XLIB v2.0 - Graphics Library for Borland/Turbo Pascal 7.0

Tristan Tarrant - [email protected]



Credits

Themie Gouthas

Matthew MacKenzie

Tore Bastiansen

Andy Tam

Douglas Webb

John Schlagel



I informally reserve all rights to the code in XLIB
Rights to contributed code is also assumed to be reserved by
the original authors.




DISCLAIMER


This library is distributed AS IS. The author/s specifically disclaim any
responsibility for any loss of profit or any incidental, consequential or
other damages.


IMPORTANT NOTICE


Hi Xlib users, this is v2.0 of my port of XLib to Turbo/Borland Pascal.
I would like to state a few things before you start using this package :

XLIB 2.0 is NOT complete. I would have liked to add more things before
releasing this, but the end of my 2nd year here at Sussex University is
coming to an end, and I'm in the middle of my exams. Then I will go home
to Italy, and won't have Internet access until I come back in October.

I wanted to get this finished, including rotation and the such, but, alas,
I haven't found the time. In line with these considerations I want you to
think this as a BETA.

I have ported all the useful stuff from Xlib for C v6.0, and added a few
things of my own, apart from cleaning up the code and making it more
Pascal-friendly.

If there is any code you have written that you think is worth including in
the next release, don't hesitate to send it to me and you will receive due
credit.

Sorry if this isn't up to your expectations but, hey, don't forget : XLIB
is a user supported library, so send me your code and let's write the
ultimate XMode game !!!

Share and enjoy.


BUGS AND REVISIONS


The SplitScreen routines weren't handled by the Virtual VSync Handler,
sometime resulting in the program waiting twice for a vsync, and causing
a choppy effect when scrolling the split screen.
Now the mouse handler uses the VVSH to redraw the pointer when necessary.
Unfortunately it takes a bit too long and, if you are updating the whole
palette AND using the mouse at the same time, you'll notice that the tip
of the pointer disappears for an instant when it's at the top of the screen.
The palette-updating part of the VVSH has been sped up a bit.

I have implemented 32-bit compiled bitmaps, even though they are bigger and
(on my machine) slightly slower than normal CBMs. Maybe on VLB/PCI machines
this isn't the case.

Protected mode is still at an experimental stage, but it can do quite a few
things already.
Things that don't work in protected mode are :

- The Virtual VSync Handler (self-modification works, but the rest doesn't)
- CBMs (attempting to execute data...)
- VBM's on my machine are faster in pmode (??!?!?!)
- I assume that the ROM font is at segment 0C000h because that's where the
Video BIOS usually is. I have tested it on a Paradise (WD90c30), a
Cirrus Logic (CL-54xx) and a Trident (9000i) with no problems. If you
find some board that doesn't work please report it (though I don't know
why you'd want to use ROM BIOS fonts anyway 🙂
- The palette scrolling in XLIBDEMO is tooooooo slow...

If you find a way of fixing these, or if you find more routines that don't
like protected mode, email me please.


NOTES


A good idea for debugging programs that use XLib is to use Colin Buckley's
UNCHAIN v2.1 program. The code for saving the screen information is built
in the xsetmode function, but if you don't use UNCHAIN it should not make
any difference.
I noticed that UNCHAIN doesn't work when debugging a DPMI program in TDX.


APPLICATIONS THAT USE XLIB FOR TP/BP


I have decided to start a list of applications that have been written using
a version of XLibPas, and where they can be found. Please mail me any
additions.


Chromatiks - The world's first multi-group music disk. Coordinated by
Trixter (Jim Leonard).

Site : wasp.eng.ufl.edu
Directory : /pub/msdos/demos/music/disks

Filename : chromat*.zip

WadManager v1.11b - A GUI WAD manager for DOOM. Written by Tristan Tarrant.

Site : infant2.sphs.indiana.edu
Directory : /pub/doom/misc
Filename : wm111b.zip


CREDITS AND THANKS


Michael Abrash - The guy who started it all in the first place

Themie Gouthas - The original maintainer of the XLIB for C library

Matthew McKenzie - Compiled blits, circles and clipping. What more could
I say

Tore Bastiansen - For the Virtual VSync handler : a masterpiece of coding

Andy Tam - For the LZS encoding/decoding routines

Douglas Webb - For collecting loads of compression algorithms

John Schlagel - For the bitmap scaling code

iD Software - For giving me inspiration for XLAs

Jim Leonard - For beta-testing XLIB

Colin Buckley - For his UNCHAIN program which made debugging hours so much
easier to cope with

Kai Rohrbacher - Author of ANIVGA for including so many fonts in his most
excellent library

Paul Silver and Aarron Shaughnessy - For letting me test this code on
their machines

Borland - For their excellent compiler suite

Anybody on USENET who sent me suggestions