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From: bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: It would be convenient to have a TP UNDERLINE string function
Message-ID: <5788@vice.ICO.TEK.COM>
Date: 10 Sep 90 20:55:20 GMT
References: <24397@adm.BRL.MIL> <1990Sep5.163924.2864@uwasa.fi> <1990Sep10.144853.5157@cs.umu.se>
Reply-To: bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 32

In article <1990Sep10.144853.5157@cs.umu.se> peter@cs.umu.se (Peter Lundberg) writes:
>In article <1990Sep5.163924.2864@uwasa.fi> ts@uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi LASK) writes:
>>In article <24397@adm.BRL.MIL> J_SCHULL@acc.haverford.edu (Jonathan Schull) writes:
>>>that would let you write lines like,
>>>WRITELN('I want to underline ',UNDERLINE('this phrase,'),' not this one');
>>>
>>>Does anyone know the appropriate magic?
>>
>>Yes, sure.  And the magic is called the graphics mode.  
>>
>There is absolutetly no need to do this in graphics mode, it's much easier
>to write the string directly to memory, setting the attribute byte to it's
>appropriate value. And it's a heck of a lot faster to!
>
>pl
>(peter@cs.umu.se)


 Can we lay this issue to rest once and for all?  As the original responder
 to this post, and subsequently having my repsonse thoroughly shelled, here
 is the bottom line:

 Yes, *some* monitors allow underlining by simple attribute setting.  Most,
 however, do not, including those that are fast becoming the "standards".
 No color monitor allows simple underlining.  If you are looking for a 
 portable method for underlining characters in text mode, one that will 
 work on the majority of monitors, YOU CAN'T DO IT IN TURBO PASCAL.  In fact,
 you can't do it on most IBM's or clones.  End of discussion.

 (Sorry, suffering from an ithcy flame finger today).

 Bob Beauchaine