Actor 2.0, an object-oriented development environment for Microsoft Windows applications, has been announced by The Whitewater Group. Version 2.0 boasts an automatic object swapping system that swaps static objects and code out to disk, which allows developers to break the 640K barrier of MS-DOS and create applications that are larger than 1 Mbyte in size. It does this by means of an LRU (least-recently used) algorithm, which ages unused objects and sends the old ones out to disk.
Actor 2.0 also has additional object-oriented features, new commands, and improved support for C. Whitewater spokesman Zack Urlocker told DDJthat "programmers wanted increased compatibility with C so we've added the ability to pass C structures and combine primitives in C and assembly language. This means you can get directly into the low-level structure of objects." 2.0 runs on any PC or PS/2 (or compatibles) under Microsoft Windows, and requires 640K of memory, a hard disk, a graphics card of any resolution, a mouse, and Microsoft Windows 2.x or later. The cost is $695, but registered users of previous versions can upgrade for $149. Reader service no. 20.
The Whitewater Group 600 Davis St. Evanston, IL 60201 708-328-3800
Version 2.00 of Top Speed Modula-2 has been announced by JPI. This version works with the multilanguage development recently released with TopSpeed C, which automatically selects the appropriate compiler for the source file it needs to compile, and includes nine editing windows, 500K per file, and a hypertext help system. New compiler options allow interfacing of C libraries and functions with Modula-2 programs, and vice versa. The optimizing code generator is featured in the new family of TopSpeed languages (including a TopSpeed Pascal, which has also been announced), common to all the languages.
TopSpeed Modula-2, Version 2.00, has multiple memory model support, and new keywords and syntax extensions allow object-oriented programming. A new keyword CLASS allows a RECORD-like structure to include PROCEDURE declarations, hide data, specify inheritance and VIRTUAL procedures. And syntax extensions allow the name of a variable of a CLASS type to qualify the name of a procedure.
Included now in all TopSpeed compilers is the Visual Interactive Debugger (VID), which is a multilanguage source-level debugger that features on-screen display of all breakpoint traps, single-step operation, and full source code inspection. TopSpeed Modula-2 is available for DOS ($395 for extended edition) and OS/2 ($495 for extended edition). Reader service no. 33.
Jensen & Partners International 1101 San Antonio Rd., Ste. 301 Mountain View, CA 94043 415-967-3200
A software development tool that gives the 80386 processor the same level of protection available in protected operating systems has been announced by Nu-Mega. Bounds-Checker automatically detects out-of-bounds accesses by an application program, using the symbolic information created by the Microsoft C 5.X and 6.0 compilers to show you the exact source line causing the out-of-bounds access. Nu-Mega claims that Bounds-Checker cuts steps in the development process and eliminates the need to debug, and that it prevents serious side effects of subtle overwrites that may not be particularly dangerous until the program is in the field.
The Bounds-Checker provides real-time memory protection, differentiates between code and data, protects program code and all memory outside your program, and prevents the system software from corrupting your program -- it can determine if a TSR or other program is trouncing your program. Sells for $249. Reader service no. 35.
Nu-Mega Technologies P.O. Box 7607 Nashua, NH 03060-7607 603-888-2386
Borland International has announced Version 2.0 of its Turbo Debugger, which includes a toolkit that features the new Turbo Profiler. The profiler measures where in your program time is spent, how many times a line is executed, how many times a routine is called and by what, and which files are accessed most often and for how long. It also tracks the use of resources such as processor time, disk access, keyboard input, printer output, and interrupt activity.
The Turbo Profiler graphically displays where your program is spending its time, telling you which parts of the program are used most often and may need optimization or rewriting, and which parts are used so little that you needn't bother tightening them. An optimizing compiler generates code for the program you give it.
Multiple overlapping windows, icons, mouse support, and context-sensitive on-line help are included in the user interface. The Profiler works with Turbo Pascal 5.0, Turbo C 2.0, and Turbo Assembler 1.0, and any later versions of these compilers. Also supports CodeView and .MAP file debug formats. For IBM PCs and compatibles operating PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 2.0 or later. Requires 384K (256K for Turbo Assembler). The toolkit retails for $149.95. Reader service no. 34.
Borland International 1800 Green Hills Rd. Scotts Valley, CA 95066-0001 408-438-8400
Version 4.0 of the LALR compiler construction toolkit can now be purchased from LALR Research. The toolkit includes the parser generator, LALR, and a scanner generator, DFA, as well as various source code modules, such as a main program, a screener, parser skeleton, and scanner skeleton. DDJ spoke with the developer, Paul Mann, who said that the LALR compiler is "an advanced compiler construction tool that goes beyond YACC. It features extended BNF notation, automatic creation of abstract syntax trees, and a high-speed scanner generator. It's well suited for developing compilers, translators, and interpreters for computer languages."
