ASYNC v2.03 08/09/93
Quick notes regarding this library:
This library is still "beta" and not fully qualified. Although I
have tested most of the routines in this unit, I cannot give any firm
assurance that everything here will work, as I still have to add some
finishing touches.
I apologize for the lack of documentation. I don't plan on attacking
that task until (1). I'm sure of the calling conventions of all the
routines, and (2). I get time to do the documentation properly. You
will find some terse documentation in the file "ASYNC.FN" as well as
in the ASYNC source itself. The source is pretty well documented,
although I don't have all of the procedure/function headers written
(by this I mean the comments intended to go inside the starred boxes
preceeding each subroutine).
There are a number of global variables (typically prefixed by "C_")
that you may wish to take note of. You will find these described in
ASYNC.PAS. Of particular importantce to you, there are two boolean
arrays: C_RcvWait[] and C_XmitWait[]. By setting C_RcvWait[ComPort]
= TRUE, procedures ComRead and ComBlockRead will suspend execution
until at least one character is present in the buffer. This applies
to any other unit procedure that makes use of one of these routines
(such as ComReadln). Setting this flag to FALSE will cause these
routines to return with an error code (in C_Error) if the buffer is
empty. ComReadCh will return a null (ASCII 00h) in this event.
C_XmitWait[ComPort], if set to TRUE, will cause ComWriteCh and
ComBlockWrite to suspend execution if there is no space left in the
transmit buffer, waiting for space to open up before resuming. This
applies to any other procedure in the unit that makes use of
ComWriteCh or ComBlockWrite (such as ComWrite). Setting
C_XmitWait[ComPort] to FALSE will override this feature, causing the
C_Error variable to return a nonzero result. If this happens, the
character(s) to be transmitted will be discarded.
C_Error, as mentioned above, returns a non-zero error code if any one
of several possible error conditions is detected. Error checking and
handling has changed significantly from the 1.xx version of the ASYNC
unit. You will find a complete listing of possible error codes at
the end of the ASYNC.FN file. These error returns are also
conveniently defined as constants in ASYNC.PAS.
Please DO NOT upload this library onto BBS's or information services!
Since it is not complete and I do not have the documentation for it
written yet I would rather wait until these tasks are complete before
I "formally" release it for public consumption.
I would appreciate your comments on the functionality and workability
of this unit. If you find any problems or would like to offer
suggestions as to changes and improvements, I'd be glad to listen.
You may contact me at the following locations:
My address:
-----------------------------
Mark Schultz
2211 S. 14th St.
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
(715) 423-3706
After 7:00 pm CST on weekdays
Usually available all day on weekends
- or -
Work address
-----------------------------
Best Power Technology
Rt. 1 Hwy. 80 / POB 280
Necedah, WI 54646
(608) 565-7200
(608) 565-7424 BBS
(608) 565-2679 FAX
9:00am - 6:00pm CST M-F
-- Special thanks to Meyer Moqute for help in debugging --
Your disk should contain the following files:
======================================================================
ASYNC.PAS......Constant and type declarations, UNIT procedure/function
headers. Compile this file if you wish to regenerate
ASYNC.TPU.
ASYNC.ASM......The 8088 assembly source code. Contains the ASYNC ISR
and code for time-critical and often-called
procedures.
ASYNC.OBJ......The assembled object code of ASYNC.ASM
ASYNC.TPU......Ready-to-USE unit file. Compiled with BP V7.0
ASSIGN.INC.....ASYNC include file.
Source for procdures and functions that provide a
TP-standard text file driver that is compatable with
READ/READLN and WRITE/WRITELN.
BUFFER.INC.....ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions that deal with
buffer management.
HANDSHK.INC....ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions that configure
ASYNC's handshaking options.
INIT.INC.......ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions used to
initialize, open and close ports.
IO.INC.........ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions that perform
basic input/output operations.
IOLINE.INC.....ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions that allow reading
and setting RS-232 control signals.
PLEDIT.INC.....ASYNC include file.
Source for procedures and functions that add, change
or remove hardware port definitions.
TIMER.PAS......Interrupt-driven timer UNIT. Required by ASYNC and used
for most timing-driven operations. May also be used
seperately from ASYNC.
TIMER.ASM......Assembly source, generates TIMER.OBJ when assembled;
required by TIMER.PAS.
TIMER.OBJ......The assembled object code for TIMER.ASM; used by the
TIMER unit.
TIMER.TPU......Ready-to-USE unit file. Compiled with BP v7.0, all
debug options and error checking disabled.
DUMBTERM.PAS...Source for a short demonstration program that shows
the usage of the basic ASYNC services in a simple
terminal application.
DUMBTERM.EXE...Ready-to-run version of DUMBTERM.PAS, compiled with
BP v7.0.
PORTTEST.PAS...Another demo program, shows how the ASYNC global
variables can be used to determine system COM port
configuration.
PORTTEST.EXE...Ready-to-run version of PORTTEST.PAS, compiled with
BP v7.0
ASYNC.FN.......Quick description of each procedure & function in the
ASYNC unit. Sorry, this is all that's available for
documentation at this time.
DESCRIPT.ION...4DOS/NDOS compatable file descriptions for all of the
files described above.
README.TXT.....This file.
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