helppc.doc

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  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	Audience
	========

	This program and accompanying databases are designed for the
	intermediate to advanced programmer that knows what he's doing,
	but just can't remember specific information necessary to program
	advanced features of the PC or PS/2.  The default distribution is
	comprised of a collection of information found in manufacturer
	technical reference manuals, various commercial books, technical
	topics discussed on CompuServe's technical forums, public domain
	articles and my own snooping, all organized in a single database.
	The help topics include BIOS interrupts, DOS interrupts, DOS 
	functions, EMS and Mouse functions, BIOS and DOS data structures,
	diagnostic codes, DOS commands, 80x86 assembler instructions,
	Standard and vendor specific C functions and various hardware
	specifications.  The program can also be used as a quick reference
	utility for any	collection of text.



	Installation
	============

	This utility requires the following:

	    DOS 2.0 or greater
	    64K of free RAM
	    a hard disk system is recommended
    
	Installation involves two steps.  First, simply dearchive the
	HelpPC.EXE file (may be HelpPC.ZIP or HelpPC.ARC).  Second,
	issue the following command: 

	SET HLP=d:dirname	(no blanks, except between "SET HLP")

	Where 'd:' is the drive and 'dirname' is the directory where the
	help .TXT files exist (this should be fully qualified, with or
	without the trailing '\').  The HelpPC.COM and HelpTsr.COM files
	can exist anywhere they can be accessed through the DOS command
	search path (PATH).  The "SET HLP=" command should be placed in
	the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to allow access to HelpPC each time your
	machine is restarted.

	As an example, if the files HelpPC.NDX and the .TXT files reside
	in a directory named  C:\HELPPC  then use:

	         SET HLP=C:\HELPPC  
	              or
	         SET HLP=C:\HELPPC\


	The name HelpPC was chosen to avoid conflict with the HELP command
	available with some OEM versions of DOS.  I'd recommend that you
	rename HelpPC.COM to a name you find convenient and easy to remember
	such as "H.COM", "HELP.COM" or "INFO.COM".

  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	The HelpPC utilities work with various TSR's resident, but as with
	all TSR's there's always the possibility of conflict.  If you find
	a problem please pass along as much information as you can to me via
	the address listed below.



	Background
	==========

	As programmers, we tend to gather massive amounts of books,
	journals and magazines.  Each of these items have some important
	detail that is generally out of our reach since we can't carry
	them with us everywhere we go.  That's why I started this project,
	to free myself from having to first find the manuals or articles
	and then weed through all the mundane text to get to an answer.
	In the past few years HelpPC has saved me a lot of time previously
	spent rummaging through manuals.
	
	HelpPC initially began somewhere around 1985 when I decided that
	I spent way too much time searching for the same information over
	and over again.  At that time my primary references were David
	Powell's BIOS & DOS quick reference cards and Peter Norton's
	"Programmers Guide to the IBM PC".  I generated an indexed help
	file from David Powell's original work and slowly added information
	to each topic.  The result of several years work is no longer a
	duplicate of David's fine work but a complete database of PC
	technical topics.  Each time I had to look up a new PC related
	topic, I made a note that it should be added to the database.  As
	time passed the database grew more and more complete and I found
	little need to look to other sources for information.  I then began
	adding information people were requesting in messages on CompuServe's
	IBMPRO, BPROGB, MSSYS (now MSLANG and MSOPSYS), CLMFORUM and IBMCOM
	forums.  The database is forever growing with each new feature and
	specification made available.
	
	All information included within HelpPC has been confirmed against
	available sources.  The comparison of information usually progressed
	along the same paths.  Initially Norton's "Programmers Guide to the
	IBMPC" and Duncan's "Advanced MS-DOS" were the two sources I turned
	to for verification.  Later I began using Dettemann and Kyle's "DOS
	Programmers Reference", Thom Hogan's "The Programmers PC Sourcebook",
	and the "MS-DOS Encyclopedia".   When something wasn't covered well
	in any of these references or there was a discrepancy, I turned to
	the "IBM PC/XT Technical Reference Manual" , the "IBM PC/AT Technical
	Reference Manual" and the "DOS Technical Reference Manual".   All
	hardware specific information is verified with the respective vendor's
	technical specification manuals.