A BNF grammar describes the statements of the language as input to the LALR, and describes the symbols as input to the DFA. The LALR parser generator provides automatic error recovery, and handles large grammars such as Fortran and Cobol. The company claims that the DFA scanner generator produces high-speed deterministic finite automatons that run about four times faster than LEX scanners. The source code output is compatible with Turbo C, Microsoft C, Watcom C, among others. The price is $495. Reader service no. 26.
LALR Research 1892 Burnt Mill Rd. Tustin, CA 92680 714-832-2274
BrainMaker v2.0, a system for designing, building, training, testing, and running neural networks, is now available from California Scientific Software. The company claims that version 2.0 is a major enhancement, and has such features as the NetMaker, which is a network generation and data manipulation program with spread-sheet style data display and the ability to perform arithmetic operations on data. In addition, BrainMaker now reads data from Lotus, dBase, Quattro, and Excel files; automatic numeric translation allows the display of large numbers; graphics post-processing of network results is supported; and it includes training and running algorithms that are as fast as 500,000 neural connections per second. Mark Lawrence, CSS president, told DDJthat "with Release 1, we knew we had a neat technology, and that our users would have to tell us what it was for. They told us it was mostly for financial forecasting, so now we've gone back and written it like it should have been."
This upgrade includes the Introduction to Neural Networks, an overview of the history and research of neural networks, and a user's guide and reference manual. The cost is $195, $95 for registered users. Requires a PC, PS/2, or compatible. Reader service no. 21.
California Scientific Software 160 E. Montecito Ave., #E Sierra Madre, CA 91024 818-355-1094
Macintosh Allegro Common Lisp (CL), v. 1.3, an extended implementation of Common Lisp, is being shipped by Apple Computer. It supports all the features described in the Guy Steele text Common Lisp: The Language. The Macintosh Allegro CL can be used to develop stand-alone Macintosh applications and to port applications developed on other machines.
User interface components can be modified both interactively and under program control. Events are caught and dispatched by the Lisp run-time kernel. Windows are accessible as high-level objects, and can be created and closed with simple Lisp functions. Menus and dialog boxes are implemented as objects, as well. Fred, an integrated programmable editor, combines the capabilities of Emacs with the multiple-window, mouse-based editing style of the Mac. The Stand-Alone Application Generator produces ready-to-use Mac applications, which require a "nominal fee" license to distribute. System requirements include any Mac except the 512K, a second 800K disk drive, and Mac System Software, Version 6.0. It sells for $495. Reader service no. 28.
Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 408-996-1010
MS-DOS Kermit, Version 3.0, is now available from the Columbia University Center for Computing Activities. The new features include transfer of text files in international character sets via a new Kermit protocol extension; emulation of the DEC VT320 terminal, including soft function keys and support for a wide variety of international character sets in any of the five standard PC code pages; and sliding window packet protocols for improved file transfer performance over public data networks and long distance satellite connections.
Version 3.0 also has expanded support for local area networks, and enhanced Tektronix graphics terminal emulation with VT340 extensions. Graphics screens may be saved in TIFF 5.0 for importation into such applications as WordPerfect, Pagemaker, and Ventura Publisher. This version was prepared by Joe R. Doupnik of Utah State University in cooperation with Columbia University. Reader service no. 29.
Kermit Distribution, Columbia Univ. Center for Computing Activities 612 W. 115th St. New York, NY 10025 212-854-3703
Stony Brook Professional Modula-2, Version 2.0, is now available from Stony Brook Software. This compiler package includes the QuickMod compiler and an optimizing compiler; development support for DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows; the ability to interface with libraries written in C or other languages; the M16 debugger; an extensive run-time library; built-in multi-tasking; and the Stony Brook linker.
The Stony Brook environment gives you control over source file placement, keystroke macros, the ability to perform DOS commands, a cross-reference of module dependencies, interface to the symbolic debugger, and the ability to assemble foreign language modules. QuickMod complies with Wirth's definition of Modula-2, and supports symbol scoping and forward reference capabilities in one pass. Added are structured constants, array sub-strings, conditional compilation, type coercions, and set types containing up to 65,536 bits. The whole package retails for $295; the source code for the run-time library costs $150. Reader service no. 24.
Stony Brook Software 187 E. Wilbur R., Ste. 9 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 800-624-7487 (US) 805-496-5837 (Calif. and International)
NeuralSource, The Bibliographic Guide to Artificial Neural Networks, by Phillip Wasserman and Roberta Oetzel, is available from Van Nostrand Reinhold. This bibliography purports to be the most extensive collection of research information on neural nets. Periodicals, private reports, and books are included. Sells for $64.95. ISBN 0-442-23776-6.
