Subj : PL/I v 2.1 FixPak 6
To   : Murray Lesser
From : Andy Roberts
Date : Tue Jul 25 2000 05:24 pm

Murray Lesser,

25-Jul-00 21:48:32, Vitus Jensen wrote to Murray Lesser
VJ> 24.07.2000, Murray Lesser wrote a message to David Noon:
         Subject: PL/I v 2.1 FixPak 6

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,
ML>> since there are things that I wish to do in interactive text-mode
ML>> applications that cannot be done in "native" PL/I.
VJ> ...
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)?

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

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

VJ> conapi.zip

--- FWUTILS ---
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   JdeBP's 32-bit Unicode Console API, with Developers' Toolkit, which
   allows one to eliminate one more 16-bit vestige from OS/2:  the 16-bit
   thunking code that has to be included in any otherwise 32-bit
   application that uses the existing 16-bit Console API that is supplied
   with IBM OS/2 (a.k.a. the VIO, MOU, and KBD subsystems) even in the very
   latest versions.  By using the 32-bit Unicode Console API, applications
   can be made purely 32-bit (as long as they don't call any other 16-bit
   APIs and don't use the 16-bit Console API internally within their
   compiler's runtime libraries, of course).  Also included is an
   entrypoint-compatible replacement for the broken 32TEXT package from IBM
   that used to be on the DevCon CD-ROMs. Instructions are in README.TXT.
   (c) Copyright 1999-2000 Jonathan de Boyne Pollard.  All Rights reserved.

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