Computer Shopper for power goes off, some of these lines have home brew memory are available from suppliers. a tendency to float. Before installing the Radio Shack, as are the sockets and resistors, I noticed that the chips would wire. The static RAMS are available ••• MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 49 Logic Families Selecting The Right Chip For The Job
you have to consider three kinds of I ran an experiment (see Figure 1) and I remember standing in a computer hard power. The first two are obvious. They measured 1 milliamp coming out of an ware lab one sunny afternoon watching the are: input pin from a 7404. I then checked the instructor field questions. He handled every 1. The current that is sent out the LS version. The current coming out its in thing with the aplomb of years of practice, chip's outputs. puts was about 1;5 as much. I also ran the until a fellow asked why a 74ALS10 2. The current the chip uses for its experiment for CMOS. I saw some leak wouldn't work as a replacement for a 7410. own operation. (Usually called static or age, but it was less than a microamp "They're different," the instructor mumbled, quiescent current.) (1i1000 as much). "I think." Sinking Fast This current leakage means that if you ack in the old days, you used 7400 want to pull the input of a 7404 to series TTL (Transistor Transistor ground (logic 0), whatever you connect to BLogic) chips when you wanted to pull that input down has to draw 1 milli build a logic circuit. They were all you amp away from that input. We call this had. If you wanted a 7404 hex inverter, "sinking" current because it involves you ordered a 7404 hex inverter. taking someone else's current and sink Now, however, it's not that simple. ing it to ground. Not only do you have to You can select from the 74L series (Low drain the current away, if you want to power), 74H (High power), 74C (CMOS), run fast, you have to be quick about it. 74F (Fast), 74S (Schottky), 74LS (Low According to the Texas Instruments power. Schottky), 74AS (Advanced TTL Databook, the 7404 and 74L04 use the Schottky), 74ALS (Advanced Low power same arrangement of transistors, diodes, Schottky), 74HC (High speed CMOS), Part of the reason chips draw static and resistors (see Figure 2). The only 74HCT . (High speed CMOS with TTL current is that transistors aren't perfect. difference between a 7404 and a 74L04 is input levels), 74AC (Advanced CMOS), (Many of us have this problem). theoreti that the resistor values in the L04 are ten and 74ACT (Advanced CMOS with TTL cally, transistors are switches that tum on times as high as they are in the 7404. The input levels). Of course, I haven't even and off. In reality (oh no, not that), tran circuit is the same, but the higher resistor mentioned the CD4000 or the HE4000 sistors are slightly on even when they're values allow only 1;10 the current to pass CMOS families, or even ECL (Emitter off. through. Coupled Logic) .... On CMOS chips, the leakage of cur Unfortunately, TTL needs a lot of All the chips in the 7400 families have rent through the transistors accounts for power to run fast; the more power it has, the same pin assignments and do the almost all the quiescent power usage. the faster it can "clamp" or settle all the same logical functions. Sometimes, (CMOS transistors are particularly good transistors that have to switch. When you though, the chips aren't direct replace switches.) The older TTL chips not only have less current, things take longer to ments for each other because of different have older style transistors, but their de fill up and settle down. So the 74L electrical properties. For instance, TTL signers threw in a few resistors and family, with only 1i1O the current, also logic voltage levels are lower than CMOS whatever other leaky odds and ends they runs at only 1;10 the speed of regular TTL levels, and internally the chips work a lot happened to have at their benches. (which is already bloody slow). differently. So, a TTL 7404 at rest can draw as In this same vein, the 74H family uses However, you could safely replace many as 30 milliamps; a 74HC04 draws twice as much power as 7400 and goes that 7404 inverter with a 74S04 (for only 2 microamps (1/15,000 as much). twice the speed. TTL is already a power speed) or a 74LS04 (lower power) or a When I mentioned that 7400s leak, I hog, so the only people who use the H 74HCT04 (for speed and lower power). wasn't just talking about current trickling series are toaster manufacturers. out of the outputs or through the innards; Three Kinds Of Power 7400s even leak out their inputs. (Hardly Where The Input Leakage Comes From When you talk about power usage, box trained, if you ask me.) If you look at the schematic for a 7404,
50 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 By Nathan Engle 6465 Piping Rock Lane #30 Indianapolis, IN 46254
the source of the current out the inputs is tors-plus whatever tiny amount of cur obvious. The 7404 has a pullup resistor rent manages to trickle through from the built into every input. When somebody rest of the circuit. This means that CMOS tries to pull the input to ground (for in 1eoreticallY, chips let their inputs dangle; they don't stance, through an ammeter), current guarantee them to be either 1 or 0 when flows through the pullup resistor and the transistors are they're disconnected. If you want them to transistor base. (Look at Figure 2 again.) be something, it's your responsibility. CMOS chips differ in a couple of switches that turn And you do want to connect them to ways. One is that the transistors used in something; if you don't, unpleasant con CMOS have a very high input im on and off. In sequences can occur. When that happens, pedance. This limits the current flow be you start to have problems with the other tween the input (base) of the transistor reality (oh no, not kind of power. and the other parts. The transistors in TIL chips aren't like that, so they allow a that), transistors The Other Kind Of Power (Add lot of juice to slosh around. IITwilight Zone" Music As Another difference is that CMOS are slightly on even Appropriate> chips don't pull up their inputs. The only The other power consumption is current you have to drain away to pull a when they're off. called "dynamic" usage. Because of the CMOS input to ground is the charge way output drivers work, all these logic stored on the base of the input transis- families (both CMOS and TIL) consume
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 51 a little extra gulp of power when their operation is oscillation. We start with al 1 or 0, even when the outside world outputs switch from 1 to 0, or vice versa most the same setup as before. The ex thinks it's somewhere between. (see Figure 3). ample is a CMOS inverter gate. But in If a bouncing reference voltage fools a The extra gulp is due to each family of stead of a dangling input, this time we chip into believing that its input is either logic chips having characteristic trigger use a 2.1 volt source so we know that the a 0 or I, it shuts off one of the output voltages that define what it's going to input will fall in the linear region all the drivers. Almost immediately, the internal call a 0 and what it's going to call a 1. For time. This makes both output drivers voltage levels begin to return to normal. CMOS families, the 0 trigger voltage is tum on (partially). When the reference levels are close 1.35 volts (or 30% of Ved; anything less As before, when both driver transis enough to normal, the chip realizes that than 1.35 volts is a logic o. The 1 trigger tors switch on, the chip's current usage the input is not 1 or 0, so both output voltage is 3.15 volts (or .70% of Vee); any jumps quickly. In fact, the current jumps drivers tum on again. thing above 3.15 volts is a logic 1. so quickly that the local reference voltage This brings back the current surge, A grey area exists between 1 and 0 levels for Vcc and ground get distorted. and the day wears on. Depending on _where there's no guarantee the input will Chip leads (the wires that come out of things like the amount of charge required be either 1 or o. We sometimes refer to an IC chip package) cause this distortion to tum on the output drivers, the rate of this area as the ''linear region" because, by having something called "parasitic" this oscillation can go as high as 100 when an input is in this region, the out inductance. Any wire that has current MHz. put driver transistors begin to exhibit moving through it generates a magnetic linear characteristics (like amplifiers in field. The magnetic field causes the wire Bypass Capacitors stead of switches). For several reasons, to resist increases and decreases in cur Current spikes caused by switching linear mode is something to avoid. rent flow. For chips like logic circuits, the output drivers are the reason you have to For example, when an input voltage current flow can change a lot. Whenever add bypass capacitors to digital circuits. falls in the linear region, both the high it does change, parasitic inductance can Placing a capacitor between the power and low output transistors are partially cause a sort of bouncing effect. and ground of each chip is like putting a turned on (Figure 3c). When this hap This effect is usually called ground tank on a water heater. When you take a pens, it creates a low resistance path con bounce, even though it occurs in the Vee shower, all the water comes from the necting +5 volts and ground. When the level as well. This naming convention utility company. If you want to shower resistance drops, current flows through probably arises because most of these with hot water, you have to store enough the driver transistors. The output drivers logic families use ground as their refer hot water beforehand. will gulp current at this increased rate as ence voltage. Capacitors store a charge the way a long as the input remains in the uncer The bouncing caused by the switching water heater tank holds water. When a tain region or until the chip bums out. gulp can be bad enough to make a chip chip's output drivers switch and the cur malfunction. When the internal reference rent flow surges, the bypass capacitor We Got Rhythm voltages are distorted, a chip can be supplies the extra current to the chip. Another consequence of linear mode fooled into thinking that its input level is Without the capacitor, the ripples caused
52 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 by output switching could affect other chips the same way they affect the one CITIZEN PRINTERS that's switching. One sideline point: you connect the Citizen 120D 120/25 CPS 80 COL $165.00 bypass caps between +5 and ground at Citizen 180D 180/35 CPS 80 COL $180.00 every Ie, trying to keep the cap's leads as Citizen HSP500 300/66 CPS 80 $350.00 short as possible. Often you can't get the Citizen HSP550 300/66 CPS 120 caps the same distance from +5 and $475.00 ground. That's okay. A good rule of Citizen GSX140 200 CPS 24 PIN $345.00 thumb for bypass caps is to place one as close as possible to every ground pin. GOLDSTAR MONITORS The distance to +5 is less important (but MBM-1210A 12" TTL AMBER $ 90.00 still keep it short). MBM-1401A 14" Flar Screen TTL $135.00 MCH-1420 14" EGA 640x350 $345.00 Schmitt Triggers MCH-1430 14" VGA 640x480 $375.00 This linear region problem has been around for a long time. It's been present VIDEO CARDS in every family all the way back to TTL, ATI VIP Card VGA,CGA,EGA,MGA, so chip designers have had some time to ANALOG AND TTL 800x560 $175.00 think about it. ATI VGA Wonder 256 1024x768 They've come up with a solution. If $225.00 you know you're going to have an input AT! VGA Wonder 256 16 bit $375.00 to your circuit that will be in the linear Paradise Basic EGA 640x350 $ 99.00 region very long, you can use chips with Paradise Basic VGA 640x480 $175.00 a special kind of input called a Schmitt Paradise VGA Plus 800x600 $199.00 trigger. Paridise VGA Plus 16 Bit $275.00 A Schmitt trigger is an extra step that gets added to a normal input to make the HARD DRIVE CONTROLLERS DOR XT & AT output waveform cleaner. If you try to use normal inputs with slow rising or WD WX1 Auto Config PC/XT $ 65.00 dropping signals, the output of the gate WD WX2 Auto Config PC/XT $ 55.00 can oscillate or jitter during the time the LONGSHINE LCS-6210D PC/XT $ 45.00 input lies in the linear region. But with Schmitt triggers, the extra WD WAH AT 16 Bit 2 Hard Drive $ 75.00 step lets the input trigger once. After that WD 1003SM1 AT 2:1 Int. $ 99.00 it clamps out any jittering until the input WD 1003SM2 Hard/Floppy 2:1 $125.00 has settled to a real 1 or a real O. Effec WD 1006SM1 AT 1:1 8K Cashe $125.00 tively, it's a guard that takes control WD 1006MS2 Hard/Floppy 1:1 $135.00 when the input is in the linear region; it WD 1003SR1 RLL 2:1 Int $125.00 also substitutes a clean, correct output WD 1003SR2 RRL Hard/Floppy $135.00 signal for the garbage that I normally see WD 1006SR1 RLL 1:1 8K Cashe $135.00 coming out of things I design. WD 1003SR2 RLL Hard/Floppy $145.00 When I first heard about Schmitt trig gers, I thought, "They must not have a SEAGATE DRIVES AND CONTROLLER IN STOCK linear region, eh? Just switch at 50% Vcc and that's that." Well, it's not quite that Please call for current price. simple. An application note in the Signet ics HCMOS Designer's Guide burst my ********** 2400 BAUD MODEM ************** bubble. The Schmitt stage still has a by Computer Peripherals linear region, and current use still goes 2400 Baud Internal and Software $85.00 up when the input is in it. But the cur 2400 Baud External and Software $140.00 rent use is less than it would be for nor mal chips, mostly because of what's hap CASCADE ELECTRONICS, INC. pening (or to be more exact, what's not ROUTE 1 BOX 8 happening) to the rest of the chip. (Engle's Axiom: Always read the applica RANDOLPH, MN 55065 tion notes. You get a whole bunch of ex 507-645-7997 amples and design tips, intermixed with dis cussions of things you haven't considered. Please ADD shipping on all Orders This isn't school anymore; all exams are now COD Add $3.00 Credit Card ADD 5% open book. You got crib notes? Use 'em!) MN Add 6% Sales Tax Subject to change In several places here I've griped Reader Service Number 15 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 53 about how you should connect unused a silicon substrate, so they're very small 74S, 74F, and 74AS are all very fast, inputs on CMOS chips. I'm lazy; I don't and close together. The components are but they're also fairly power-hungry. 74S like to do it. But to be completely fair, I made by alternating layers of metal oxide draws the most current, but it's an older think I should also mention that every and silicon on top of a substrate. When technology so you have to expect that. TTL application note I've read advises you put them all together, they make a (After all, who's going to come out with you to "terminate" unused inputs. That sort of 3D circuit. a product line with the primary feature means just connecting them to either +5 Unfortunately, the silicon in the space of using more power than 74S?) 74AS is volts or ground so that they'll have a de between components can act like a tran the fastest, and the ·newest, of the tot. I fined level. sistor-an unintentional or "parasitic" haven't seen AS advertised in any of the If you follow the rules, you should do transistor. (Gives you an idea what chip mail order places yet; maybe in a couple the same thing for TTL designs that you designers think about them.) Under nor years. do for CMOS. The difference arises mal conditions, they don't do anything. 74HC is nice when you have low when, for whatever reason, you connect Things like very high supply voltage power requirements and you don't need something wrong or forget to connect it levels and application of negative vol to run much faster than 74LS. A good ex at all. TTL families may still work. CMOS tages to output pins cause them to ap ample application is a battery powered probably won't. And that's not all. Some pear. In general, anything that makes data collection device. However, harping times the CMOS chips will go into a sort current flow in the wrong direction turns back to my favorite theme, I still prefer to of auto-self-destruct mode .... them on. use chips that won't self-destruct if I con Once the parasitic transistors switch nect something wrong (or not at all). Latch-up on, they allow so much current to pass 74AC is a fairly new CMOS family. "Latch-up" is another problem and it through the chip that the condition gets It's very similar to HC except for a much happens with all the CMOS families, locked-in, even when you've removed smaller component size. That gives it a though it's not as bad with new ones as the original cause. The current flow can substantial performance increase over it was in the old days. (I've read that this . go up into the hundreds of milliamps HC (it can run up to 100 MHz) while re happens to som~ TTL families, too, but (but not for long). It can be more than taining all the standard advantages -and I've never had it happen to me.) enough to destroy the chip. shortcomings of CMOS: low power, etc. CMOS logic chips are built out of cir One way to tell that a chip is latched The TTL input level versions of AC cuits that have been squished down onto up is that it will be very hot to the touch. CMOS logic chips usually run at room temperature, unless they happen to pass large amounts of current (i.e., they're PC TIMER TOOLS latched up). Of course, by the time you locate the problem this way, the chip will PCHRT is the definitive answer to execution pro filing and embedded timer requirements in a probably be long gone. PClMSDOS environment. 46 functions manage three distinct classes of high resolution timer Free Advice On Logic Chips functionality: I'm calling this section free advice be 21 functions implement multiple microsecond cause, like most free advice, it's worth timers. Timers may be stopped, started, sus just about what you paid for it. However, pended, resumed, named, queried, and after using some of these families, I have complete reports of all timer activity may be some impressions and opinions about generated with a single function call. them. 16 functions manage microsecond timers that My favorite logic family for prototyp may be inserted in virtually any PC interrupt vec ing is 74LS. LS runs on about the same tor. Interrupt timers may have results listed by in amount of power as 74L, but runs as fast terrupt function requested, so BIOS, DOS, and as normal 7400 TTL. LS uses more power :tt()~lllal~r'(ITLJ~1?ic·'il· •.•· y()~ta~~is EMS interrupts may be profiled effortlessly I than CMOS, but the pullup resistors on n()t~J1°tlgljt()driv~.. C:l\1:()S.jJ1l'ttt~1 ~uta. pull~u 1'.regist~r.(Rl)caJ1 b~ 9 functions implement precision microsecond 74LS inputs can save a lot of headaches if delays, perfect for interfacing data acquisition things aren't connected exactly as they .tJ.~e~.t().~~lllp·JheJeyelup.