ÚÄÄÄ Ä úú ú ÚÄÄ Ä úú ú The Official ABC Express Reader Version 1.5 Accept no substitutes! ú úú Ä ÄÄÄÙ ú úú Ä ÄÄÙ Released v1.5 May 1, 1997 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄ¿ ÚÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ Ä úú ú ³°ÚÄÄ¿°³ ³°³ ³°³ The All BASIC Code (ABC) Archives ³±ÀÄÄÙ±³ ³±³ ³±³ can be found at various sites and ³²ÚÄÄ¿²³ ³²³ ³²³ distribution packages. ³Û³ ³Û³ ³ÛÀÄÄ¿ ³ÛÀÄÄ¿ PLEASE NOTE, The All BASIC Code ÀÄÙ ÀÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ Reader v1.10 (Express v1.5) and ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ bi-monthly packets CANNOT be À¿°ÚÄ¿°³ ³°ÚÄÄ¿°³ ³°ÚÄÄÄÙ À¿°ÚÙ ³°ÚÄ¿°³ individually distributed and ³±ÀÄÙ±³ ³±ÀÄÄÙ±³ ³±ÀÄÄÄ¿ ³±³ ³±³ ÀÄÙ sold as is or modified in ANY way ³²ÚÄ¿²³ ³²ÚÄÄ¿²³ ÀÄÄÄ¿²³ ³²³ ³²³ ÚÄ¿ for the benefit of the person ÚÙÛÀÄÙÛ³ ³Û³ ³Û³ ÚÄÄÄÙÛ³ ÚÙÛÀ¿ ³ÛÀÄÙÛ³ or people involved. ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÙ ÀÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ NO CHARGE OF ANY KIND IS PERMITTED ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ FOR THIS WORK! AND AS SUCH, THERE ³°ÚÄ¿°³ ³°ÚÄÄ¿°³ À¿°ÚÄ¿°³ ³°ÚÄÄÄÙ IS NO WARRANTY EITHER EXPRESSED ³±³ ÀÄÙ ³±³ ³±³ ³±³ ³±³ ³±ÀÄ¿ OR IMPLIED. ³²³ ÚÄ¿ ³²³ ³²³ ³²³ ³²³ ³²ÚÄÙ USE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! ³ÛÀÄÙÛ³ ³ÛÀÄÄÙÛ³ ÚÙÛÀÄÙÛ³ ³ÛÀÄÄÄ¿ ú úú Ä ÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Ä úú ú ³ OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTORS (Subject to change without notice) I. INTERNET: - http://charlie.simplenet.com/abc/abchome.html - http://145.89.78.151/~excel/pbabc.html - http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/~voxel/ - http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/basic.html ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/basic II. CD-ROM Disc: - Public Software Library (tm) - SimTel, the Coast to Coast Software Repository (tm) III. Networks: - German BAS-NET - Programmer's Distribution Network (PDN) - Can be File Requested from PDN IV. BBS Distributors (All running at 28.8 or better) Basic Technologies BBS +371 256-4818 Riga, Latvia, Europe SysOp: Pavel Veretennikov Software: Wildcat! Computer Creations BBS 1-360-698-3610 Keyport, Wash., USA SysOp: Scott Turchin Software: Renegade Delhi Online BBS (4 Nodes) 011-5578535, 5578536, 5673605, 5673606 SysOp: Deepak Khurana New Delhi, India PBSOUND Headquarter BBS +49-30-47300910 Berlin, Deutschland SysOp: Thomas Gohel NOTICE: The above list is constantly updated for each ABC Packet release. Please refer to the latest list, and call at your own discretion. V. Software Distributors: - BEWARE, this is illegal! DO NOT buy from them. Only charge can be applied to cover costs of floppy disks, or CD-ROM discs, and S&H charges. The ABC Reader and bi-monthly packets CANNOT be included into specific software packages for ANY reason without the expressed written consent of William Yu. VI. Individuals: - The ABC Archives are free to be distributed by any person(s), as long as there is no charge for the ABC (Express) Reader or bi-monthly packets against the recipient. ³ ú úú Ä ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The ALL BASIC CODE (ABC) Reader v1.10 and Express v1.5 (c)1997 William Yu ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Please accept no substitutes. These are the OFFICIAL ABC Reader's and are not to be modified or duplicated for the purpose of violating the provisions of the copyright act. They are supplied AS IS, with NO WARRANTY either expressed or implied. SUPPORT for operating the reader is limited. Those who have e-mail addresses can e-mail me at: voxel@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca If you have bug reports, or future ideas/suggestions, then please e-mail me. NOTE: I reserve the right to discontinue the distribution of The ABC (Express) Reader and bi-monthly packets without any prior notice. The ABC Reader v1.10 is no longer being supported, please do not contact me with error reports or upgrade status. *** LEGAL JARGON *** "The ABC Express Reader is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, and assumes NO liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of The ABC Express Reader." The author(s) do(es) NOT claim responsibility nor the accuracy of their source codes contained in