RELEASE 3.84 NOTES 9 June 1987 This diskette contains a new version of our software with a number of new features -- it is based on our Release 3.6 which we are currently shipping. Most of the new features are intended to support the 3270-PC, particularly 1) support for the APA graphics adapter, 2) support for mainframe communications from "upstairs", and 3) use of the PC-elevATor memory for 3270-PC memory expansion. Please note that there is an example AUTOEXEC.BAT listing at the end of this file. NOTE: Since Release 3.67, most releases have had two "siblings". There are three variants of each functional release: a) a mainstream variant, b) a 3270-PC variant, c) a special OEM variant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.84 notes (OEM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.84 incorporates the changes in 3.83, and has a fix added for an incompatibility with the OEM's BIOS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.83 notes (INTERNAL) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.83 is an internal release, for use in conjunction with development of our 80386 product -- some library routines needed the ability to distinguish our 80286 board from our 80386 board. Also, the fix for Alpha-3, mentioned below in the description of release 3.69, has been restored. It was lost due to librarian error after release 3.69. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.82 notes (3270-PC) Release 3.81 notes (OEM) Release 3.80 notes (mainstream) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Improved screen copying for CGA in graphics modes. 2. New program, "LOTUSEGA", included on distribution diskette. This program persuades Lotus that your EGA is a CGA. It is still necessary to use your EGA in CGA compatible mode with Lotus, but if you try to do so, Lotus will go ahead and issue a few EGA commands anyway. This causes difficulties in recent releases of PC-elevATor software; LOTUSEGA will prevent the problem. To use: a) Copy LOTUSEGA.COM from our distribution diskette, and b) Add the command LOTUSEGA to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, preferably in the "upstairs only" portion of AUTOEXEC.BAT You need this program ONLY IF a) you have an EGA AND b) you have encountered problems running programs after you have configured those programs for a CGA. 3. NOTE: The "TABLET" option added in Release 3.79 does not seem to improve the problem with AutoCAD digitizing tablets. We are continuing to investigate the problem. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.79 notes (an interim release) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.79 has several improvements: 1. "TABLET" option in UP.SYS, to enable special handling for AutoCAD digitizing tablets. This is not yet tested, but is expected to improve the response of that group of tablets that caused a "mushy" feel in the AutoCAD drawing editor. 2. "IGNOREINT13" in the UP.SYS file has been eliminated, as it is no longer appropriate. 3. Preliminary support for S&K Novell network driver. 4. "UPKEY" option in UP.SYS, to indicate that keyboard interrupts are to be handled in a copy of the host ROM in the upstairs memory. This is for use with a few special applications that do not work properly when the keyboard interrupt is handled in the downstairs machine. This feature is dependent on addresses in the host system's BIOS, and therefore may not work on your system. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.78 notes (3270-PC) Release 3.77 notes (OEM) Release 3.76 notes (mainstream) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Changed argument handling in DOWN (when a command argument is present). -> NB: Previous versions of DOWN required that most command argument strings be placed in single quotes. That did not work in a number of cases, so this version of DOWN now passes precisely the argument string following the first blank. Single quotes are NOT stripped, and wildcard characters are no longer expanded. Those of you who are using the older versions will have to adapt your batch files. 2. Please note: there have been some difficulties reported with the FIX320 program hanging the downstairs machine. You may find that you should only load it upstairs (following the UPSTDATE command in the example autoexec.bat file, below), or that you do not need it at all. FIX320 is only useful if you encounter slow response or system hangs that may be caused by the additional interrupt overhead introduced in DOS 3.20 and above. Most users will NOT need FIX320. Release 3.78 is the same as 3.76, but with the memory expansion utility for use in the 3270-PC. The MEMORY program is as described below (in the notes on Release 3.7), except one new feature has been added: The program now announces its action when it actually does the memory expansion; since this is immediately followed by rebooting the machine, by default it pauses for a second or so before clearing the screen. This pause can be skipped by specifying "/q" (for QUICK), e.g. use MEMORY/Q in your autoexec.bat file. Also, please note carefully the change in the implementation of the DOWN program, described above in the 3.76 notes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.74 notes (mainstream) Release 3.73 notes (OEM) Release 3.72 notes (3270-PC) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.72 contains the following new features, bug fixes, and improvements: 1) The MEMORY program has been much improved (it now works as intended). 