··.t()'Yh.at and process control hardware where precise should be. Maybe most important of all: C:M()Sexpeds. timing is required. LS is very common and, therefore, fairly PCHRT includes libraries for TC, TP, and MSC, inexpensive. That means you don't have example programs, manual, full source, and is to pay so much for· replacements when and HC (ACT and HCT) can be useful, $49.95 ppd' USA, elsewhere add $4.00. VISAJ your design starts talking with smoke but they're not the only way to get TTL MC accepted. A 30 day "No Questions Asked" signals. to drive CMOS inputs. Check out Figure money back guarantee insures your satisfaction. Call or write for our seven page brochure. ALS is a nice variation on LS; it's 4. It shows how to go about it. By adding faster and uses half the power. But the a pullup resistor, you boost the output of chips usually cost more than the equiv a TTL chip to an acceptable CMOS level. RYLEDESIGN alent LS devices. Recently, Jameco ran a When the TTL chip wants to drive a logic POB 22, Mt. Pleasant, MI48804 sale, so I stocked up. Some of the prices a, it sinks all the current from the pullup 517-n3{)587 are lower than for LS because they're try resistor so the CMOS input reads O. , ing to close out their stock. I've also seen (but never used) another Reader Service Number 171 54 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 family, HCTLS. I read an HCTLS Another recent breakthrough, also that you want to buy a whole lot of their databook and it looks like just an im from TI, is the BiQRTT. The letters stand chips as soon as you can figure out what proved version of the HCT family. The for "Bipolar Quantum Resonant Tunnel the part numbers are.... specs for HCTLS are a little more strin ling Transistor." TI claims that BiQRTT gent than for HCT. HCTLS outputs have based devices could be 100 times denser Bibliography just as much drive as LS (HC and HCT and 1,000 times faster than today's best. I ITL Cookbook, by Don Lancaster, 1974, provide only half as much drive). The think lOOK ECL is supposed to switch in Sams, ISBN 0-672-21035-5. main result of the tighter specs is that 100 picoseconds or less. TI's best measur CMOS Cookbook, by Don Lancaster, HCTLS can be connected directly to just ing equipment isn't quite equal to the 1988, Sams, ISBN 0-672-22459-3. about any other logic family without any task of measuring the switching speed of Standard ITL Databook, Vol. 1-4, Texas pullups or voltage level converters. a BiQRTT, but they estimate numbers in Instruments Engineering Staff, Texas In terms of femtoseconds (quadrillionths of struments, Inc. Vol. 1-1984, ISBN 0-89512- What's Coming Up a second-three orders of magnitude less 090-9; Vol. II-1984, ISBN 0-89512-096-8; Off in the distance, there's a new than picoseconds). Vol. III-1986, ISBN 0-89512-153-0; Vol. N- family coming on the scene. Texas Instru It'll be a while before we see any pro 1986, ISBN 0-89512-154-9. (Editor's note: ments has announced a 74BCT family ducts based on this technology, but it has This is the standard reference set for IC data. based on a ''bipolar-CMOS'' process. It enormous potential. Just as an aside, a Excellent books.) supposedly offers speeds better than 74F, group in Japan is also working on High Speed CMOS Designers Guide, with CMOS power usage. I sent off a BiQRTTs, with their traditional emphasis Signetics. card for a BCT designer's kit, but I'm still on manufacturing processes. FAST Logic, Signetics. waiting. FACT Databook, Motorola. Postscript: Months have passed, but Quta Here Computer Interfacing with C and Pascal, all I've gotten from TI has been a letter If you want to find out more about by Bruce Eckel, 1988, Eisys, ISBN 0- saying that part is "temporarily out of logic chips, there's lots of material to 89716-211-0. (Available from Micro Cor stock." The same ad has appeared three study. Most manufacturers will send you nucopia, $30 in the U.S., $40 foreign.) times now in two months, and I sent in databooks, and even sample parts, for "TI's Quantum Leap," by Richard Do the card every time. Every time I got a free if you exercise tact and judgement in herty, Electronic Engineering Times, Dec. letter saying the kits were "temporarily requesting them. For instance, don't just 19, 1988. out of stock." At this point I'm really not say you're interested in learning about holding my breath. Maybe 1991.. .. chips. These companies prefer to hear • • •
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Reader Service Number 31 Reader Service Number 160 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 55 EPROM Programming, The Software Way
The Nuts And Bolts This is probably the simplest EPROM An erased EPROM cries out for data, burner you'll find. Read on for the complete but changing its bits calls for nontrivial hardware and software for a weekend pro EPROMS make software and some fairly simple hard ject. ware. It might help to go over the con developing cepts. Each bit· in an EPROM consists of a needed to burn a 27C64 EPROM for home-brew single metal-oxide substrate (MOS) tran my project, but I didn't have an sistor containing a special "floating" gate. IEPROM programmer. So, I wrote one. microcontroller This floating gate lies between the tran Okay, there was a little bit of hard- sistor's normal (or select) gate and its ware involved. But only one IC, and the projects possible. substrate (see Figure 1). project just took a couple evenings to The data bit stored in an EPROM cell build. Honest. They retain their depends on the concentration of spare EPROMs make developing horne electrons in the floating gate. If, for ex brew microcontroller projects possible. data even after ample, the floating gate contains a large They retain their data even after power number of free electrons, it stops the nor loss. You can store your test program in power loss. mal switching function of the MOS tran an EPROM on one machine, then move sistor. Because the transistor does not the chip to the target machine and try it. switch when the usual gate select voltage Because they are erasable, you can repro is applied, the cell contains a O. gram them until you get the code right. you can find anything from a simple Similarly, a floating gate without a single-chip unit to the top-of-the-line large number of free electrons allows the The Right Light model, generally with pullout drawer normal switching of the MOS transistor Erasing an EPROM takes nothing and adjustable exposure timer. to occur. Such an EPROM cell contains a more than a shortwave ultraviolet (UV) Whichever way you choose to erase 1. lamp. Each manufacturer recommends your EPROMs, make sure that your You program an EPROM cell to a a by specific erasure procedures for their setup prevents anyone from looking at moving free electrons to the floating gate. chips. Intel, for example, suggests you the UV light, either directly or by reflec You erase an EPROM cell (return it to a use a 2537 Angstrom light with a power tion. The light can sunburn your eyes, 1) by forcing the free electrons off the rating of 12000 IlWatt/cm2. You should perhaps causing permanent damage. This floating gate and back onto the transis place the EPROM within one inch of the is dangerous stuff; treat it with respect. tor's substrate. lamp's surface and expose it for 15 to 20 To erase an EPROM, first make sure Erasing. an EPROM requires a large minutes. the quartz window in the top of the chip dose of shortwave UV light. The high Or, you can improvise. I've used a is uncovered and clean. Place the energy photons in the UV light raise the shortwave UV mineralogist's lamp for EPROM on a metal tray or press the pins energy level in the free electrons of the many years; it contains a screw-base bulb into antistatic foam. Then put the chip floating gate. Eventually, the electrons made by Sylvania that emits plenty of under the UV eraser so the top of the reach such a high energy state that they UV light. If you can locate such a bulb, chip lies less than one inch from the UV can cross the oxide layer between the you could build a nice EPROM eraser for source. floating gate and the substrate. very few bucks. I wish I could give you Close the eraser so no stray UV light Upon crossing the oxide barrier, the the Sylvania number for the bulb, but it leaks out, then tum on the UV lamp. Ex free electrons lack enough energy to cross only carries the text I/4W," which I as pose the chip for a minimum of 15 back to the floating gate; they remain sume is the bulb's power draw. minutes. Longer times are okay, although trapped on the transistor's substrate. Of course, you can always opt for a Intel warns you can expect permanent So much for erasing. Programming an commercial EPROM eraser. Many of the damage to the chip with exposure times EPROM cell requires raising the energy larger mail-order houses offer erasers; greater than one week. level of the free electrons to a point that
56 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 By Karl Lunt 2133 186th Pl., S.E. Bothell, W A 98012 (206) 483-0447
Yeah, But How Do You Do That? Figure 1-EPROM Cell When you want to read an address from an EPROM, you first set the SECOND-LEVEL address lines, then lower the chip enable POL YSILICON line. Finally, you drop the output enable line. The data contained in the selected address then appears on the EPROM's data pins. Programming a byte into an EPROM is only slightly more difficult. You start by setting the address and data lines. Next, you lower the chip enable line. You then raise Vpp from 5.0 volts to 12.5 volts. Finally, you bring the chip's program line low momentarily. This last opera tion, called a programming pulse, acti vates the programming circuitry inside the EPROM, writing the data into the addressed byte. Figure 2-Programming a Cell Note that all the operations described above occur very rapidly. Using Intel's Inteligent (Author's note: Yoo-hoo, that last word is spelled properly and is an 'Intel trade SELECT GATE mark!) programming algorithm, it takes about 1.0 msec to setup and apply one programming pulse to one EPROM byte. Even though that seems like a very short time, remember that a 27256 con tains 32,768 such bytes. This works out to 32.8 seconds to apply a single pulse to each byte, not counting the time to move from one address to another. Then, of course, you have to verify the thing and reprogram any bytes that didn't catch. Intel claims that a typical Inteligent pro gramming cycle for a 27256 EPROM they can recross the oxide barrier and re program an EPROM cell to contain a 0, takes about 158 seconds. turn to the floating gate (see Figure 2). you simply apply the Vpp voltage to the But you can change the programming During the programming operation, select gate as well as the drain. algorithm and significantly improve an EPROM cell may be written to 0 or The highly-energized electrons now these times. As an example, Intel's appli left unchanged as a 1. In either case, the have two targets. They can move directly cation note AP-277 describes the Quick transistor's drain receives a higher-than to the drain, as normal, or they can cross Pulse programming algorithm; it can normal voltage, Vpp, instead of the usual the oxide layer and move toward the program that same 27256 in about 4.5 Vdd. For the newer Intel chips, this corre select gate. seconds. sponds to 12.5 volts versus 5.0 volts. Some of the electrons moving toward The higher drain potential accelerates the select gate collect and remain on the About The Hardware the electrons as they move from the floating gate; such an EPROM cell will The EPROM programming circuit is source to the drain. When you want to later read as a 0 bit. little more than an 8-bit latch and a
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 57 power supply (see Figure 3). The design requires connection to two 8-bit I/O ports controlled by a host computer such as a PC or a micro controller . In my case, I used a 68HCll single-board computer similar to the Motorola 68HCll evalua tion board. The power supply contains two three pin regulators (see Figure 4). The 12 volt regulator only needs to handle a worst- . case load of 50 rnA; the 78L12 does the job well. The silicon diode in the ground leg of the 78L12 floats the regulator above ground by 0.7 volts, giving an out put of 12.7 volts. The old silicon-diode-in the-ground-Ieg trick is a cheap way to gain a little extra voltage. Note that the input of this regulator should be at least 15.7 volts, to allow ample room for the regulator'S voltage drop. The 7805 regulator provides 5 volts for both the 74LS373 and the EPROM you're programming. You need a heat sink on this device for a couple of rea sons. The regulator will have at least 15.7 volts on its input pin. At the same time, a 2764 EPROM can draw up to 100 rnA. This combination means the regulator will have to dissipate as much as a watt. Just about any source of 16 to 30 volts will run the power supply. I used a small 18-volt transformer and diode bridge. You could also use a bench supply, or even two high-current 9-volt batteries. The '373 connects to parallel port A from the host computer. This chip can, under program control, latch the state of its input pins and keep that value availa ble on its output pins. Essentially, you get twice the mileage from the same out put port. Here, I use the '373 to first latch the low eight bits of the EPROM's address bus. Once latched, I can then use the normal 28-pin sockets. Solder one into the On To The Software same output port to supply the EPROM's board, then plug the other into the top of the If the hardware for such a project is so data byte. Parallel port B provides the soldered one. When the top socket wears out, simple, you gotta know the software is higher address bits and some control sig just replace it. The sockets with the round, going to be extensive. nals. machined pins work best for this. I wrote my programming code for a Incidentally, you could use the same You also must supply two parallel Motorola 68HCl1 microcontroller. This 8- latching technique in adding a second 1/0 ports from the controlling computer; bit MCU has an instruction set similar to '373. You could then latch 16 address one of these ports must be bidirectional. the 6809, but hardware-wise it's much lines, leaving port B available for the con Many vendors offer simple parallel cards nicer. It has such extra features as on trol signals. This arrangement would let for plugging into a PC; you could also board RAM, serial port, and timer sys you program up to a 65Kx8-bit EPROM; build your own PC card containing a tem. not bad for two chips! Motorola 6821 Peripheral Interface The evaluation board built around When you build this project, be sure Adapter (PIA) or Intel equivalent. this MCU adds two 8-bit parallel ports to use a zero-insertion force (ZIF) socket Regardless of the programming sys using a Motorola 6821 PIA. I run Mo for the 2764. Repeated use of a standard tem you use, you'll need a spare RAM torola's BUFFALO monitor for debug IC socket will eventually damage the tiny buffer as large as the largest EPROM you ging software. springs inside, and it's no fun replacing a want to program. In my case, I simply re You can find a wealth of information 28-pin socket. served an 8K block of RAM on the on all these chips and systems from your Editor's note: In a pinch you can use two 68HCll board to hold the EPROM data. local Motorola distributor. In many of the
58 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 Figure 4-EPROM Programmer Power Supply Performance Programming
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MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 59 Line PB6 controls the output enable line (OE*) of the EPROM. Raise PB6 during a write operation, and lower PB6 to read an EPROM byte. Line PB7 serves as the program pulse line (PGM*) for the EPROM. After all data, address, and control lines are set properly, pulse PB7 low to program a byte into the EPROM. Make sure this line is high at all other times; you can easily corrupt the EPROM data through care less use of PB7.
Reading And Burning Bytes The two routines shown (EREADI and EBURNl) form the core of the pro gramming software. Refer to Figure S for details. EREADI reads a single byte from a specific EPROM address. On entry, the desired address must be in the 16-bit X register. First, EREADI resets all the output pins of the PIA that directly control the programmer. It brings pins PBS-PB7 high; this disables the '373 latch, the EPROM output drivers, and the pro gramming circuitry. Next, the routine writes the low address bits to PAO-P A7
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60 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 for 100 JlSec (to apply a programming pulse), then updates some global varia bles used by other portions of the code. Note that EBURNI assumes the Vpp #%10000000 SE'r PGM1I =1 programming voltage has already been POR'rB END 'rHE BURN CYCLE COUN'l'·'rBIS.PRGM.PULSE connected to the EPROM; this function EBL01 BRANCH IFNO'r FINISHED must be performed elsewhere in the pro GE'r A 1 BURNED REMEMBER THAT WE CHANGED A LOC gramming code. RES'rORE IX The remainder of the software serves as user interface and to control the pro gramming algorithm. You can really cus tomize your EPROM programmer here. R'rS Burning Bytes Quickly A good programming algorithm strives for reliably writing the data in a minimum amount of time. You can and latches them into the '373 by drop lines PAO-PA7. The remalrung code in achieve both these goals with judicious ping PBS low. EREADI simply resets the PIA port A to use of a read-before-write technique. Then, EREADI changes the PIA so output mode and returns the EPROM Intel's literature describes an in-house that port A becomes eight input lines. As control lines to a known state. study of its Quick-Pulse programming al these lines already connect to the eight EBURNl, the routine that writes a gorithm, as applied to the 27C2S6 data lines of the EPROM, port A will be data byte into EPROM, is only slightly EPROM. This study shows that over 60% used to read the requested EPROM data. more complicated. After latching the low of an EPROM's cells program correctly Finally, the routine sets PBO-PB4 to address bits into the EPROM, EBURNI after the application of a single 100 J..lsec the correct high address lines, and brings writes the proper data byte to PAO-PA7, programming pulse; nearly 100% of the PB6 (OE*) low. The data byte for the then sets the upper address bits into PBO cells are properly programmed after just desired EPROM address now appears on PB4. Finally, the routine holds PB7 low 10 such pulses.
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35.0 0.0 JAN fEB KAR APR MA'!' JLM J\l. ALKi 5[P OCT NOV OCt CAPACITIVE REACTANCE 1984 $34.95 INGRAF is available for C, FORTRAN-77, and QuickBASIC (pascal available soon); support for numerous compilers. We also have GRAFLIB 4.10 for video and printer graphics; Peter Garrison PLOTLIB 4.10 for pen plotter graphics, and 1613 Altivo Way FORTUB 4.05, a FORTRAN enhancement library. Los Angeles, CA 90026 Sutrasoft 2136651397 P.O. Box 1733 • Sugar Land, TX • 77487 When ordering please specify EGA/VGA and disk format Order Line: 1·800·888·8460 Overseas orders please add $4 All other calls: 713 491·2088 Reader Service Number 173 Reader Service Number 112 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 61 This leads to the use of an algorithm byte reads $FF, this feature really cuts switch Vee and Vpp from one EPROM to that bums an EPROM cell only if neces down bum time; unmodified bytes al another as needed. You would also have sary, using a small number of pulses. The ready appear to be properly burned. to carefully control OE* so that only one program then reads all the locations to You can also experiment with the EPROM was driving its output lines at verify accurate programming, and only number of programming pulses per bum anyone time. Still, this would offer some reburns those cells that need it. cycle. My code uses 10 pulses for each interesting possibilities. By employing these techniques in my code, I can reliably program a 2764 in ten seconds. (The Intel Quick-Pulse programming algorithm, in its pure form, requires more extensive hardware than that shown here. For example, programming an EPROM with Quick-Pulse uses a Vee of 6.0 volts, rather than the 5.0 volts in my system. However, my software checks the accuracy of the programming to ensure the bits get burned the way they should. Consult Intel applications note AP-277 for details on the Quick Pulse algorithm.)
