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-
-
- Version 1.0
-
- An all assembly-language library for
- PowerBASIC 3.0
-
- (C) Copyright 1994 by Tim Gerchmez
- All Rights Reserved.
-
-
-
- PBASMLIB Trial License
- ----------------------
-
- PBASMLIB is copyrighted, commercial software being distributed under the
- shareware (try before you buy) marketing concept. It is not free software,
- nor is it in the public domain.
-
- You are licensed to try PBASMLIB routines in your programs for a period
- of 60 days (two months). You may not distribute programs that include
- PBASMLIB routines, either for pay or for free, without first registering
- PBASMLIB. If at the end of 60 days you decide not to register PBASMLIB,
- you should delete all copies of the program, including all executable files
- that contain PBASMLIB routines, and discontinue use.
-
- Registered users of PBASMLIB will receive the following benefits:
-
- * The latest version of PBASMLIB on floppy disk (specify format, or
- 3 1/2", 1.44MB HD will be sent). This includes all files that came
- with the shareware version, as well as the individual .OBJ (object)
- files that make up the library, and the source code (see below).
- Programs are sent only on the highest-quality brand-name diskettes
- assembled in the U.S.A. - cheapie bulk diskettes are never used!
-
- * Complete assembly language source code to PBASMLIB routines for ease of
- making modifications to the software. This is a major benefit, and one
- that is not offered with many all assembly-language toolboxes.
-
- * License to use PBASMLIB routines in programs intended for distribution
- and/or sale, without payment of further fees or royalties. This is
- guaranteed in writing along with your registered copy.
-
- * The next major update FREE of charge (will be sent automatically).
- Subsequent major updates will cost $10.00 per update (subject to change).
- Minor updates and bug fixes are always free with a postpaid disk mailer
- and floppy disk.
-
- * More demonstration programs, with tips and techniques on using PBASMLIB
- routines.
-
- * Technical support by mail and via the PowerBASIC BBS and any other online
- services frequented by the author (see BIBLIO.TXT for an online reference)
-
- * Additional shareware and freeware utilities for PowerBASIC written by
- the author of PBASMLIB included on the disk sent.
-
- You may also receive other benefits in addition to those stated above (which
- are guaranteed upon registration). Note that this is not a warranty of any
- kind related to the software itself, but a guarantee of benefits upon payment
- of the registration fee.
-
- Commercial users of PBASMLIB must register and pay for their copies of
- the program within 10 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.
- If additional time is needed to evaluate PBASMLIB for your needs, please
- contact the author. Site license arrangements may be made by contacting
- the author at the address given below. Site-licensing contracts are
- negotiated on an individual basis.
-
- To register PBASMLIB, please send a check or money order for $39.95, plus
- $5.00 shipping and handling ($44.95 total), to:
-
- Tim Gerchmez
- 12648 S.E. 81st Pl.
- Renton, WA 98056-9121
-
- The price given is for a single-user registration, applicable to one user
- using PBASMLIB on one machine at any given time. Use the form included in
- this package (REGISTER.FRM) to register. If you don't, please don't forget
- to specify your FULL NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, and DISK FORMAT desired
- when ordering.
-
- Foreign registrants must pay with a check or cashier's check DRAWN ON A
- U.S. BANK, or with U.S. dollars in cash. Foreign users are guaranteed the
- same registration benefits as domestic users, including full technical
- support by mail.
-
- Questions or comments may also be directed to the author at the above
- address. Comments and/or questions from unregistered users are welcomed.
-
- DISTRIBUTORS are hereby licensed to distribute PBASMLIB freely, provided
- that all files included in the shareware package are kept together and
- unaltered (additional files may be added if necessary). It's recommended
- that you contact the author at the address given above, so that program
- updates and bug fixes can be sent to you. For additional details, see
- the file VENDOR.DOC included with this package.
-
- BBS SYSOPS may distribute PBASMLIB freely, provided that all files included
- in the archive package are kept together and unaltered (additional files
- may be added if necessary). It's recommended that you contact the author at
- the address given above, so that program updates and bug fixes can be sent or
- uploaded to you. The PBASMLIB package may be un-archived and re-archived
- using different archiving techniques (suggested filenames are PBASMLIB.ZIP
- or PBASMLIB.ARJ), and posted freely on any kind of BBS system.
-
-
- Disclaimer of Liability
- -----------------------
-
- "This software is provided as-is. There are no warranties made,
- either expressed or implied."
