MultiScope has recently released its MultiScope debuggers for DOS and Windows 3.0, and an upgrade to its OS/2 debugger. The debuggers support any language that is capable of generating Codeview information, including Microsoft C, Fortran, Pascal, Basic, and MASM, as well as Logitech's Modula-2.
Each debugging platform provides a runtime, postmortem, and remote debugger. The runtime debuggers sport multiple windows, including a source window that allows you to view and control the execution of your source code. Features here include conditional and unconditional breakpoints at both the source and assembly levels, data and memory watchpoints, a sophisticated set of "GO" commands, and a symbolic expression evaluator for C, Pascal, or Modula-2.
Other windows allow you to view simultaneously at the source and assembly levels, and to examine the registers of the CPU and math coprocessor. Using the graphic data window, you can browse a graphical hierarchy of the data structures within your program with full zoom and scroll capability, while a complimentary data window lets you view the internals of a given structure. Also, a memory window lets you view, modify, or set watchpoints on any location in your program's memory space and display in any of a number of formats.
The DOS and Windows versions provide full support and take advantage of the 386/486, while those with an 8086/286 can take advantage of MultiScope's remote debugging capability. The package, which includes all three debugging platforms, is available at an introductory price of $179. Current owners of MultiScope for OS/2 can upgrade for $99. Reader service no. 20.
MultiScope Inc. 1235 Pear Ave. Mountain View, CA 94043 415-968-4892
Interactive Engineering is expected to release its WINDOWS.TXT product, a character-mode implementation of the Microsoft Windows 3.0 SDK, in the first quarter of 1991. The product is intended to provide programmers with the means to develop SAA/CUA compliant applications under DOS while adding a mapping layer that provides source-code compatibility with the Windows SDK. DDJ recently spoke with Stephen E. Buck, president of Interactive Engineering. According to Buck, "In most cases, a programmer can run a Windows program out of the box by changing just the make file."
Key features include full support of pull-down and pop-up menus, overlapping, pop-up, and child windows, and modal or modeless dialog boxes. The libraries provide functions that support message passing including posting, sending, dispatching, and so on, as well as functions to manage the message queue, register programmer-defined messages, and to subclass windows. Windows-style memory management functions are also provided. In addition, the package includes clipboard, paint and timer functions, and support for resources.
The WINDOWS.TXT SDK supports Microsoft C 5.1, Turbo C 2.0, and Turbo C++ 1.0, and includes a resource compiler, a dialog editor, documentation, and sample source code. A Unix version is expected later this year, with OS/2 and VMS versions under consideration. The SDK with full source to the libraries is available at $595, or can be purchased separately for $295. Reader service no. 25.
Interactive Engineering Inc. P.O. Box 7022 Boulder, CO 80306-7022 303-440-7674
The ANSI committee on Pascal is working on a technical report on object-oriented extensions to Pascal. Tom Turba of Unisys told DDJ that they are "working with people from Apple, Microsoft, Symantec, DEC, and other vendors. We have a few users working with us and we'd like to have a few more users participate. We are planning on getting it done in a year's time frame." If you would like further information or are interested in participating, contact:
Thomas Turba, Chairman X3J9 Unisys Corp., MS WE3C P.O. Box 64942 St. Paul, MN 55164 612-635-2349 turba@rsvl.Unisys.com
Unix users working on 386 or 486 PCs can now purchase the System V Release 4 Migration Package from UHC. Xenix, Unix System V, or other Unix system variants for the Intel architecture can be traded in for the SVR4 Migration Package, which includes the base operating system, Berkeley compatibility, editing utilities, forms and menu language interpreter, framed access command environment, kernel debugger, line printer utilities, mouse driver, networking support utilities, PC-Interface, remote terminal utilities, security administration, Termcap compatibility, windowing utilities, Xenix compatibility, and operation, administration, and maintenance.
Also included is compatibility with MFM, RLL, IDE, Western Digital 1007 ESDI, Adaptec 1542 SCSI, and Western Digital 7000 SCSI controllers. Drivers are provided for most VGA and Super VGA cards, and for selected ARchive and Wangtek tape drives.
SVR4 also provides a library that implements the BSD Sockets interface, 4.3 BSD signal mechanisms, BSD commands and job control, the TCP/IP network protocols, RPC and XDR libraries, the Network File System file-sharing utility, Virtual File System architecture, and more. The cost for migration to UHC (trading in the original disks of your current Unix system) is $395. Reader service no. 21.
UHC 3600 S: Gessner, Ste. 110 Houston, TX 77063 713-782-2700
In other Windows news, Texas Instruments is offering a Windows display driver that can support Windows 3 on any TIGA 340-based board, regardless of resolution or color depth. This eliminates the need to develop separate drivers for each resolution and display configuration.
TI's Windows driver links the graphics capabilities of Windows with the high resolution, industry standard 340x0 processors, giving Windows applications higher performance and faster processing by offloading the graphics processing from the CPU to the 340 graphics processor. The Windows driver provides hardware support for all the current Windows features, and is packaged with the TIGA Software Porting Kit, available to licensed TIGA OEMs. Reader service no. 23.