Limitations And Improvements This system will only program the 27C64 and 2764A EPROMs. Modifica tions to handle other devices require only minimal changes to the hardware and software. To program the older 2764 EPROMs (these need a Vpp of 21 volts), simply provide 21 volts to pin 1 (Vpp) of the EPROM during programming. Use a 78L18 regulator with four diodes in its ground leg, instead of the 78L15 with one diode as shown. Note that this change means you must supply at least 24 volts pass through the EPROM; through ex In Conclusion to the unit's power input terminals. perimentation, you might discover that 6 I started this project out of necessity The programming code supplied here pulses (for example) will do the trick. and ended up learning a lot about works equally well on the older This would cut the programming time by EPROM programming. This project is so EPROMs, once the higher Vpp voltage is 40%. simple that I am tempted to add the used. You could also add the ability to pro hardware to a dedicated 68HCll MeU Note: If you put in the 21-volt modifi gram individual bytes of an EPROM system and build my own, stand-alone cation, do not use the higher voltage to selectively. Although you cannot use the EPROM programmer. program a 27C64 or 2764A; you will fry programmer to change a 0 bit back to a 1, For information on EPROMs and pro these newer chips. you could still provide enough editing gramming algorithms, consult the Intel Programming larger EPROMs (such capability to save yourself a complete Memory Components Handbook (literature as the 27128A) means you must supply erase-and-bum cycle. number 210830-008). For details on the additional address lines to the EPROM How about adding the code to calcu Motorola 68HCll MCU, 6821 PIA, and socket. As you can see, all the parallel late a checksum or CRC for the EPROM related support chips, consult Motorola's port bits have been used already. There data? If necessary, you could have your Microprocessor, Microcontroller and Periph fore, you must add another '373 latch if software bum the CRC value into the eral Data Book, Volume 2 (literature num you want to bum larger devices. Consult first (or last, or whatever) bytes of the ber DLI39). Figure 6 for details on how to add this EPROM. This would provide a reliable Special thanks go to Phil Clyde of second latch. way of verifying EPROM integrity and United Products for materials in building Since the tweaking in this program firmware revision level; the startup this project. If you are ever in Seattle, mer takes place in software, you can add sequence for the target computer would stop by U.P. (1123 Valley St., Seattle, WA all kinds of features without modifying simply recalculate the CRC for the 98109-4425) and say "Hi." Phil will be the hardware. My programming code, EPROM and match its value against that the big guy behind the counter. for, example, allows me to write a back stored in the EPROM. ground pattern of $FF to all bytes in my You could even modify this circuit to RAM buffer before I load in the data for permit simultaneous programming of • • • programming. Since an erased EPROM multiple .EPROMs. You would want to
62 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 By Deborah Norling Grassroots Computing P. O. Box 460 Controlling Runaway C Berkeley, CA 94701 With CC-Rider: Hypertext Editing For C' ers
In the back of your mind, you re is a year old, you can't even remember If you do much C programming, you member that somewhere in your code where it resides. know how hard it is to keep track of all your you have another "blue." But what did Suddenly, you run across a call to the routines. Well, here's help, pardner. Saddle you use it for? Run XREF and there it function srch_str. Yep, that's the culprit. up CC-Rider with your tex' editor and is-''blueO'' is an external function de Since CC-Rider is resident, you press you'll have a lot less trouble corralling way fined in your user environment module. Alt-Shift to bring up its "symbol entry" ward code. It returns TRUE if the user has faked the window. CC-Rider recognizes the func attribute underline on a CGA display tion call under the cursor, flashes the (the color blue on CGA is represented drive light briefly, and retrieves your Ou're trying to calculate the differ by the same bit value as underline on definition for srch_str. ence between two dates: how MDA monochrome.) Using an XREF Ah-hah! You prototyped it in Ymany days between May 3rd and utility, you can locate identifiers and fig FILESTUEH and coded it in FINDER.C. August 22nd? You don't want to rein ure out what they do. You even commented its prototype well. vent the wheel; besides, there isn't time. H you want to experiment with Too bad the function definition and the You call a friend-sure enough, he has XREFs, plenty are available for prototype don't match. two public domain programs which downloading. Some are shareware-a perform date conversions. Editor's note: few are C-specific. The program XC has Automated Prototyping You go out with my date, I'll go out with been around since the early 80s, and Let's return to your friend's date con yours. many of the C formatted print listers version functions. To merge them into You think your troubles are over. Un have an XREF option. your own code, you must flip through fortunately, they're just beginning. You'll soon discover the problem pages of listings to locate the start of Your friend's code works. You throw with these XREFs: they're paper each function. Then you must manually a few test dates at it and everything oriented. If you make judicious use of add the appropriate prototype. Why not seems okay.. Then you link it into your an old-fashioned XREF, you can easily let CC-Rider's paste command do the application only to see it grow by 36K spend half your day at the water cooler, work? and slow to a jog. waiting for the printer to finish. Score Just point to the function definition. You search through the date math one for procrastination. CC-Rider inserts a prototype of the handling routines, trying to find and re function for you. Here's how it works: move the unnecessary code. But the Hypertext Editing (1) Using your editor, move the cur code is vintage '78 K&R C, from the Enter CC-Rider, a package that bills sor to the desired location. days when prototype meant "mock up." itself as a "hypertext editor" for C pro (2) Pop up the symbol en.try window. It'll take hours, maybe days, to filter out grammers. Technically this is true. Point (3) Type in the name of the desired the unnecessary routines. And when to the symbol you wish to cross-refer function prototype. you finish, there's always the possibility ence and that symbol acts as a hyper (4) If the function has previously that the date routines won't emerge un link. been defined, CC-Rider will fetch a scathed. What can you do? Get an Think of CC-Rider as an online help copy of the definition and insert it at the XREE for your own code. It's an even better cursor, in prototype format. help for other people's code. (Sometimes (5) CC-Rider returns to your editor. Why Use XREF? other people's code needs all the online You can also track variables. Assume A cross reference utility, XREF pro help you can get.) In fact, skip the hy that in some places, your friend's code duces a road map of your code. It lists pertext hype, just think of CC-Rider as a uses "i" as a general-purpose pointer, all your symbols (variables, functions, popup XREE while in others, "i" is an integer loop and constants) along with where they Here's how CC-Rider works. You're counter. Put your cursor on "i" and pop occur. For instance, you can look up the cursoring through last year's code, look up a window with the local declaration symbol "BLUE" and discover that it's a ing for that blasted string search func for the current invocation of "L" constant defined in CONIO.H as "#de tion. You know it bombs horribly when Within the window, use CC-Rider's F fine BLUE 1." you feed.it a null string. Since the code for Forward or B for backward com-
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 63 "It's Glorious!" "No color PCompatible is complete without a copy of this; get one and see what I mean." - Jerry Pournelle, BITE eLI is an intelligent front & back end processor that enhances the MS-DOS system kernel. eLI "Infinite... Neither of us (the chief engineer of the Galileo provides many features of advanced OS's, like Jupiter probe and I) may ever be heard from again." VMS and UNIX, to MS-DOS without any re-training. - Arthur C. Clarke The core of the eLI kernel is based on recursive definitions and references to Alias, Logicals, "I could watch an animated image for hours." Symbols, and Lexical-Functions from the command - Larry Fogg, Micro C (MIA 89) line, batch programs, and existing application programs (without any modifications). Powerful command programs can be quickly FractalMagic 5.0 written for a wide range of purposes such as: "America's Premier Fractal Program • flexible control of code & data management • code development & code support tools mM PC, PS/2 (3.5" or 5.25") • automated file/device maintanence utilities CGA, EGA, & VGA: $35.00 • creation of generic command procedures Macintosh: Plus, 512KE, SE, • installations & system re-configurations SE/30, and Mac IT's: $35.00 For the first time, designers, developers, and mM Expansion Modules 1-4: managers can coordinate software development and production efforts without the major limitations $15.00 each, or all four for $45.00 and restrictions in the MS-DOS environment. Sin tar Software • VMS is a trademark of D.B.C. • UNIX is a trademark of AT&T "Software for the Mind" • MS-DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft l0014th Avenue, Suite 3200 Price: $ 149 Seattle, W A 98154 ~~ .~1fJ- 9~ 1-. S/H: $ 6 (206) 625 - 1213 S~~t 1005 Sussex Blvd Visa - MC - AmEx . Broomall, PA 19008 215-543-2658 Reader Service Number 187 mands to jump through the database to Rider manual devotes a section to plish? Let's assume that you run across the l)ext or previous declaration of "i," smoothly integrating the CCSYM pro the correct call to a function named When a comment appears together with gram into a MAKE. If you use an inte OpenWindow. You want to edit an out a declaration, you'll see the comment grated environment, you'll have to pro of~date definition of the OpenWindow also. duce another solution, such as Super function in a second source file. If you Unfortunately, the sample date code Key macros, to automate the updating have your macro configuration properly is so messed up that you decide to of the symbol database fully. set up, CC-Rider can' auto-pilot your change a function's parameters. With editor into the second source file and CC-Rider, point to a function call, pop Keystroke Macro File land the cursor on the target line. up the window, and select EDIT. Imme CC-Rider must be able to tell your If you skip the DEBUG routine, CC diately you're in the source file, right editor to load a file and to go to a Rider will still let you view other source where the function's defined. This way, specific line. So you create a 128-byte files from within its window. You just you can alter the definition before you file containing hex codes for the key-" won't be able to edit them on autopilot. forget what you needto change. strokes your editor uses. You get sample The Paste command doesn't require macro files for Emacs and Microsoft's M knowledge of your editor's keystrokes. Two Programs editor. They've included two demos with CC-Rider is composed of two pro I use QEd it, customized for my CC-Rider. The smaller demo is a four grams. CCSYM prepares the way for quirky keystrokes. Pulling out three module implementation of a reverse the TSR CCRIDER. scancodel extended key code charts, an polish notation calculator. The symbol You run CCSYM immediately after ASCII table, and my hex conversion cal databases have already been created; compilation, which creates an up-to culator, I dutifully fired up DEBUG and you merely load the code into your edi date database of your identifiers. Pour pegged the proper bytes at the proper tor and start snooping around. another cup of coffee unless you have a offsets. Eventually I got it right. If CC The second demo is a complete pub speedy drive on a '386, because CCSYM Rider ever expands to require knowl lic domain implementation of a UNIX will churn a while as it analyzes your edge of more than two editor keystroke style MAKE utility. You can browse source files. Only after this process do sequences, let's hope we'll be able to through the MAKE program's multiple you get CC-Rider's power. , enter them in ASCII, such as "goto_line modules, popping up XREF info about CCSYM has lots of command line = ctrl-home" and "open_new_file = ctrl any of the symbols. If your C compiler options. If you use batch or MAKE files, K R." has a brain-damaged MAKE, here's a you can automate this process. The CC- What do all these contortions accom- replacement.
64 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 CC-Rider has a strong OS/2 flavor. • Display calls to any particular current work project would be con MS-DOSers will have to ignore the function. stantly updated. You would only re many paragraphs in the manual which • Create a tree chart showing rela build the database when you changed begin "In the OS/2 implementation .... " tionships among functions. the library. The disk includes the OS/2 executable • Generate statistics, such as version of the program and numerous frequency of invocation . In Sum .CMD files. (The OS/2 files are useless Most importantly, CC-Rider needs a CC-Rider, though somewhat limited, to MS-DOSers.) If you develop under way to locate a symbol when you're not is a stable and handy tool. It frees you OS/2, you can analyze source code in sure how it's spelled. Currently, when from the tedium of poring through a the background. you've forgotten the name of a symbol mound of printouts. It quickly locates There would have been a little less or are looking at someone else's code misplaced function definitions. It ena confusion if the author had put the and don't know the symbol names, CC bles you to track down forgotten varia OS/2 and MS-DOS information in two Rider isn't much help. I'd love to be bles. It liberates you from the tyranny of different manuals and the program ver able to search in the database via wild prototyping by hand. sions on different disks. cards, regular expressions, soundex, or It doesn't have lots of bells and by a word in the comment. whistles and it won't help you locate a Treats & Virtues For example, if you knew you'd symbol if you don't remember its name. CC-Rider has a special treat for pro written a function to draw borders, but But CC-Rider will automate some of grammers using Microsoft's Quick C. couldn't remember its name, you could your work, will coexist with cranky CCSYM can generate a Quick-Help search for "box," "frame," and TSRs, and is nearly bug free. If you pro database in addition to the normal CC "border," assuming you used one of gram large projects, then CC-Rider is Rider symbols database. Since the those words in your comments. Also, it well worth $89. For more info- Quick-Help TSR can display your sym would be nice if "*str*" would produce bols database and facilitate the pasting all your string functions. CC-Rider, ver. 1.3 in of prototypes, you won't need to load In the future, CC-Rider might even Western Wares the CC-Rider TSR if you use this special maintain a database of user-created li Box C database. braries. This could be given a read-only Norwood, CO 81423 The CC-Rider TSR is well-behaved file attribute to prevent it from being (303) 327-4898 and I couldn't crash it (Lord knows, I modified, while the databases for the tried). This might not seem very signifi • • • cant, but it takes a lot of behind-the scenes work to craft a stable TSR. I've seen too many packages which are top-heavy on features, precariously balancing on a crumbling foundation. For example, the Norton Guides don't coexist well with Turbo C's Thelp TSR. My favorite cache, Super PC Kwik, doesn't like Turbo C's integrated en vironment. But CC-Rider coexists peacefully with every program I own. It can re Try the 1st truly low cost LAN move itself from memory within a batch • Connect 2 or 3 PCs, XTs, ATs file, so you can load it before you run your editor, and unload it before you • Uses serial ports and 5 wire cable compile. (Give those memory-hogging • Runs at 115 K baud compilers all the room they need.) • Runs in background, totally transparent • Share any device, any file Wish List • Needs only 14K of ram Without user wish lists, there would be no reason for developers to write new versions. I'd like a future version of Skeptical? We make believers! CC-Rider to: • Understand the format of online OueJu 15 , 000 ~JJ ~ help databases included with both Turbo C and Zortech C/C++. Information Modes ·~ ~ mP.O. Drawer F • Work with more editors (includ-' I Denton, TX 76202 ing simplified macro file creation). 1 0 e ...... ____-.J 817-387-3339 or 1-800-628-7992 • Be able to jump from one function to the next or previous (like Why waste money on Simple file transfer systems? moving around by pages and paragraphs.) Reader Service Number 149 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April 1990 65 Glossary Of Computing Terms·
Thomas J. Cook, Ph.D. t has come to our attention that many (*wnd->func) (*++addr) Astarte Micro Cornucopia readers are just break P.O. Box 821413 Iing into the technical side of computing. which means, call the routine whose Dallas, TX 75382 As a service to these readers, I have com address is stored in the "func" variable for piled this list of commonly used-but the structure pointed to by "wnd," and often incorrectly-defined-terms. pass to it the contents of the cell pointed to Assembly language-Language of by the pointer in "addr" after it (the choice for Scrabble players. Allows you to pointer, not the contents) has been incre write the smallest, fastest routines in five mented. Or something like that. months. Extra points for variable names Clone-An acronym standing for rich in Qs and Zs. Assembly language pro "Copied Low-cost Optimal Non-IBM grammers often become self-proclaimed Equipment." Often used as a cure for the legends. dreaded Big Blue. Texas, land of inde Bulletin boards-Mechanisms allowing pendent self-styled individualists, is cur the socially autistic to masquerade as rently "Siliclone Valley," where imagina people, communicating with one another by tion is limited only by IBM. See IBM. posting clever near-random commentary on Cyberpunk-High-tech version of the remote computers. 50s hood who is into computers rather than cars. This cause-without-a-rebel cruises AT&T networks instead of Main Street, and breaks into Pentagon computers rather than condom machines.
C-Short for "chutzpah," a quality needed before tackling even the simplest program with this language. C is also the symbol for the speed of light, but that has absolutely nothing to do with how quickly EISA-Chinese for "we copied it one can learn the language. C encourages without duplicating it." Inscrutable alterna self-documenting structured programming tive to the Micro Channel Architecture through constructs such as- (MCA) backed by everybody but IBM.