the ABC Packets. Please use and modify at your own discretion. UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED in the source code, all snippets contained herein are considered to be PUBLIC DOMAIN. Any copyrighted material contained in the ABC Packets is distributed with the permission of the original author. Selling their program/code, or using the code in one of your programs other than for personal uses, is illegal without prior written consent. The All BASIC Code Archives does NOT promote commercial/shareware or crippleware programs/software. Please do NOT send any of these to the ABC Archive for inclusion, as they will be deleted promptly. *** END LEGAL JARGON *** ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The ALL BASIC CODE (ABC) Archives ³ ³ Brief Introduction & Commonly asked Questions ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Q: What is All BASIC Code? A: The All BASIC Code (ABC) Archives is a massive collection of BASIC code ranging from QB/QBasic/PDS/VBDOS to more modern (supported) versions of the BASIC language such as ASIC, LibertyBASIC and PowerBASIC. Source codes are collected from various resources, such as the FidoNet QUIK_BAS Echo, internet BASIC newsgroups and individual programmers who submit their code via e-mail. The ABC Archives operates similarily to the SWAG Archives. Surviving with contributions world wide. For more on the SWAG Archives (Pascal snippets), please visit their homepage at http://www.gdsoft.com/swag/swag.html Q: Its purpose? The ABC Archives will be the future for all BASIC programmers and the survival of the BASIC language. With the help of many contributors world wide, this repository will be the largest and most widely used BASIC resource in the world. Let's prove BASIC is still live and well! Q: What files do I need to get started? A: Assuming this came along with The ABC Express Reader v1.5, you're already on your way to the BASIC "information superhighway." What you need now are the bi-monthly ABC Packets which contain all the BASIC snippets for the two months that were collected. Look for: ABCyymm.ZIP (Where yy = year, mm = month) ie. ABC9609.ZIP (September 1996 ABC Packet) ie. ABC9509.ZIP (Oldest BASIC Packet, September 1995) ^^^^ Watch out for ABC0995.ZIP which is the same packet. Oldest Packet is September 1995, so don't tire yourself out trying to find anything older than that. Q: I have this .CDE file, but the Reader requires *.ABC? A: You will have to run The ABC Reader to extract *.ABC from the .CDE file. Just make sure the .CDE and .UPD file resides in the directory of the ABC Reader. Q: Why not just release a text version? A: I prefer the collection to be accessed with ease and organized for the benefit of the user. What would you do with 1000+ files in one directory? It makes it easier for the user to select their desired interests, whether it be GRAPHICS, SOUND or anything in between. Even though this leaves out Mac users and other platforms of BASIC, there is not enough interest to convert the packets into plain text. This also makes it an easier way to catalogue your own BASIC code into the ABC Packets, which was really the original idea, but most packets would grow empty unless there are people kind enough to contribute to it. Q: Can I send in some of my code? A: Of course, any code you send in is greatly appreciated! E-mail: William Yu We suggest that you file attach your source codes to eliminate the dreaded word wrapping. If not, then you are suggested to UUencode your file or use Postit! Yes, we accept multiple files and binary DATA, not EXE's! Q: Do you accept libraries and object codes? A: Yes, .LIB's & .OBJ's are welcome, and must be accompanied by a demo or document file. Because of the nature of libraries, I will request the source code for verification (that there's no hidden virus or "DELETE everything" routine) for the safety of all ABC users. After the verification process I will PROMPTLY delete the source code. Please do not send in commercial/shareware/crippleware programs. Q: How about Freeware (Copyrighted) programs? A: Yes, copyrighted material is welcome. In the case of copyrighted material, you have granted unconditional permission for the ABC Archives to distribute the code, unmodified of course. Q: My code I sent you has an obvious quirk and error, and