Text 15506, 81 rader
Skriven 2007-05-16 11:17:42 av mark lewis (1:3634/12.0)
  Kommentar till text 15491 av Carol Shenkenberger (3:800/201)
Ärende: Computer
================
SD> But you're going to have to deal with that patch.  Fortunately, all th
SD> programs I put out don't suffer from that, from my doors to my utiliti

 CS> Grr.  Oh well.  I think it was 266 that breaks the barrier.

you are aware of exactly what the problem is, aren't you? if not, it is that
some programs make use of delay routines... for these routines to accurately
delay for x seconds, they have to figure out how long that is... in pascal
programs, the borland company decided to measure this time by counting the
number of NOPs (no operation) instructions they could execute in a certain time
limit... the problem is that the counter variable is signed (can be
negative)... when the counter reaches the highest point and then flips negative
and starts back to zero, that's kinda ok except that the next part of the
formula is a division and since the number is negative, it results in a
division by zero... again, due to the variables storage "container"...

the fix for all this is to not use the library that does this initial timing
count... the tough part is due to them doing it in the video (CRT) library...
most programs use the CRT library because it affords them the ability of direct
screen writes instead of using the slooooooow BIOS screen writing routines...
many didn't want to loose that capability or develop their own so the patches
were created... some of the patches are source code changes to the CRT
library's source code but you only get that if you have the professional
version of the compiler... this meant that most of the patches had to be binary
patches applied directly to the library routines in the compiled programs...

however, it wasn't just so easy as to patch but you had to replace and that
means that the patch is limited to the existing space of the routine in the
compiled code or you had to put in a jump and return and tack the new timing
stuff onto the tail end of the compiled code... that can open up a whole set of
other problems as some of us coders came up with routines to protect our
compiled programs from hex editing and unwanted modification... this was one of
the ways that many of us prevented our programs from getting infected by virus'
back in the day... actually, it didn't protect but it allowed us to notify the
user that the program had been modified and shouldn't be trusted... so the user
could then get a fresh copy from the archive or install disk and, in many
cases, the notification of possible virus infection gave them the impetus to
run a virus scan on their machine...

in my case, i had developed my own replacement routines to the vender supplied
libraries... specifically the CRT code and so many of my programs didn't and
don't have this problem... at some point, there were a lot of replacement delay
routines posted in the PASCAL echo for us to use as long as we didn't use the
CRT library from borland which meant that there were also different screen
manipulation routines being used...

anyway, that's enough of that for now... i hope that it helps to explain the
situation and expands the understanding of those who didn't know why this was
happening...

hummm... what keyword or concept from the above can i use for a recipe? dunno
so i guess i'll fall back to the old hour:minute recipe number... so... it is
11:32 and recipe 1132 is...


MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Basic Cookie Mix
 Categories: Mixes
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
   8.00 c  Unbleached Flour
   2.00 c  Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
   1.50 ts Baking Soda
   2.50 c  Granulated Sugar
   4.00 ts Salt
   3.00 c  Vegetable Shortening
 
  Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl, mixing well.  With a
  pastry blender, cut shotening into dry ingredients until evenly
  distributed.  Put into a large airtight container and label as Basic
  Cookie mix.  Store in a cool dry place and use within 10 to 12 weeks.
  Makes about
       16    cups of mix.
 
MMMMM
 

)\/(ark

 * Origin:  (1:3634/12)