66 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 Gang of Nine-Originally the Gang but the lawyers take 11.3 of anything they interviews per week to columnists. of None, this is a group of 100+ coming work on. This is a not-so-subtle attempt Proud to know every variation of the of-age companies marked by their new to limit the PC market to IBM. DOS dir command. As a kid, the power found willingness to tell IBM jokes in NeXT-Experimental computer user was first in line to see "Star Wars" public, and their unwillingness to pay backed by Ross Perot and powered by (all 22 times s/he saw it) and acted as IBM bus royalties. Sample joke charisma. The main problem is that few assistant equipment manager for the Answer: EISA, MCA, and Greyhound. homes or offices have charisma outlets. football team. Question: Name two dogs and a bus. Name-wise it's reminiscent of ''The Last Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) Hacker-A programmer who grew One," a CP/M program supposedly -Modeled after the tenure system in up tapping out Morse Code on a ham powerful enough to create all your future schools (where teachers retire on the job, radio and has never forgiven IBM for application programs (making it the last and can't be excised); this type of pro not putting a switch panel on the origi program you would have to buy). The gram runs and terminates, but does not nal Pc. Recognizable by the oversize Last One was also powered by charisma. give up its memory space. Many TSRs ring of keys on the belt that pulls will reawaken any time you inadver his/her pants down just past the shirt f------.::-",..."I tently hit a special key combination (the tail. so-called "hot key"). Inevitably, the re Also recognizable by the list of phone sulting confusion deletes all files. numbers and passwords in the wallet. To UNIX-Conceptual granddaddy of a hacker, "hot date" is the day the DOS and OS/2, this operating system is newest eunuchs-er ... UNIX patches condemned as too cryptic for PC users ship. (with commands like cd and mkdir). -... -., , . UNIX is also hampered by ready-availa ~-=c, ...... bility on diverse hardware (wouldn't it be confusing if your VAX and PC operated with the same commands?), a notable lack of bugs, and new versions with DOS compatibility. IBM and Microsoft fully understand the power of UNIX. Though neither profits by its use (AT&T gets the bucks), they try hard to get people to use it. Pascal-Language named after the Alas, they report users just keep clamor dead mathematician who dreamed up ing for OS/2 (which, coincidentally, IBM the first computer. That computer, like and MS make a lot of money on). the language, was non-programmable. But it was a good idea. Ph.D.-A user with more sense than money. Ph.D.s generally have elegant solutions to problems which don't yet exist. The (top-down, of course) solu IBM-Standards proposing organi tions are always correct because they're zation. IBM develops hardware architec never implemented. tures and builds slow underpowered Power user-A user with more prototypes for other companies to im money than sense. A power user sub prove upon. See Clone. scribes to all the magazines, buys all the Marketing-Formerly known as latest hardware, spends long hours run Sales until yuppies declared smoking, ning short timing tests, and grants 30+ greasy hair, and overt aggression as Out; and wine, colorful suspenders, and schmoozing (covert aggression) as In. Considered a no-brainer by most developers, who are in turn considered the equivalent of fertilizer (necessary for growth, but unpleasant to deal with, and User group-A collection of longtime best stored in a dark shed) by sales bulletin board users who couldn't stand people. not knowing what each other looked Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) like. To cure this curiosity, they peri -IBM's new bus that carries information odically get together. It works-most in 32-bit packets. This is the first bus members can now stand not knowing developed solely by lawyers, and is con what other BBSers look like. Kind of offi sidered copy-proof (the theory being that cial SOG. See Bulletin board. no one would want anything created by lawyers). The bus is actually 48 bits wide, • • • MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 67 A Programmer's Toolbox
installations"; they're installed, but I'll remove By Scott Robert Ladd Now that we know the answer to "life, the uni them the moment I need more disk space. 705 West Virginia verse, and everything" ("Culture Corner," Micro I keep Turbo C and the Microsoft compilers Gunnison, CO 81230 C Issue #45), it's time to move on. So, Scott has installed to check the compatibility of my C Voice: (303) 641-6438 taken on the task of creating "life, the universe, and programs with them. Borland and Microsoft, BBS: (303) 641-5125 everything." Here he tackles non-carbon-based after all, put out good products which most of forms. the MS-DOS C programming community use. Neither is my primary compiler, however. That honor goes to Zortech C++. f you don't believe the flow of time is varia As I mentioned in the last column, I do most ble, you don't work as a writer. Though I'm of my work in C++ these days. I just can't live Iwriting this column at the beginning of without those objects, methods, and the poly December, it will appear in the March-April morphism. Zortech C++ is a superior product, issue of Micro C-which actually arrives on combining very fast compiles with an excellent newsstands and in mailboxes at the beginning global code optimizer. To be honest, I just plain of February. I always knew Micro Cexisted in a like the "feel" of Zortech C++; the whole pro time warp (or at least a warp of some kind). duct is comfortable. In the last two years, I've done a big wrap Why don't I use the Watcom compiler? up of MS-DOS C compilers for the March-April Everybody, myself included, has been touting issue. This year, I'm going to delay that review Watcom's code optimization during the last for one or two issues. For starters, a big wrap year or so. Unfortunately, the more I work with up review is a lot of work, and right now time Watcom C, the less I like it. It's simply too slow is somewhat short for me. for everyday use; Watcom's compile times are Second, several major vendors are releasing often so long I wonder if the computer has upgrades of their products within the next few locked up. months. So, I'm going to wait until I have the In addition, Watcom C suffers from prob time to do a quality job reviewing the latest lems with memory usage. On a PC with 560K products. of free memory after boot, Watcom will often complain that it can't fully optimize functions. TOOLBOX Zortech is quite capable of doing equivalent optimizations in far less memory. While Wat People often ask me about the tools I use. com C is a good product, it doesn't live up to My work as a writer for computer magazines my expectations or needs. gives me the opportunity to examine a wide Lattice C 6.0 is a great product (see Issue variety of tools; many people correctly theorize #51), and I really haven't had time to put it that the best of these tools end up as parts of through its paces. The same goes for the re my personal programming environment. cently arrived JPI TopSpeed C compiler. JPI Of course, everyone's definition of "best" claims to produce the fastest code in the busi varies; my opinions are based on how I do my ness (who doesn't?), but I have some reserva work. You mayor may not agree with my tions about their claims. By the next issue, I choices of the best software. What I use works should be able to put enough code through for me, and I hope it works for you, too. TopSpeed C to judge. I keep several C compilers resident on my Compilers are less important to productivity development PC, Bull. Currently, I have Bor than editors, in my humble opinion. Isn't the land Turbo C 2.0, Microsoft C 5.10, Microsoft editor where a programmer spends most of his QuickC 2.01, and Zortech C++ 2.0. Watcom C or her time? I use Microsoft's M editor the 7.0 and Lattice C 6.0 are what I call "temporary most; it's fast, I love the way it handles blocks,
68 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 and it uses compiled as well as recorded process. Frankly, I couldn't program forms has improved in parallel with im macros. Alas, you can only get M if you' without Opus Make. provements in our technology. buy a Microsoft compiler. It easily com I'm not just talking about lifelike petes with Brief, Epsilon, and other pro C EXPLORATIONS forms. To many people, artificial life fessional editor programs. I think Micro means robots. While robots are imita soft is missing the boat by failing to put ZipGraph (introduced in issue #51) tions of living forms, the science of AL M on the open market. has undergone an upgrade. The original tries to get closer to the core of the If you don't have access to M, I version presented here last issue had issue: it tries to answer the what, why, highly recommend QEdit 2.08 from some minor typos and bugs in the and how of life. Larry may find the SemWare. It's a shareware product handling of 320x200 16 color and meaning of life deep inside the Mandel available from many BBS systems, in 640x480 2 color modes. The latest ver brot set; AL researchers find it in the cluding mine.. Sammy Mitchell has sion is available on my BBS. study of simulated life forms. created an excellent tool. I spent much of November finishing AL is quickly becoming an important Something many programmers over my first book on C++ (see Resources) adjunct to traditional biological re look is "make." A standard UNIX util and didn't get a chance to finish the search. Biologists have always been ity, make uses a file which contains a higher level code for ZipGraph. By the hampered by having only one form of description of a program's construction, time you read this column, of course, biology to study-the carbon-chain and uses that description to "build" the you should find the new ZipGraph based variety. program. Since make only recompiles or modules on my BBS. I will talk about There's no reason other types of life relinks the parts of a program which them in Issue #53, where we'll begin couldn't exist, and AL brings alternate have changed (by comparing the dates looking at 3-dimension modelling. life forms into the laboratory for study. of various files), it can make program You may remember my Critters pro In effect, we can create an artificial en development much easier. gram from a few issues back. Critters is vironment via a computer simulation Almost all C compilers for MS-DOS a very simple simulation of life on a mi and use it to better understand our come with a make. Many of these croscopic level, with critters crawling selves and the world of life around us. makes are weak; in particular, Micro around a torroidal universe in search of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is related soft's original make was laughable. food. As time goes on, and new genera to Artificial Life, although the two While Microsoft has recently joined tions of critters are born, they change sciences take opposite approaches. AI other vendors by providing a good their behavior by modifying their researchers work top-down. They begin make utility, none of the freebie makes genetic material through random muta by defining what intelligence is. Once can hold a candle to Opus Make. tions. The critters actually begin exhib they have a definition in hand, they Opus Software produces Opus Make, iting behavior as they evolve. write programs based on their defini by far the most powerful make I've Critters was a slight diversion, and I tion. Neural networks are an example of seen. It supports version control sys never expected it to be popular. I looked this type of design. tems, libraries, initialization files, com at it as an interesting application to AL, on the other hand, uses a bot plex macros, multiple targets, and all the show how C could be used to solve a tom-up approach. A central theory be features of the original UNIX make. complex problem. Surprisingly, the re hind AL is that behavior is the result of Perhaps Opus Make's greatest sponse to Critters was overwhelming; an amazing number of underlying strength is its use of an initialization file I've never written such a popular pro and simple-actions. In reality, life is to automatically set conditions for a gram. And amidst the turmoil, I dis the behavior exhibited by a massively compile. My system currently contains covered a whole new science was evolv parallel system. 17 compilers for 9 different program ing under the name Artificial Life (AL). What is a human being? In a strictly ming languages. The Opus Make initial Ever since humans first began build biological sense, we are a colony con ization file on my system understands ing things, we've been trying to dupli sisting of trillions of cells. These cells in all these languages and flawlessly cate life. Even simple structures like teract via simple rules. Light reaches builds programs without my having to statues are an attempt to imitate real part of our eye, which chemically reacts even think about the compilation life. Our ability to generate lifelike and sends electrical impulses to the
MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 69 brain, which then interprets the infor used to create the image; cellular auto CA is much more complex and can mation. None of the electrochemical re mata are also very sensitive to the rules simulate an almost infinite number of actions is in itself complex; what they upon which they are built. However, cellular automata. It works in the do together is amazing. cellular automata have one step up on 320x200 mode of IBM-standard video In AL, it is how the system behaves fractals: fractals are static, while cellular cards and will operate in 256 colors on a that is important. If you look at a bee automata are dynamic. VGA system. CA supports more varia hive, you can see it as a single entity or In the last few months, I've become tions than does RC, and it can be "pro as a colony of individual bees. Each bee heavily involved in AL. In fact, I'll be grammed" using traditional languages has a specific, simple task. Each bee in a attending a conference in New Mexico such as C or Turbo Pascal. hive does its job-such as gathering on AL about the time you see this ma Both these programs come with nectar for producing honey-and inter gazine. numerous demonstrations, predesigned acts with its fellow bees. Called Artificial Life II, the confer rules, and hints. The documentation, An AL approach to simulating a bee ence is sponsored by the Santa Fe Insti written by Rucker, is the best introduc hive would be to create parallel tute. The Santa Fe Institute is the pure tion to cellular automata I've yet run processes which imitate the behavior of research arm of Los Alamos National across. If you want to see a leading individual bees. Each "bee-omata" Laboratories. The conference is held edge of computer science research, would know exactly what its job was February 5-9 and will be attended by there's no better place to start than with and how it should interact with other physicists, biologists, and computer Rucker's CA Lab. bees. One bee-omata by itself is unin scientists from all over the world. The Alas, I wish I had more time to sing teresting; but put them together, and proceedings of the first AL conference the praises of Autodesk's other recent they act like a real beehive. are available in book form; see the Re release, Animator. Using a standard AL is involved with other life forms sources section below. VGA card in 320x200 256 color mode, as well. The late Nobel Prize-winning For those interested in this field, I Animator allows you to build realistic physicist Richard Feynman was actively maintain copies of several AL programs and professional animations on a Pc. interested in nanotechnology. Nano on my BBS. Feel free to drop by and This finally gives owners of IBM-com technology is concerned with molecule browse around. By the time you see this patibles the facilities owners of Amigas, sized machines. After all, the com article, the advanced version of Critters Suns, and Apollos have had. The capa ponents of our own bodies are simple, should be available. I've rewritten the bilities and design of Animator have molecular machines. program in C++ and have added preda quite impressed my wife Maria, who's a tors and scavengers. I'll demo the pro semiprofessional animator. For under Nanotechnology gram in Santa Fe. $300, it's a bargain. With nanotechnology, we will build our own tiny robots, which we can use NEWS AND REVIEWS RESOURCES for everything from genetic surgery to wrecking the computer of the star ship AutoDesk produces the most famous As mentioned above, I've recently Enterprise. (If you're not a Star Trek CAD program for PCs, AutoCAD. This finished a book on C++ entitled C++ fan, some explanation is in order. A re is an expensive product (costing many Applications and Techniques for M&T cent episode of Star Trek: The Next thousands of dollars), and it requires a Press (the publishers of Dr. Dobb's Jour Generation revolved around "nanites" powerful Pc. I never expected Auto nal). This isn't designed as a C++ tu that got loose, causing havoc when they Desk to also be the price/performance torial; that job was ably done by Stanley began eating the Enterprise's computer.) leader in other areas of programming Lippman in his recent book, C++ Primer Then, of course, there are cellular au endeavors. (Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-201-16487-6). tomata. A cellular automaton is a grid For under $60, Rudy Rucker's Cellu My book tries to show you how to of individual cells, all of which have a lar Automata Laboratory may be the use C++ in practical applications. In par state. The state of a cell changes in ac best bargain on the market. Rucker is a ticular, I gave considerable attention to cordance with specific rules. science fiction writer turned computer the how and why of object-oriented Conway's Game of Life, discussed scientist. He became fascinated with programming. I hope you have as much here in the past, changes the state of a cellular automata and has since written fun reading it as I had writing it. cell from live to dead by examining the this package for AutoDesk in conjunc If you really want to understand Ar state of the surrounding cells. All tion with Autodesk co-founder John tificial Life, you need to get the proceed changes in a cellular automaton change Walker. It contains two programs: ings from the first AL conference, held simultaneously, at the tick of an imagi Rucker's "RC," and Walker's "CA." in 1987. The book, called (boringly nary clock. RC is a simplified program, designed enough) Artificial Life, is available from While Life can be a fascinating diver for people just beginning to experiment Addison-Wesley (ISBN 0-201-09356-1). sion, cellular automata have many prac with cellular automata. It uses a text There are 650 pages of papers on every tical uses. They can simulate everything display, instead of graphics, to show the aspect of AL, written by the people who from gasses, to conductivity, to the automata. This means you can use RC are making this new science. I found growth of bacterial cultures. Some cellu on any IBM-compatible, even if it this book the most stimulating I've read lar automata can rival fractals in com doesn't support graphics. I like this pro in the last year. ' plexity and beauty. gram because it allows you to make in A fractal image can be drastically al stant changes in the dynamics of the tered by minor changes in the formula cellular automata. It's also very fast. •••
70 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 Xl SCHEMATIC
At last you can plumb the mysteries of your computer with this Single sheet (24" x 36") schematic of the IBM XT's main board. A wealth of information for both True Blue and clone owners.
Although clones use slightly altered board layouts and different chip loca tion names, they're close enough to the original for this schematic to be very useful. As an example - you have a dead clone. Lil sucker won't even beep. A look at the schematic shows the location of parallel port A. You know that the power-on self test loads"a checkpoint number into port A before each test. So now all you have to do is read port A with a logic probe to see how far the system went before it died.
We include these checkpoints and other trouble shooting information with the schematic.
IBM PC-Xl Schematic ...... : ...... $15.00
THE MICRO TECHNICAL JOURNAL MICRO CORNUCOPIA
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MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 71 Computer Forensics The Quincy, Of Computers
while drafting reports for, lawsuits and in If you're looking for a (very) legal way to make a surance cases. By Allyn R. Franklin living, then this is the business you'll want to court. Dictionary definitions include such phrases Drive Masters (But judge for yourself.) as "argumentative exercise," "the art or study 6275 Canterbury Dr. #204 of argumentative discourse," or "suitable for a Culver City, CA 90230 court of law or public debate." (213) 645-2563 'm sitting at my bench fixing my 1,356,490,231 st drive (we keep good records) Recognizing Needs And Finding Niches Iwhen the phone rings. It's a man in distress. I've been very active in the Los Angeles (All these mysteries start the same way. Well, Kaypro User's Group and the U.C.L.A. PC not all. Occasionally it's a voluptuous blonde User's Group. I suppose that makes me bisys who bursts through the door unannounced. She temal. I started Drive Masters about seven usually has a portable in hand or problems years ago, and at that time people told me it with her laptop.) was crazy to fix drives. They figured it was bet "Can you come out right away and rescue ter or cheaper to buy new ones. this crashed hard disk for one of our custom Since I couldn't see why people would ers?" throw something away when it could be easily "Crashed?" I ask. fixed, I started working in my first niche. My "Yeah, that's what the customer said." instructor at Tandon said he didn't know of I tell him I rarely do field service anymore. anyone else doing it. So ... here I am seven Could he bring it into the shop next week? I years later ... still finding new niches for my keep all my diagnostic software and hardware trade (to keep from getting bored). here. I further explain that the word "crashed" is used so loosely that even when I did field My Current Field service I was never really sure what to take It seems obvious that the more parts a ma with me. chine has, the greater the chance something "Am I supposed to repair this drive?" will go wrong. Generally, moving parts wear "If necessary, but first see if you can get the out faster than the other kind, but computers data off." have an awful lot of both. Furthermore, com Then, of course he insists he can't wait until puters cannot run without software and firm next week, he needs an opinion or evaluation ware, and these can fail, too. Finally, we stir in immediately. a few humans .... "Can we come over today or tomorrow?" If you're not in the service business, you cannot imagine how some people react when The Typical Assignment their computer goes down. Sometimes entire I ask further what this is all about. He ex businesses grind to a halt. Owners lose large plains that he works for an engineering com sums of money as well as their tempers. Most pany. His company has been hired by a com people are like early automobile owners, they puter service company's attorney to find out if haven't the slightest idea why the computer loss of data on a hard drive was due to: 1) ma works or why it doesn't work. chine failure, 2) software problems, 3) human This means there is great fear, suspicion, error, or 4) a combination of the above. They and doubt about the equipment and the people would also like me to recover the data, if who service it. And considering the financial possible. consequences of down systems, there are He's just defined the field of computer bound to be lawsuits and insurance claims. forensics. Engineering companies have applied This creates the need for the computer forensics the term "forensics" to accident investigation consultant. Me. I'm retained by plaintiffs, and reconstruction. They also use the term defendants, claimants, anyone.
72 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 Meanwhile, Back At The Drive A few months later, the owner filed ing the testimony, I received a call from I told the caller that I needed not suit against the service company for loss our attorney telling me that the plaintiff only the drive, but also the controller of revenue, cost of reentering a large has asked for a continuance to call in card and a copy of the operating sys database, etc. He then turned the drive another expert (to rebut my expert opin tem-apparently I couldn't get the over to his attorney. Mind you, Watson, ions). whole computer. (As I later learned, no I knew none of this until I read the We learn that the controller card one really understood the significance owner's depositions. they sent me was not the brand or of my request.) So I have a hard drive, a controller, model used in the owner's machine and First, the drive arrived. Finally, a and two clients: the service company the original DOS was actually 2.11! This controller card showed up. Legal docu and its attorney. Analyzing the drive, I information had been specified by the ments specified that the drive had been conclude that the last thing someone plaintiff earlier, but not under oath. running under MS-DOS 3.1. And, the did was a low level format! (Makes it A technician who works at the hard documents specified the original prob tough to recover data.) drive manufacturer comes in for a lem: the drive had not allowed an em , I'm working with the service com deposition. Meanwhile, I educate our at ployee access one morning. pany's defense attorney as an expert torney (he's not even a computer When the original problem occurred, witness. As a witness, I have to go to owner) on how to get the information the company had called a technician the city to give my deposition-3V2 we need. I'm not allowed in the room from the service company who "ran hours counting breaks. I rather enjoyed during depositions since I'm a witness. tests." The technician concluded that tearing the plaintiff's case apart. Follow- (They do, however, allow consultants to the drive had crashed so he replaced it. coach attorneys during depositions.) Then th~ technician began running DOS This is the information discovery phase RECOVER on the problem drive. He in prior to going to court. tended to let RECOVER restore all the files rather than just the main datafile So, How Did It End? the client most needed. If you're not in the The plaintiff dropped the suit, agree (That's not the way I'd use RE ing to settle out of court for under 20% COVER. In fact, since running RE service business, of the original claim, just enough to COVER globally takes all the FAT cover his attorney fees. chains and makes files out of them, you you cannot imagine I think computers have joined the wind up with a mess. Mace's remedy ranks of car crashes, slippery floors, and unformat work much better. I try how some people weak bridges and buildings, and many my best to do stuff that doesn't destroy other appliances and products for anything before progressing to the re react when their which both manufacturers and service ally heavy activities.) providers will be held liable for per Part way through the RECOVER, the computer goes formance. Along with this data pro business owner insisted the technician cessing age comes a new profession: the stop. (The owner apparently had heard down. computer forensics consultant. Me. some nasty things about RECOVER and wanted to get a second opinion.) • • • MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 73 Continuing AROUND THE BEND
5. Fix the problems and send out copies under your own Then she tried outputting the merge onto a daisy wheel name. printer. It worked. First time. However, the daisy couldn't re There's one risk. Reviewers might ignore the bugs and the produce the graphics. If she wanted graphics she had to out targeted company might snare a copy and start shipping. put PostScript, and when she output PostScript .... (Makes me wonder who really wrote dBASE IV and 1-2-3 ver Ah, well. If PostScript gets popular, WP will probably clean sion 3.) up its driver.