2) The COPYMETHOD=MEDIUM handling for the CGA monitor board is much better. It is nearly as good as COPYMETHOD=FAST, but does not "snow". 3) Two bugs fixed: a) a problem with non-Intel EMM drivers (in particular the EMM driver for the Orchid CRAMRAM card); and b) a problem with the SET_ACTIVE_PAGE video BIOS function. 4) There are three new programs on the diskette, that are useful to certain users under certain circumstances. These are: a) NOFAULTS.COM -- This program will intercept the infamous error message "PC-elevATor error #303" when a program contains an illegal instruction. Instead, you will get a message showing the address of the offending instruction and the program fault type (#UD for interrupt 06H, #GP for interrupt 0dH), and then you will be returned to DOS -- UPSTAIRS. To use this program, simply copy the program "NOFAULTS.COM" from your distribution diskette, and invoke it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. NOFAULTS should only be run UPSTAIRS. This program will NOT trap General Protection faults if you have used the INT13_VECT option in the UP.SYS file to change the General Protection vector. b) FIX320.COM -- This program will undo an apparently useless new feature of DOS 3.20 and above. The new feature drastically increases interrupt overhead, and can cause problems with or without the PC-elevATor, although these problems are encountered more frequently when using the PC-elevATor. To use this program, simply copy the program "FIX320.COM" from your distribution diskette, and invoke it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. FIX320 should be run both upstairs and downstairs, and should be as early in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file as is practical. So far, there are no apparent ill effects from using FIX320. c) ATTGRPHX.COM -- This program enables the 640x400 graphics mode of the AT&T 6300 and Olivetti M24 machines. To use this feature, you must specify "SCREEN=ATT6300" in your UP.SYS file, and then copy the program "ATTGRPHX.COM" from your distribution diskette. Then invoke ATTGRPHX in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, ONLY UPSTAIRS. In the above descriptions (of NOFAULTS and ATTGRPHX) it is required that these only be run UPSTAIRS. You should use the LEVEL program in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to ensure that this is the case. There is an example of this usage at the end of this file. Release 3.74 is functionally equivalent to Release 3.72 except: The MEMORY program is omitted, as it is only for use in the 3270-PC. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.7 notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.7 includes the MEMORY program, which is included in the 3270 PEAK. This program may only be used with a PC-elevATor board with a second megabyte of memory, and is only intended for use on 3270 PCs. It allows PC-elevATor memory to be used to expand the main memory on your 3270 PC to 640K, allowing you to free up a slot in your PC by removing a memory expansion board. To use MEMORY: 1. Add the line MEMORY 640K to the end of your UP.SYS file (the file created in your root directory by our SETUP program) after you run SETUP. 2. Have your AUTOEXEC.BAT file execute the MEMORY program before it does anything else. For example, if you have the MEMORY program in your \ELEVATOR directory, your AUTOEXEC.BAT might begin: CD \ELEVATOR MEMORY LEVEL > NUL IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO UP CD \CONTROL INDCIPL ... ... Please note: the current version of SETUP does not know about the MEMORY program. If you tell SETUP you have a 2-megabyte PC-elevATor board, and configure any memory utilities (CACHE, RAMDISK, etc.), you must remember to leave enough memory free for PC memory expansion. On a typical 3270 PC with 256K on the motherboard, you must leave 384K free. If you fail to leave enough free memory, you will get an error when you run UP. The error will be of the form: PC-elevATor configuration error #xxx Not enough memory for YYYYY If this happens, don't worry. You need only run SETUP again to reconfigure the memory utilities, and this time remember to leave 384K free for memory expansion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Release 3.69 notes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- YANF (Yet Another New Feature): With this release (19861230), the user program can intercept "PC-ELEVATOR Error #303, unknown interrupt 0x000d" crashes by taking over the vector for interrupt 0C0 hex (or 192 decimal). The vector number may be changed to another value by coding "INT13_VECT = n" in the UP.SYS file. The new value should be ABOVE the DOS vectors, or else the results will be unpredictable. ---------------- BUG FIX (19870208): The occasional crashes (PC-ELEVATOR Error #303...) on executing the first command after midnight have been fixed. Also, (19870208) a modified version of the cursor shape handling improvement (see below) has been incorporated. This change seems to work around a bizarre bug in ALPHA-3, which would crash when run under releases 3.64 through 3.68. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes for release 3.67 and earlier releases ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The APA adapter support is largely untested. I have tried it out as best I could with a different graphics adapter with somewhat similar characteristics, and the basic algorithms appear to work. Please try it out and let me know what happens. To use it, replace any SCREEN and COPYMETHOD lines in your UP.SYS file with: SCREEN = APA COPYMETHOD = FAST Note that the SETUP program on this diskette will do this if you select "3270 w/ APA" during the hardware configuration section of the SETUP program. Note: At this time (2/13/87), users have reported general success with our APA support with one important exception: Lotus 1-2-3 with the Lotus APA driver crashes on startup. However, at least one user DOES NOT have this problem; he is running Lotus 1-2-3 Version 2.01, and his INSTALL.LBR file is dated "5-AUG-86". It seems that the APA drivers in Lotus 1-2-3 Version 1A and 2.0 are incompatible, while the driver in Lotus 1-2-3 Version 2.01 works. If you are unable to use your version of Lotus 1-2-3 with our APA support, you can reconfigure 1-2-3 with the CGA (Color Graphics Adapter) driver; this will run, although graph displays will be the wrong size on the screen. Note, however, that printed graphs will not be adversely affected. ------------ Support for mainframe communications is implemented by way of a new capability of the DOWN program that allows you to send a single command downstairs to be executed. To use this feature you must allocate our memory utilities in such that you can go downstairs without upstairs being forced to reboot. This essentially means that only SPOOL and CACHE can reside in downstairs memory, although these (SPOOL and CACHE) are not restricted to being placed in downstairs memory. Then you can invoke a program, for example SEND, with the command DOWN SEND [argument] [argument...] The command, in this case SEND, will be executed downstairs and when it completes processing will continue upstairs. To assist you when debugging this feature, or in interactive use, DOWN recognizes the "/W" option (W = wait). When invoked as DOWN/W program [argument] [argument...] you will be prompted to "strike a key to continue" when your program finishes; when you hit a key you will be returned upstairs. My suggestion is to experiment with this feature, for example try DOWN DIR DOWN/W DIR Note that the command that you invoke this way can be a DOS BATCH (.BAT) file containing a sequence of commands to be executed downstairs. Starting with Release 3.67, you can now also effect the /W switch globally by going upstairs with "UP/W" or by specifying "WAIT_DOWN" in your UP.SYS file. Either of these actions will imply that all commands sent downstairs are treated as if "DOWN/W ..." was specified. Note that this new capability may be of use to non-3270 users, when confronted with I/O intensive applications that run better downstairs (eg. 9600 baud COM operation). ******** IMPORTANT USAGE NOTE: ******** [This usage note removed as of Release 3.76, as it no longer applies]. ------------ 3270 PC USERS, PLEASE NOTE: There are several circumstances in which you will encounter difficulties when using 3270 Control Program versions earlier than 2.1: 1. Keyboard handling in general under DOS version 3.20 or 3.21; 2. Keyboard handling with certain applications under any version of DOS. Also, you may be unable to use downstairs memory in our memory utilities under version 3.20 and higher DOS. We have received a couple of reports of such difficulties, and it is not yet clear whether this is also related to the 3270 Control Program version level. ------------ New feature: You can use our "hot-key" (an unadvertised feature) to manipulate the cache and spooler without having to get to a DOS prompt. To use, you hit CTRL-ALT-RSHIFT (RSHIFT is the right hand shift key); you will get a prompt showing your options ("c" for cache, "p" for printer, etc.) If you have no spooler, the "p" option allows you to toggle the state of FASTPRINT. ---------------- Several minor improvements: 1. A bug that caused HBASIC to crash on exit has been fixed. 2. Cursor shape handling is better on COMPAQ and EGA (in CGA compatible mode). 3. The latest crop of benchmark programs used an illegal instruction deliberately to distinguish an 80286 from an 80386. These will no longer result in "PC-ELEVATOR Error #303, unknown interrupt 0x0006" messages. ---------------- Still to come: 1. The new RLL disk controllers still DO NOT work with our disk cache. We are getting our own RLL controller and will be working on a fix in the near future. 2. We may have a solution to the weird interaction between AutoCAD digitizer drivers and keyboard echoing. ---------------- Version 6.0 of Microsoft Mouse software works with the PC-ELEVATOR without patches now. Please address comments or questions to: Technical Support Applied Reasoning Corporation 86A Sherman St. Cambridge, MA 02140 tel: 617-492-0700 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Example AUTOEXEC.BAT file: ----------------------------------------------------------------- echo off path c:\bin;c:\;c:\elevator memory fix320 level > nul if errorlevel 1 goto upstairs REM These commands are only done Downstairs: readdclk prompt=$n^Y$g up/nw goto end :upstairs REM These commands are only done Upstairs: nofaults upstdate md e:\tmp prompt=$n^X$g :end