CFOG's PIP, October 1986, Volume 4 No. 12, Whole No. 48, page 2

I Got Those Installation Blues (Part 2)

by Jim Holmes, with Rashama Johnson

In this series we hope to make installing new software less difficult, by explaining what the needed system attributes are... and how to find the code you need in the System Specifications section of your manual.

In Part One we explained that most INSTALL routines ask for more information than they require. In most cases you're OK if you know the codes which position the cursor and clear the screen. Presumably, we explained how to find these in your manual. For good measure we've also listed below (see Table B) the values for a few of the more common CP/M machines.

The incompatibility between CP/M systems is (in our view) an important factor in the popular appeal of PC/MS-DOS. Programmers avoid the hassle of patching, testing and debugging many versions of their software; retailers needn't tie up capital by stocking a "hot" program in six or seven machine-specific formats. Purchase of a "pre-installed" product is attractive to the buyer, too. The PC/MS-DOS machines are a long way from the "intelligent toasters" some ads make them out to be, but they do offer user "interfaces" and standards for configuration we CP/Mer's just don't have.

In Part 1 of this series we introduced a table from the Osborne Executive manual, reproduced below.

                   Table A:

             Decimal      Hex
Keyboard     Sequence   Sequence
Sequence     (BASIC)   (Assembly) Action
-----------------------------------------
:
:
CTRL Z          26        1A      Clear screen
:
:
ESC =p1,p2    27 61     1B 3D     Load cursor
                                  row, column:
                                  p1 = ypos+32
                                  p2 = xpos+32
:

The full table occupies four pages in the manual, yet the two items shown above are sufficient to install most software. The same values apply to many common systems, including all Osbornes and Kaypros. Morrows differ; some use these values, others not. See Table B.

                   TABLE B
-----------------------------------------
                 CLEAR SCREEN

SYSTEM         ASCII         Binary
-----------------------------------------
Morrow \
Freedom >      ESC *         1B 2A
Series /

DEC VT100\
DEC VT101 \
DEC VT102  >   ESC [ 2 J     1B 5B 32 4A
DEC VT125 /
DEC VT131/
-----------------------------------------
               POSITION CURSOR

SYSTEM         ASCII         Binary
-----------------------------------------
Morrow \
Freedom >      SEE Table A (above)
Series /

DEC VT100\
DEC VT101 \
DEC VT102  >   ESC [ (Initializer) 1B 5B
DEC VT125 /    (Row 1, no offset, Row or Column)
DEC VT131/     (Terminator)      3B
               (End Sequence)    H
-----------------------------------------

When more information is required it's because the installed program does something "special." Many INSTALL routines ask you for more than they require. The programmer rarely "edits out" these "extra" questions from his/her "generic" routine.

We selected for illustrative purposes a portion of the TURBO PASCAL Installation routine, as it requires quite a lot of extra information (and USES it, since the program includes a full text editor). Take a look at Table C, below. The user is requested to "fill in" the information, line by line. We've provided answers from the Exccutive manual (as before), with the assumption you'd prefer all your software coform to WordStar's standard functions, where possible.

Sounds great, but trying it can lead to trouble if you don't know what you're doing. We'll discuss this next time (in Part Three), the final section in this series. We'll try to cover a few common problems in Printer Installation as part of the third section, too.

Some installations require specific information about your hardware (i.e. screen attributes, etc.); others may offer you a CHOICE in "configuring the software" to your liking. This is not a bad idea. You may be able to set up Arrow Keys, Function Keys and [CTRL][key] combinations you are already familiar with. But how do you know what's being asked for?

How do you know (as in Table C) when an INSTALL routine is seeking system information or offering you an option for some software-suppported feature? One good test is, "Do I have this feature under CP/M?" If it's a "package option" (they're asking, aren't they?) you can probably choose the setup value. Be careful about changing values you recognize as "part of CP/M," however.

Where you're just not sure, feel free to experiment... so long as you're working with a copy of text or data, as well as the program itself. I've had some horrendous "crashes" when configuring an unfamiliar program. None (yet) have damaged my equipment but I've had data overwritten and programs corrupted through some of my attempts to "get it up and running."

                   TABLE C
-----------------------------------------
                 CURSOR
 1: Character left              CTRL-H
 2: Alternative                 CTRL-S
 3: Character right             CTRL-D
 4: Word left                   CTRL-A
 5: Word right                  CTRL-F
 6: Line up                     CTRL-E
 7: Line down                   CTRL-X
 8: Scroll down                 CTRL-W
 9:*Scroll up                   CTRL-Z
10:* Page up                    CTRL-C
11:  Page down                  CTRL-R
12:  To left on line            CTRL-Q A
13:  To right on line           CTRL-Q D
14:  To top of page             CTRL-Q E
15:  To bottom of page          CTRL-Q X
16:  To top of file             CTRL-Q R
17:  To end of file             CTRL-Q C
18:  To beginning of block      CTRL-Q B
19:  To end of block            CTRL-Q K
20:  To last cursor position    CTRL-Q P

          INSERT & DELETE:
21:  Insert mode on/off         CTRL-V
22:  Insert line                CTRL-N
23:  Delete line                CTRL-Y
24:  Delete to end of line      CTRL-Q Y
25:  Delete right word          CTRL-T
26:  Delete character at cursor CTRL-G
27:  Delete left character      CTRL-H
28:  Alternative                CTRL- -

          BLOCK COMMANDS:
29:  Mark block begin           CTRL-K B
30:  Mark block end             CTRL-K K
31:  Mark single word           Nothing
32:  Hide/display block         CTRL-K H
33:  Copy block                 CTRL-K C
34:  Move block                 CTRL-K V
35:  Delete block               CTRL-K Y
36:  Read block from disk       CTRL-K R
37:  Write block to disk        CTRL-K W

   MISCELLANEOUS EDITING COMMANDS:
38:* End edit                   CTRL-K D
39:  Tab                        CTRL-I
40:  Auto tab on/off            Nothing
41:  Restore line               Nothing
42:  Find                       CTRL-Q F
43:  Find & replace             CTRL-Q A
44:  Repeat last find           CTRL-L
45:  Control character prefix   Nothing