Not So Simple Editors It's fun to watch the new word processors. As they get fan cier and fancier, the files they generate get more and more in teresting. A few weeks ago Sandy had trouble making Word Perfect 5.0 accept a merge file. She had two files: one contained a form, the other contained a list of Micro C advertisers. She wanted WP to merge the two and output the results on our PostScript printer. Well, WP suddenly got very creative. It produced about a third of the forms correctly, the rest had any number of weird nesses. Sometimes there were letters missing in the names, sometimes the type face changed right in the middle of a line, sometimes lines disappeared entirely. Each time she reran the merge, the problems changed. By running the merge five times, she got a clean copy of all but one form. Great, if you like running five merges.
68000 SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER
Clone CoProcessors Intel may have shared its 8086, 186, and 286 technology with second sourcers, but it has carefully kept its coprocessors • 512/1024K DRAM • 4 RS-232 SERIAL PORTS to itself. Sure, 80286s might be had for a pittance, but be pre pared to take out a second mortgage to get an 80287. • FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER • REAL TIME CLOCK Now it appears that Intel's $300/chip has attracted some NEW LOWER PRICESI competition, and I noticed in the November 27th Issue of Info that Intel has taken off the gloves. BASIC KIT (SMHZ) - BOARD, MICROPROCESSOR, HUMBUG MONITOR/ World BASIC IN ROM, 4K SRAM, 2 SERIAL PORTS $200 Intel doesn't feel, for instance, that Information Tech PACKAGE DEAL - COMPLETE KIT WITH 10MHZ MICROPROCESSOR, nology's IIT-2C87 is really compatible. Something about not SK*DOS OPERATING SYSTEM, 512K DRAM $499 getting "identical numerical results" during tests with 1-2-3 SYSTEM BOARD (12MHZ) - ASSEMBLEDITESTED, 1MEG RAM, 6 PCIXT and AutoCAD. IT responded by saying that its chip meets or PERIPHERAL PORTS, SK*DOS $699 exceeds the IEEE standards and that the differences resulted from the chip's greater accuracy. (Intel says it will be ·running COMPLETE INFORMATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST tests on other coprocessor clones soon. I can't wait.) PERIPHERAL TECHNOLOGY I'd be interested in an article on math coprocessor clones, 1710 CUMBERLAND POINT DR., #8 especially with some information on how good, how fast, and . MARIETTA, GA 30067 404/984-0742 how cheap. Heck, gooder; faster, and cheaper can't be all bad . COD/MASTER CARONISA/CHECK Meanwhile, with the 80486' s continuing bugs and its initial SK*DOS IS A TRADEMARK OF STAR-K SOFTWARE SYSTEMS CORP. price of $1,000 a pop, there might be an independent who could try its hand at processor design. And it might even work. Reader Service Number 119
74 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 AROUND THE BEND Thankyou Thankyou "We're fine." Last issue I mentioned I was looking through the Micro C "Any more symptoms?" software cupboard for a copy of Microsoft C 5.1 to check out "Not that we're aware of." C-Thru-ROM. Unfortunately, we didn't have a copy. Within "Great. Should I purchase a 286 for the office or a 386?" hours of our release of 51.0 (okay, the January/February It turned out he was planning to purchase a medical pack issue), I received a huge brown box from Microsoft. age and he could get the software and a 386 clone together for I know what they put in boxes that size. Everything you'd $16,000 or the software alone for a mere $7,000. I figured he ever want to C. could pick up a 386 for less than $9,000, but he brought up a I opened it up. good point. If he purchases the hardware and software sepa "Microsoft Announces Tool for Powerful Application rately and there's a problem, he could be subjected to a lot of Development:" finger pointing rather than action. (It's his fault, no it's his .... ) Wow, must be a whole new release! I mentioned that if hardware were going to be a problem, it "The Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System." would probably fail quickly. The software, especially when it's Gee. They shouldn't have. a database package, will usually wait a year or two. (I can't complain, though. I called them up, asked for a C, Why do database packages fail? They get confused. After a and bingo, 5.1 showed up in under 24 hours.) year or two inserting new patients, deleting others, multiply ing bills, figuring diagnoses, changing diagnoses, changing di Beware Of Databases agnoses again, little nasties start appearing. (I don't mean I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor (he wanted viruses or warts or anything like that, just nasties.) to see how his latest project-me-was working). After sitting A local dentist friend found out all about that. He'd de in the waiting room the prerequisite half hour, I was ushered cided to purchase a patient management package. (Designed into the fearsome little cubicle decked out with all the nasty for those specializing in orthodontics and other medieval tor apparatus. Usually I get to commune with the nasties for tures.) When he called around, most of his friends said there another 45 minutes, but this time he appeared almost in was one package they really loved. stant(y. A year later, however, those same orthodontists were brac "How are we feeling today?" ing themselves for a barrage of unretainered clients. They'd
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Reader Service Number 37 Reader Service Number 161 MIC~O CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 75 Continuing AROUND THE BEND been over-billing some, under-billing others, and losing No Rocky Mountain SOG patients (patience) altogether. (But getting my dentist friend to I've just been notified by the Aspinal Wilson Center and by change to another system has been like pulling teeth.) Scenic River Tours that as of press time (January 8), they have Meanwhile back at the office consultation: as I was describ not been paid for last year's Rocky Mountain SOG. Because of ing the dentist's experience, my doctor mentioned that he had this, I can't, in good conscience, lend Micro C's name to a 1990 just talked to a physician whose Mac had just eaten half his SOG in Gunnison. customers. What a headache. This has been a most difficult decision. Scott Ladd has been I'll bet somewhere out there, there's a dental programmer a strong SOG supporter and he worked hard to make the first who wishes he'd kept his stacks a little cleaner and his varia Rocky Mountain SOG a success. It was a success, but at bles a little more local. (More than a few dentists would give tendees paid to go rafting, to attend a barbeque and banquet, their eyeteeth for a two-hour crack at the fellow's molars.) and to use the facilities at the Aspinal Center. That money has not been passed along. Marketing However, you'll have your choice of three other SOGs this If you follow "On Your Own," you know that last issue's year (they're all looking for speakers). tome by Kim and Don Jindra was really a handbook on marketing software. Longhorn SOG What you might not have realized is that the article itself Friday & Saturday, June 29th & 30th in Denton, Texas (just turned out to be the most effective marketing they've done for North of Dallas) Contact: Information Modes. (They're selling a $25 network as well as a Kim Jindra group of other technical products.) Information Modes 817-387-3339 The January /February issue of Micro C was mailed the first of December. "By December 14 we'd surpassed our best SOG East month ever. In fact, the first week was incredible, totally Friday & Saturday, Aug. 17th & 18th in York Pa. Contact: amazing. We knew your readers were extremely loyal, but we John Ribar had no idea. 717-854-3861 8-9am Eastern "Kim's been working day and night just filling orders." 717-729-5108 8-12pm Eastern BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THE ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMER Are You Moving? ~~:TAS~ POWERSM~O~ Take With Source Code Outside U.S. ~15.00 CA ReSidence $299 •95 Add 7% Sales Tax Micro Cornucopia MCand VISA With You ...... Please send us your new address at: Micro Cornucopia PO Box 223 Bend, OR 97709 Old Address Name: ______Street: ______City: ______State: ______Zip Code: ______ALSO AVAILABLE: New Address ASMFLOW $99.95 Street: ______An Assembly Language City: ______Flow Charting and Source State: ______Code Analysis Tool Zip Code: ______.-.-.-.-... -...... •...... ~ Reader Service Number 139 76 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 AROUND THE BEND Robo-SOG Set aside August 9-12 to visit the Seattle area and be a part of our first SOG. Robo-SOG. Sponsored by the Seattle Robotics Society, Robo-SOG '90 will offer much of what you expect from a SOG: quality talks (let us know if you'd like to speak), barbeque, banquet, fresh air, and, of course the Jolt-SIGs; We'll also have maze-running robots, camping (for those so reclined), and a Junque de jour tour. The robotics maze-run is open to all (robots). If you would like more information on preparing your metal monster to do battle, drop us a postcard. We'll be sending out complete details on prices, location, accommodations, and schedules after March 15. We'll also have maze specifications and contest guidelines at that time. Watch the pages of Micro C for more details. MikeTh~ng 1103640t NE Seattle, W A 98125 Voice: (206) 362-5373 BBS: (206) 362-5267 ~ David J. Thompson, Editor • • • Show Us Your Stuff! Larry, Carol, and I (Dave) were chatting it up in the EGA VGA SVGA Unix Xenix graphics department when Carol suggested we have readers send in samples of the images they're creating on computer. (That's what happens when you plan is sues a year ahead, people take the subjects seriously.) @[f®~[ffio©~ Library We really liked the idea, now it's your turn. Send us your graphics. What kind of graphics? All C Source and Binary Versions: both include C source to a kinds: mechanical renderings, scanned and edited full-featured GIF viewer and several other demonstration programs. pixel images, vector drawings, pixel drawings, any No CGI or BIOS - Direct Video Card Access: Fast! thing. 12 Video Modes: including BOOx600x16 and 360x4BOx256 on VGA systems, and 640x400x256 on Paradise SVGA cards. Hard copy is easiest for us to view but we'll take files Multiple Active Graphics Virtual Terminals: Compatible also. (Or even better, send both files and hard copy.) If with X Windows and VPlix. you send files, send all the information about how you Primitives: point, line, solid, bitblt, clipping, ellipse, more. Twelve created them. If you used a commercial drawing alu operations (really) in 16 color video modes. And programs package, include its name and version. can be written independent of video mode and adapter. Mail should be sent to: Software Cursor for Bus Mouse: port X Window clients Graphics to a high speed dedicated screen (just one idea)! Micro Cornucopia Fifty BDF Fonts: plus font compiler and examination utilities. P.O. Box 223 Fully Documented. Bend, Oregon 97709 . Operating System Version Source Binary Or leave files on the Micro C BBS (503) 382-7643. Interactive 386/ix (all versions) $199 $99 We'd like to see your stuff by the first of June. That Xenix/3862.3 $199 $99 AT&T SystemV/386 $199 $99 way we'll have two months to view and choose the others CALL CALL art. Plus, it'll give us a chance to get back to you for GIF viewer binary (specify Unix version) $39 further information or even an article. Any questions? Call Dave, Carol, or Larry at Micro C, JDyx Enterprises (503) 382-8048, or get on the Micro C BBS, (503) 382- 907 Tuxworth Circle, Decatur, GA 30033 7643, and leave a message for the SYSOP (Larry). (404) 320-7624 BBS: (404) 321-5020 Reader Service Number 191 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 77 Letters continued from page 6 tainly beats shelling out for a monster c++ and Oh Oh Pascal). As the wave of Another bitch is having zero info on file monitor! the future, it behooves us to keep formats. There are many occasions abreast of this technology lest we be left where a small self-written utility could Andrew Marchant Shapiro behind. The ether is too thin in this save a heap of work. Hey, I'm over 30 815 Hattie St. area, and the more others understand, and time's growing too short to have to Schenectady, NY 12308 the more the rest of us will understand hack every damn thing just to have a (ref: "The lOath Monkey"). fighting chance. But Will It Do Windows? Based on the sterling reviews Micro So, just thought I'd mention the typo I read your mag. I understand some C and other journals bestowed on the in Bruce's article. Look at the time! Did of it, but why have a robot project for OrCAD CAD software packages, I pur my mind wander again? such an inane thing as maze running? chased both their schematic design and Don't misunderstand. I want a robot, printed circuit board layout packages. Dave Stojan and now. But a mere maze solver isn't While I am duly impressed with the 10310 Lybert Rd. worth the effort. I will build or buy a vast (and I do mean vast) range of dis Houston, TX 77041 robot only if it will clean my bathroom. plays, printers, and plotters they sup Let it be schedulable weekly for the port, and the professional results. that Editor's note: Actually, I think the sche porcelain, counters, and floors; monthly can be obtained, I must disagree with matic is correct. Normally the - input is for the walls and ceiling. Let it do the comment about "doing useful work placed on top, which might have thrown everything within the doorway except in an hour." you a bit ..(That's why we've ignored your towels. I hope it isn't too expensive be- letter.) As for dissolving our petroleum cause I want it now. ~:::I~\\ based, supers tick, cover ink with your bare \.'In------~ hands, there might be a job for you with A.K.Holmes Exxon's Alaskan division. 4210 7th Ave. N. E. Seattle, W A 98105 Return To The Radar Equation Sigh. You've finally done it: printed Random Ramblings another letter about the great optical Thought I might point out an error sensor debate, and forced me to write in Bruce Eckel's "Low Cost I/O For The (see Letters, Issue #50). PC" article (Issue #49). Figure 2 has the Let's ignore the fact that for at least inverting (-) and non-inverting (+) in one detector the transmitter range is not puts transposed. Obviously a typo; for the same as the receiver range, so you givable, but should be mentioned in the can't just multiply the two inverse errata for the sake (and sanity) of square ranges and call this an inverse newcomers. fourth. The by-now semi-mythical radar N ow for a beef about your magazine. equation deals with power, and goes The new cover style is truly a work of something like this: first you transmit art but, unfortunately, more than the power, then you reflect power, and fi concepts within "stick" with me. nally you detect power. Now to get During the course of a heated reading specific. frenzy, anxious perspiration develops One can generate a lot of work in an A transmitter radiates power over on my quivering fingers (remember hour or two, but be forewarned: it may some beam angle, and at a given range your first love?). Either I have a truly not be useful. For drawing schematics produces a power density PDl, propor unique metabolism, or common sweat is and such, the SDT III is a breeze and a tional to the inverse square of the range. an excellent solvent for your cover ink joy to use. For using that work with the This power is reflected by a target with (front and back, all colors). Sorry, gloves layout software, there can be pitfalls. area AT. Thus the reflected power PR is slow me down; the solution (no pun in Thankfully, their technical support is as equal to PDl x AT and is proportional tended) is up to you. good as reviewed, and they really do to llR squared. Perhaps that Fogg fella might detour send updates to people besides re The reflected power produces a off the fractal fanaticism track for a viewers without being asked! power density PD2. at the detector, while. Do we really need encourage My major complaints are the docu which has an area of AD. Total power ment to waste time? Clever ploy using mentation and limitations of the layout at the detector PD is equal to PD2 x AD, excellent PostScript info as an excuse to package. A chapter on the overall and the fraction of PR which reaches diddle with more fractals; two points philosophy of the package would the detector is also proportional to 1/R for Larry. double its worth. squared. So the total power at the detec Might I also suggest publishing more As a user, the question comes to tor is proportional to P% squared or VR useful programs that demonstrate the mind: why bother to support a board cubed. Simple, yes? nature and advantages of Object up to 32" by 32" when it has a devil of No. Sorry, folks. The inverse square Oriented Programming (preferably in a time handling a board VB that size? relationship for PR assumes that the tar- 78 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, Ma~ch-April, 1990 get is smaller than the beam at that range: in other words, that the target is unresolved. This is correct for most radars, which look at long ranges using long wavelengths, but it doesn't neces sarily apply to optical systems. It cer tainlydoesn't apply to a maze running robot which just wants to keep from running into walls. If the target (such as a wall) is bigger than the transmit beam, all of the trans mitted power will be reflected. The final power at the detector is proportional only to the inverse square of the range. I won't go into details, but you can show that if the target is resolved by Gor-lsu:,t:€Z-lNb -m~ coH~ra; T/.r~ either the transmitting or the receiving MAct\IN/:-j 6e:r D~e.sSWl 6R.VS\{ y()()~ system' (or both), the overall response of the system is an inverse square relation YoHo Applause For The Poet ship. Yo! (Generic young-adult salutation.) I would like to applaud your ma It gets worse. If you use a bare detec Well gosh, I never thought I'd find my gazine for carrying the article "The Poet tor (no lens in front), the 1/R squared re self writing my favorite magazine ... and the Computer" by Norman Cousins lationship for PD2 is not valid unless etc., etc. Of all the magazines I read in Issue #51. Micro C has a marvelous the illuminated target is pointlike. The each month, only youse guys and Steve blend of articles which cover every usual rule of thumb calls for a distance Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar Ink make me feel aspect of computing. Very few ma of ten times the target diameter, which the same way that I felt after my first gazines would publish an article on so for this application requires a fairly date. philosophical a topic, especially one small spot. As for your content, keep it up! The which questioned the desirability of You can put a lens in front of the de casual, occasionally flippant attitude, even having a computer. tector to get around this, but then you the philosophic bent, etc., sum up to I think it is important to address the have to focus the lens. If you could do one word: Fun. The magazine is fun to role that computers have in society and that, you'd know the range to the target read and it appears that it's fun to to see that they are used to further already. write. man's development, not retard it. Also, the inverse square law does not BYTE and DDJ used to be fun, but.. .. I also enjoy the nuts-and-bolts ap necessarily apply to a transmitting lens It's like watching my older friends proach in your articles. They are not system. Indeed, any simple lens which graduate: "Well, I guess I'll cut my hair written to dazzle the reader, but to focuses a point source to a spot smaller above my collar, start shaving, mothball show how something works. The en than the lens will produce an area in my jeans and T-shirts. And Oh hey! thusiasm which the authors have for which the power density increases with Men's Warehouse has a special deal on their subjects comes through. Congratu increasing range. suits this week!" lations on your Renaissance computer My suggestions? Use a simple lens in Some advice not to take from the magazine. front of the transmitter LED to get as new money-men: small a spot as possible. Use a bare de Dave Christy tector with a snout to restrict its field of • "If you cut back your editorial to 2039 Hudnut Rd. view. one page, you can devote. more Schwenksville, P A 19473 If you don't chop the LED output, pages to articles." (Hah!) • AC couple the detector, and put an IR • "This is not relevant. This is a • • filter over it, things like patches of computer mag, after all." I I I I I I I I I I I I sunlight will eat you for lunch. Even • "You look tired. I know a good better, go to phase sensitive detection. editor from PC??? mag who's NEW! Oh, and one more thing (he says, dying to help out." •.