The folks at Hyperkinetix have released Version 1.21 of The Builder, a batch file compiler and language extender that includes menus as command syntax. DDJ met with Hyperkinetix's "master codeblaster," Tom Campbell, who demonstrated Builder's simplicity and ease of use. Tom combined aspects he liked in C, Basic, and Hypertalk; thus Builder is English-like yet efficient -- Tom wrote a simple menu shell program with four or five lines of Builder code.
You can create custom menus and distribute them freely, rather than purchase canned programs for every machine you need menus for. You can hide details of a program so that users cannot tamper with it, filter out unwanted keystrokes, and display boxes, colored text, and position the cursor directly (without using ANSI.SYS).
Builder imports .BAT files and translates them into compiled .COM or .EXE programs. All batch commands are duplicated, and structures such as Case, While, and Repeat and functions such as DiskReady and Input are included. DiskFree determines the amount of available disk space, RenSub renames subdirectories, FileSize returns the size of a file in bytes, ReadLine and WriteLine give full I/O capabilities, and GetKey processes keystrokes, including function keys. Builder's variable types include integer and LongInt, and subroutines allow you to create your own keywords. You can build PopUp or DropDown menus that act as block structure statements, and Builder programs automatically use a Microsoft-compatible mouse if one is present. Sells for $149.95, and includes a money-back guarantee and telephone, BBS, and CompuServe tech support. Reader service no. 20.
Hyperkinetix, Inc. 666 West Baker, Ste. 405 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714-668-9234
CodeTAP 386 is a source-level, run-time debugging tool for 80386 embedded systems, from Applied Microsystems Corp. It provides a transparent window into the internal functioning of the 80386 while executing code in the target environment, using emulation technology integrated in a custom chip. Developers currently use native debuggers and software monitors for debugging, and use emulators for full system integration and for solving real-time problems. CodeTAP bridges these technologies.
A major difference between CodeTAP and software monitors is CodeTAP's ability to monitor and control code execution in the target without utilizing target memory, I/O, or requiring prior code modification -- it is electrically transparent in the target, allowing engineers to single step or operate at full clock speeds up to 33 MHz with no wait states.
A source-level debugger is included for both high-level language and assembly debugging. Combined with Phar Lap's 386 ASM/LinkLoc, the debugger software supports Intel OMF-compatible languages, Microsoft C, and other popular compilers.
The company claims CodeTAP's greatest asset is that it can shorten development time for embedded systems. Pricing begins at $5,000. Reader service no. 21.
Applied Microsystems Corporation 5020 148th Ave. NE P.O. Box 97002 Redmond, WA 98073-9702 206-882-2000
Stony Brook Software has announced Version 2.1 of their Modula-2 Professional system and QuickMod compilers. Additional code optimization includes loop rewriting, register parameter passing, and automatic inline expansion of procedures. Also new is Presentation Manager support, enhanced MS Windows support, an integrated execution profiler, and an integrated object librarian. All components are integrated under a single environment. The Professional system includes the Stony Brook environment, the QuickMod and Optimizing compilers, the debugger, and the run-time library. The price is $295. Reader service no. 22.
Stony Brook Software 187 E. Wilbur Rd., Ste. 9 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-496-5837
Programmers who like the structure of Modula-2 and need the processing power transputers offer now have the option of using Modula-2 instead of C or Occam. Computer System Architects has developed a Modula-2 package based on the third edition of Wirth's Programming in Modula-2. DDJ spoke with Richard Ohran, who ported the compiler to the transputer and who worked with Wirth on the original implementation on the Lilith at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He said that "our version of Modula has features that facilitate using more than one processor. It is set up to replicate a copy of itself into another transputer." The full symbolic network debugger identifies deadlocks and run-time errors, and can display the state of every process in the net regardless of distance from the host processor.
Graphical user interface routines support overlapping windows, menus, down-loadable fonts, and mouse-driven cursor inputs. The compiler operates in two passes and generates binary object code with optimized relative addressing offsets. Extensions allow generation of all transputer parallel processing constructs.
The transputer library is a collection of precompiled Modula-2 procedures that can be imported into your programs. The transputer network debugger can thread its way into a deadlocked net of transputers and display the state of each task within each processor until it finds the cause. It then displays the symbolic notation and shows the position and names, types, and contents of all data structures. The system sells for $995, and the source code to the Medos system kernel (which allows programs to call other programs as overlays that link dynamically to resident modules and so inherit characteristics from the program environment they are called into) and the library modules is another $1,000. Discounts available to educational institutions. Reader service no. 23.
Computer System Architects 950 N. University Ave. Provo, UT 84604-3422 801-374-2300
Coleman Softlabs has released Overlay Designer, which is "computer-aided design" for programmers using Plink86 and RTLink to design overlay structures. If you are building a product with more than 50 overlays, Overlay Designer can apparently save you a lot of time. Mike Milsner of Symantec told DDJ that it "saved me hours and days of work. I like it a lot. We use Plink, and have an overlay structure that grew and grew -- to more than 170 modules. Instead of mapping the structure by hand I used Overlay Designer and it automatically prints it out and lets me know if two things are in memory at the same time. It helps to determine what goes into the root and which small pieces can be overlayed on disk, so the user can ping-pong between, say, a spreadsheet and a graph and not have the system crash."