Also by Wasserman is Neural Computing, Theory and Practice. This is an introduction to artificial neural networks for the nonspecialist. Assumes no math background beyond an undergraduate scientific education. Uses a step-by-step algorithmic approach to present commonly used network paradigms. $36.95, ISBN 0-442-20743-3. Reader service no. 30.
Van Nostrand Reinhold P.O. Box 668 Florence, KY 41022-0668 606-525-6600
Elements of Functional Programming by Chris Reade has been published by Addison-Wesley. Covers the concepts and techniques used in modern functional programming languages, as well as support for abstraction, programming with lists, new types, abstract data types and modules, lazy and eager evaluation, and implementation techniques. Hardback edition costs $37.75, ISBN 0-201-12915-9. Reader service no. 31.
Addison-Wesley Reading, MA 01867 617-944-3700
The COSMIC Software Catalog 1990 Edition is available from the University of Georgia. It is a comprehensive listing of program abstracts describing all available NASA computer programs. You can purchase it in book form ($25), on microcomputer diskette ($30), on magnetic tape ($50), or on microfiche ($10). The catalog cross-indexes over 1200 computer programs, in areas such as aerodynamics, reliability, composites, heat transfer, artificial intelligence, and structural analysis. Reader service no. 32.
COSMIC University of Georgia 382 E. Broad St. Athens, GA 30602 404-542-4807
HCR/C++, Version 2.2, is the first upgrade on this C++ compiler from HCR Corporation. HCR/C++ operates on most 386 and 486 Unix systems. This version includes class libraries that contain a comprehensive set of predefined objects that are compatible with the reusable object capabilities of C++. HCR/C++ comes with an enhanced release of dbXtra, the window-oriented debugger compatible with Berkeley's DBX.
HCR/C++ 2.2 includes the set of class libraries defined by AT&T and those in HCR/C++ 2.1, as well as the NIH (National Institute of Health) libraries, which provide classes for strings, linked lists, date and time conversions, indexed arrays, hash tables, regular expressions, and vector operations. The InterViews libraries that were developed at Stanford University and provide an interface to X Windows are also part of the package. The product should be available by now, and retails for $995. Version 2.0 customers can upgrade for $99. Reader service no. 23.
HCR Corporation 130 Bloor St. West, 10th Floor Toronto, Ont. Canada M5S 1N5 416-922-1937
The bStrings Library for C, which adds dynamic string-handling capabilities to the C language, is available from KBM Communications. The bStrings Library provides dynamic strings without fragmenting memory. Over 130 string manipulation routines are provided, which duplicate most every string function available in Basic, as well as some not found in that language. The library supports functions that cut, copy, paste, clear, and overwrite whole strings or sections of strings, and will work with most screen management packages.
This library is available for Borland's Turbo C 2.0, Microsoft C 5.0/5.1 and QuickC 2.0. Both versions are provided with each order, and come with a 30 day money-back guarantee. The product sells for $89.95. Reader service no. 36.
KBM Communications, Inc. 2401 Lake Park Dr., Ste. 160 Atlanta, GA 30080 800-227-0303
A QuickBasic file indexing program, Index Manager, has been released by CDP Consultants. This product supposedly gives programmers the ability to create B+ tree files indexed within their QuickBasic programs. It allows random file access by full key, browsing through files by partial key, or sorting forward or backward. One external subroutine performs all of Index Manager's functions, and the programmer still retains full control over all data files, as only indexes are managed.
Indexes are created with a prefix B+ tree. The program is written in assembler language, and utilizes a large cache buffer for keeping important index records in memory. A demo version can be downloaded on CompuServe (GO MSSYS) on data library 1 or 2, called INDEXM.ARC, and GEnie (M 505) on data library 10, file 828. The program costs $59. Reader service no. 25.
CDP Consultants 1700 Circo del Cielo Dr. El Cajon, CA 92020 619- 440- 6482
New run-time tools are now available from Gold Hill Computers for its development environments GoldWorks II and GCLISP Developer 3.1. The company claims that these products will produce applications that can be invoked directly from DOS or Microsoft Windows/286, that they will load as much as five times faster than applications loaded under the development environments, and that they will require much less memory.
GCLISP Runtime supports the delivery of GCLISP Developer 3.1 applications. The Lisp run-time configuration requires 1 Mbyte of extended memory, and so can deliver applications with less than 2 Mbytes of memory. Goldworks II/PC Runtime configuration requires 2 Mbytes of extended memory, with 4 Mbytes memory targeted for end-user machines, and is integrated with external programs such as Lotus 1-2-3, dBase III, and C. Gold Hill's Starter-Pak is $1000 for GCLISP 3.1 and $1500 for Goldworks II/PC. Reader service no. 27.
Gold Hill Computers, Inc. 25 Landsdowne St. Cambridge, MA 02139 617-621-3300