From: mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 10:18:54 -0500 (EST) Reply-To: mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca To: "Ian 'DrDebug' Day" cc: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Subject: Re: [opendos] A more ordered fixlist In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Organization: Total disorganization. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Precedence: bulk On Sun, 2 Feb 1997, Ian 'DrDebug' Day wrote: > >> Also, I'd suggest an ANSI that is built into COMMAND.COM, what do you > >> all think to that? Of course, it would be an OPTION! > > > >NO!!!! What use is ANSI.SYS nowadays anyways? > > > >I'm not asking this to get flamed, just because I know of no uses for > >it anymore. I used to use it to switch to 50 line mode, and use color > >in batch files, and a few other things. Now I use a 17 byte non-tsr > >program which I've written to switch to 50 line mode, I use 4DOS for > >color in batch files, and to redefine the keyboard safely, and I use > >special viewers to view ANSI files. As for using DOS via a serial > >port (which used to be the other reason I needed ANSI.SYS) I now use > >DOS over serial/modem via DOSemu with no ANSI.SYS. What use does > >ANSI.SYS really have anymore? I'm not suggesting in any way to get > >rid of it either, just asking because I don't know. > > Well, for example, there's a lot of people out there that still use BBSs > (in fact, we still run one) and they depend on ANSI for colour display. I still use BBS's too, and I still get color ANSI screens on my screen too. I *DONT* have ANSI.SYS loaded either. I have also ran a BBS and didn't have ANSI.SYS loaded either. Everything worked just fine and in COLOR on both ends. Very few programs rely on ANSI.SYS for anything. Those programs are mostly old and outdated anyways. Some BBS software does require it (MD's DOORWAY.EXE), but on a BBS system loading ANSI.SYS is no big deal because fast screen writes are not important and EVERYTHING is slow to begin with. If someone is using telecommunications software that requires ANSI.SYS to be loaded in order to get color ANSI screens when connecting to a BBS, then perhaps they should use a comm program from sometime this decade, or just load ANSI.SYS. A feature such as ANSI *belongs* in a driver, not in the command interpreter. > And how would you do a luverly multi coloured prompt that sits in the > top right of the screen without ANSI? ;-) Use 4DOS as your command interpreter, and use the SCRPUT, DRAWBOX, DRAWHLINE, DRAWVLINE, SCREEN, TEXT, and VSCRPUT commands, as well as the built in 4DOS %@xxx functions and %_xxxx variables. These functions use DIRECT screen writes (or BIOS writes if you configure 4DOS to NOT use direct writes). I can't justify loading ANSI.SYS and slowing down display writes by a factor of 10 just to see a cute prompt on the top of the screen. Heck, I don't even do it in 4DOS anymore cause it got so annoying! > >Also, as for it being a builtin option, I hope that you mean a COMPILE > >time option :o) > > Of course! ;-) ANSI.SYS will most probably stay *as-is*. I mean, what new "ANSI" screen features have come out since the last release? The only byte that should change in the file is a '1' to a '2', ie: OpenDOS 7.01 to OpenDOS 7.02. :o) Besides, even when one *does* need an ANSI driver for some reason, who actually uses the ones that come with the OS? I use PCANSI.COM (PC magazine). I use it either in a batch file or as a 4DOS alias so that it loads, runs the program that needs it, then it unloads. This way my whole system isn't slowed to a grinding halt when doing a DIR. Can't get a better solution than that if you ask me. TTYL Mike A. Harris | http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris Computer Consultant | My webpage has moved and my address has changed. My dynamic address: http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris/ip-address.html mailto:mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca Want a Windows emulator for Linux? Visit Caldera's website: www.caldera.com