•.. NoW. Mlcrp'96tl1~c.o~i~pas.J11icr()f~@~v~il~bi\'.tx; , turning around in his rumpled trench 1?rnmrT1ic:~~mm;.~5ml11 ..• miC:fomrn;19?mlll.. ·. rnicr9~ coat): pay close attention to the article in fiC:~E1.\ 99pi~s.·••. ·.. of.·.· •. issues·.·· .. ~nd ai1ic:1es •..••.•· previqe MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 79 Writing A C Simulator & Compiler UNITS & Writing Microcontroller Tools In Modula-II MODULES Stony Brook's Modula-2 has structured con By Michael S. Hunt Boy, what's this crazy column come to? Let's stants. The definition of the instruction set (see 2313 N. 20th see, the authors (yep, authors) are writing a C Figure 2) uses a structured constant to initial Boise, ID 83702 cross compiler in Modula-II so folks can put to ize the opcode, number of bytes to increment (208) 336-7413 gether microcontrollers. Only in Micro C. the program counter, and the number of clock cycles the instruction takes to execute. The eight instructions I've shown in Figure have always wanted to .learn more about 2 are only a sample of the 209 total. The record computer hardware. When I got to Rocky for the instruction set also includes a proce IMountain SaG, I was pleased to see Karl dure variable that points to the procedure that Lunt giving two hardware talks. After his sec will actually execute the instruction. The pro ond talk, I asked Karl how a software person cedures are defined separately so that each like myself could make the plunge. Karl men will be easy to maintain (see Figure 3). tioned that a high level language compiler for The instruction set array is initialized one the microcontrollers would make the learning element at a time (see Figure 4). It is assigned experience much easier for beginners. the constant whose opcode matches its ele We discussed the idea again that night with ment index. The instruction procedures are as Dave at the Jolt SIG. Soon we decided that I signed according to the opcode they represent would write a compiler for the MC68HC705C8 (see Figure 5). microcontroller and Karl would develop some With only 209 instructions, that leaves 47 projects using the compiler. Dave got off easy, array elements (out of 256) unused. Their pro all he has to do is publish the results. cedure variables are initialized to an error Just as I was gearing up to write my first handling routine (see Figure 6). compiler, Micro C called. John Ribar of SaG The instructions could have been executed East fame was interested in joining the project. using a large case statement, but that would John has more compiler experience than I do, have been unwieldy and inefficient. Or I could so he took over the compiler part of the pro have stored the procedures in an array, sorted ject. That leaves nothing to do but write a soft by opcode. This method is better; but because ware simulator for the 'HC705. not all opcodes are used, a binary search must be used to access the procedures. Inside The Simulator So I decided to store the procedures in The simulator lets you develop and debug array elements that corresponded to their op 'HC705 programs. To be useful the simulator codes. This let me directly execute the proce must do many things. It must display any dure and it let me trap any invalid opcodes. memory location, stack and registers included, validate all instructions and addresses, and Notes From John Ribar count clock cycles. It is essentially a debugger: I'm not doing anything tricky in my com The memory structure of the simulator (see piler development. At first, I thought that Figure 1) can handle up to 16K even though using a "compiler compiler" would make the the 'HC705 has only 8K of memory. This project simpler, but then the project would in makes it easier for the simulator to support the volve yet another thing to learn. rest of the HC05 micro controllers. So I'm building a handmade compiler. This A memory element consists of three fields: takes a bit more work but is a better learning first, the memory value; second, is a experience and usually produces superior re read/write read/only flag; and the third flags sults. the element if it's used for the current chip I'm using TopSpeed Modula-2, and my im configuration. plementation covers a basic subset of the C 80 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 language. I chose Modula-2 to show its Figure I-Simulator Memory Structure usefulness in larger projects. The choice of C as the target language was to DEFINITION MODULE MemHCOS; pacify those of us who had to learn the language, and now want a reason to use TYPE Mem_Type = RECORD it. (John wrote a C book for mem CHAR; (* memory value *) Osborne/McGraw Hill called TopSpeed C r_w BOOLEAN: (* read/write flag *) Made Easy, but he is actually a bigger fan used : BOOLEAN (* usable flag *) of Modula-2!) END: Meanwhile, I'm building the com VAR piler in two pieces-the front end and Memory : ARRAY [0 .. 16383] OF Mem_Type: the back end. END MemHCOS. The front end reads in the source code, checking syntax and generating a ••• pseudo-code version of the program. It also builds the necessary tables for jumps, procedure calls, data areas, etc. Figure 2-Instruction Set Definition The back end takes the pseudo-code and generates either M68HC05 as DEFINITION MODULE ISetHC05; sembly code or machine language. The ' machine language is built for one of the TYPE Opcode_Type= CARDINAL [0 .• 255]: (* valid byte values *) 'OS memory models, and is then ready to download to the project board. The Instr_Type= RECORD assembly code allows the inquiSitive opcode Opcode_Type; (* numeric value for opcode *) reader to see what kind of code the C bytes CARDINAL; (* nbr of bytes to increment PC *) cycles CARDINAL (* nbr of clock cycles to *) source is generating. END; (* execute instruction *) To the user, this is a simple com mand-line driven compiler. Using your favorite editor, write a simple C pro gram, and then compile it in a way sim ilar to most C compilers. I haven't im CONST plemented C's more esoteric features, Instr_Type= OABH, 2, 2 1 ; but if you have a weekend or two .... Instr_Type = OBSH, 2, 3 ]: Instr_Type'= OeCH, 3, 3 ] ; Modula-2 Wars Revisited (Michael Instr_Type = 042H, 1, 111: Instr_Type= [ 050H", 1, 3]: Hunt Again) Instr_Type :::: [OAOH, 2, 2Ji Just after returning from SOG, I re Instr":"'lyJ?e = [ 03DH, 2, 4]; ceived Stony Brook's new Modula-2 Instr~Type= r ,08FH, 1, 2 1 compiler. JPI's TopSpeed Modula-2 had the overall best execution times in the Issue #47 compiler review. However, Stony Brook's new Professional Mod ula-2 v2.02 simply blows TopSpeed away (see Figure 7). All this ,speed and still one unused optimization. I did not use the inline procedure expansion be cause it would have inflated the code size. Use of the procedure expansion would further reduce execution times MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 81 but would increase the code size. The Professional Modula-2 now has the QuickMod development environ ment. From the same environment, you can use the QuickMod compiler to develop programs and then use the Pro fessional optimizing compiler to pro duce extremely fast compact production versions. The optimizing compiler has ten different optimizations plus the abil ity to expand procedures inline. Until recently, if you wanted the best in optimized code you had to choose as sembly or C. If you are a Modula-2 fan, now your code can compete in the per formance-oriented PC software market. Hard Disk TLC While working on this article, I ex perienced my first hard disk error. CHKDSK found one lost cluster in one chain. While this is not as serious as a read failure, it did spook me. I looked at the volume date and real ized I had not formatted the hard disk in two years and two days. It had 33 MB of data that had not been backed up in a long time. I subjected myself to the lengthy backup, low-level format, and restore process. It took six· hours of stuffing disks, but now the hard disk is backed up, unfragmented, and I have a warm secure feeling. Do yourself and your hard disk a favor, backup regularly and perform a low-level format every six to twelve months. Next Time I've chosen the Professional Modula- 2 compiler for the simulator project so I can get a feel for how it performs on larger projects. I'll continue coverage of the simulator and compiler. For the next several issues, I'll present smaller pro jects while wo~king on the simulator. Happy bit-twiddling to ya. Jensen & Partners International 1101 San Antonio Road, Suite 301 Mountain View, CA 94043 (800) 543-5202 US (800) 543-8452 Canada (415) 967-3200 (415) 967-3288 FAX Stony Brook Software, Inc. 187 E. Wilbur, Suite 9 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (800) 624-7487 (800) 496-5837 CA & International (805) 496-7429 FAX • • • 82 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 Good Figure 5-Instruction Procedure Initialization IMPLEMENTATION MODULE InitIPrc; News For FROM ISetHC05 IMPORT Instr Arr: IMPORT IPrcBC05; - FROM ErrBC05 IMPORT Invalid_Opcode; Anyone PROCEDURE Init Instr Proc: BEGIN (* a;sign~pcode procedures *) Who Has Instr_Arr[ OABH ).proc := IPrcBC05.Add_Imm; Instr_Arr[ OB5B ).proc := IPrcBC05.Bit Dir; Instr_Arr{ OCCB }.proc := IPrCBCOS;Jmp:Ext; Instr_Arr{ 042B 1.proc := IPrcBCOS.Mul_Inh; One Of Instr_Arr{ 050H }.proc := IPrcHC05.Neg_Inh_X; Instr_Arr{ OAOH ].proc := IPrcHC05.Sub Imm; Instr~r[ 03DB l.proc := IPrcBCOS.Tst:Dir: Instr_Arr[ oaFB }.proc := IPrcBCOS.Wait_Inh; These. (* set invalid opcodes to point to error handler procedure *) Instr~r{ 031H 1.proc := Invalid_Opcode; Instr_Arr[ OAFH ] .proc := Invalid_Opcode END InitlPrc. • • • Figure 6-Error Handler IMPLEMENTATION MODULE ErrHCOS; The good news is you can lower your major risk factors for heart disease. And the best news is that Americans have done just that. You've quit smoking, balanced your diet and watched your blood pressure. In fact, since 1977, death rates from heart attack have gone down by 30.9%. Death rates from stroke have gone down 37.3%. So keep up the good work. And we'll keep on working to support the scientific breakthroughs and medical innovations that help us all make progress against Americas number one killer. To learn about reducing your risk, write the American Heart ASSOCiation, 7320 Greenville Ave., Box 9, Dallas, TX 7523l. Your Life Is In Your Hands. American Heart Association MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 83 Free Software WARE' screen. Or you can feed Ghostscript a file on By Larry Fogg Boy, you can't make book on keeping a good the command line. When your code heads off Micro C Staff columnist. We just got Tony broken in and some to "where no program has gone before," silly book publisher asks him to write a book. For Ghostscript prints a reasonable error message tunately, Larry leapt into the breach. and displays the contents of the stack to aid in the post mortem. Ghostscript doesn't implement the show...; ith Tony Barcellos gone to the Land Of page operator (Le., it can't print a hard copy), Many Pages (book publishing, that is), but who cares. You'll use Ghostscript as a W we find our stable of writers a bit learning tool and for debugging. It's simple short. (Listen. You can hear the writers now: enough to send a file off to the printer once it's snorting and pawing at the snow to uncover ready for prime time. A few other operators the dictionaries and thesauri. We really should didn't make it into Ghostscript, and it has some bring them indoors during the winter, but limitations when dealing with large numbers. they're incredibly messy and tend to frighten But I tested the interpreter with several Post visitors.) Script files I had kicking around and didn't run We're sorry to see Tony go. His work on the into any major problems with its limitations. Shareware column has been an editor's dream: One complaint. On my system, Ghostscript always in close to deadline, always lucid and doesn't exit very gracefully. I'm left in a interesting, and always written in English. But curious text mode with no cursor. A quick an able replacement waits in the wings. Next "MODE COBO" cleans up the screen. I could issue Nelson Ford, famed in Shareware circles change it if I weren't so lazy. That's the bad for his Public (Software) Library, tries on this part of getting source code with a program; column. you can't bitch about anything. Especially if For now, I'll try to fill Tony's shoes by you pay $0 for it. covering three programs that caught my eye re Documentation: Terse. Adequate. cently. This will be a bit of a departure from Ghostscript's license covers only two con the normal Shareware column. I'll talk about cerns. First, access to the program and its free software: a trio of programs written purely source code must not be restricted. In a nut for the fun of it and given away. Ya gotta shell, no one should try to stop anyone from admit, free is a very good price. And, in these giving away copies. cases, you get more than your money's worth. Second, be sure to take credit for any changes you make to Ghostscript. The authors Ghostscript don't want to become infamous for any oogies Last issue, Tony mentioned that we might you introduce. Reasonable requests, both. see an increasing number of PostScript utilities from folks other than Adobe (PostScript's crea LHarc tor). One of these utilities is Ghostscript, from The recent ARC wars left a handful of very Aladdin Enterprises. strong survivors. Among those, LHarc stands Ghostscript interprets the Ghostscript lan out for its highly efficient compression method, guage, a very close clone of PostScript. Then it a very tight self-extraction capability, and low uses its library of EGA graphics functions to price (excuse me, no price). display the results. Yep, EGA required. Developed in Japan with a strong emphasis For learning the fundamentals of PostScript on compression, LHarc succeeds well. This is programming, I highly recommend Ghost the package to use if your major concern is file Script. In its interactive mode, you enter com size. mands and immediately see the results on the The ability to create self-extrading archives 84 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 makes LHarc very attractive for bulletin FRACTINT . much of an effort to add that capability. boards, Shareware authors, and anyone In an absolute return to the. public Fractal aficionados will find all the else distributing files to an unknown domain spirit of computing's early features you've come to expect from audience. No worries; users don't need years, a group of programmers has fractal software: mouse support, screen to have a compatible extraction utility to created the best fractal program I've save/restore, animation (not true ani get at the archive contents. They just ex seen, bar none. mation, but varying the color map gives ecute the archive and it takes care of the FRACTINT does everything imagi a nice animation-like effect), 3-D, printer rest. nable in the way of producing mesmer dump (LaserJet and Epson compatibles), Here, LHarc shines. Its self-extraction izing images on your screen. It com and much more. function adds only 1263 to 1295 bytes putes a wide range of fractal types: If you can take advantage of the 386- much less than PKZIP's 15,512 bytes. Mandelbrot set, Julia sets, Newton specific fixed point routines, fractals This means that bulletin boards can af- . domains of attraction, Lambda sets, and will fly across your screen. If not, emu ford to make more files self-extracting my favorite-plasma clouds. lation of these routines lets the program without paying a huge price in extra Plasma clouds have nothing to do run (more slowly) on anything down to disk space and download time. with fractals, but they're at least as the 8088. In default mode, FRACTINT Largely because of this slick ability, much fun to watch. They use a recur can make some good guesses in areas of we've switched from ARC to LHarc on sive technique to divide the screen into solid color. This speeds up the program the Micro C BBS. Look for it under the rectangles. Each corner of a rectangle even more, with very little loss of detail. name LHl13C.EXE (a self-extracting ar gets a random color assignment, with a Another interesting speed-up tech chive, of course). sort of averaging technique filling in the nique makes use of the periodic be Haruyasu Yoshizaki (the author) rectangles to achieve a cloud-like effect. havior of points in the middle of the doesn't make any claims for fast execu For pure viewing pleasure, an animated Mandelbrot set. While iterating its little tion, and LHarc is considerably slower plasma cloud surpasses even the vener heart out, if FRACTINT recognizes a re than the rest of the pack. But the lack of able lava lamp. peating series of values it can bail out of blinding speed didn't trouble me; for FRACTINT even does things only the loop early and save a lot of wasted my purposes, it's fast enough. you can imagine by providing a stub effort. Smart program. See Figure 1 for a comparison of called testptO. Write your own fractal The friendly, amusing, and complete LHarc, PKZIP from PKware, and ARC generating innards for this function, re documentation begins with the banner, from System Enhancement Associates. compile, and test the function (with full II An experiment in 'Stone Soup' For this test, I archived a 216,722 byte access to FRACTINT's support for development. Got anything for the mix of 18 text and executable files. mouse, 3-D, animation, etc.). pot?" It ends the distribution policy. The reader is encouraged to use, mod ify, and distribute the program. And fi Figure 1-Archive Utility Comparison nally, the bottom line. The plug for con tributions: "Don't want money. Got Program Archive Size Creation time Extraction Time money. Want admiration." ARC v. 6.02 150143 0:46 . 