Memory Commander, recently announced by V Communications, provides up to 960K of contiguous DOS memory, maps BIOS ROMs into faster RAM, has LIM 4.0 EMS emulation, and loads TSRs and device drivers into high memory. With Memory Commander you can install networks, drivers, TSRs, and large applications simultaneously.
DDJ spoke with Rick Gilligan of Computer and Software Enterprises Inc., who runs MS-DOS 4.01 to take better advantage of his 143-Mbyte disk drive. He said that "with Memory Commander I can move device drivers into high memory and run CAD programs that require as much as 550K of low memory. I can have one configuration now that gives me more than enough memory, and I can still have buffers, files, and drivers for my programs. Memory Commander takes care of a lot of things you would have to use separate drivers for; it includes EMS, VCPI, XMS, and ANSI drivers. The only conflict is with Windows 3.0, but no DOS extender works with Windows in protected mode."
A "control panel" describes how memory is utilized and provides control options for customizing Memory Commander for your system. A built-in RAM disk and an internal ANSI.SYS replacement are included for extended screen and keyboard support, and these additions require no DOS memory. The product sells for $129.95. Reader service no. 20.
V Communications Inc. 4320 Stevens Creek Blvd., Ste. 275 San Jose, CA 95129 408-296-4224 800-648-8266
ROM-DOS, a special-purpose ROMable DOS for non-PC applications, is being offered by Datalight. This small, modifiable operating system provides the functionality of MS-DOS 3.2, can operate from within ROM, and can boot from a floppy or hard disk. It can run MS-DOS executable COM and EXE files generated by any MS-DOS compiler.
Kevin Kyriss of 2Morrow, makers of a hand-held computer called "Silent Partner," told DDJ that their product had a limited future until Datalight put their operating system on it and "opened it up to a tremendous amount of applications. We can't have a disk drive; we have RAM that is write-protectable, and ROM-DOS goes into RAM and looks like ROM. You can execute applications directly out of ROM, which is more efficient for RAM."
You can write applications with the language of your choice, compile it with whatever compiler you choose, and then load it into ROM along with ROM-DOS to run in the target system with no other modifications. With all functions included, ROM-DOS takes about 34K of ROM and uses as little as 14K of RAM when running. And ROM-DOS can run applications directly, conserving the RAM required for COMMAND.COM.
Datalight has developed a mini-BIOS for use in embedded systems, which provides support for a remote console, hardware timer, and serial ports. ROM-DOS can be customized to include only those functions that are used by a particular application. A ROM-DOS Developer's Kit is available for $495, and a license to the source code costs $10,000. Reader service no. 23.
Datalight 17505 68th Ave. NE, Ste. 304 Bothell, WA 98011 206-486-8086
A C code generator for Borland's Paradox Engine is available from Concept Dynamics. PARAGen examines the data structure of user-defined Paradox tables and produces code to perform a variety of operations on those tables.
Daniel Sullivan of Concept Dynamics told DDJ that "we developed PARAGen for our own internal use. We gave a demo to a Paradox user's group, and found lots of interest in it. We are trying to appeal to a cross-over segment, to C programmers who are interested in database development but haven't used Paradox because of the prior inability to read and write Paradox files. Our next version will support C++ and Pascal, as well as C."
PARAGen allows developers to use the PC to generate database access code specific to their applications. The Paradox Engine provides generic functions for performing table operations but these have no knowledge of the tables defined by the application developer -- PARAGen links an application with the Paradox Engine.
Functions generated by PARAGen will open, close, create, and empty Paradox tables. Record-level operations include full and partial key searches, first, last, next, and previous record fetches, and field searches. Append, insert, and delete record operations are also provided. The product sells for $99, and demonstration versions are available on CompuServe. Reader service no. 21.
Concept Dynamics Ltd. 1147 S. Euclid Oak Park, IL 60304 708-524-2814
Version 2.1 of TSX-32, a multiuser, multitasking, and DOS-compatible operating system for 80386 and 80486 machines, has been announced by S&H Computer Systems. TSX-32 offers virtual memory with demand paging, file access control, printer spooling and queueing, and 32-bit program execution. It is binary-compatible with DOS programs that use Phar Lap's DOS Extender.
Some new features are faster I/O (achieved through improvements in data caching, cache flushing, and desk seek optimization), VGA and EGA color graphics, SCSI host adapters, and 9-track tape. The system uses an "Adaptive Scheduling Algorithm" (ASA) that dynamically orders and reorders system priorities based on the nature of the tasks to be performed. The ASA makes distinctions between interactive, real-time, and low-priority operations. An unlimited users license with one year of support and updates costs $1,450. Reader service no. 32.
S&H Computer Systems Inc. 1027 17th Ave. South Nashville, TN 37212 615-327-3670
Microsoft Windows developers may be interested in JT Software's JTW C++ class library, which provides a ready-made environment for developing Windows applications.
JTW includes more than 96 classes, a portion of which act as a high-level interface between Windows and the application (to facilitate ports to other environments). Other classes provide generic means for representing the application's data, either in the form of simple container classes, or in a higher-level family of classes that integrate into the windowing environment by keeping different views of the data in sync, and by providing members that generically handle common operations such as those required by a standard File menu.
