Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!ists!yunexus!xrtll!silver
From: silver@xrtll.uucp (Hi Ho Silver)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: What is Ansi.sys??
Message-ID: <1990Dec22.190906.6442@xrtll.uucp>
Date: 22 Dec 90 19:09:06 GMT
References: <8069.2770a6a0@jetson.uh.edu>
Reply-To: silver@xrtll.UUCP (Hi Ho Silver)
Organization: Not around here, pal!
Lines: 22

In article <8069.2770a6a0@jetson.uh.edu> bchs1b@jetson.uh.edu writes:
$What is Ansi.sys (and its workalikes, Fansi, Nansi etc)? What do they really
$let you do. I am not a programmer but an application user? Is there something
$useful here that I am missing?

   ansi.sys is a device driver that implements some of the ANSI control
sequences.  It allows you to move the cursor, set colours, etc. by putting
escape sequences in your output rather than by doing seperate BIOS calls.
It also slows your system's screen output quite badly, which is one reason
why workalikes exist - they generally do it faster.

   Is it useful?  As anything other than a gimmick to allow you to have
a multi-coloured DOS prompt, not terribly; since it's an optional device
driver that isn't used by the majority of DOS users, there isn't much
software written that uses it; most software goes with the BIOS or direct
hardware methods, which not only work regardless of whether ansi.sys
is installed, but also work much faster.
-- 
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