Overlay Designer reads the MAP file output by the linker to get the information necessary to build its database. Overlay Designer's graphic, algorithmic, and tabulation tools help you refine the overlay structure. The on-screen interaction includes a report that shows direct "equal level overlay" conflicting calls, 35 dynamic tables to cross-reference public symbol usage, ability to move code between overlays and instantaneously compute the result, and tables to show program sizes by file, module, and overlay. Price: $595. Reader service no. 24.
Coleman Softlabs, Inc. 296 Bay Rd. Atherton, CA 94027 415-322-9006
A full standard Common Lisp for Unix System V and X-Window-based multiprocessing systems is available from Top Level. TopCL Version 2.0 includes a foreign function interface for calling C and Fortran code, requires minimal recoding of existing algorithms and libraries, and provides debugging tools not available with strictly serial programming languages. The company claims that TopCL provides near-linear, linear, and better than linear performance speedup, that synchronization is handled implicitly, and that applications written in TopCL can run as fast as the multiprocessors and memory bus hardware will allow. TopCL is ANSI-compatible. Reader service no. 25.
Top Level, Inc. 196 N. Pleasant St. Amherst, MA 01002 413-256-6405
Version 4 of the source code analysis tool for C, PC-lint, has been released by Gimpel Software. PC-lint runs under MS-DOS or OS/2, and analyzes C programs for bugs and inconsistencies. PC-lint looks across multiple modules and helps make programs more maintainable. It is also useful for porting programs to new machines, operating systems, compilers, and memory models.
Kathy Bell of Softcraft told DDJ that "we use it all the time and like it very much. We have a large project (125 source files, 2.5 Mbytes of code, 65 header files) and have been able to lint all of our source files at one time. The atest version is the best so far. It tells us which header files we don't need and which functions aren't being called. With projects this large, you forget what you worked on a year ago, and with several people working on a project, it is very helpful to know these things."
New diagnostics include checks for compile-time objects such as macros, typedefs, and declarations; PC-lint reports if they are not used locally and globally. A lint object module captures in binary form all the external information of a module, allowing for incremental linting via a make file. New options customize message suppression, Unix-style options are supported, and error messages give detailed information regarding files, type differences, precision loss, and so on. And you can be alerted to silent conversions caused by prototypes. PC-lint requires a minimum of 196 Kbytes of memory, and will use all available memory. It sells for $139. Reader service no. 29.
Gimpel Software 3207 Hogarth Ln. Collegeville, PA 19426 215-584-4261
Multitasking for C programs is possible with the DIVVY software package from Drumlin Inc., which provides a way to divide up processor time. DIVVY allows control operations to be programmed separately, and causes the CPU to continually switch between tasks at run time, effectively running all tasks simultaneously. DOS is inherently single-tasking; DIVVY allows a multitasking application to be self-contained, avoiding the need to upgrade to OS/2 or Unix to achieve multitasking. Structured as a library of routines that can be linked into programs written in MS C or Turbo C, DIVVY can support an unlimited number of tasks, flags, and queues. Standard libraries and DOS calls are usable through the scheduler system, which operates on a priority-based, non-preemptive basis. The package sells for $229. Reader service no. 26.
Drumlin, Inc. 1011 Grand Central Ave. Glendale, CA 91201 818-244-4600
FreeForm, a C, symbolic, source-level debugger for ROMable 68000-based applications, is new from Software Development Systems. The company claims this product will deliver the highest level of symbolic debugging without the use of windows or an in-circuit emulator. FreeForm is command-language driven, allowing you to choose precisely which code and data are being displayed at any given moment. You can plant breakpoints at C-level source statements, inspect and modify C symbols, and view special objects such as stacks or symbol sets. If an object is too big to fit on a screen, it can be redirected to a file and edited. Arrays, enumerations, and structures can be displayed in full symbolic form, and complex data structures such as linked lists and trees can be displayed automatically -- the debugger assumes that the entire screen is available for display.
FreeForm controls the target application through available serial or I/O ports by communicating with a target monitor program that can be configured to operate on virtually all 68000-family targets. Prices range from $1,795 to $3,595, depending on the host machine. Reader service no. 27.
Software Development Systems, Inc. 4248 Belle Aire Ln. Downers Grove, IL 60515 800-448-7733
Watcom has announced both their Fortran 77/386 and C/386 Optimizing Compilers and Tools Version 8.0. F77/386 V8.0 supports the development of Fortran programs that run in 32-bit protected mode on the 386, typically with a DOS extender. F77/386 and Watcom C8.0/386 share code optimization technology and support tools such as the debugger, linker, profiler, and object librarian. Both are run-time compatible, allowing inter-language function calls. List price for F77/386 V8.0 is $1,295; the Professional Edition of C8.0/ 386 is $1,295, Standard Edition is $895. Reader service no. 30.
Watcom 415 Phillip St. Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 3X2 519-886-3700
Lahey Computer Systems announces Version 3.0 of F77L-EM/32, their 32-bit DOS Fortran compiler, which combined with the Ergo OS/386 DOS extender lets users exceed the DOS 640K barrier and use extended memory. You must purchase the Ergo OS/386 extender ($395) in order to use the Lahey compiler. Virtual memory and run-time licenses are included in the $395. The compiler is compatible with DESQview, so you can multitask applications and run other applications while compiling in the background. Version 3.0 includes a new editor and make utility. If you use a 386, you need an Intel or Weitek math coprocessor, 1 Mbyte of extended memory, and DOS 3.x or greater. You can also use it on a 486. The compiler retails for $895. Reader service no. 31.
Lahey Computer Systems P.O. Box 6091 Incline Village, NV 89450 702-831-2500