Additional classes represent commonly used windows, dialog boxes, and controls (TextEdit, OpenDialog, PushButton). And procedural and object-oriented graphics capability is included. The $150 price includes full sources, user guide and reference manual, and sample programs. JTW supports the Zortech and Glockenspiel C++ compilers and requires Windows SDK. Reader service no. 22.
JT Software P.O. Box 4292 Santa Clara, CA 95054 408-727-8591
SilverScreen, a 3-D CAD/Solids Modeling software system from Schroff Development Corporation, is now available for licensing as a CAD engine. Some of SilverScreen's features are 2-D and 3-D Boolean operations, shading (and shadows), rendering, hidden line removal, camera walk, text editor, associative dimensioning, mass properties, the ability to import and export DXF and IGES files, and the ability to export in the HPGL format.
The system includes a resident C compiler that allows you to create custom applications. The compiler implements a library of over 200 functions, including a subset of the standard C library. And developers have access to a large number of functions which use the SilverScreen database and control the SilverScreen environment. Contact the company for pricing information. Reader service no. 24.
Schroff Development Corp. 4732 Reinhardt Dr. Roeland Park, KS 66205 913-262-2664
GrafPrint, printer graphics libraries that support Turbo C/C++, Microsoft C/ QuickC, and Watcom C and C/386 graphics libraries, are available from AnSoft Inc. You can develop programs in any video mode, and GrafPrint maps the screen graphics to any other video mode and to the printer.
It currently supports output on HP LaserJet/DeskJet/PaintJet, Epson FX/MX/LQ, and compatibles. Grafprint can use EMM 3.2 and over and adds integer and floating-point viewports on the screen and printer. GrafPrint Personal sells for $150 and GrafPrint Developers for $300 (no royalties). Reader service no. 31.
AnSoft Inc. 8254 Stone Trail Ct. Laurel, MD 20723 301-470-2335
A fully supported library of reusable C++ software components is available from Empathy Inc. Classix incorporates object-oriented design techniques and heuristics in C++ classes that cover abstractions in the areas of data structure design, mathematical support objects, Smalltalk-like classes, and mimics of the primitive data types. Classix also includes a parameterization utility for reusing classes with different data types.
Classix has over 35 classes and 800 operations, and includes inheritance and containment in the underlying design structure. Classix is offered in source code format only for use with Glockenspiel C++, Sun C++, GNU C++, Zortech C++, and MPW C++. Prices start at $295. Reader service no. 25.
Empathy Inc. P.O. Box 632 Cambridge, MA 02142 617-787-3089
NABJA Software, developer of object-oriented programming tools, has announced that NABJAooc, its object-oriented development environment for C, now supports Microsoft C 6.0.
NABJAooc uses MS C's help system to provide an online hypertext reference that includes a full class hierarchy which allows the user to browse through both system and user class definitions. It was designed for C programmers who want to code in ANSI C but also want the benefits of OOP -- without learning a new language.
NABJAooc features full implementation of the object-oriented paradigm, including multiple inheritance; support for integrated programming environments; compatibility with existing source-level debuggers, including Code-View; foundation classes, with source code, for basic data structures; a message-trace facility; and less than 10K of overhead for the base system. NABJAooc sells for $49, or $99 with source code. Reader service no. 27.
NABJA Software P.O. Box 413 Girard, PA 16417-0413 814-774-3699
Baran's Tech Letter, a publication covering the NeXT Computer, provides news and analysis of new products and technological developments for and around the NeXT Computer.
Nicholas Baran told DDJ that "there are no publications for the NeXT Computer other than by user groups and an academic report published by the company" and, said Baran, "there's a need for a publication that's not in love with Steve Jobs."
Baran's Tech Letter will cover such topics as third-party software, Postscript Level 2, Motorola's 96002 digital signal processor, and the level of dedication of such players as IBM. IBM has licensed NextStep, and according to Baran appears to be hedging its bets on whether NextStep or OSF Motif will emerge dominant. The subscription rate for 12 issues is $125. Reader service no. 28.
Baran's Tech Letter P.O. Box 876 Sandpoint, ID 83864-0876 208-265-5286
Pixelab has released GSPOT, a symbolic debugger for the Texas Instruments 34010. GSPOT (short for "graphics system processor operating tool") includes full floating-point support and TIGA support, and is designed to run on a PC or compatible. Its features are designed to make debugging in a "host-target" environment simple; for example, the ability to install GSPOT as a resident program while using another debugger for the host processor.
GSPOT can be configured to work with any GSP-based hardware, including TI's SDB board. Other features include symbolic debugging, C source debugging, a user-interface similar to CodeView, online assembly, a memory display/edit mode, watchpoints, script files, and so on. Version 1.0 sells for $995. Reader service no. 30.
Pixelab Inc. 4513 Lincoln Ave., Ste. 105 Lisle, IL 60532 708-960-9339
ExploreNet 3000, a neural network application development environment that uses Windows 3.0, has been announced by HNC. A variety of predefined example applications are included. ExploreNet 3000 is a flexible, icon-based environment in which users can define and create applications by selecting icons on the screen, specifying parameters, and linking individual modules together. Some major modules are the file module, data transformation module, pipe module, network module, and display module.
ExploreNet 3000 also incorporates watchpoints and control functions for monitoring network training and testing results. A programmatic interface is provided if you prefer to work in C. The product sells for $1,495. Reader service no. 29.
HNC 5501 Oberlin Dr. San Diego, CA 92121-1718 619-452-6524