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From: ehill@ziggy.austin.ibm.com
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: "Dots will echo:" for passwords...
Message-ID: <6556@awdprime.UUCP>
Date: 10 Apr 91 18:42:47 GMT
References: <40822@netnews.upenn.edu>
Sender: news@awdprime.UUCP
Distribution: na
Organization: IBM AWD, Austin
Lines: 42

In article <40822@netnews.upenn.edu> garay@hyper.lap.upenn.edu (John Garay) writes:
>
>I'm interested in a procedure in TP which will echo dots to the screen instead
>of the actual keys pressed.  In other words, one of the ol'
>	'Please type in password (dots will echo):'
>types of things.  The form I have now (w/ the password broadcasted on the
>screen is: 	clrscr;
>		writeln ('Please Type Password:');
>		readln (password);
>
>I figure somewhere between the writeln and the readln there's got to be a way
>to make dots echo instead of the (secret) password.  Any ideas, anyone?
>A little background:  IBM TP3.01 (WAIT!  I'm interested in ideas with any
>TP version!).    Thanks much for the help....
--------
Try this piece of (TP5.5) code for reading the password:

VAR
	password : string;
	ch : char;
	i : integer;

	i := 0;
	repeat
		ch := readkey;    {-I don't know if readkey exists in TP3.01}
		if ch <> #13 then
		begin
			inc(i);            {-increment string index counter}
			password[i] := ch; {-add char to password}
			write('.');        {-echo dot}
		end;
	until ch = #13; {-exit on carriage return}
	password[0] := chr(i); {-set stringlen byte }
---------
This is a very simple routine, it does not allow for backspacing.  I'll
leave that as an exercise for you.  Hope this helps you.

-
Ed Hill
Personal Programming Center - IBM Austin
Internet: ehill@wombat.austin.ibm.com
-