0:33 Bert Tyler, Timothy Wegner, and a PKZIP v. 1.01 123317 0:59 0:21 LHarc v. 1.13c 122230 1:43 1:02 host of others have created a work of art. They certainly have my admiration. • • • Programs Mentioned All three programs are alive and well A good deal of effort has gone into Did I say recompile? You bet. FRAC on the Micro C BBS (503-382-7643) and naming the different file compression TINT comes with full source code writ on our Issue #52 Listings Disk. algorithms. We used to get by with ten in Microsoft C 5.1. Some modules squeeze and unsqueeze. Now we were coded with MASM 5.1 for speed, Ghostscript verso 1.2 crunch and uncrunch, implode and ex but don't despair if you don't own this Distributed by: plode, and throw in the occasional particular assembler; OBJ files come The Free Software Foundation, Inc. squeeze for old time's sake. LHarc with the source code so all you have to 675 Mass Ave. freezes and melts its archive elements; do is link' em in. Cambridge, MA 02139 keep a towel handy. Just for fun I recompiled in Turbo C. (617) 876-3296 Adherence to a "standard" always I had to make only minor repairs, most comes as a shock in the computer of them changing the C++ commenting LHarc verso 1.13c world. You'll feel right at home with convention (" / /") to standard C (" /*"). Contact Yoshi through: LHarc if you've ever used ARC or In just a few minutes the program was Kenjirou Okubo PKZIP; all three programs use similar up and running again. CompuServe 74100,2565 or command line syntax. FRACTINT doesn't autodetect the GEnie via K.OKUBO Complete documentation describes graphics adapter on your system; you the program and includes a distribution select from a slew of possibilities. Very FRACTINT verso 9.0 policy very similar to Ghostscript's. nice if you have a VGA but would like Authors on CompuServe, These folks just want to keep their ef to explore in a lower resolution mode. PICS S 16 forum forts free-ranging through the computer The only common adapter left off the cosmos. Nice. list is Hercules, and it wouldn't be • • • MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 85 muD Dm~ nrnm Finding Text Fast [[IDBITS sults. My opening algorithm was simple: Read; By Gary Entsminger When I dug into this column, I quickly found Compare; Act. P.o. Box 2091 lots of text on quickly finding lots of text. My I/O Davis, CA 95617 may not be as fast as a 386SX, but then I'm not Via Buffers sure how to expand my buffers. When we read a file, employing say Readln in Turbo Pascal, we use DOS to read data a chunk at a time into-(1) first a disk buffer; (2) inding a fast way to search a string for a then a program buffer where Readln then pattern (or substring) is a fundamental reads it a line at a time. Fcomputing task, well-researched and The DOS disk buffer and the Turbo Pascal whittled. After you've bought a faster com file buffer are, by default, transparent. DOS 3.3 puter, a faster hard disk, and a faster language, and 4.0 (the versions I'm using) set the default it hinges on two tracks: (1) an algorithm; (2) number of disk buffers to correspond to sys I/O implementation. Cleverness and common tem configurations. For example, on a 640K XT sense, one might say. or AT using a hard disk, DOS 3.3 and DOS 4.0 Recently, while developing a text retrieval set 15 buffers. DOS 3.1 (running on 640K XTs program I call Wizard, I needed to optimize a and ATs) sets 2 and 3 buffers, respectively. pattern search. I learned a couple of simple In the default setup, each time a program ploys which you might consider. calls Readln, it waits for DOS to look first in its As seems often the case, I was knee-deep in disk buffers for the data. If the data isn't there, an I/O bound situation. I wanted to search a it waits while DOS reads 512 bytes times the database of text files (stored on a hard disk, number of buffers. Finally it waits for 128 CD ROM, Bernoulli Box, etc.), find files that bytes to transfer from a disk buffer into the contained specific patterns, and act on t~e re- program's file buffer. Figure l-Effects of Disk Buffers on Search Speed File Buffer= 12 8 bytes; Pattern= 1 0 chars 30 ,------~ rJl -"0 o= CJ Q rJl 20 --.~= 10 o , I 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 I I Number of Disk Buffers I 86 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 If DOS finds the data in a buffer, it (Note: Each benchmark test assumes To test various buffers, I ran identical doesn't have to read the disk, which the worst case-the pattern we're look searches on a 1 megabyte database of saves time. Increasing the number of ing for doesn't exist in any of the files to files. I doubled the buffer size each time buffers increases the amount of work be searched. This forces the program to trying buffers of-128 bytes, 256 bytes, space DOS has for data. In theory, the search every line of every file. Wizard 512 bytes, 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, and more data already in memory, the less abandons a search and moves on to the 64K. See Figure 2 for the results. often DOS has to access the disk. next file as soon as it finds a match, so Each search uses a so-called brute Hence-the faster the I/O. successful searches are often consider force algorithm that yields roughly The DOS disk buffer and Turbo Pas ably faster.) linear results. The files vary in size from cal file buffer defaults are intentionally 10K-120K. I used a 32 ms drive (no disk set low. This is to save memory and be Buffers Within Programs caching or other tricks) and a 16 MHz cause (as I'll show) different situations You'll improve a program's perform 386SX. For an approximate 8 MHz AT benefit from different configurations. ance more by fiddling with its file comparison, double the times. Bigger isn't necessarily faster or buffers than you will by allocating more The graph' indicates a very useful more efficient. DOS can, for example, disk buffers. And you'll have more con trend-we can increase the program file waste time looking through buffers trol over your program once it's out of buffer size a little and increase speed when it should go straight for the disk. your hands, since you won't have to considerably. And there's beauty in the Each DOS disk buffer holds 512 count on modifying your users' CON compromise-we don't pay much (a 4K bytes, and you can allocate between 1 FIG.SYS files. buffer almost doubles the speed). Note and 99 disk buffers in DOS versions We control file buffer size in Turbo also that a huge (64K) buffer is only a before 3.3. You can allocate between 2 Pascal with the built-in function hair better than 4K or 8K. and 255 in versions 3.3 and 4.0. (How SetTextBuf. C and C++ers use setvbuf. Next, I wondered-what happens ever, I've only been able to allocate The rest of you, check your manuals. when a file buffer is between 2K and more than 99 buffers when I've had ex We simply set up a buffer (I'll use an 4K? Between 4K and 8K? What if a buff panded memory.) array of chars here) and tell our pro er is a hair smaller or larger? I expected Set the number of 512 byte disk gram we want to use that buffer on a this one to be a wild goose chase, but buffers by using- particular file- my recent years' work on chaos theory and thresholds in neural networks Buffers = Algorithms Figure 2-Effects of Buffer Size on Speed Let's move on to the algorithm. The previous one (used in Figures 3 and 4) Searching 1 Mg of files does nothing fancier than begin at the beginning of the string and move 24.00 ~------. through character by character looking for a match. Brute-force, general pur 21.20 pose, and faster on average than you might expect. I snooped around a little and found 18.40 that lots of folks have played with and written about search algOrithms: Wirth, Knuth, Robinson, Dromey, etc. 15.60 I tried several of the algorithms they talk about; the best fllternatives to the brute-force use some variation of a 12.80 lookup table. The algorithms try to un cover ways of eliminating some charac ters in the· target string from the search. 10.00 They then build a lookup table for each 128 256 512 lK 2K 4K 8K 16K 32K 64K search pattern which tells the program Buffer size how to handle the search depending on the current character. MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 87 For example, if the current character is an "e," we might be able to skip four Figure 3-Effects of Slight Changes in the File Buffer characters. Generally, the program uses the table to find out how many charac mmm ~ ~ ters to skip over. This saves, in best 2(chars) 10 20 40 cases, lots of time. It costs, in worst - cases, a little time. , 15.00 fI.l The results in Figure 4 show how -'t:I search speed varies between a very =0 0 14.30 good table lookup system (one using {) the Boyer-Moore algorithm) and the fI.l brute-force system I used earlier. .... 13.60 When a search string or the volume = of data is small, brute-force usually --{) 6 12.90 searches faster. Generally, the longer the ...... , string, the faster the search using either ~ of the algorithms. Very long strings lead 0 12.20 to particularly quick searches using a ~ {)""" table-Iooku p. tZl Tables inherently have two draw 11.50 4095 4096 8191 8192 backs-(1) the time it takes to build them, and (2) the time it takes to use Buffer Size them. If the search pattern is short enough, it's often quicker to look for it directly. I considered passing a pointer to the The object looked something like: Too much time is lost building the table buffer, but a more general solution came and then looking up characters. to mind. \ I incorporated all the proce type Usually though, indirect systems dures and functions that needed to such as a table lookup can speed up share the buffer in an object. I then set LookPtr = ALookup; I/O. An intelligent program might look up a pointer to the object (making it dy Lookup = object (List) at a search pattern and available namic) and allocated space for it (the MyList:array[1 .. 255] of StrList; memory then quickly determine the opti object) on the heap. This preserves the Flag boolean; mal algorithm to use. data segment, frees the stack for other Listsize byte; matters (recursion for example), lets the Array_index byte; Objects pertinent procedures know about the FileName string; Just when I thought 1'd figured buffer, and in general simplifies the pro- Patterns string; enough out to finish my program (and gram. constructor init; Tidbits), I noticed that although I was using only a little memory for a buffer, I was using too much. Figure 4-Effects of Algorithms on Search Speed I was declaring a global array which Turbo Pascal was allocating in the data File buffer = 8 1 9 1 segment (where all global variables are _ B-M mm B-F ~ B-M ~ B-F allocated). Problem #l-after Wizard .5M .5M 1M 1M -completes its search, it builds a list of matching files and then pops file selec 15.00 ,------, tions into -an editor. My editor uses the data segment for its buffer, and it didn't want to share it. 13.40 Global variables stored in the data segment weren't going to work well 11.80 enough in my situation. Local variables (those of procedures and functions) are stored on the stack. So I moved my 10.20 buffer into the procedure that actually handles the search. 8.60 This is a good solution if there's room on the stack, and if other proce dures don't need to know about the 7.00 buffers. For reasons I won't go into, I 2 10 20 40 needed to preserve the buffer between Num of search string characters procedures and sparingly use the stack. I needed a different solution. 88 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 function GetFileName : string; a non-OOP version of most of Object create postscript, .TIF, or .PCX files for procedure match_lines; Professional. I highly recommend both. export to Ventura, Word Perfect, procedure use_file_list; They're complete, well-documented, PageMaker, etc. Recommended. destructor done; virtual; professional! Good deals at $150 (for And that, as the sun fades into this end; {Lookup} Object) and $99 (for Turbo). Source is in hazy, gasoline-polluted day (air-quality: cluded. marginal), is Tidbits. This again reinforces my feelings Turbo Toolkit from Techno Jock about the Pascal (and C) extensions _to down in Houston includes source code References OOP. You use them when you need to and libraries for fast screen writing, Dromey, RG.; How To Solve It By without rethinking the entire program. keyboard input, menu and list building, Computer; 1982;·Prentice-Hall. Making the few adjustments in Wizard string and I/O handling, and oodles Jamsa, Kris; Using DOS 4; 1989; that objects required took a few hours at more. At $49.95, it's a steal; the easiest Osborne McGraw-Hill. most. to use Turbo Pascal toolkit I've used, For more information: good for novices and professionals Useful Tools alike. I've learned a lot about Turbo Pas Advanced Graphics Software I'd like to point you toward a few cal programming"just by using the kits. 333 W. Maude Ave., Suite 105 tools that help my projects develop The third tool is a program (not a Sunnyvale, CA 94086 faster and more smoothly. Three are programming toolkit), SlideWrite Plus (408) 749-8620 Turbo Pascal programming toolkits and from Advanced Graphics in Berkeley. one is a graphics program. I've used SlideWrite Plus intermittently TechnoJock Software The Turbo Pascal tools- for a year and a half now to create P.O. Box 820927 Object Professional and Turbo Pro graphs, tables, text, and combinations of Houston, TX 77282-0927 fessional (from Turbo Power near Santa the three. (800) 242-4775 Cruz) are thorough, professional It's a powerful general purpose toolkits. They include procedures and graphics program and especially good Turbo Power Software functions for building TSRs, data entry for creating custom high-quality graphs. P.O. Box 66747 routines, interrupt services, menus, win You can import data from statistical Scotts Valley, CA 95066-0747 dows, and much more. packages and other graphics programs. (800) 333-4160 . 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Order From: Jeff Dunteman, Dr. Dobbs Micro Cornucopia OREGON il!!i'~ SOFTWARE PO Box 223 Only $30 ppd. Bend, OR 97709 Add $10 for foreign orders 6915 SW Macadam, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97219 USA The following are trademarks: Oregon Software, Oregon Ctt, Oregon Modula-2, Pascal-2, Oregon 1-800-888-8087 Includes Book & Disk Software, Inc., Xenix, Sun-3 ,386i, VAX, VMS, Motorola, UNIX, AT&T, ULTRIX, NCR Tower, HP 9000 Reader Service Number 193 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 89 AT Keyboard Speedup AT Miscellany For a keyboard speedup program that doesn't take up any RAM, try KBSPD (see Figure 1). It works only on an IBM AT (or clone) keyboard, since it resets some parameters in the key board's micro, but it sure runs slick. It's written in Lattice C verso 3.10. Oh, another interesting thing I found out about AT-class toys. If you have an old one whose hard drive tables do not support your drive fully (say, the origi nal IBM AT), you can take your hard drive and controller card to a newer ma chine that does. Format the drive there (low level, FDISK, and FORMAT) and return the pair to your. original machine. Next, run SETUP and tell it your hard drive is whatever type has heads <= # of actual heads and cyls <= actual # of cyls. When you boot, it runs. It even uses all of the disk the other machine could get to. Only catch is, it goofs up what CORETS27 thinks about your drive's performance specs. I suspect you could set these to whatever you wanted by changing the hard disk parameter tables at boot-up, between when it reads the partition table and when it starts loading up the bootable partition. Oh, by the way, PC-DOS leaves about an 8K hole at the start of your disk. (MS-DOS may not do this-Com paq doesn't.) You can use this to hide things, or to add pre-boot tweaks like this and the DRAM refresh-speed changer. (See last issue's Techtips.) I have code to do this, and if there's an interest I'll kludge together an article on it. John Welch 1310 Kenneth Circle Elgin, IL 60120 90 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 VIRTUAL MEMORY for C DATA BREAK out of 640KI Virtual memory manager for data-intensive MS-DOS C Micro Ads programs. VMEMIC contains C 6brary functions which rpr:; .. l·A ++4 automatically bring needed data into memory and offload it back to disk. Often-used data stays in memory. 8 or 9K of runtime. No royalties. No risk. DOS 2.Ot, totaosoft C4.O+, Tubo C 1.5+ 3G-day relLrn, frmo. "aa A Micro Ad is the Inexpensive way to reach over 22,000 technical folks like yourself. To place a Micro l¢Iles. (Ncr« idJdes separate expalded memCl)' itray.) Ad, Just print out your message (make it short and sweet) and mail It to Micro C. We'll typeset your ad $180 (with portable source) (no charge) and run It In the next available issue. You can also send camera ready copy. Rates: $99 for 1 time, $267 for three times, $474 for 6 times (a best buy at only $79 per Insertion). Full payment Arizona Softool Association must accompany ad. Each ad space Is 2 V41nches by 13'4 inches. 5245 E. Larkspur, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (602) 996-3110 Reader Service Number 199 Why you want BATCOM! WISDOM OF THE AGES Experience Embedded BAlCOM is a batch file compiler that compiles Power First electronic book of quotes, sayings & ideas your -.bat- files to -.exe- files to make them faster, more professional, and more capable. 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Specials: Sanyo Color Camera $395 MAX232 for serial VO 6.95 Color Computer Eyes Digitizer $350 PseudoSam 51, 8031 family cross-assembler 50.00 MeR Agency, Inc. MIDI (music) Interface $119 for MSDOS computers (5.25 Inch disk w/docs) 6116 Merced Ave. #81MC MIDI Programmers Toolkit $39 Shipping $3.00 US I $5.00 Canada Free MIDI or Graphics Flyers Illinois Residents Add 6.25% Sales Tax Oakland, CA 94611 ~ 1-800-767-6797 joel Sampson Engineering Cottage Resources Corporation FAX 415-444-6561 Suite 3-672C, 1405 Stevenson Drive P.O. BOx 550363 (214) 328-2730 Springfield, lllinois 62703 Dal1a8. TX 75355 BBS 328-6909 (217) 529-7679 Reader Service Number 181 Reader Service Number 176 Reader Service Number 158 STOCKS OPTIONS FUTURES 8748 EMULATOR COMPUTER BOOKS Turn Your PC Into A Simulate your 8748 pro]rams in software before MARKET QUOTATION MONITOR burning the EPROM. See all internal registers 100 page book covers satellite and radio data and i/o pins. Script files can simulate complex reception of financial news and quotes for your PC. external events. Includes source. $19 (includes demo diskette). Free informative Other Products catalog of: DDS Source Send for FREE information * Data receivers' and kits Fully commented 1.1, 2.1 ...... $15/$45 * Quote processing and display software Hercules Tools COMPUTER BOOKS Graphics stuff w/source ...... $15 * Descrambling software utilities Math Library 303-223-2120 $5 Demo Diskette ascii Floating pl. w/source ...... $15 P.O. 70746 DAlArx I.