	Credit is given to the sources if any of their data is included
	in HelpPC (see topic Bibliography for a listing).  One note I
	should make clear is that the information on many of the topics
	appears as if it were straight out of Norton, Duncan, Dettemann
	or from Ralf Brown's interrupt list.  These and many other sources
	were referenced but none of the material is plagiarized and any

  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	similarity is due to the nature of the material.  If you compare
	any of the aforementioned references, they all contain approximately
	the same data in very similar formats.

	The main program is a quick reference utility that allows quick
	viewing of the help database from the DOS command line.  The program,
	which is approximately 10K in size, is written in C with a little
	assembler sprinkled in for speed/size optimization.  A 43 and 50
	line mode is supported for those that like to squint.  A TSR version
	is also included with this release which has several enhancements
	over the command line utility.  These include dual monitor support
	and context sensitive help (see below for more information).


	HelpPC Command Line Usage
	=========================

	The command line version of HelpPC has three modes of operation.
	At first the most useful will be the menu driven interface that
	allows you to point and shoot at your topic.  Entering HelpPC
	without a command line puts you in menu mode.  The second mode is
	the command line mode which allows you to specify the text to
	search for on the command line.  The third mode is available from
	either of the two other modes and prompts you for information.
	Prompted mode becomes the default after using the command line
	mode.  To switch between prompted mode and menu mode, use the
	F1 key.   Here's a list of the navigational keys:


	Esc     Exit current screen or HelpPC
	End     Moves text or menu to the last line/item
	Home    Moves text or menu to the first line/item
	PgUp    Moves text or menu to page top or previous page
	PgDn    Moves text or menu to page bottom or next page
	F1      Switches from menu to prompting mode and vice versa
	Alt-P   Write current topic to printer.  HelpPC has builtin error
	        detection for normal printers but if LPT1 is redirected to
		a serial printer the system may hang until the printer is
		ready.  This is an undesirable though common behavior with
		DOS and serial printers.
	Alt-W   Write text to file HelpPC.DAT in the current directory
	Alt-X   Exit HelpPC and without clearing current screen
	Tab	Move to next subtopic link (Right Arrow also)
	BackTab	Move to previous subtopic link (Left Arrow also)
	Enter	Jump to highlighted subtopic link









  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	HelpTSR Usage
	=============

	HelpTSR is a popup utility similar to the HelpPC utility.  The
	following is a list of additional features found in HelpTSR:

	1.  Supports context sensitive help within editors such as Brief,
	    Epsilon, Fastwrite, Microsoft Editor, Norton Editor, PC-Write,
	    PWB, Qedit, dBASE and many other editors.  This means you can
	    position your cursor on a text item and HelpPC will popup with
	    information on the topic if it's available.  This is very useful
	    when editing source code and you need to know how to use a
	    function or command.  An example would be while editing an
	    assembler file, you need to know what flags are affected by an
	    "ADC" instruction.  You just position your cursor on the "ADC"
	    instruction and press the hot keys.  Help information for the
	    "ADC" instruction is displayed.  Epsilon and the Norton Editor
	    may require	special setup for the HelpTSR to popup (see notes
	    below).  This feature can be disabled via the /M option.
	2.  Supports single or dual monitor systems (1 Color and 1 Mono).
	    On dual monitor systems you can get popup help on the alternate
	    monitor without disturbing your current screen.  Dual monitor
	    support frees 4k of memory since the video screen isn't saved.
	3.  Supports alternate popup key sequences to avoid conflict with
	    other TSR's and buggy keyboard BIOS's.
	4.  Has a similar interface to the command line version but with
	    options to customize the behavior during popup.
	5.  Supports TSR removal to free RAM.
	6.  Supports command line options to control the behavior when the
	    TSR pops up.  An example would be whether to popup in menu or
	    prompted mode or to disable context sensitive help.
	7.  Network compatible so several people can view the databases at
	    one time.
	8.  Requires only 32K (28K if dual screen support is used).  The
	    size of the resident memory varies depending on the size of the
	    index.  The default distribution, requires 37K to maintain 1350
	    topics on a single monitor system.  This can also be trimmed
	    down by removing unneeded topics from the default help files.  
	9.  Capable of being loaded high to conserve low DOS memory using
	    one of the 386 memory managers or DOS 5.0's LOADHIGH command.
	10. The alternate monitor is blanked after 10 minutes to preserve
	    the screen.  This feature can be disabled via the /B option.
	11. Integrity checking to safeguard against unruly code often
	    found in development environments.  Before popping-up HelpTSR
	    checksums its internals and refuses to popup if corrupted by
	    another program or stray pointer.  If another program stomps
	    on memory owned by HelpTSR, it may have also destroyed other
	    vital areas within the system which could lead to severe
	    problems.  It is recommended that you reboot the system
	    should this occur.  This is a safety measure added to HelpTSR
	    to improve confidence in these environments.  HelpTSR sounds a
	    long tone when this condition is detected.