Texas Instruments Inc. Semiconductor Group, SC-9082 P.O. Box 809066 Dallas, TX 75380-9066 214-995-6611, Ext. 700
Digital signal processing (DSP) may soon be more accessible to PC and workstation applications through Spectron's Open Signal Processing Architecture (OSPA), which provides a common framework and a set of standard interfaces developed to allow designers of DSP-based systems to integrate DSP software with applications. Spectron expects this to encourage the development of PC and workstation applications that are designed and built without costly porting processes or reinvented communications mechanisms.
OSPA defines a set of interfaces and protocols that link standard computer operating systems such as DOS or Unix with Spox, Spectron's digital signal processing operating system, via an extension called Spox Server. Host application programs can thus control and communicate with multiple DSP tasks running at the same time on the same hardware. Mark Borcherding of Texas Instruments Audio told DDJ, "We're using the RTK (real-time kernel) component, which gives us a multitasking environment for option boards that plug into T1 phone lines. For the filtering operations we use the RTK for a combination of multiprocessing and multitasking with script interpreters. We use both the PC and Sun development tools."
DSP technology has been of limited value to designers of voice, imaging, telecommunications, and instrumentation systems who are unfamiliar with DSP algorithms. Independent software vendors will be able to package DSP algorithms as Spox applications by using OSPA's features. OSPA development packages will be offered initially by TI TMS320C30 development system vendors for approximately $5,000. Reader service no. 24.
Spectron Microsystems 600 Ward Dr. Santa Barbara, CA 93111 805-967-0503
Smalltalk/V Windows is now available from Digitalk. Smalltalk/V works optimally with graphical user interfaces such as Windows, Presentation Manager, and the Mac, providing for these environments classes that hide the details and so allow you to concentrate on application logic. Key features of earlier Smalltalk/V programming systems such as browsers, inspectors, and push-button debuggers are included in the Windows version.
New features include interfaces to dynamic data exchange (allowing information to be shared between Smalltalk/V programs and other programs) and dynamic link libraries, for calling applications outside of Smalltalk/V.
Because Smalltalk/V Windows source code is compatible with the existing Smalltalk/V PM programming environment, you can choose either system as a development platform and deliver applications on both systems simultaneously. The price for Smalltalk/V Windows is $499.95. Reader service no. 22.
Digitalk Inc. 9841 Airport Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 213-645-1082
DOCZ, a software development tool from Software Toolz, automates the documentation of subroutine libraries and programs, allowing the sharing and reuse of software modules. You can put the documentation in the same file as the source code and extract it for reference manuals and revision notices. DOCZ also builds online help libraries, and program editors can be interfaced to DOCZ in order to extract function call prototypes from the help libraries while editing.
DDJ spoke with Paul Anderson of Crossroads Computing in Atlanta. He said, "It's so nice to finally find a system for filing my source code. You can use it to organize lots of programming thoughts -- I've found code I'd completely forgotten about. It's so easy to use; there are just two commands, and only one needs parameters. And my partner and I can now look up each other's work online without interrupting each other."
DOCZ is identical under VMS, Unix System V, and MS-DOS, and enables the transport of help libraries and documentation from one platform to another. It can automatically detect the presence of version control systems and can retrieve source files via such systems as CMS and SCCS. Supports all major languages and command-interpreter languages. Currently supports the Interactive 386/ix Unix platform. Single-user platforms are priced at $195. Samples and DOS demo version are free. Reader service no. 26.
Software Toolz Inc. 8030 Pooles Mill Dr. Ball Ground, GA 30107-9610 404-889-8264; 800-869-3878
A library of Turbo C- and Quick C-compatible functions, called FFP (fast floating point), has been announced by Triakis. FFP is a floating-point arithmetic method based on the sign-logarithm number system. According to Triakis, the library operations in many cases rival a math coprocessor in speed and can be used in applications that run without special math hardware. The precision and exponent range of the numbers supposedly equal and slightly exceed standard single precision.
You can use FFP in applications such as general scientific computation, geometrical graphics, signal processing, simulation, and nonlinear systems. The library includes transcendental functions, logarithm, exponential, square root, and a feature for making complicated derived functions execute faster. The product sells for $59, and the company charges a small royalty if you use it in a commercial product. Reader service no. 28.
Triakis 1011 Duchess Rd. Bothell, WA 98012 206-486-8282
The Turbo Vision Development Toolkit has been announced by Blaise Computing. The toolkit is a set of utilities and object class libraries designed for use with Turbo Vision, Borland's application framework for establishing uniform user interfaces and basic architecture features in applications. The idea behind Turbo Vision is to eliminate the need to repeatedly create the basic platform on which you build your application programs.
The toolkit includes a resource editor for interactively creating or changing dialog boxes and other resources. It allows you to see the resources as they will appear in the final version of the application. You then save this information, and a single method call loads it into the application. The resource compiler takes its input from a file rather than interactively. An enhanced help facility displays context-sensitive help information within Turbo Vision applications; a memory monitor records and displays memory usage; an event monitor displays all or selected events processed by the Turbo Vision system; and a recorder allows you to save selected events for "playback" at another time.
The Turbo Vision Development Toolkit should be available by late March; it will sell for $149. Reader service no. 29.
Blaise Computing Inc. 2560 Ninth St., Ste. 316 Berkeley, CA 94710 415-540-5441
Copyright © 1991, Dr. Dobb's Journal