-
- THE AUTHOR OF THIS SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATED TO THIS
- SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
- THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
- NEITHER THE AUTHOR OF THIS SOFTWARE (TIM GERCHMEZ) NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO
- HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION OR DELIVERY OF
- THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL
- DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF THEY
- HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT
- SHALL THE AUTHOR OF THIS SOFTWARE'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED
- THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM
- OF CLAIM. THE PERSON(S) USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY
- AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- PBASMLIB Overview
- -----------------
-
- PBASMLIB is a toolkit (or library) of routines for PowerBASIC 3.0
- (PowerBASIC, Inc). It's written in 100% 80x86 assembly language,
- which offers you blazing speed, small program size, and a great
- deal of flexibility.
-
- The primary goal of PBASMLIB is not to save you time (although it will
- most likely do so), but to offer you raw speed, power and control at a
- level unequalled by any other shareware library for BASIC. With PBASMLIB
- and PowerBASIC, you'll have access to low-level machine functions that
- will provide you with unparallelled power in writing professional-quality
- BASIC programs that really stand out in a crowd. Because the code size
- is so small too (the MOUSE module, with 55 routines, takes about 3K of
- memory!), you'll use these routines often. It's my hope that with PBASMLIB
- at your disposal, you'll never have to spend $200 on a full-featured
- commercial library for PowerBASIC.
-
- The following modules are included in PBASMLIB:
-
- Screen
- ------
- The screen module provides 36 functions related to manipulating
- the text screen and memory block store routines. You can scroll the screen
- in different directions, store/recall text screens, fade the screen in and
- out (MCGA/VGA only), and perform other related and useful functions. Future
- plans include the addition of graphics-related routines.
-
- Mouse
- -----
- The mouse module provides you with access to the full power of the
- mouse driver. 55 functions are provided to allow you access to just about
- all the mouse driver's capabilities, including the ability to write your
- own interrupt-driven mouse handler routines.
-
- BIOS
- ----
- The BIOS module is an interface to the ROM BIOS routines built into
- your computer. Most of the built in BIOS functions are supported, including
- palette and graphics commands. 80 functions are included in the BIOS module.
-
- DOS
- ---
- The PBASMLIB DOS module lets you delve deeply into the mysteries
- of MS-DOS. 86 super powerful low-level functions let you interface your
- PB BASIC programs directly to the operating system, giving you access to
- programming flexibility that is second to none.
-
- Install
- -------
- Add some extra intelligence to your PB programs with this library
- of installation checks for many popular TSR's, Operating System extensions
- and BIOS extensions. 90 different install checks are currently supported.
- As new installation checks are added by different manufacturers, this
- PBASMLIB module will likely grow in size and functionality.
-
- Array
- -----
- Extend PB's already-powerful collection of array-related routines
- with these commands. Perform all sorts of interesting logical and numerical
- feats with integer and word arrays. Major expansion is planned for this
- unit in future versions of PBASMLIB.
-
- Sound
- -----
- PBASMLIB's sound module allows you to (at last!) play 9-voice
- FM-synthesized music directly from BASIC on your Adlib or Soundblaster
- card, without having to worry about loading a driver. You can also play
- back uncompressed raw digitized samples - once again, without a driver.
- It even provides you with an interface to the Soundblaster Speech driver,
- so you can write programs that talk and play music! The sound module, like
- the rest of PBASMLIB, is in a state of constant evolution, and I welcome
- your suggestions on any routines you might like to see added in a future
- revision.
-
- XMS
- ---
- Tired of the 640K limit? You can access as much Extended Memory
- (XMS) as your machine has installed with the PBASMLIB XMS commands. Store
- a string of any allowable length to XMS (and recall it later), using a
- command with only 3 parameters to remember. For more control, use the
- other XMS commands to store and recall ANY section of memory to/from XMS.
-
- EMS
- ---
- PBASMLIB offers support for EMS (Expanded Memory) as well as XMS
- (Extended Memory). Some modern DOS drivers offer both EMS and XMS to the
- programmer. PBASMLIB gives you a choice of using either or both if they
- exist on the machine your program is running on. EMS is even easier to use
- than XMS, and the EMS unit also includes routines to save and recall strings
- from memory without having to remember a lot of complex commands.
-
- Miscellaneous
- -------------
- This unit contains various and sundry routines that didn't fit into
- any other category or module. Most of the miscellaneous routines allow you
- to do things that aren't possible using PowerBASIC alone, adding a lot of
- power and flexibility to your programs. Several timing routines are included
- to improve and expand your ability to time program events, among others.
