Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 From: iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (your Rainbow doctor) Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec.micro Subject: Re: DEC Rainbow info wanted Message-ID: <779@ritcv.UUCP> Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 23:41:48 EST Article-I.D.: ritcv.779 Posted: Wed Nov 11 23:41:48 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 14-Nov-87 15:20:07 EST References: <2216@sputnik.COM> Reply-To: iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (alan i. vymetalik) Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY Lines: 130 Keywords: Rainbow, MS-DOS, DEC, DEC bashing [...Just because it says I.B.M. doesn't mean It's a Better Machine!] In article <2216@sputnik.COM> salt@tc.fluke.COM (Craig Johnston) writes: >Wanted: Information on DEC Rainbow > >1. Is there a way to change screen foreground and background color attribute, >such as with ANSI escape sequences? The IBM usage is {ESC}[nnm, where nn from >30-37 is foreground and 40-47 is background, but the rainbow doesn't >understand this. You're correct, the Rainbow doesn't allow escape sequences (like those mentioned for the IBM) to change screen colors and other such attributes. It would be nice if a color BIOS was part of the Rainbow system. After all, it is a Rainbow, right? However, looking at DEC's decision to keep sharp, crisp alphanumeric capabilities AND provide graphics on the same machine and switch between the two seems a wise decision. I simply can't stand to do word processing on an IBM PC. The MAC and Rainbow, on the other hand, let me do editing and text processing without the machine getting in the way. The Rainbow conforms (for the most part) to the established ANSI standard with its firmware implementation of DEC's VT102 terminal. The Rainbow can do only those attribute changes as specified for that terminal type: bold, reverse video, underline, single-width- double-height, double-width-double-height, and flashing. Of course, there are other goodies such as scrolling windows and the damned-fast high speed video option built in along with the VT102 package. Granted, the graphics set is pretty lousy. I just wish DEC added double-lines and corner symbols. Single lines get boring after a while. Check out the Technical and Navajo EPROM set. Anyone want to reprogram the EPROMS so that the firmware looks out at RAM for its character set information? That way we could do different fonts for the display! All that's needed is to keep the firmware from looking at the EPROM for the character info. It's just a bit pattern. It should be changeable in RAM! One method, however, around this is to run a graphics emulation package that acts as an interpreter. Poly-ReGIS was a decent example of such an interpreter. It wasn't the fastest thing around but I could still do better and faster command-line graphics on the Rainbow than on an IBM PC (before Windows, of course). Windows on the Rainbow, by the way, has been rumored to exist. Someone at DEC willing to release it the world as an unsupported product (such as what transpired with the GW-Basic Compiler)? Anyone at DEC listening? How about DOS 3.10 while you're at it! You must have paid the license fees to Microsoft by now. Let the Rainbow die a noble death, at least! DEC? Wanna win back a lot of loyalty? RELEASE THESE LAST COUPLE OF SOFTWARE PRODUCTS AND THE HARDWARE PRODUCTS YOU'VE ALREADY PUT TOGETHER. With this help we could do so much more with our high-tech doorstops! Anyway... >2. Is there a convenient way to type the DEC line graphic characters to the >screen? Again, with an IBM, ALT-nnn ( on the keypad) will yield the decimal >character nnn. The Rainbow supports several 'character set modes' such as the multinational character set, the regular ASCII set, and the graphic character set. You can switch between these modes by issuing the appropriate initial ESCAPE sequence and the appropriate characters. For example, you could create a .BAT file with the following in it: (without the comments on the right, of course) ECHO OFF turn off echo ECHO $[2J$[H clear '$[2J', home '$[H' ECHO $#6$[0m$(0lqqqqqqqk set single-height, double- width '$#6', dim video '$[0m', start line character set '$(0', draw upper-left corner 'l', seven Scan-line 5 lines 'q', upper-right corner 'k' ECHO $#6x$(B$[1m HELLO $[0m$(0x set normal ASCII set '$(B' set bright video '$[1m', write out hello and set to dim video, set graphics active, 'x' are vertical bars ECHO $#6mqqqqqqqj$(B 'm' is lower-left corner, 'j' is lower-right corner 'q' is a scan-line 5 character (means middle of the character cell, matches the corner points) (the $ is an ESCAPE). This example clears the screen and places a bright HELLO inside a dim video box in the upper left-hand corner. Your can also use the [y;xf command to cursor position before writing (where y is row and x is column). Check out the Technical Doc set for more info and codes for the Rainbow's terminal package. If enough people request, I'll throw together a copy of that section of the Doc set an post it. The problem with typing ESCAPE characters at the command line is that DOS (more specifically, COMMAND.COM) filters that character out when it processes a command. However, a file that contains the sequence containing the Graphics On ESCAPE sequence could be typed and then each lower case letter typed will be translated into the equivalent graphics character. Or, you can preface the escape sequence with the ECHO statement and directly enter the sequences using the ESC key. >Craig Johnston (salt@tc.fluke.com), John Fluke Mfg. Co., Everett, WA, USA >{uw-beaver,lbl-csam,hplsla,ssc-vax,microsoft,sun,allegra,...}!fluke!salt I hope somebody found this posting useful. What happened to all the traffic on the net? Do I have to rake and stir the dying embers again?! Enjoy, Alan Alan I. Vymetalik @ {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 ----------------------------------+---------------------------------- J.A.M, Inc. | Prism Software Designs 300 Main Street | 44 Arborwood Crescent East Rochester, New York, 14445 | Rochester, New York, 14615-3807 | 1-716-458-4932 ----------------------------------+---------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: The above statements and opinions belong to the author. Any resemblence to statements found in actual reality is purely coin- cidental. And, as always, the above opinions have absolutely nothing to do with the little, fat man putting $100 bills in my pocket. ---------------------------------------------------------------------