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WELCOME TO TURBO PASCAL 3.0
---------------------------
This file contains important information not found in the Reference
Manual. Included is information on how to get technical help, a
description of differences between Turbo Pascal 2.0 and 3.0,
corrections to the Reference Manual, and a complete list of files on
the distribution disk. Since this file contains information important
to you, please read it in its entirety; hopefully it will answer any
questions you may have.
Special Note: Turbo Pascal now comes complete with three versions of
the compiler. The standard compiler: TURBO.COM, the compiler with
support for the optional 8087 math coprocessor: TURBO-87.COM, and the
compiler with BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) real number support for precise,
business oriented computations: TURBOBCD.COM. Simply recompile your
source code with one of the compilers to take advantage of the optional
real number support. Please note that to use TURBO-87.COM you must
have an 8087 coprocessor chip installed in your computer. Most
computers do not come with the 8087 chip installed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
1. How to Get Help
2. Differences between Turbo Pascal 2.0 and 3.0
3. Corrections to the Reference Manual
4. File List
1. HOW TO GET HELP
------------------
If you need help with Turbo Pascal, please read this help file and
the Reference Manual thoroughly. Also, see Appendix N of the Turbo
Pascal Reference Manual for common questions and answers.
If you still have a question and need technical assistance, please
have the following information ready before calling our technical
support department:
1. Product name and version number. (The version number of Turbo
Pascal appears above the "Include error messages?" prompt when the
program is first loaded.)
2. Computer name, model and any additional hardware.
3. Operating system and version number. (The version number
generally is displayed when your system is first booted.)
Technical assistance is also available from the following sources:
1. Type GO BORLAND on the CompuServe bulletin board system.
2. Check with your local software dealer or user group.
3. Write to: Borland International
Turbo Pascal Technical Support
4585 Scotts Valley Drive
Scotts Valley, CA 95066
2. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TURBO PASCAL 2.0 AND 3.0
-----------------------------------------------
General Differences
-------------------
1. Turbo Pascal no longer does a ClrScr when your program first begins.
2. Turbo Pascal no longer does a GoToXY(1, 25) when your program
terminates.
3. The use of file handles now necessitates closing all files, even
if they were not modified. You should also place a "FILES = 20"
statement in your CONFIG.SYS file. Note that DOS always uses five
file handles (standard input, output, error, auxiliary, standard
printer). Please refer to your DOS technical reference manual for
more information about DOS file handles.
4. The handling of some logical devices has been changed to conform
with standard Pascal and with Turbo Pascal's handling of other
files:
a. A read statement using the logical device TRM is now buffered
and terminates with a <CR>.
b. The KBD device is not buffered. For this reason, look-ahead
functions (EOF, EOLN, readln) used on the KBD device will
always "wait" for a key to be pressed.
TINST Installation
------------------
1. TINST now allows you to install a pathname which is used by Turbo
Pascal when loading the error message file (TURBO.MSG).
2. In the screen installation, after choosing your display type, the
following question will appear:
Does your screen blink when the text scrolls? (Y/N);
If the screen is "snowy" in the Turbo Pascal editor, answer "Y" to
this question.
Chain and Execute
-----------------
1. Heap preserved during Chain.
2. Chain and Execute no longer set a flag in the command line
parameter.
Inline
------
A constant identifier used in an INLINE statement does not always
generate two bytes of code.
New File Oriented Procedures and Functions
------------------------------------------
1. Append procedure.
2. Full DOS path-name supported.
3. I/O re-direction.
4. New FIB formats.
5. Optional parameter on text file declaration sets buffer size.
6. Optional parameter on Reset/ReWrite sets block size for
untyped files.
7. Optional 4th parameter on BlockRead/BlockWrite returns the number
of blocks processed.
8. Read and ReadLn work with array of char.
9. LongFileSize function.
10. LongFilePosition function.
11. LongSeek procedure.
12. SeekEoln function.
13. SeekEof function.
14. Truncate procedure.
Other New Procedures and Functions
----------------------------------
1. ChDir procedure.
2. Command line parameters on Options menu.
3. Delay procedure independent of processor speed.
4. Exit procedure.
5. Extended graphics procedures & functions (see page 309 in
manual for overview).
6. GetDir procedure.
7. MkDir procedure.
8. Multiple EXTERNAL subprograms in one file.
9. Optional parameter on Halt to return error code.
10. OvrPath procedure.
11. ParamCount function.
12. ParamStr function.
13. RmDir procedure.
14. Turtlegraphics procedures, functions, and constants (see
page 309-310 in manual for overview).
Overlays
--------
1. Overlays can be run in Memory mode.
2. Overlay files are opened and closed every time they are accessed.
Therefore, there is never a need to specifically close an overlay
file.
3. The Y compiler directive is no longer supported. Instead, the
OvrPath standard procedure may be used to specify the drive and
subdirectory in which overlay files reside.
3. CORRECTIONS TO THE MANUAL
----------------------------
Page 168: Text Windows
----------------------
Add the following text:
The maximum number of rows in a text window has been expanded in
order to support video adapters such as the EGA which support screens
of up to 43 lines.
Page 189: ChDir
---------------
Add the following text:
ChDir also changes the logged drive if St contains a DRIVE name
followed by a colon.
Page 241 & 273:
---------------
Add the following section:
User Written Error Handlers
---------------------------
In Turbo Pascal 3.0 you may write your own error handler, which
is called in case of an I/O or Run-time error. The procedure must
have the following header:
procedure Error(ErrNo, ErrAddr: Integer);
The name of the procedure and its parameters are unimportant, as
long as it is a procedure with two value parameters of type
Integer.
The value passed in ErrNo is the error type and number. The most
significant byte, i.e. "Hi(ErrNo)", contains the error type, and
the least significant byte, i.e. "Lo(ErrNo)", contains the error
number (see Appendix F or G in the Turbo Pascal Reference Manual).
The following error types are defined:
0 User Break (Ctrl-C).
1 I/O error.
2 Run-time error.
In case of a user interrupt (Ctrl-C), the low byte of "ErrNo" is
always 1. "ErrAddr" contains the address (offset in Code Segment
for 16 bit versions) of the error.
To activate the error handler, assign its offset address to the
standard variable "ErrorPtr", i.e.
ErrorPtr:=Ofs(Error); { 16 bit } or
ErrorPtr:=Addr(Error); { 8 bit }
There are no limits to what an error handler may do. Typically it
will close all open files, output an error message, and call the
Halt standard procedure to terminate the program. If an error
handler returns, i.e. if it does not call Halt, or if an error
occurs within an error handler, Turbo Pascal will itself output
the error message and terminate the program.
Page 325: Run-Time Error Messages
---------------------------------
Error 91, add the following text:
Error also occurs when you do a Dispose(p), where p is a nil
pointer.
Page 328: I/O Error Messages
----------------------------
Error F1, add the following text:
Error F1 also occurs when an illegal file name is specified.
Page 365: Compile/Run-Time/I/O Errors
-------------------------------------
First question
A: You can do two things: break your code into smaller segments
and use the $1 compiler directive or compile to a .COM or .CMD
file.
should be:
A: You can do two things: break your code into smaller segments
and use the $I compiler directive or compile to a .COM or .CMD
file.
Page 374: Keyboard
------------------
Third question, add the following text:
Make sure the C compiler directive is turned off before using the
KeyPressed function. For information in the C compiler directive,
see Appendix C in the Reference Manual.
Page 375 - File I/O
-------------------
First question, add the following text:
Notice that Function Exist should also close the file it just opened
in order to conserve DOS file handles:
Add the following line of code after Reset(Fil);
Close(fil);
4. FILE LIST
------------
File Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------
README COM - a program that displays this file
TURBO COM - Turbo Pascal compiler
TURBO-87 COM - Turbo Pascal compiler with 8087 support
TURBOBCD COM - Turbo Pascal compiler with BCD reals
TURBO MSG - text file containing error messages
TINST COM - installation program
TINST MSG - messages for the installation program
GRAPH P - external declarations for use with routines in
GRAPH.BIN
GRAPH BIN - extended graphics and turtlegraphics machine
language routines
CALC PAS - sample spreadsheet program
CALC INC - include file for CALC.PAS
CALC HLP - spreadsheet help file
CALCDEMO MCS - spreadsheet data file (not for use with TURBO-87
or TURBOBCD)
ART PAS - sample graphics program
CMDLINE PAS - get parameters from the command line
COLOR PAS - sample color program
DEMO-BCD PAS - demonstrates increased precision of TURBOBCD
DEMO1-87 PAS - demonstrates increased speed and precision of
TURBO-87
DEMO2-87 PAS - demonstrates increased speed and precision of
TURBO-87
GETDATE PAS - get the date from DOS
GETTIME PAS - get the time from DOS
LISTER PAS - simple program to list your Pascal source
SOUND PAS - sample sound program
SUBDIR PAS - demonstrates Turbo Pascal directory procedures
TURTLE PAS - demonstrates Turtlegraphics
WINDOW PAS - demonstrates windowing
EXTERNAL DOC - sample program using externals
ACCESS3 BOX - for DATABASE TOOLBOX users only: ACCESS.BOX update
README - this file
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