Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ingr!b11!lhughes
From: lhughes@b11.ingr.com (Lawrence Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: W3 Development Questions
Message-ID: <8409@b11.ingr.com>
Date: 1 Aug 90 13:38:15 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Lines: 43

I have the W3, W3 SDK, MS C5.1 & 6.0, etc. I have searched through all of the
above and various other books, and still have been unable to find a few key
items for something I'm developing... anyone know the following? Feel free to
send EMail to uunet!ingr!b11!lhughes, or reply here if you think these are of
general interest.. RTFM is entirely acceptable if book, chapter and verse
are cited... thanks in advance!

1. You can determine the total amount of "memory" available easily enough, but
   how do you determine total/available:

   a. conventional memory (up to 640K)
   b. LIM EMS banked memory (also whether banking is even supported*)
   c. extended memory (286/386 linear above 640K)
   d. virtual memory (386 enhanced mode only)

   It's all very nice to find out you've got "14302K available" (on my 386
   with 4M physical, enhanced mode default virtual setup), but gee guys,
   how much of that is REAL memory (you know, the FAST stuff)? And PULEESE
   don't say it shouldn't matter....

   * one routine returns "above bank line" and "below bank line" values
     depending on calling arg, which is ignored (i.e. entire amount available
     is returned for either arg) if banking is not supported - HOW DO YOU
     TELL IF BANKING IS SUPPORTED? Not to mention where the "bank line" is...

2. I can have a timer driven handler wake up from time to time and snarf any
   data that has come in the comm port and process it, but does anyone know
   of a way to have an incoming comm port character trigger an input event,
   yea, like unto a character typed on the keyboard? Or equivalently, a
   message that informs me that the comm port queue is no longer empty...

3. Does anyone have (and is willing to share) the spec on what W3 device 
   drivers look like? Seeing as how all known vendors of video boards are
   churning those out as fast as their pudgy little fingers can type, and they
   obviously have to be able to support a number of useful graphics functions,
   I sure would like to be able to write my own graphics apps that you could
   just tell the customer to link with the W3 driver that came with his
   "Glitchtronics Hyper VGA" rather than re-invent wheels the rest of my
   life... I know - lets make the W3 driver interface an IEEE standard!

I will be glad to send anyone who responds with useful info a copy of some
neat W3 utilities I've hatched, for their trouble - please include snail-mail
address and favorite diskette flavor...