~ ~ ~llnlorm'lionp.o. Drawer F Mode, Sunnyvale, CA. 94086-0746 111 E_ Drake Rd. Suite 7041 1 O. eDenton, TX 76202 Fort Collins, CO 80525 817·387-3339 1-BO WHITNEY EDITOR $49 EGA FRACTAL MASTER DSP32C COPROCESSOR BOARD Whether fractal novice or fractal hacker, this easy to use Small and fast yet powerful package lets you explore: ~ 25 MFLOP Floating Point DSP Uses all available memory ~ High speed NUMERICS and GRAPHICS The Mandlebrot set Julia sets Split-screen editing ~ 32 BIT on board data bus Dragonland Configurable keyboard Biomorphs ~:~~~~:r~~t':[~9ons ~ 16 bit PC/AT interface Regular expression search Peano curves Fractal landscapes ~ ALL ON BOARD MEMORY DUAL PORTED One key compile ~ Parallel and codec serial 10 Interrupt, save and resume plots at any time. Easily Features for writing documentation ~ 15 ms 1024 point FFT change colors, set boundaries, animate colors, create Condensed/Outline display ~ Assembler, monitor, and libraries mirror images. Supports fast integer computations (even Runs on IBM PC's, AT's, and PS/2's WITHOUT an 80386) and 80x8? math co-processors. Base board and ALL software ...... $950 Includes a slideshow program. Specify 51/4 or 31/2 disk. USA shipping & handling $3; Outside USA $15 640K 85ns memory ...... $300 CA residents add sales tax Only $25 (postage included) SYMMETRIC RESEARCH Paul W. Carlson . Whitney Software, Inc. 15 Central Way, Suite #9, Kirkland, WA 98033 602 North Avenue, #23 P.O.Box 4999, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (415) 933-9019 (206) 828-6560 Burlington, Vermont 05401 Reader Service Number 164 Reader Service Number 182 Reader Service Number 185 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 91 Hercules Video Mode Determination I was recently converting some of our CGA graphics code to work with the Hercules Video board. The code needed to recognize the Herc board, then we needed to be able to tell what mode (text or graphics) the board was in. The code resided in a TSR program and had no control of what happened to the video just prior to its call. Though I searched long and hard, I could find no way to determine the board's mode. The only references I found stated that "the current mode state cannot be determined." To start off, we wrote a small routine that would let us put the board into either mode. Then we added code to monitor everything we could monitor. (We were working without a real tech nical manual, using just the short manu als supplied with the cards. Plus we have only two Hercules systems-both are clones, both are different.) It was quickly obvious the solution wasn't going to be simple. For instance, the IBM monochrome board looks the outp(Ox60,Oxf3); /*wakeupkeyboard*/ same as a Herc board for all practical l*note: this loop c01.1ld be infinite if yourkcayboard isfubar .*/ while (inp(Ox60)!= Oxfa); 1* wait for keyboard toacknowledge.*/ purposes. However, unlike the IBM board, most Herc type boards supply a outp (Oxf)O;c); 1* send delay & repeat rate to keyboard * / vertical sync pulse and a horizontal l*note:thisloopcould be.infinite if your keyboardisfubar;*/ sync pulse in status port bits. This while (inp(Ox60) !=Oxfa); /*wait for keyboa.rdtO ac:knowledge*/ solves that problem. Reasoning that the vertical sync and horizontal sync pulses may be different from mode to mode, we attacked the status ports. The H-sync would be too fast to measure easily so we used the vertical sync. Guess what. There's a is now very steady and correct at 50 The systems we tested included: slight difference in the vertical sync rate pulses per second. • ACS-XT 8086/8088 machine, MS in graphics mode versus text mode. Due Of course we're not certain that the DO~ 3.2, Dual speed 4.7 & 10 to the small difference and the PC's 18.2 vertical sync rate changes on all her MHz. Video is Taiwanese Herc tick/ second clock, we had to monitor cules boards, so we'd like to hear from clone. for at least 5 seconds to see a difference. anyone who has made this test. • PCL-AT-8 80286 machine, PC Fortunately, it was easy to increase The MASM verso 5.0 source code on DOS 3.2, Dual speed 6 & 8 MHz the PC clock to 1820 ticks per second. the Micro C BBS (503-382-7643) and the with 80287. Video is CGA and We reset timer 0 and installed newINT Issue #52 listings disk includes: Herc compatible clone. 08 and· INT 1C code. The 1C timer just TSTVSYNC.ASM-a general testing Thank you ahead of time for any does IRET to eliminate any current program that allows repeated testing testing or inputs you give us. If there timer take over. The 08 timer services with parameter line input for the test are questions or problems, please call or the original 08 timer at its normal times time (in ticks); and HERCTEST.ASM write or leave a message on the Micro C even while we're doing our tracking. the final stripped code built into a BBS (we do not get on very often, After the timer's been changed, we DEMO program to indicate how it is though, so please be patient with us). call a loop that starts the clock and used. We've also included executable watches the 03BAh port for vertical versions. Joe Blanford sync pulses. Once the time's up, we CAUTION! We did not take the time ReBec Custom Software save the count and reinstall the original to build in precautions. Do not Ctrl-C or 2003 Saddlewood Trail timer parameters and original inter Ctrl-Break out of these programs; your Dothan, AL 36301 rupts. machine may be left in a weird state. If (205) 792-1039 This solved the problem! We can the programs do not return to DOS nor easily tell the mode with a test run of mally, be sure to reset your machine 112 ticks (0.06 seconds). The sync count before using it further. • • • 92 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 Since 1986. canpanica werldwidc have been choosing Az.Tcch ICcurity }X'odUCIJ. If you demand the strcngclt potection available, ·:et~i~roiJ~ .. %e::lf~:~~~:::~::giJ.~~:~f·n: why DDt c:hosc CDC oftbcJc "pravcnlcadcrl": more :Wfit~::(Qtiu~fprQgf~m$::in-:b()~ii{with:.tb~<;:;::: • EVERLOCK ~y Prol8clion • EVERTRAK SoIt.vare Proection • EVERKEY Harct.vare °Key" Software Security :19:~r~~(;·~~.I'1"i:·~t:t:2\:Lil;)·~~t::~1 Fer mM and Compatible •• 30 day money back guarantee. ::<:':::::~·d.~W:~'~~I~I~~O~f:t~~::N~:~~:::t~:I:~:~:~:~:ff:~:~?)::) Free info and demo disk availab1c. €z~ Micro ·::::::~::::·~~l:!t:;::i~c~I·~i~\~~np'····~~t~;)~\~~~t.~:::\~~~(:~~:~.t::\:::::::: :::iriciiides~'C::sO'urce::eode::'arid<~(RISK~FREE:: Az-Tech Software, Inco :::::::::::::<:::::::3(kjav.:rri6rieY;back SHAREWARE AUTHORS: Give your PSFX TSR prints any Epson FX·85 or IBM IN-CIRCUIT EMULATORS programs the chance they deserve! 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Box 55549-C • automatically runs port diagnostics ~:s~~~::;ured. DJ~ ~I~ Seattle, WA 98155 Order today only $80 Sold and Serviced by ~~~~uru WHS (206)FOR-UNIX 3037 Grass Valley Hwy #8201 Auburn, CA 95603 807 North 6th SL lake Clly,lIN 55041 (612)345-4555 (206)527 -3385 916-885-2480 Reader Service Number 3 Reader Service Number 188 Reader Service Number 192 EMCL THE EXPERTS MATHEMATICAL C LIBRARY EMCL sets the standards in numerical problem solving software in C. Looking forward to your Micro Ad EMCL's research and development staff represent years of experience in computer science, mathematics, and numerical analysis. EMCL is the mathematical library in the next issue! ... you can rely on. Available on all machines. Call or write for more information. (404) 231-9582 IGS 15 Normandy Court Atlanta, GA 30324 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 93 Reader Service Number 195 MICRO CORNUCOPIA BACK ISSUES Complete Your Education ... Fill Out Your Collection of Micro C today! ISSUE #1 (8/81) ISSUE #16 (2/84) ISSUE #28 (2/86) ISSUE # 42 (7/88) ISSUE #47 (5189) Power Supply Xerox 820 Column Restarts Rescuing Lost Text From Maintaining PCs Robotics 112 PFM.PRN BBI Double Density Memory Keeping Your Hard Drives The LIMBO Project 16 pages BBII 5"/8" Interface Fix Introduction To Modula-2 Running Starting A Robotics Company Kaypro ZCPR Patch Inside The PC Troubleshooting PCs How To Write and Use A ISSUE #2 (10/81) Recovering Text From Memory 104 pages XT Theory of Operation SystemProfiler Parallel Print Driver 52 pages Simulating A Bus Problem Solving and Creativity Drive Motor Control ISSUE #29 (4/86) Ray Tracing Turn Your XT Into A Controller 16 pages ISSUE #17 (4184) Speeding Up Your XT 96 pages Writing Code For Two Voice Synthesizer Prototyping In C Operating Systems ISSUE #3 (12/81) Kaypro Morse Code Interface C Interpreters Reviewed ISSUE #43 (9/88) 96 pages 4MHzMods 68000-Based System Review Benchmarking The PCs Building Databases Configuring Modem 7 Inside CP/M 86 104 pages Build a C Database ISSUE #48 (7/89) Reverse Video Cursor 56 pages Selecting a dBase III Tools For The Physically FORTHwords Begins ISSUE #30 (6/86) Compatible Compiler Impaired 16 pages ISSUE #18 (6184) PROLOG On The PC Working with Paradox The Adventure Begins Kaypro EPROM Programmer Expert Systems Designing Custom PC Cards Selecting A Talking Computer ISSUE #4 (2/82) I/O Byte: A Primer Logic Programming Accessing dBase III Plus For A Blind Friend Keyboard Translation Serial To Parallel Interface Building Your Own Logic Records from Turbo Pascal Writing Software For The Blind More 4 MHz Mods Business COBOL Analyzer 96 pages File Transfer Via Parallel Port Modems, Lync, and S10s 60 pages PC-DOS For Non-Clones The LIMBO Project-Part Two Undoing CP/M ERASE 104 pages ISSUE#44 (11/88) PCX Compatibility 20 pages ISSUE #19 (8184) Object-Oriented Program A 68000-Based Multitasking Adding Winchester To BBII ISSUE #31 (8186) ming Kernel ISSUE #5 (4/82) 6 MHz On The BBI RAM Resident PC Speedup A Taste of Smalltalk The Very Early Days of Two Text Editors Bulletin Boards Practical Programming In Actor Computing Double Density Review Track Buffering On Slicer Modula-2 Thinking Objectively 96 pages 20 pages 4 MHz For The 820-1 Game Theory In PROLOG Building MicroCad 64 pages and C Peripheral Technology- ISSUE #49 (9/89) ISSUE #6 (6/82) 104 pages PT68K-2 IIO,VO.•. 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Logic Controllers Cheap & Dirty Talker For Kaypro Writing A Printer Driver for CAD In A Consulting Business Driving Stepper Motors ISSUE #7 (8/82) Extended 8" Single Density MS-DOS Choosing PCB Layout Systems Writing TSR Programs 6 Reviews Of C 72 pages Recover A Directory By Building Circuits With Your Low Cost I/O For The PC Adding 6K Of RAM Reading & Writing Disk Computer Interfacing 16-Bit Devices On Your Own Begins ISSUE #21 (12/84) Sectors Secrets of Optimization 96 pages 24 pages Analog To Digital Interface 96 pages Finding Bargains in the Installing Turbo Pascal Surplus Market ISSUE # 50 (11/89) ISSUE #8 (10/82) Low Intensity BBI Video ISSUE #33 (12/86) MASM5.1 3-D Graphics SOLD OUT Turbo Pascal, The Early Days ISSUE #34 (2/87) 96 pages 3D Surface Generation 80 pages ISSUE #35 (4/87) PC Video Frame Grabber ISSUE #9 (12/82) ISSUE #36 (6187) ISSUE #46 (3/89) LIMBO, Part Three BBII EPROM Program ISSUE #22 (2/85) ISSUE #37 (9/87) Software Tools PostScript, Part Two Relocating Your CP/M Xerox 820-11 To A Kaypro-8 SOLD OUT The Art of Disassembly UNIX For The PC Serial Print Driver Sound Generator For the Handling Interrupts With Any C Capturing & Graphing A Voice Big Board I Fixes STD Bus ISSUE #38 (11/87) Hacking Sprint: Creating In Real Time: Part 1 32 pages Reviews Of 256K Parallel Processing Display Drivers RAM Expansion Laser Printers, Typesetters Greatest C Compilers ISSUE #51 (1/90) ISSUE #10 (2/83) 88 pages Build A Graphics Scanner Turning A PC into An Embedded Systems ISSUE #11 (4/83) For $6, Part 2 Embedded Control System Embedding An XT Motherboard SOLD OUT ISSUE #23 (4/85) Writing A Resident Program 96 pages Writing A Neural Network in C Automatic Disk Relogging Extractor In C LIMBO, Part 4 ISSUE #12 (6/83) Interrupt Drive Serial Printer 96 pages Getting Started in Hardware Bringing Up BBII Low Cost EPROM Eraser Capture & Graph a Voice, Double Sided Drives for BBI Smart Video Controller ISSUE #39 (1/88) 3D Surface Generation, Pt 2 Packet Radio Review: MicroSphere RAM Disk PC Graphics Marketing Your Own Software 5 MHz for Kaypro 86 pages Drawing The Mandelbrot And 40 pages Julia Sets ••• ISSUE #24 (6185) Desktop Graphics ISSUE #13 (8/83) C'ing Into Turbo Pascal Designing A PC Work- CP/M Disk Directory 8" Drives On The Kaypro station Board More 256K for BBI 68000 Versus 80x86 Around the TMS-34010 To Order: Mini Front Panel Soldering: The First Steps 96 pages Cheap Fast Modem 88 pages BBI Printer Interface ISSUE #40 (3188) Phone: 1-800-888-8087 Kaypro Reverse Video Mod ISSUE #25 (8185) The Great C Issue Mail: PO Box 223 44 pages Why I Wrote A Debugger 11 C Compilers The 32-Bit Super Chips Writing ASimple Parser In C BendjOregon 97709 ISSUE #14 (10/83) Programming The 32032 C++, An Object Oriented C BBlllnstallation Modula II Source Level Debugger For United States, The Perfect Terminal RS-232C: The Interface TurboC BBI Video Size 104 pages 96 pages Issues #1-34 $3.00 each ppd. Video Jitter Fix Issues #35-current $3.95 each ppd. Kaypro Color Graphics Review ISSUE #26 (10/85) ISSUE #41 (5188) 48 pages Inside ZCPR3 Artificial Intelligence Two Megabytes On DSI-32 3·0 Graphics Canada & Mexico ISSUE #15 (12/83) SOGIV Neural Networks All issues $5.00 each ppd. Screen Dump Listing The Future Of Computing Logic Of Programming Fixing Serial Ports Graphics In Turbo Pascal Languages Playing Adventure 104 pages Applying Information Theory Foreign (air mail) Upgrading Kaypro II To 4 96 pages Upgrading Kaypro 4 To 8 ISSUE #27 (12/85) All Issues $7.00 each ppd. 48 pages SOLD OUT 94 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 MICROC ADVERTISER'S INDEX ISSUE 52 RS# Advertiser ...... Page # 195 IGS ...... 93 188 SSC ...... 93 149 Information Modes ...... 65,91 176 Sampson Engineering ...... 91 72 Acquired Intelligence ...... 34 22 Integrand ...... 6 200 Saucci ...... 93 187 Alphax Systems, Inc ...... 64 127 SemWare ...... 43 160 Annabooks ...... 55 191 JDYX Enterprises...... 77 162 Semi-Disk Systems ...... 24 199 AriZona Softool Associates ...... 91 177 Silicon Alley ...... 31 4 Austin Codeworks ...... 23 198 Legend Communications ...... 93 Sin tar Software ...... 64 197 Az-Tech Software, Inc ...... 93 129 Software Science, Inc ...... 47 181 MCR ...... 91 40 Star-K Software Systems ...... 60 147 Berry Computer ...... 7 Micro Cornucopia ...... 35,71,79,89 173 Sutrasoft ...... 61 190 Bourbaki, Inc...... Inside Front 37 Microprocessors Unlimited ...... 75 182 Symmetric Research ...... 91 196 Building Block Software ...... 93 2 Microsphere, Inc ...... 5 , Inside Back 165 Mt. 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When you write for information, please tell these folks you read about their products in Micro Cornucopia. • Building a Data Logger With the MC68HCll • Building an LCD RS-232 Terminal Using the 68705 • Rational Numbers Revisited • Voice Control • Neural Networks: Case Studies MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 95 By Gary Entsminger P.o. Box 2091 Davis, CA 95617 Computing On Campus: Laser Printers & Espionage ing now, since I'd dashed out to the man's Gnu-Emacs editor (available on I knew Gary's appetite in reading mate truck to time-stamp a note to the cop any UNIX system). The hacker swapped rial was a bit off, but this book sounds like and pick up a book I'd left lying on the his special atrun file in for the legitimate just the ticket. truck seat. (Since my sophomore year in one, allowing him to set up his own free college, I've made a point never to go account and cover his tracks. anywhere without a book, notepad, He swapped in his phony atrun, set striated sky lit the edge of cam pen, and running shorts.) himself up as a remote system manager, pus-rapidly darkening like a This book was new, The Cuckoo's Egg then erased his and put the original Abad mood-as I pulled into the by Clifford Stoll, .an astronomer by atrun back. A neat trick, one that had parking lot nearest the U.c. Davis PC training and a computer security expert apparently worked for months before lab and read the sign at the open gate, by accident. I'd found it lying in one of Cliff discovered him. $1 night parking. Larry's stacks on my last trip to Bend. The book would have ended on page I parked, picked up my floppy, and Since he didn't recall where he'd gotten 22 if Cliff had just disconnected the got out. I looked around, nowhere to it, and wasn't planning on reading it hacker, fixed the bug, and tightened buy a ticket. (The lot is semi-automated: soon, he sent it back with me to Cal security. But he didn't-he wanted to you don't get a ticket at the gate; you ifornia. know why the hacker was hacking (call buy one from a sixties-vintage machine, I read, still optimistically expecting it sport, perhaps). And frankly, he usually somewhere in the vicinity.) to get my prints any minute. "Any wasn't sure he could tighten security I'd come to print graphs on the lab's hour" was more like it, since the PC enough to prevent this hacker or much-in-demand laser printers (espe network on campus doesn't think in another like him from coming back. So cially this late). I'd been warned that the minutes during rush hour. Fortunately, he spent a year following crumbs lab closes promptly at midnight, about Cliff's story was diverting. through the international computing the time a printer usually frees up. In a nutshell, his grant had run out, network. I crossed the street to a second lot. and he'd been transferred from the Before the cuckoo's captured, Cliff Saw nothing but cars. Where did they Keck Observatory to the Lawrence finds out a lot about how things work get their tickets? Inside information, no Berkeley Computing Lab. "Lucky for the international network, the FBI (they doubt. It was clear to me: I could park me that my laboratory recycled used won't investigate a case unless it's for a dollar only if I could solve the astronomers." Not long at his new job worth a million dollars), the CIA, tele mystery of how to purchase a ticket as a system manager, he discovered that phone tracing and tapping, links be before a campus cop wrote me one. the UNIX accounting system, which tween databases, holes in military secu I sprinted the last hundred yards handled all the billing for users of their rity systems, and the best places to shop back to the truck. No cop (mixed luck dozen or so VAX computers, didn't for organic produce in Berkeley. since I was sure I could convince her I balance. The previous month's bills His trace eventually led to the was trying to buy a ticket). Having no showed a 75~ shortfall. Hanover Hacker and the University of more time to waste, I decided I'd see if I No one much cared about the 75~ Bremen, Germany. (What's their park could get right on a PC and a printer so (not a surprising revelation), but Cliff's ing situation like?) I could be back in ten minutes. cohorts decided that tracking down the Intrigued by networking, UNIX, Inside, keyboards were clacking. error would be a good way for him to strange-but true espionage? Then check Rush hour in the PC lab. Students learn the system. "An error of a few out Cuckoo. hovered over computers, sat on tables, thousand dollars is obvious and isn't As for my ticket mystery, I didn't and waited for printers to light up and hard to find. But errors in the pennies buy one; but I didn't get one either. And put out. Eventually I found an unoc column arise from deeply buried prob despite the rush hour traffic, I got six cupied PC, loaded my floppy, and lems, so finding these bugs is a natural printouts. ' queued the graphs. test for a budding software wizard." Stoll, Clifford; The Cuckoo's Egg; 1989; Cliff dug in. Within the first week Doubleday. The Cuckoo's Egg (and 22'pages), he discovered a hacker An hour later I was still sitting, read- breaking in via a bug in Richard Stall- • • • 96 MICRO CORNUCOPIA, #52, March-April, 1990 1\1 etrw oILRdrmg Provide a complete M21cOle custom de signed hardware package PLUS E21§Y~ the appropriate Novell Networking software. All hardware will come to you with Network Server and Work Stations ready to go. All you do is connect the cables and go for it! Of course, Novell runs all your favorite MS-DOS software as well as advanced multi-user applications. 10Mhz AT Workstation $700 + up (640K, 1 floppy) XT Workstation $595 + up (640K, 1 floppy) AT Server $1175 + up w/40MB Hard Drive Other configurations available. 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