Category : BASIC Source Code
Archive   : PBWIZ21.ZIP
Filename : PBWIZ.NEW

PBWiz 2.1, 09/06/94: final shareware release.

This is the final shareware release of PBWiz-- or actually,
the final release of the formerly-shareware PBWiz. I will not
be updating this library again, nor will I provide support or
source code. PBWiz is becoming a full-fledged commercial
library, which will be available from:

Information Management Systems, Inc.
1165 North Industrial Park Drive
Orem, UT 84057-2807

Information Management Systems may also be reached through
the following phone numbers:

800-750-6390 Order Desk
801-226-6390 Order Desk
801-226-6291 Fax
801-226-6392 BBS

Pricing for the initial commercial release is expected to be
$99.95, plus shipping and handling. A reduced rate of $50.00
will be available for those good people who had registered
earlier versions of PBWiz. Please call Information Management
Systems for the latest details. They take MasterCard, Visa,
and American Express...



PBWiz 2.0, 04/10/94: maintenance release.

The registered version of PBWiz now comes with a complete
printed manual. The registration fee has been raised to $35.

My thanks and a free upgrade to Mark Phillips for his help in
tracking down assorted PBWiz problems.

Removed references to Spectra from various files. PowerBASIC
is now marketed by PowerBASIC, Inc.

Fixed online help function lookups for PowerBASIC 3.0c. PB
was having trouble handling functions that end with ! or #
type-declaration symbols, so the type def symbols have been
removed from the help for such functions. Similar problems
continue to plague other PBWiz routines for no apparent
reason-- seems there may be a few bugs left in the PowerBASIC
help system or help system generator. If a Ctrl-F1 lookup
doesn't work, use Shift-F1 to access the PBWiz index.

AnsiPrint didn't handle blue backgrounds correctly. Fixed.

The various ShowBMP routines still required you to set the
OPTION BINARY BASE to 1, due to PowerBASIC's inconsistent
handling of file offsets for different file modes. This has
been fixed, using the PB internal value pbvBinBase to figure
out the current file offset origin.



PBWiz 1.9, 12/30/93: maintenance release.

PowerBASIC 3.0c is incompatible with earlier versions of PB
when it comes to fixed-length strings and assembly language
routines. Be aware that fixed-length strings are no longer
strings, as far as asm routines are concerned. They call it a
"bug fix", although it's not clear that any actual bugs were
involved.

Support for versions of PowerBASIC prior to 3.0 is no longer
available, since I have had no requests for it. If you don't
have PowerBASIC 3.0, especially 3.0c, it's time to upgrade!

The MatchFile routine was case-sensitive. It isn't any more.

The ScreenSave and ScreenRestore routines were broken in the
last release. They are fixed now.

Neither PBLIB nor LIBUPD handled replacements of existing
modules with newer versions very well. LIBUPD has been fixed
to properly delete the older version of the module within the
.PBL library before adding the newer version.



PBWiz 1.8, 08/25/93:

**** ATTENTION *** ATTENTION *** ATTENTION *** ATTENTION ****
-------------------------------------------------------------
PBWiz now takes full advantage of the capabilities of the new
PowerBASIC 3.0 compiler. This will require a few adjustments
to your programs if you have used earlier versions of PBWiz.
The BYVAL keyword is now used where applicable. This means
you will need to change the DECLAREs for many routines. Also,
the granularity of the PBWiz modules has been improved. These
changes result in smaller and faster code.

Full online help is now provided for PBWiz routines! Just
copy the PBWIZ.PBH file to your PowerBASIC directory. It will
be loaded automatically when PB starts up. You can search for
PBWiz routines with Ctrl-F1 context-sensitive help, follow
cross-references, and import syntax examples directly into
your code! Press Shift-F1 repeatedly to get to the index.

The archive handler has been updated to support the new ARJ
and PKZIP 2.0 self-extracting archives.

The equation solver apparently can't handle nested functions.
This will be corrected in a later version.

Two new functions have been added: AscM, which combines ASCII
and MID$ into one convenient package, and NumProc, which
tells what numeric coprocessor is installed (if any).



PBWiz 1.7, 06/21/93:

Revised the BASIC files and documentation to take advantage
of the seamless external syntax (implicit CALLs). The old
CALL format is also still supported, of course.

The Archive routines now support ARJ self-extracting .EXEs.

Added joystick support, telecomm handling, and SoundBlaster
support (via the SBSIM driver). Added new demos MINITERM.BAS
and PLAYVOC.BAS for the latter two units.



PBWiz 1.6, 02/25/93:

This version of PBWiz requires PowerBASIC 3.0. If you have an
earlier version of PowerBASIC, either upgrade it or use PBWiz
1.5. This release of PBWiz makes extensive use of the new
PowerBASIC features, including libraries (.PBL files)-- no
more .OBJ and .PBU files to have to remember!

Added several utilities to help manage libraries. These are
shells which require PBLIB.EXE to do the real work. Their
function is to make PBLIB more powerful. Type the name of the
utility with no parameters for a help screen.
LIBADD add modules to a library
LIBUPD update modules in a library
LIBLIST list the contents of a library

The .EXE form of the demo programs is no longer included, to
help keep the library a reasonable size for downloading. The
CREATE.BAT program will create the demos for you.

Added a demo which shows how to use the XMS routines for
array storage. XMSDEMO uses an array of long integers, but
the technique is applicable to other data types as well.