you didn't even pick it up! Do you even test these codes? A: Perhaps, but your code is YOUR responsibility. Most of the codes contained in the ABC Archives have been previously tested, but we assume NO RESPONSIBILITY over any of the snippets. We do try to modify any code which acts up or send it back to the original author to have it updated, but whatever you send in will likely be unmodified. Q: What is Postit! code? A: These are actually BASIC Codes which run fine under QB,QBasic,PDS,VBDOS,PB and extracts the binary file which was originally encoded. Don't try running it under ASIC though, it won't work. For PowerBASIC users, remove the DIM from the DIM SHARED for a proper extraction. As a side note, the ABC Express Reader eliminates this extra process by decoding the Postit! file to its archived file. You can easily disable this (since it takes a little longer to extract), by pressing ALT+P when asked for an extraction name. Q: How does one use Postit! 7.xx A: The most commonly used command is: POSTIT72 -s e ABC.ZIP FileName.BAS Which encodes the ABC.ZIP file to a loadable BASIC file ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The ALL BASIC CODE Express Reader v1.5 (Features/Requirements/Files) ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ NOTE: Although this is the first official release, this reader is still very much in its development stage. Your comments are welcome! The ABC Express Reader v1.5 Files List: XREAD.EXE ABC Express Reader v1.5 XREAD.DOC ABC Express Reader Document File (This file) XREAD.TUT ABC Express Reader Tutorial XREAD.TDX ABC Express Reader Tutorial index file ABC Express Reader v1.5 Requirements & Recommendations: Minimal requirements: * 512KB of free Extended (XMS) memory * CGA Card & Color Monitor * 400KB Conventional memory (varies) * MS-DOS/PC-DOS 3.3+ * 350KB of HD Space Recommended (+ For Music): + 386SX or better + Sound Blaster compatible card + 1MB of free Expanded (EMS) memory + 550KB Conventional memory - 2/3 Button Mouse - Printer - One of QB/QBasic/PDS/VBDOS/ASIC/PB or knowledge of - Smart Drive (ABC Express reader detects Version 4.0+) - For best results, run under DOS if you run Windows 3.x or W95 - 5MB (or enough free HD Space for ABC Reader & Packets) ABC Express Reader FIXES for Version 1.5 (You won't encounter them again) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Pressing ALT+P when extracting a Postit! file would result in a weird file name (ie. sWiTcH iT, oops). * Selecting the same snippet more than once would return to the first snippet in the packet. (Just a bad XMS pointer) * Global is spelled wrong (Golbal) Gee thanks Marc! ;-) * Default directory changes whenever the user selects a different extraction path. * When overwriting a file, I forgot to truncate the file first. * Tutorial section was still experimental, do not use it for future tutorials. NEW For ABC Express Reader v1.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- * ADD to packet, DELETE snippet/packet, MOVE code * Ability to print code * Yank in totals * View All/New/Special snippets ABC Express Reader FEATURES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the 1st official release of The ALL BASIC CODE Express Reader. It is a major step-up from the old ABC Reader v1.10. Although v1.5 is the official release, it is still partly under development. ABC Express Reader v1.5 vs. ABC Reader v1.10 * The Express reader offers Tutorials, Special features section and the ability to create your own Custom Packets that may or may not have anything to do with BASIC. (ie. C++ Code, or Pascal code) * The Express reader is much much more faster in extracting snippets and less of a strain on the HD. * Since the Express reader utilizes XMS memory, it can load files as large as your XMS memory can hold! (Check configuration) * The interface between the two readers are drastic. The Express reader maintains a modern 3D like environment, and is more user friendly. * Ability to extract POSTIT! encrypted files to it's archive (.ZIP) In one single step. * What definitively sets the two apart is the simple fact that one takes advantage of the modern computer system's power, while the other is more primitive and laxed. Obviously there are still computers of the stone-aged type, so The ABC Reader v1.10 wouldn't be completely obsolete. