DB> I want to make sure I'm connected to the internet when my program 
 DB> runs. If not, I want to callup the dialer and connect.

I'm convinced that many programmers don't read the "user" echoes
and newsgroups.  If they did, they wouldn't ask questions such as the one
that you are asking, because they'd have seen the number of complaints from
users who are having problems trying to *stop* their applications from
"automatically" invoking diallers, or from being
"clever" and "detecting" whether the Internet is
accessible or not.  

Don't do this.  It makes users' lives hell.  There's absolutely *no* need
for it in any case, since there is a perfectly good mechanism for doing
this -- that the users can configure *for themselves* in any way that they
like, no less! -- already present in OS/2 Warp: LINKUP.EXE.  Do what the
rest of the TCP/IP applications in OS/2 do.  Assume in your application
that SLIP/PPP is running, and have two sets of desktop objects to invoke
the application.  The first object is for "LAN" users, and just
invokes the application directly.  The second object is for SLIP/PPP users
and invokes the application indirectly via LINKUP, which will handle
invoking the dialler if necessary before starting your application.

 ¯ JdeBP ®

--- FleetStreet 1.19 NR