Hello Frank!

Friday September 13 1996 04:11, Frank Adam wrote to Andrew Seeger:

AS>> 1... I am writing a program for a mate that has some good ansi
[...]
AS>> the screens contained within the main EXE.

FA> Do the screens have to be ANSI ?

Well yes and no, i did some screens for the program with The Draw, but what i
want to avoid is having the screens on hard disk, as i want them to be
hardcoded and fast in presentation. The program at this stage is not going to
be in a high resolution format, maybe down the track when i am more familar
with the C language. Also, the program does not have to be portable, at this
stage, DOS platform only.

FA> If not, then get your hands on VidMgr12.zip and with a bit of
FA> practice, pretty soon you'll have fast and easy screen access.

Done, will have a looksy to see what i can come up with, Vidmgr looks like
something i was after.

AS>> 2... A clock routine, to display the clock and continually

FA> Ok, that's easy in Borland, here is the one i use. As amateurish as it
FA> may be, but works.

FA> You just call the function from where ever there is a bit of not much
FA> to do, and it should be fairly smooth. Of course if the program gets
FA> tied down somewhere for a few seconds the update will not happen, but
FA> in most cases it's more than adequate. Only better solution i thought
FA> of at the time, was to hook int08 or 1C but i never got around to play
FA> with it.      I wonder if the CMOS could be used directly too...anyone
FA> ???

Thanks, thats a start! I will work on a routine from there. Updating the time
does not have to be smooth. An interrupt routine, i guess, would be a lot
faster, but it is not a priority, if someone would like to give some pointers
on the subject, we wont be disspointed.

AS>> 3... When i compile a program, i end up with a lot of compiler

FA> 1. In the compiler setup switch off "include debug info".
FA>    I don't bother with that because it becomes more a pain in the butt
FA>    when you later forget to switch it back on and go to debug only to
FA>    be told nasty things about not having debug info.

FA> 2. In the BIN directory you'll find a program called tdstrip.exe
FA>    The command line is tdstrip 
FA>    This is what i use normally.Btw, it strips the original exe, so if
FA>    you want to keep the exe with the debug info, make a backup.
FA>    ..Then again you can always recompile the source.

Thanks, i am blind! tdstrip does exactly what i was after.

AS>> 4... Book suggestions! So that i may make a more informed choice.
AS>> I already have a book called 'A Book On C' by Al Kelley and Ira
AS>> Pohl, ANSI C edition.

FA> I'll leave that one to the experts, i only have C++ books, the best i
FA> have is the Waites Group's Turbo C++.

Thats cool. Working with a C++ compiler, you tend to have a look at the other
functions available.

AS>> 5... Am i using the right compiler? So far Turbo C++ v3.0 appears
AS>> to be doing the job, but....??

FA> Yep, i have BC 4.02 and Turbo C++ 2.0, and most of the things i do
FA> happens in the latter. It compiles quick, but not the most efficient
FA> or so i'm told. Watcom seems to be the pro's choice, but for the
FA> average hobby progger i think you're ok with 3.0. You may want to look
FA> around i believe there are patches to bring V3.0 up to 3.1. Btw, BC4
FA> and later , and most other current compilers i know only have
FA> a Windows IDE.

Well since posting the message, i picked up myself the full boxed version 4.0,
with all the manuals printed and on cd, plus another book called Using Borland
C++ v4.0. I have not used it much yet as i have been away, but it does look i
lot different in a Windows envoironment :-( I think i will still use the dos
IDE a fair bit though. I gather there are patches around for v4.0 to take it to
4.2? Does 4.0(2) allow a path to upgrade to v5.xx?

AS>> I guess there will be a few more questions along my path, so please

FA> Better believe it :-)

FA> I think most ppl like to help here, (hell they even put up with me).

:-) Excellent!

Regards,
        Andrew.

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