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ Using The ALL BASIC CODE Express Reader v1.5 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ COMMAND Line Options: XREAD /NS Disable Music XREAD ie. XREAD MUSIC.GDM Must be a preconverted GDM file. Refer to BWSB by Edward Schlunder at Marc van den Dikkenberg's homepage: http://145.89.78.151/~excel/pb.html For a complete list of commands/functions, use the On-line help [Press F1] [FAQ] Frequently Asked Questions: --------------------------------- Q: Why can't I hear any music? A: Perhaps you have an unsupported sound card, or you don't have enough memory to load it. Enable EMS if you plan on listening to a large music file. Another thing to note, if your sound card and some other device(s) share the same IRQ, then be sure not to use that other device. Also, make sure the music file actually exists if you input one on the command line, there will be no error message, just bypasses music instruction code. Q: Why can't I load a .MOD or .S3M file? A: It must be previously converted to a .GDM file with Edward Schlunder's Bells, Whistle, Sound Board 2GDM.EXE file. Q: What's internal for default song? A: If you leave this field as is, it will load up a song internal to the XREAD.EXE file. In case you must know, the title to that catchy tune is called "Clutching at Life" by an unknown composer... which would occupy approx. 50KB of memory if you wish to load it. Peanuts :) Q: Why doesn't it play using MUSIC.LST? A: Still under development. It's rather tricky, so I may or may not pull through with this feature. Q: Why does my computer hang when I try to exit? A: Shouldn't happen, but in case it does, just disable the music since it takes up a lot of memory. Either that or free up some EMS or unload some TSRs. Q: Why doesn't it do anything when I select a packet to view? A: You're probably missing the corresponding .IDX file. Check that it exists, or else the ABC Reader will abort. Q: I seem to get weird results when I have MAXIMIZED XMS usage... why? A: It depends on the operating system or shell you might be running under. Some programs like QEMM allocate memory on the fly, so it might not give the ABC Express Reader its fair share of the memory base. Stick with minimal since maximum XMS usage is seldom needed. In fact, the ABC Express Reader probably only uses about 150KB of XMS anyway. The extra is there in case YOU decide to include a big fat file in the ABC Packets and view it, and just as a cushion in case I decide to use more in future releases. Q: What is CUSTOM there for? A: Right now, just taking up space. However, if you do this: REN GRAPHICS.ABC GRAPHICS.CST REN GRAPHICS.IDX GRAPHICS.CDX It will work quite nicely. It's like a separate ABC Archive. So you can put your Pascal/C/C++/Assembly code there for cataloguing. Try adding to the section your favorite routines. Q: What is SPECIAL there for? A: Still under development. I really don't know yet, but if you have any suggestions, I would like to hear from you. My first idea was to create a "runable programs section," in which I would create a new "BASIC" language and put up the code in the SPECIALS section for people to run right from the Reader. It would also enable people to program in this new "BASIC" language and put up their programs there for other people to run from the Reader. But something like this would take a few months to perfect, and I just don't have the time. Oh well, next summer maybe. Q: Your reader looks like WINDOWS! Ahhhhhhhhhh! A: That's what I thought at first... sorry, heheheh. Q: Speaking of which, will there be a Windows version out? A: Perhaps, but not in the near future. Q: What about VisualBASIC for Windows code? A: That's beyond me. I'm not a VB fan, so those VB gurus will have to start their own VB for WINDOWS Archives or something. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The ABC Express Reader v1.5 Credits and Special Thanks ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ * Reader XMS routines courtesy of Robin Duffy * Music routine coutesy of Edward Schlunder's "Bells, Whistles, and Sound Boards." * Thanks to Charles Quante and Marc van den Dikkenberg for supplying homepages to the ABC Archives to make everything possible! * Thanks to all distributors for spreading the ABC Archives world wide!