-
-
- Version 1.0 of PBASMLIB contains 10 modules total, and more are planned for
- future versions of the library. One of the special things about PBASMLIB
- is that it's an ONGOING project of the author - in other words, this version
- is only the beginning. When you register PBASMLIB, you will be entitled to
- the first major upgrade free of charge, and future upgrades after that for
- a minimal fee (currently $10.00 including disk and handling charges). The
- price of future versions of PBASMLIB will likely rise with added routines
- and increased functionality, but if you register now you'll never pay more
- than a small upgrade fee for major revisions.
-
-
- Installing PBASMLIB
- -------------------
-
- To install PBASMLIB, first create a new directory under your main
- PowerBASIC directory to hold all the files. You can do this with
- a command similar to the following:
-
- MD C:\PB3\PBASMLIB
-
- Next, copy all the files in this package to the newly-created directory
- with a command similar to the following:
-
- COPY *.* C:\PB3\PBASMLIB
-
- After this, you should copy PBASMLIB.PBL to your PowerBASIC LINK directory,
- and PBASMLIB.INC to PowerBASIC's INCLUDE directory. These are the directories
- specified in the OPTIONS/DIRECTORIES menu in the PowerBASIC IDE. PowerBASIC
- needs to know where to find PBASMLIB.PBL and PBASMLIB.INC when linking
- routines into your programs. To copy these files, use a command sequence
- similar to the following:
-
- CD C:\PB3\PBASMLIB
- COPY PBASMLIB.PBL C:\PB3\PBU (or C:\PB3\LINK)
- COPY PBASMLIB.INC C:\PB3\INCLUDE
-
- You can optionally always switch to the PBASMLIB directory before compiling
- and linking PBASMLIB programs, but it's far more convenient to tell PowerBASIC
- where to find .PBL/.PBU and .INC files. For more information on default
- PowerBASIC directories, see the online help or consult the PowerBASIC manuals.
-
- Once you've installed PBASMLIB, the routines should be ready to use. They
- will all be immediately accessible to your programs by including the following
- commands at the top of programs that use PBASMLIB routines:
-
- $LINK "PBASMLIB.PBL"
- $INCLUDE "PBASMLIB.INC"
-
- If you're using a version of PowerBASIC earlier than 3.0C, it may be
- necessary to declare only the routines that you actually use in your
- programs, otherwise PowerBASIC may pull in the entire PBASMLIB library,
- making your programs larger than necessary. If you use an earlier version
- of PowerBASIC, eliminate the $INCLUDE "PBASMLIB.INC" in your programs, and
- use cut and paste to cut the DECLAREs for routines you need out of the
- PBASMLIB.INC file and paste them into your programs.
-
- You are now ready to try the demo programs included with PBASMLIB. As of
- this version, most of the demos are for the SOUND (Soundblaster) module.
- If you don't have a Soundblaster card, you can't use these demo programs.
- When you register PBASMLIB, you'll receive additional demos that detail
- the functions of many of the other modules in the program. All of the demos
- except one (the speech driver demo) will run in the PowerBASIC IDE - simply
- load, compile and run. The program demonstrating the speech driver interface
- contains instructions on how to use it. Do not attempt to use this program
- in the PowerBASIC IDE, or you'll experience a system crash.
-
- A .DOC file for each module in PBASMLIB is included (XXXXX.DOC) that details
- the routines available in each module. It's recommended that you print out
- the .DOC files for the modules you will be using so you'll have a ready
- reference when you wish to add PBASMLIB commands to your programs. Future
- versions will include a help file for the PowerBASIC IDE (.PBH).
-
-
- Precautions
- -----------
-
- Before experimenting with low level PBASMLIB routines, especially those
- that perform disk access, BE SURE TO BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE. This
- precaution cannot be emphasized enough. You use PBASMLIB entirely at
- your own risk, and bear all responsibility for the use and/or misuse
- of low-level system routines. It's likely that as you use PBASMLIB
- routines, you'll experience the occasional system crash and/or corrupted
- files due to incorrect use, bugs in the routines, system configuration,
- or any number of possible problems. ALWAYS remember to take appropriate
- precautions, especially when experimenting with different parameters for
- particular routines. Once a PBASMLIB program is stable and tested, it's
- highly unlikely that the user of your programs will experience any
- significant problems. If they do, however, the author of PBASMLIB cannot
- be legally liable. The use of these routines is always at your own risk.
- They are provided as-is, with no warranties either expressed or implied.
- Please see DISCLAIM.TXT for further information.
-
-