Fixed a bug in the GN5GetPel routine. Altered PopWindow to
avoid a bug in some versions of PowerBASIC:
ELSEIF Frame AND 1 THEN
was being evaluated incorrectly. Adding parens fixed it:
ELSEIF (Frame AND 1) THEN

The graphics routines have been greatly improved:
- Get and set the palette in 256-color modes
- VESA support for wide SuperVGA compatibility
- Read and write 256-color pictures in .BMP format
- Improved VGADEMO.BAS shows use of .BMP viewer
- Added VESAINFO.BAS to show info about SVGA modes
- Sped up the G#Write and G#WriteLn routines

The math extension unit has been expanded with additional
trigonometric functions.

Added a short description file, DESC.SDI, for the BBSes that
support it. This complements the longer FILE_ID.DIZ.

The order form has been renamed from REGISTER.TXT to
ORDER.FRM, since that seems to be a more common convention.

The archive scanner now supports the new PKZIP 2.0 format
"deflated", and can scan the self-extracting .EXE files
created by ZIP2EXE.



PBWiz 1.5, 10/05/92:

Added support for 256-color SuperVGA modes on any adapter
with the Tseng 4000 chipset (most SVGAs). You can use any
mode supported by your adapter and monitor. The unit has been
tested with modes from 640x350 to 1024x768 resolution.



PBWiz 1.4, 09/02/92:

PBWiz can now be registered online by CompuServe members (use
GO SWREG). PBWiz is registration I.D. #209.

Added the DIRMGR unit, which lets you scan disk directories.
You can specify search attributes and filenames with full
path and wildcard capabilities. For matched files, you can
obtain the file name, attribute, time, date, and size.
Directory recursion is also supported.

The archive scanner can now scan self-extracting .EXE files
created by LHARC in addition to the usual archive formats.


The expression evaluator now supports the constant PI and a
variety of functions:
ABS, ACOS, ASIN, ATAN, COS, FRAC, INT, LOG, SIN, SQR, TAN

A command-line calculator has been added to show off the
expression evaluator. See CALC.BAS and CALC.EXE.

The Processor% function can now tell 80486s from 80386s.

The VARCDEMO program has been renamed to ARCVIEW.



PBWiz 1.3, 06/30/92:

Added a unit for ANSI emulation. This unit allows you to use
ANSI codes without requiring ANSI.SYS or a similar display
driver.

Functions which return the number of serial and parallel
ports installed have been added to the equipment unit.

A special fast print routine has been added to the video
unit. It skips spaces rather than displaying them, making it
easy to overlay existing text.

Ceiling and floor functions have been added to the math
extensions unit.

If you're using the excellent 4DOS command shell, try the new
ADD4DOS.BAT file. It will add directory descriptions to the
PBWiz files-- no more guessing about file names!



PBWiz 1.2, 03/01/92:

Inexplicably, I managed to leave many of the DECLAREs for the
MOUSE unit out of the previous releases. There was also an
error in one of the DECLAREs for the equipment unit. These
have been fixed.

I've added a demo to show the use of the equipment and video
unit. Type "DEMO" to take a look. I've also added a demo for
the archive viewing routines. Type "VARCDEMO filename" for a
plain list, or add the "/V" option for a detailed view of the
archive.

The various $INCLUDE files have been gathered together into a
single file, PBWIZ.INC, for convenience. I've also added a
quick reference of the routines, PBWIZ.REF.

A display unit has been added. This includes scrolling in any
direction, DOS/ANSI output (print, cls, color, locate),
save/restore any part of a screen, fast and flexible string
displays, recoloring of selected areas, and pop-up windows.

The EXTMATH.PBU unit has been split in two: EXTMATHA.OBJ &
EXTMATHB.PBU. This allowed me to add a number of
assembly-language routines to the math unit, including bit
shifts and rotatations.

The EQUIPMEN.OBJ unit has been extended to return the BIOS
date and PC type information. It can now also tell you
whether DR DOS is being used instead of MS-DOS.

There have been some changes to WHERE.BBS. Of particular note
to PowerBASIC users is that The Bard's Lair (Dave Navarro's
board) is gone. Dave has moved to The Consultant BBS, as have
I. See the WHERE.BBS file for more info.



PBWIZ 1.1, 01/10/92:

The documentation has been reformatted. Ample room has been
left for margins in case you'd like to create a bound manual.

A brief demo program has been added to demonstrate the use of
PBWiz. It shows the 256-color graphics modes in action. Type
VGADEMO to try it out.

Two sets of memory routines have been added, giving you
access to EMS and XMS memory. The older EMS 3.x and EEMS
standards are supported as well as the current EMS 4.0.

Comprehensive keyboard control has been added. Get the states
of any alt, control, or shift key; get or set CapsLock,
Insert, NumLock, ScrollLock; access 101-key "enhanced"
keyboards; put a string into the keyboard buffer; speed up
the keyboard; take control of the PrintScreen key; see what a
key is without actually getting it; more.



PBWIZ 1.0, 12/03/91:

This is the initial release of The PowerBASIC Wizard's
Library, featuring extended math support, a numeric
expression evaluator, mouse support, string handling,
equipment information routines, time/date manipulation,
viewing archives (ARC, ARJ, LZH, PAK, ZIP, ZOO), and VGA
graphics (320x200 and 360x480 in 256 colors).