  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	If the data files are changed or reindexed after HelpTSR is resident,
	HelpTSR must be unloaded from memory (/U option) and then reloaded.
	This is because HelpTSR maintains checksum information on the help
	index when it is loaded.  If the data or index files change these
        checksums will no longer be valid.

	Here's how to use HelpTSR from the command line:

	HelpTSR [options]

	Where "options" is zero or more of the following:

	/?   list this help information.  If other options are supplied
	     also, they are ignored.

	/B   disable alternate monitor blanking.  When dual monitor support
	     is chosen, the alternate monitor is blanked if the help screen
	     is stagnant for over 10 minutes.  Although this option is
	     available, it's usually a good idea to allow the alternate
	     monitor blanking to avoid monitor burn in.
  
	/D   dual monitor support.  If two monitors are available, the
	     alternate monitor can be used to display the help text.
	     This avoids disruption of the active display.  The screen
	     is blanked after 10 minutes if the HelpPC screen is stagnant.
	     This will not blank a screen under the control of another
	     program such as a debugger.

	/M   menu mode as default.  This option forces HelpTSR to display
	     the main menu and ignore any context sensitive help.  Prompted
	     mode is available if requested via the F1 key.

	/P   prompted mode as default.  This option forces HelpTSR to come
	     up in prompted mode if no current word context is supplied.
	     Normally HelpTSR will popup in menu mode in this situation.
	     Menu mode is available if requested via the F1 key.

	/U   unload HelpPC and free memory.  This option overrides all
	     other options except /?.  All other options are ignored as
	     HelpTSR will attempt to remove itself.  If another resident
	     program has hooked HelpTSR's interrupt vectors, HelpTSR will
	     not unload and displays a message indicating this condition.

	/1   use Ctrl-Shift-H to popup instead of Alt-Left-Shift-H.  Some
	     Tandy 1000's have an Alt Key BIOS bug which requires changing
	     the popup hotkey.

	/2   use Ctrl-Kp5 to popup instead of Alt-Left-Shift-H

	/3   use Ctrl-Shift-Kp5 to popup instead of Alt-Left-Shift-H

	/4   use Alt-Shift-F1 to popup instead of Alt-Left-Shift-H

  HelpPC 2.10     Quick Reference Utility      Copyright (c) 1991, David Jurgens


	Other Utilities
	===============

	Also included are two command files INDEXHLP.COM and BUILD.BAT.
	INDEXHLP.COM is the file index utility.  Usage is very simple;
	you just include the files you plan to index on the command line.
	Issuing the INDEXHLP command gives instructions on usage.  BUILD.BAT
	is a batch file provided to simplify use of INDEXHLP.  It preset to
	index the default databases in the distribution and allows you to
	specify	your own additional databases.  BUILD without parameters
	indexes	only the default databases.  If any file names are supplied,
	they are also indexed.  Here's an example: