Subj : PL/I v 2.1 FixPak 6
To   : Murray Lesser
From : Vitus Jensen
Date : Tue Jul 25 2000 02:48 pm

Moin Murray!

24.07.2000, Murray Lesser wrote a message to David Noon:

(let me answer something, also to confirm that your msg made it to germany)

ML>     I spent entirely too much time yesterday (Sunday) downloading and
ML> installing FP6 for the PL/I for OS/2 compiler v 2.1.  I lost
ML> connection a little over halfway through the 2.5-hour download.  When
ML> I restarted, FTP Browser didn't "resume!"  Probably my fault :-(.
ML> After I installed the FP, I found (in the file READFP6.HTM), the
ML> following statement:

ML>       "On OS/2, all 16-bit support has been dropped."

ML>     I read this as meaning that there is no longer access to the
ML> 16-bit OS/2 API calls :-(. My needs are for KBD and VIO calls, since
ML> there are things that I wish to do in interactive text-mode
ML> applications that cannot be done in "native" PL/I.
...
ML>     Two questions:  What could have led the PL/I perpetrators to do
ML> such a dirty deed?  More important, can you think of any other
ML> workaround than the one I used (restored the previously installed
ML> version)?

I don't know.  But remember that 1) IBM always discouraged developers to use
16-bit APIs and 2) they dropped 16-bit support in the C++ part of VAC++ 4.0.

JdBP coded a DLL to supply 32-bit counterparts of Vio, Kbd and Mou (with or w/o
unicode support).  AFAIR he annouced the package in OS2PROG.  Look for this:

conapi.zip     66047 02-07-00* 32-bit Unicode Console API for OS/2 with
                              developers' toolkit (c) Copyright 1999-2000
                              Jonathan de Boyne Pollard.  All Rights reserved.

IBM did the same while developing OS2PPC (a unsupported 32VIO archive floats
arounds).


ML>     Secondary purpose of this post:  There has been no traffic for
ML> about two weeks in either this echo nor in OS2REXX.  If I don't get
ML> an answer from you in the near future, I will assume:  1) You are on
ML> vacation, or 2) the problem is that Bob Juge has lost his feed for
ML> this echo.  Of course, this doesn't say anything about the Summer
ML> doldrums on OS2REXX, does it?

Your post was the first in OS2PROG since 4 July.

Bye,
  Vitus

---
* Origin: Convert your Pentium into a Game Boy, run Windows NT! (2:2474/424.1)